ONE is considered to be Asia's largest combat sports promotion, with investors including GIC and Temasek Holdings, in addition to ICONIQ Capital, Mission Holdings, Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks Capital.[4][5] The promotion would reach a value of over $1 billion by October 2018.[6][7][8] In 2022, ONE's parent company, One Group Holdings, changed its legal operations from Singapore to the Cayman Islands.[9][10][11]
Sityodtong stated his goal was to create the first Pan-Asianmartial arts company, and to promote "values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion", which he believes Western MMA promotions have lost.[6][12][13]
Since May 2018, ONE events have been broadcast live and free on both their dedicated apps and YouTube channel in select locations.[30]
On 11 December 2018, ONE announced a three-year broadcast deal with Turner Sports in the United States that will bring live events to streaming service B/R Live and recap shows on TNT.[31][32]
On 23 March 2019 ONE announced it had signed a multi-year deal with Star Sports in India.[33] On 19 September 2019, it was announced that sports streaming service FITE TV would broadcast the promotion's two-part, 100th numbered event, Century.[34]
In November 2020, ONE announced a partnership with Facebook to distribute ONE Championship content on Facebook Watch and IGTV.[35]
On April 27, 2022, ONE announced a five-year distribution deal with Amazon Prime Video, giving Amazon Prime exclusive broadcast rights for at least 12 live events annually during prime time hours in the United States and Canada.[36][37]
On September 29, 2022, ONE announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with beIN Sports to broadcast live ONE Championship events across the Middle East and North Africa for the first time. In addition to events, the partnership is set to include round-up shows, as well as related social media and digital content. beIN Sports will broadcast ONE's events to 24 MENA territories with both English and Arabic commentary.[38]
On December 8, 2022, ONE announced the partnership with Tero Entertainment during the press conference for broadcast One Lumpinee (internationally known as ONE Friday Fights) from Lumpinee Stadium, Bangkok via Thailand's Channel 7 to more than 154 countries every Friday evening starting January 20, 2023. This broadcast has been considered a big turn in the Thai television industry because Channel 7 had to remove the television drama on the prime time time-slot after the evening news, which was considered a regular identity and main income resources of the channel since its establishment in 1967.[39]
On March 16, 2023, ONE partnered with Seven Network, airing both ONE Fight Night (which aired on Prime Video in United States & Canada) and ONE Friday Fights exclusively for 7plus in Australia.[40]
On December 12, 2023, ONE partnered with Sky Sports to become exclusive home for both ONE Fight Night and ONE Friday Fights in the UK and Ireland.[41]
History
Founding and early history: 2011–2014
Entrepreneur and martial artist Chatri Sityodtong stated his reasons for founding One Fighting Championship in July 2011 was that he believed that martial arts was Asia's "cultural treasure", yet there was no Pan-Asian promotion to unite the continent.[12][42] "My vision is to make ONE Asia's first multi-billion-dollar sports media property. Every other region has them[...] But there is absolutely nothing like that on a pan-Asian basis."[12] He chose Singapore as the promotion's base because of its location and communications infrastructure.[12] As a life-long martial artist himself, Sityodtong would later state that he felt mixed martial arts (MMA) has been "severely tainted by the west", where the physical aspects have been glorified to extremes and "anger, hatred, [and] controversy" are commonplace.[43] Unlike western promotions, ONE's main goal is to promote "values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion".[43][13] Sityodtong says ONE purposely recruits and employs competitors who "are outstanding role models and good human beings with wholesome values", "You don't see any of the trash-talking or any kind of criminal offences or behavior you see in other promotions".[13] Although acknowledging he has respect for those Western promotions, Sityodtong explained, "they approach it in a pure sports manner, whereas as we approach it in Asia as a martial arts approach, just in terms of positioning to the audience and everything else. That's very important".[44]
Sityodtong revealed that the first three years of ONE FC were a "living hell". He was turned down by many broadcasters, brands, advertisers, and even potential employees who he believed did not understand ONE's "vision".[42] He stated that partners "mistakenly thought it was about fighting and violence", and claimed that "people don't watch because of the punch or the kick or the submission. People watch because their heroes are representing their country on the global stage of martial arts."[42][44]
First events
One Fighting Championship held their first event, ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion, on 3 September 2011 at the sold-out Singapore Indoor Stadium.[45] On 31 March 2012, the promotion held its first female MMA fight during ONE FC: War of the Lions at the same stadium. It saw Nicole Chua, Singapore's first female professional MMA fighter, submit seven time Indian kickboxing champion Jeet Toshi.[46]
On 13 January 2015, the promotion announced it would be changing its name to simply "One Championship".[52] According to then-CEO Victor Cui, the change was made mostly for linguistic and cultural reasons. "I think the reason why I picked the name ONE in the first place was because I wanted a name that transcended the language barrier. If you didn't speak English, you knew what 'one' was[...] It means the top, the best and everybody could say it", but translating the English word "fighting" into dozens of Asian languages and passing it on to partners and sponsors had proven cumbersome.[53]
ONE Championship and Ultimate Fighting Championship finalized the first "trade" in MMA history on 27 October 2018. ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren was released from his contract so he could sign with the UFC and former UFC Flyweight ChampionDemetrious Johnson was released from his contract so he could sign with ONE.[54] With distribution of its content to over 150 countries, ONE Championship had begun to be seen as a "unicorn", an unlisted company with a value over $1 billion, by 2018.[55]
A "grappling super fight" with submission-only rules was held between Shinya Aoki and Garry Tonon at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes on 26 May 2017.[65] ONE began talks of a partnership with World Lethwei Championship to share athletes to fight in each other's organization.[66] On 30 June 2017, ONE held its second Lethwei match at ONE: Light of a Nation. Thway Thit Win Hlaing defeated Soe Htet Oo by decision according to the WLC point system, where a winner must be chosen by judges decision if the fight goes the distance.[60] Since then, ONE has not held any more Lethwei fights, but Sityodtong has expressed his love for the art and wanting to recruit Dave Leduc into the organization.[67] On 10 November 2017, ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen became the promotion's first simultaneous two-division champion when he knocked out Eduard Folayang for the ONE Lightweight World Championship at ONE: Legends of the World.[68][69]
In December 2021, ONE raised an additional $150 million through an investing round led by Guggenheim Investments and the Qatar Investment Authority, increasing the company’s valuation to $1.35 billion. In October 2022, One Group Holdings changed its legal domicile from Singapore to the Cayman Islands.[9][10] On 22 June 2023, it was announced that ONE would be bringing live events to Qatar later in the year, having signed an MoU with Media City Qatar.[82]
ONE held its first event in America, ONE Fight Night 10, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on 5 May 2023. Colorado was chosen because its athletic commission was the first to approve ONE's rule set.[95] The organization had initially planned on debuting in the US years prior, but was ultimately delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[96] The event was the start of the promotion's planned expansion into the United States, where CEO Chatri Sityodtong it will be opening offices in New York and Los Angeles with the goal of eventually holding 12 events in the country annually.[95]
Anti-doping policy
In August 2022, ONE Championship announced an anti-doping partnership with International Doping Tests & Management, a subsidiary of Drug Free Sport International, who will independently handle all testing of its fighters for "illegal substances", beginning with ONE 160 that month. Although the organization planned to introduce World Anti-Doping Agency standard testing in 2019, prior to its partnership with International Doping Tests & Management, ONE had not publicly drug-tested its athletes.[97]
Rules
Mixed martial arts
ONE Championship uses the Global Martial Arts Rule Set, which "blends a combination of Best Practices from Asian and Non-Asian Rules".[98] Fighters wear 4-ounce MMA gloves. Matches vary in maximum length, depending on whether it is for a championship title. In all fights, each round can be no longer than five minutes. Most fights have a maximum of three rounds, with one minute breaks in between, but championship matches have a max of five rounds.
Striking combinations and cage generalship (ground control, superior positioning)
Earned takedowns or takedown defense
Aggression
Illegal targets for strikes are the groin, throat, trachea, and the back of the head, neck or spine. Stomps to the head of a grounded opponent, small joint manipulation, head butting, hair pulling, eye gouging, orifice insertion, spitting, and grabbing onto the cage fence are also illegal. Takedowns must not result in "spiking or pile driver[s] to the head or neck".[99]Soccer kicks to the head of a grounded opponent were previously legal in the competition, initially via an "open attack" rule, which required fighters to get permission from the referee to use them.[100] In September 2012, the company adopted the Pride Fighting Championships' rules on the technique, allowing fighters to use soccer kicks without asking for permission from the referee.[100] Soccer kicks were banned entirely in August 2016 as part of the company's worldwide expansion plans. Sityodtong stated that despite studies showing that soccer kicks are the same as a normal head kick to a standing opponent because you cannot generate any more pivotal force, the technique invites "bad publicity".[101]
Kickboxing and Muay Thai
ONE Championship uses the Global Kickboxing Rule Set and the Global Muay Thai Rule Set.[98] In kickboxing, fighters wear boxing gloves, with athletes weighing at or below 65.8 kilograms (bantamweight) wearing 8-oz gloves and athletes weighing above wearing 10-oz gloves. In Muay Thai, fighters wear 4-ounce mixed martial arts gloves. Matches vary in maximum length, depending on whether it is for a championship title. In all fights, each round can be no longer than five minutes. Most fights have a maximum of three rounds, with one minute breaks in between, but championship matches have a max of five rounds. ONE Muay Thai allows elbow strikes, clinch fighting, sweeps and throws.[102][103]
Fights can be won via:
Knockout, resulting in the opponent being unable to answer the 10-count due to a:
Unanimous decision (all three judges score in favor of one fighter)
Split decision (two judges score in favor of one fighter, one judge scores in favor of the other fighter)
Majority decision (two judges score in favor of one fighter, one judge scores a draw)
Technical decision
Disqualification
Fights are scored round-by-round by three judges using the 10-point must system. If the points tally is equal, then the judges utilize the "ONE Judging Criteria" to determine a winner:[98]
Knockdowns
Damage (internal, accumulated, and superficial)
Number of clean strikes
Aggression and cage/ring generalship (superior positioning)
Submission grappling
ONE utilizes the Global Submission Grappling Rule Set.[98] Matches consist of a single 10 minute round. Victory can be obtained by submission, verbal tapout, referee stoppage "due to imminent danger", request for stoppage by cornerman, or by judges' decision.[98] Three judges score the bout by the number of catches, or "legitimate" submission attempts. If there are an equal number of catches, the grappler who was awarded the last catch will be named the winner. If there are no catches, the judges will award victory to the athlete who showed more aggression.[98]Yellow cards are issued to grapplers who stall. Once an athlete is issued a yellow card, the only way that athlete can win is by submission.[98] Prior to May 20, 2022, submission grappling matches could only be won via submission and were automatically declared a draw after a 12 minute time limit.[104][105]
Weight divisions
ONE Championship currently uses ten different weight classes:[106]
Unlike most MMA organizations, these weight limits are based on a competitor's "walking weight", rather than pre-fight weigh-ins.
The change took place after the death of 21-year-old Chinese fighter, Yang Jian Bing (who was supposed to face Geje Eustaquio) on 11 December 2015, due to dehydration by weight-cutting in the Philippines.[107]
The promotion banned weight-cutting by dehydration in order to promote fighter safety.[108] The promotion’s revised policy on weight mandated that athletes are monitored in their training camps, and have urine specific gravity tests to ensure they are hydrated up to three hours ahead of their bouts.
The new system was well received by athletes in the organization,[109][110] as well as other stakeholders in the MMA industry.[111][112]
On February 18, 2023, Dr. Oliver Barley revealed that the urine specific gravity tests were ineffective. Barley described the tests as being “ridiculously easy” to cheat and also admitted to having helped some ONE Championship athletes pass their hydration tests with weight cuts.[113]
In November 2017, it was announced that ONE VP Rich Franklin would head up a competition called the ONE Warrior Series, searching for up-and-coming martial artists in Asia. The prize is a six-figure contract with the organization, with the winner determined based on their performance instead of victories.[114] The most recent edition of the ONE Warrior series in its initial format was ONE Warrior Series 10, which aired on February 19, 2020.
ONE Warrior Series: Philippines
On September 12, 2022, ONE Warrior Series made a brief return as a reality television show titled ONE Warrior Series: Philippines. The show featured 16 mixed martial arts fighters in the Philippines competing for a $100,000 contract to compete in ONE Championship. Team Lakay members Joshua Pacio and Geje Eustaquio were featured on the show as coaches. The show premiered on September 18, 2022 and featured 12 episodes.[115][116]
ONE Super Series
On February 12, 2018, ONE Championship announced the establishment of the ONE Super Series, which would feature kickboxing and Muay Thai bouts.[117] The first event that featured bouts under Muay Thai and kickboxing rules was ONE: Heroes of Honor in Manila on 20 April 2018.[118] The promotion signed notable names such as Giorgio Petrosyan, Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Fabio Pinca to feature on the bill. Since the inception of ONE Super Series, some events have used a five-roped ring, instead of the ONE circular cage, which had been used exclusively up until 2018. The ONE Super Series kickboxing bouts adopt the oriental ruleset.[119] As of 2020, ONE Super Series kickboxing bouts use boxing gloves. In ONE Super Series Muay Thai bouts, open-finger 4 oz gloves are used.[120] The first ONE event to consist entirely of ONE Super Series contests was ONE Championship: Immortal Triumph in Ho Chi Minh City on 6 September 2019.[121]
ONE Infinity
On 13 February 2020, ONE announced the launch of the "Infinity" series, events consisting of at least three championship fights and a minimum of 12 world champions.[122]
ONE Lumpinee
In September 2022, ONE announced a partnership with the Royal Thai Army to hold at least 52 shows in 2023 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The weekly events started with ONE Friday Fights 1 on 20 January 2023, where Nong-O Gaiyanghadao successfully defended his bantamweight Muay Thai title with a TKO of Alaverdi Ramazanov in the third round. The event finished as the most-watched show in prime time in Thailand, with a 3.9 rating among males 15 years old and over, according to data collected by Nielsen. It was broadcast locally on Thailand's Channel 7.[123] The event predominately features Muay Thai, but also includes MMA and kickboxing bouts. They are broadcast live in 154 countries, and reportedly offer the highest purses in Muay Thai history.[124][125]
In May 2022, Sityodtong stated ONE Championship had 600 fighters in the organization.[126]
Fighter salary
Fighter salaries in Asia are not publicly disclosed so information about ONE FC's fighter purses is not in the public domain. However, in January 2014 Ben Askren revealed that he was being paid a minimum of US$50,000 per fight as well as a US$50,000 win bonus.[127]
A cash bonus known as the "ONE Warrior bonus" was introduced on 9 July 2014 and implemented for the first time at ONE Fighting Championship: War of Dragons on 11 July 2014.
An award of US$50,000 is given out at the end of certain events to the fighter who impresses the most in terms of:
thrilling the fans with exciting action;
demonstrating an incredible warrior spirit;
exhibiting amazing skill, and;
delivering a phenomenal finish.
Victor Cui stated that bonuses would be handed out on a discretionary basis: "For every event, the bar will be very, very high. If a few fighters impress me, then I will hand out the bonus to a few fighters. If no one impresses me, then no one will get it. Extraordinary performance deserves extraordinary rewards. Ordinary performances deserve ordinary rewards."[128]
The "ONE Warrior bonus" of $50,000 was re-introduced in January 2022, with a minimum of one bonus and a maximum of five bonuses awarded at each event.[129]
The rankings for ONE Championship's fighters are both recorded and updated when information has been obtained from the promotion's official website.[130]
In 2017, ONE entered into a partnership with World Lethwei Championship parties agreed on sending athletes to fight in each other's organization.[66]
In January 2019, ONE entered into a partnership with Shooto, according to which Shooto champions would be given a contract with ONE Championship.[156]
They entered into a similar partnership with Indonesian promotion One Pride MMA in December 2020.[157]
On February 18, 2021, ONE partnered with American promotion Ringside United Fighting (RUF Nation). The partnership saw RUF hosting a Road to ONE 16-man heavyweight MMA tournament, with the winner getting a $100,000 contract to compete in ONE Championship.[158][159]
On May 6, 2022, ONE partnered with Thailand-based Fairtex Fight Promotion. Fairtex Fight Promotion would begin hosting a series of Road to ONE Muay Thai tournaments for three different weight classes in July, offering a $100,000 contract to compete in ONE Championship.[160]
On May 27, 2022, ONE announced a partnership with UK-based Muay Thai Grand Prix. The partnership would see MTGP hosting Road to ONE tournaments in two different weight classes, with the winners receiving a ONE Championship contract worth $100,000.[161]
On November 19, 2023, ONE partnered with the UK-based Muay Thai promotion Hitman Fight League. The partnership will see Hitman Fight League host two Road to ONE four-man tournaments, with the winners receiving a £5,000 cash prize and the opportunity to compete on ONE Friday Fights at Lumpinee Stadium.[162]
Financials
Per the company's 2021 publicly available financial statements, the company has generated an accumulated net loss of US$383 millions. The company's dire financial performance and rumored potential bankruptcy have been widely reported by the MMA journal, Bloody Elbow.[163] When confronted with questions related to the poor financial performance and non-standard financial reporting, Chatri Sityodtong has repeatedly avoided directly answering reporters on the matter.[164] There is also an ongoing question regarding what portion of the company's reported revenue is actually from non-cash barter transactions,due to an unexplained US$400,000,000 barter transaction with a subsidiary for "intellectual property rights".[165]
Financial scrutiny of ONE Championship has increased since 2018, particularly regarding its accounting practices. The organization's barter transactions, previously a distinct category, have been integrated into broadcasting and sponsorship revenue. This change has made it more difficult to discern the proportion of revenue derived from cash versus non-cash transactions, potentially obscuring the organization's financial health.
According to Kristie Neo from DealStreetAsia, financial projections indicated that ONE Championship's financial resources could be depleted by the third quarter of 2024. The organization reportedly generated revenue between $5-8 million in 2022, a modest figure for a promotion of its size. ONE Championship also faced organizational challenges, implementing two rounds of layoffs between March and July 2023, affecting 12 to 15 staff members each time.[166]
In 2021, ONE secured significant funding, raising $150 million through investments from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Guggenheim Investments. Despite this influx of capital, reports as of November 2023 suggest that these funds are nearly exhausted. Furthermore, investment enthusiasm in Qatar has waned, with key local partners Qatar Airways and Ooredoo discontinuing their financial backing. This withdrawal of support has led to the postponement of a planned ONE event in Qatar, which later took place 2024.[167][168]
Controversies and allegations of favoritism
On December 9, 2020, and January 6, 2021, Bloody Elbow published a two-part article detailing numerous allegations surrounding ONE Championship, mainly mistreatment of former fighters and employees.[169]
Former employees and fighters reportedly fear expressing discontent with ONE Championship due to potential legal actions. The company's base in Singapore, known for expensive legal proceedings, exacerbates these concerns. An insider claimed that fighters under contract have low morale but are contractually unable to publicly criticize the company. ONE has allegedly threatened legal action over critical social media posts, including preemptive statements to news outlets and informing other employers of the fighters' actions. Fighters face restrictive contracts that enforce exclusivity without guaranteeing regular fights, leaving them financially vulnerable. Additionally, the contracts reportedly include clauses prohibiting public criticism of ONE. Insiders described pressure on fighters to sign contract extensions with minimal benefits. Herbert Burns reported being sidelined for years and denied a title shot after leaving Evolve MMA, a gym founded by the promotion's CEO, Chatri Sityodtong.
"For sure, that’s exactly it, but life goes on,” Burns said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I spoke with the Evolve founder [Chatri Sityodtong] when I left (the team) and — apparently — everything was fine. I was going to fight for the belt, he congratulated me for the win. I came back home and kept training. For two years, they kept saying ‘you’ll fight at this month or that month,’ but the contract never came. I was always hopeful that I would fight, and that’s what bled me financially and forced me to fight for the money.”[170]
There has also been skepticism regarding ONE's ticket sales, with reports of excessive distribution of free tickets and inflated claims of sold-out events. Financial records suggest a decline in ticket revenue despite an increase in the number of events. ONE has made bold claims about its market share and viewership in Asia, previously asserting a 90%+ market share and describing itself as the largest global sports media property in Asian history. However, these claims have been questioned by industry insiders and former PR head Loren Mack.
ONE's claims of reaching up to 85 million viewers per event and being available in over a billion households in Asia have been met with skepticism. The actual impact of their broadcast reach and brand recognition in Asia remains uncertain.[169]
Allegations have surfaced about ONE Championship favoring fighters from certain countries where the organization seeks expansion. Fighters from countries like Egypt and India are reportedly brought in with little experience, often losing to more accomplished fighters favored by ONE. For instance, Egyptian Top Team fighters have a combined record of 1 win and 22 losses in ONE, raising questions about matchmaking fairness. Fighters outside Asia reportedly face difficulties in negotiating pay and are often locked into lengthy contracts with restrictive clauses. In contrast, select fighters favored by management are said to receive monthly stipends in addition to fight purses.[171]
ONE's relationship with Evolve MMA, both founded by Chatri Sityodtong, is criticized for potential favoritism and conflicts of interest. Herbert Burns, formerly with ONE and Evolve, highlighted issues with media control and biased matchmaking in favor of Evolve fighters. Claims suggest that Evolve’s business model and marketing strategies, including targeting high-earning professionals, raise further concerns about the intertwined nature of Evolve and ONE.[171]