One Championship Secures Major Equity Investment, Plans to Hold as Many as 30 Events in 2018
Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion One Championship has
raised more than $100 million since its inception in September
2011, according to a report from the
Associated Press.
A “major equity investment” from venture capital firm Sequoia India and investment firm Mission Holdings likely signals even more growth from what is already Asia’s largest MMA organization. One Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong told AP that the promotion is planning on holding between 24 and 30 events in 2018 after staging 18 fight cards by the conclusion of this year.
One Championship’s expansion could see events taking place in
Japan, South Korea and India at some point in the future. Further
growth into China is also planned.
“Already we’re the largest martial arts organization in the history of Asia,” Sityodtong said. “All the pieces suggest that we have a big, big runway of growth ahead of us and that we’re just scratching the surface of our potential.”
In the report, Sityodtong also discusses why One Championship is still able to surpass the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Asian market. The Las Vegas-based promotion will hold events in Singapore, Japan and China this year, but Sityodtong says that One Championship is geared specifically toward the taste of the Asian audience.
“The UFC has done a wonderful job in the Western hemisphere and deserve their success, but they focus primarily on the fighting, on the violence, on controversy, on disrespect,” Sityodtong said. “You know, Conor McGregor, in your face, F-this, F-that. We’ve chosen to focus on Asian values, and that kind of stuff just doesn’t fly. One Championship is a true celebration of martial arts, which is Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, and we want to honor the Asian values of humility, kindness, integrity, strength and discipline. So it’s a very different approach.”
One Championship’s next event, “Conquest of Kings,” is scheduled for July 29 at GOR Kertajaya Arena in East Java, Indonesia, and will see Kairat Akhmetov face Adriano Moraes in a flyweight championship tilt.
A “major equity investment” from venture capital firm Sequoia India and investment firm Mission Holdings likely signals even more growth from what is already Asia’s largest MMA organization. One Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong told AP that the promotion is planning on holding between 24 and 30 events in 2018 after staging 18 fight cards by the conclusion of this year.
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“Already we’re the largest martial arts organization in the history of Asia,” Sityodtong said. “All the pieces suggest that we have a big, big runway of growth ahead of us and that we’re just scratching the surface of our potential.”
In the report, Sityodtong also discusses why One Championship is still able to surpass the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Asian market. The Las Vegas-based promotion will hold events in Singapore, Japan and China this year, but Sityodtong says that One Championship is geared specifically toward the taste of the Asian audience.
“The UFC has done a wonderful job in the Western hemisphere and deserve their success, but they focus primarily on the fighting, on the violence, on controversy, on disrespect,” Sityodtong said. “You know, Conor McGregor, in your face, F-this, F-that. We’ve chosen to focus on Asian values, and that kind of stuff just doesn’t fly. One Championship is a true celebration of martial arts, which is Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, and we want to honor the Asian values of humility, kindness, integrity, strength and discipline. So it’s a very different approach.”
One Championship’s next event, “Conquest of Kings,” is scheduled for July 29 at GOR Kertajaya Arena in East Java, Indonesia, and will see Kairat Akhmetov face Adriano Moraes in a flyweight championship tilt.
