Last month’s investment from a consortium-led by Heliconia Capital Management into MMA promotion ONE Championship was a major affirmation to company executives as the “largest sports media property in Asian history.” With projections to be in two billion TV homes by the end of the year, the organization will use the new capital for more expansion into new territories with more live MMA events across the continent. Meanwhile, the company prepares to hit Macao, China for the first time on Saturday, anchored by Adriano Moraes/Andrew Leone for the Interim ONE Flyweight World Championship as well as a grappling tournament with $50,000 up for grabs.
Cynopsis Sports spoke with Chatri Sityodtong, founder and Chairman of ONE Championship about the promotion’s rise, its new capital and the potential of MMA in the Olympics.
Sityodtong on the challenges of growth: Last year we did 11 events, this year we are set for 20. That obviously creates some challenges in Asia as while we often go to the same cities, as we expand our geographies, we can run into new challenges. Asia is not like the US in that every country has its own government, its own culture, its own language and its own customs. So we have to navigate that. For example, while Singapore and Malaysia are only an hour apart, they are literally night and day in terms of landscape and doing business.
On new resources: Being backed by the Singapore government via one of the best blue-chip funds in Asia is almost like a branding event for our company because that says a lot to the business community throughout Asia. The new capital will help us expand the footprint in China and go into new countries. It helps us open more doors, gives us credibility in meetings and allows us to navigate with more credibility.
On the first Macau event: We’ve been in so many cities and so many countries but Macau is an exciting destination for us. It is bring our product and experience being showcased to the fans in the las Vegas of Asia. We expect a sold out show.
On surprises: With Thailand, we were very surprised at how well we were received given how much they love and protect muay thai. There were a lot of things we were very concerned about when we entered the country but it ended up being one of our most successful shows in history. Thai fans are crazy loud and I expect our December show there to be even bigger and better.
On MMA in the Olympics: I would love to see MMA in the Olympics. It gives a leg up for the entire world to appreciate the sport. I give a lot of respect and admiration to UFC for pushing for this to be in the Olympics and ONE Championship will do its part as well to get it into the Games from the Asian perspective. But I think it is going to take a lot longer than everybody things because the Olympics are a very political system.
