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ONE Championship

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ONE Championship
Company typePrivate
IndustryMixed martial arts event
FoundedJuly 2011
Headquarters
Kallang
,
Singapore
Key people
Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman
Victor Cui, CEO
Rich Franklin, VP
Matt Hume, VP of Operations
Websitewww.onefc.com

ONE Championship (previously known as ONE Fighting Championship or ONE FC) is a Singapore-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was launched on 14 July 2011 by multimillionaire entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui.[1] According to CNBC, ONE Championship is Asia's largest sports media property with a global broadcast to over one billion homes in 75 countries.[2] It is widely recognized as the biggest MMA promotion in Asia[3][4][5] and notable fighters on the roster include Shinya Aoki, Bibiano Fernandes, Ben Askren, Roger Gracie, Brandon Vera, Jadamba Narantungalag and Jens Pulver.

The first ONE Championship event was held on 3 September 2011 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The promotion has since expanded rapidly across the Asian region and gained in popularity.[6] ONE Championship has held over 40 events to date with shows being held in Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Taipei, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Guangzhou, Yangon, Changsha and Bangkok as well as Singapore.

ONE Championship has a ten-year broadcast deal with Fox Sports Asia [7] (formerly known as ESPN Star Sports).

History

Formation

ONE Championship was launched as "ONE FC" at a press conference in Singapore on 14 July. The ONE FC fighters unveiled at the press conference included Anuwat Kaewsamrit, Eduard Folayang, Yodsanan Sityodtong, Ole Laursen, Leandro Issa, Orono Wor Petchpun and Rolles Gracie.

Victor Cui stated that, "ONE Fighting Championship marks a significant inflectionpoint in the sport of mixed martial arts in Asia. By our first event on September 3, we will be in more than 500 million homes across Asia and it is only the beginning. Asia has been the birthplace and home to martial arts for the last 5,000 years and ONE Fighting Championship has a vision of bringing mixed martial arts to the 3.9 billion people living in Asia. I am excited by the dominant leadership position of ONE Fighting Championship in Asia and the future of mixed martial arts in this region of the world. MMA is the fastest growing sport on the planet. We intend to showcase some of the most adrenaline-filled, exciting fights in Asia, featuring the best Asian fighters.".[8]

Inaugural event

The first show, ONE Fighting Championship: Champion vs. Champion, took place at the 12,000 capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium on 3 September 2011. The headline fight was initially scheduled to be Ole Laursen vs Eduard Folayang but Laursen suffered an injury in training and was replaced by A Sol Kwon.[9]

The card also featured a matchup between UFC veterans Phil Baroni and Yoshiyuki Yoshida as well as Gregor Gracie, Leandro Issa, Zorobabel Moreira and Vuyisile Colossa. Folayang suffered a broken nose but beat Kwon by unanimous decision in the main event and was awarded a $5,000 USD 'Performance of the Night' bonus.[10]

International expansion

ONE FC's first event of 2012 was ONE Fighting Championship: Battle of Heroes and it took place at the BritAma Arena on 11 February with Felipe Enomoto submitting Ole Laursen in the main event. During the course of the year the promotion moved into two more new countries with ONE Fighting Championship: Destiny of Warriors at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur on 23 June, ONE Fighting Championship: Pride of a Nation at Araneta Coliseum in Manila on 31 August as well as a second card in Singapore, ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Kings on 6 October.

Ten-year ESPN Star Sports partnership

On 30 January 2012 ONE FC held a press conference in Singapore to announce a ten-year media partnership with ESPN Star Sports which was described as the largest MMA media deal in Asian history. ONE FC events have since been broadcast, either live or on a delayed broadcast, on the ESPN and Star Sports channels.[11] After ESPN Asia was rebranded as Fox Sports Asia in 2014 ONE FC events would be shown across Asia on the Fox Sports channels.[12]

First female fight

On 31 March 2012 ONE FC held its first female fight with Nicole Chua submitting Jeet Toshi by submission at ONE Fighting Championship: War of the Lions at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Signing Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes

On 28 June 2012 it was announced that ONE FC had signed two of the most successful fighters in the history of Asian MMA. Reigning Dream (mixed martial arts) champions Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes both put pen to paper on long term deals with the organization [13] with the latter rejecting a rival offer from the UFC.[14]

ONE FC Network

On 26 October 2011 CEO Victor Cui announced the formation of the ONE FC network, an alliance of camps and promotions in the Asia and Oceania continents which includes DREAM, GLORY, URCC, Cage Fighting Championship, BRACE, ROAD Fighting Championship, Team Lakay Wushu, Tiger Muay Thai and MMA, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts, PAK MMA (Pakistan) and Fairtex Gym. Contracted fighters are allowed to compete for any promotion in the network which notably enabled GLORY Sports International presents Dream 18 & Glory 4 Tokyo ~ Special 2012 ~ New Year's Eve, to feature ONE fighters Shinya Aoki, Bibiano Fernandes and Melvin Manhoef.[15]

Appointment of Matt Hume

On 2 August 2012 ONE FC announced that Matt Hume, who was the rule director and official trainer to both PRIDE Fighting Championships and Dream (mixed martial arts), had been appointed as the Vice President of Operations and Competition. He had previously served as the head official for ONE FC.[16]

Introduction of ONE FC titles

On 6 October 2012 at ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Kings ONE FC titles were introduced for the first time. Kotetsu Boku became the organization's first ever lightweight champion after beating Zorobabel Moreira while Soo Chul Kim beat Leandro Issa to win the bantamweight belt. On 2 February 2013 Honorio Banario defeated Eric Kelly at ONE Fighting Championship: Return of Warriors to become the organization's inaugural featherweight champion.

On 14 March 2014 at ONE Fighting Championship: War of Nations Nobutatsu Suzuki beat Brock Larson to become the first ever welterweight champion. On 12 September Adriano Moraes beat Geje Eustaquio to become ONE FC's first ever flyweight champion and on 7 November Igor Svirid won the inaugural middleweight title after beating Leandro Ataides at ONE Fighting Championship: Battle of the Lions.

On 22 May, 2015 Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke won the newly introduced strawweight title by beating Roy Doliguez at ONE Fighting Championship: Warrior's Quest and on December 11th Brandon Vera beat Paul Cheng at ONE Fighting Championship: Spirit of Champions to become the heavyweight champion.

Signing Ben Askren

On 9 December 2012 ONE FC announced the signing of undefeated Bellator welterweight champion, two time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion and US Olympian Ben Askren. Askren had been widely expected to sign with the UFC but after a public falling out with Dana White he rejected an offer from the WSOF to sign a 'lucrative' six fight deal with ONE FC.[17]

Appointment of Rich Franklin

On 28 May 2014 it was announced that former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin had become the company's vice president.[18]

Further international expansion

After returning to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila in 2013 ONE FC put on shows in several new territories in 2014. On 11 July ONE Fighting Championship: War of Dragons took place at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, on 11 July ONE Fighting Championship: War of Dragons took place at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, On 29 August ONE Fighting Championship: Reign of Champions took place at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai and on 12 September ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of the Kingdom took place at the Koh Pich Theatre in Phnom Penh.

2015 saw ONE FC head to Myanmar for the first time with ONE Fighting Championship: Kingdom of Warriors taking place at the Thuwunna_Stadium in Yangon on 18 July.

Expansion into China

On 20 June 2014 ONE FC announced that it would be holding ten events a year on mainland China after signing a breakthrough deal with AMC Live Group. These events were all titled ONE: Dynasty of Champions and the first of them was ONE Fighting Championship: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing) which took place at the Olympic Sports Centre (Beijing) on 19 December. This was followed by ONE Fighting Championship: Dynasty of Champions (Guangzhou) which took place at the Guangzhou Tianhe Gymnasium on 20 June, 2015. On 21 November ONE FC returned to the Olympic Sports Centre in Beijing for ONE Fighting Championship: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II).

In 2016 ONE FC headed to the Changsha SWC Stadium on 23 January for ONE Fighting Championship: Dynasty of Champions (Changsha) and on 2 July ONE FC will hold an event at the Hefei Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

Manny Pacquiao

Victor Cui confirmed on 4 August 2014, that eight division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao had purchased an undisclosed number of shares in the company.[19]

Rebranding

On 13 January 2015, the promotion announced it would be rebranded as ONE Championship'.[20] According to Victor Cui, the name change was made mostly for linguistic and cultural reasons.[21]

Rules

ONE Championship utilizes the Global MMA Rule Set that combines the PRIDE Rules with the Unified Rules of MMA; allowing for soccer kicks and permitting the use of elbows,[22] stomp kicks to the body and legs but not to the head of a ground opponent. Knees are allowed at any time during the fight, whether the opponent is standing or on the ground.

Rounds

Each bout will be 3 rounds x 5 minutes per round with a 1-minute break in between rounds. Championship bouts will be 5 rounds x 5 minutes per round with a 1-minute break in between rounds.

Judging

In the event that a bout goes the distance, it will go to a judges’ decision. The 3 judges will score the bout in its entirety, not round-by-round. Judges will utilize the following ONE judging criteria in descending order of importance to determine the winner of the bout:

  1. Near KO or Submission
  2. Damage (Internal, Accumulated, Superficial)
  3. Striking combinations and cage generalship (Ground control, Superior positioning)
  4. Earned takedowns or takedown defense

Cage

ONE Championship uses a circular cage.

Weight Divisions

ONE Championship currently uses ten different weight classes:[23]

Weight class name Upper limit Gender
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg) in stone (st)
Atomweight 115 52.2 8 st 3 lb Female
Strawweight 125 56.7 8 st 13 lb Male / Female
Flyweight 135 61.2 9 st 9 lb Male / Female
Bantamweight 145 65.8 10 st 5 lb Male / Female
Featherweight 155 70.3 11 st 1 lb Male
Lightweight 170 77.1 12 st 2 lb Male
Welterweight 185 83.9 13 st 3 lb Male
Middleweight 205 93 14 st 9 lb Male
Light Heavyweight 225 102.1 16 st 1 lb Male
Heavyweight 265 120.2 18 st 13 lb Male

Television broadcast

ONE Championship is broadcast by domestic television channels in Asia including MNC International and Indosiar in Indonesia,[24] MediaCorp Channel 5 in Singapore,[25] ABS-CBN Sports+Action ATC @ IBC 13 and GMA 7 in the Philippines,[26] MyTV in Cambodia,[27] and TV9 in Malaysia.[28]

In the American continent, live events of ONE are currently shown on Esporte Interativo and BandSports in Brazil, and The Fight Network in Canada.[29]

On 30 January 2012 it was announced that ONE Championship has signed a deal which would see it being broadcast by ESPN Star Sports for the next 10 years, the longest deal of its kind in the history of Asian MMA.[7] ONE made its PPV debut at ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Kings via iN DEMAND, Avail-TVN, DirecTV and Dish.[30] ONE events air live on Fox Sports from August 2014 and previously on Star Sports due to re-branding except in China and South Korea where it maintains the Star Sports brand.

It also airs live on Setanta in Australia and on Premier Sports and Box Nation in the UK, Physique TV in the Middle East and Africa. Other TV channels around the world showing live ONE events include Fight Channel in Croatia, Fight Time in Russia, Fox Sports Africa, Setanta Ireland and KombatSports.lu in France.

Awards

In 2012 ONE was nominated for 'Promotion of the Year' at the World MMA Awards alongside the UFC, Bellator, Invicta FC and Strikeforce.[31]

In 2013 ONE won the award for 'Best Engagement Strategy for a Male Audience' from Marketing Magazine.[32]

ONE Championship events

Main article: List of ONE Championship events

Production team

ONE CEO is Victor Cui who used to be a senior executive at ESPN Star Sports and the chairman is multimillionaire entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong. Matches are made by matchmaker and Vice President of Operations, Matt Hume. In 2014, ONE Championship announced that Rich Franklin had taken on a role as Vice President in ONE Championship. The head referee is Yuji Shimada and referees are Olivier Coste and Joey Lepiten. The regular colour commentators for the television broadcast are Steve Dawson and Mitch Chilson, although Josh Thomson, Jason Chambers, Bas Rutten and Renzo Gracie have appeared as guest commentators. The event announcer and "Voice of ONE Championship" is Lenne Hardt and the cage announcer is Anthony Suntay. Christine Hallauer, Mel Tan, Kim Hayul and Han Jieun are ring girls.

Fighter salary

Fighter salaries in Asia are not publicly disclosed, unlike in the US so information about ONE FC's fighter purses is not in the public domain. However, in January, 2014 Ben Askren revealed that he was getting paid a minimum of $50,000 USD per fight as well as a $50,000 USD win bonus.[33]

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 $50,000 USD is given out at the end of certain events to the fighter who impresses the most in terms of:

  1. thrilling the fans with exciting action,
  2. demonstrating an incredible warrior spirit,
  3. exhibiting amazing skill, and
  4. delivering a phenomenal finish.

Victor Cui stated that bonuses would be handed out on a discretionary basis: "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 which since ONE show.. has never been handed out ever again cause none of the fighters impress me. Extraordinary performance deserves extraordinary rewards. Ordinary performances deserve ordinary rewards."[34]

Current champions

Main article: List of ONE Championship champions

Men

Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses Next Fight/Defense
Heavyweight 120.2 kg (265 lb; 18.93 st) United States Brandon Vera 11 December 2015 (ONE: Spirit of Champions) 0
Light Heavyweight 102.1 kg (225 lb; 16.08 st) Brazil Roger Gracie 6 May 2016 (ONE: Ascent to Power) 0
Middleweight 93 kg (205 lb; 14.6 st) Russia Vitaly Bigdash 9 October 2015 (ONE: Tigers of Asia) 0 TBA vs. Aleksei Butorin
Welterweight 83.9 kg (185 lb; 13.21 st) United States Ben Askren 29 August 2014 (ONE FC: Reign of Champions) 1
Lightweight 77.1 kg (170 lb; 12.14 st) Japan Shinya Aoki 5 April 2013 (ONE FC: Kings and Champions) 2
Featherweight 70.3 kg (155 lb; 11.07 st) Russia Marat Gafurov 21 November 2015 (ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II)) 1
Bantamweight 65.8 kg (145 lb; 10.36 st) Brazil Bibiano Fernandes 18 October 2013 (ONE FC: Total Domination) 4
Flyweight 61.2 kg (135 lb; 9.64 st) Kazakhstan Kairat Akhmetov 21 November 2015 (ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II)) 0
Strawweight 56.7 kg (125 lb; 8.93 st) Japan Yoshitaka Naito 27 May 2016 (ONE: Kingdom of Champions) 0

Women

Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses Next Fight/Defense
Atomweight 52.2 kg (115 lb; 8.22 st) United States Angela Lee 6 May 2016 (ONE: Ascent to Power) 0

Tournament Winners

Malaysian National Champions

Division Champion Since
Featherweight Malaysia A.J. Lias Mansor 15 November 2013 (ONE FC: Warrior Spirit)

Cambodia Grand Prix Champions

Division Champion Since
Featherweight Cambodia Samang Dun 12 September 2014 (ONE FC: Rise of the Kingdom)

Beijing National Champions

Division Champion Since
Featherweight China Li Kai Wen 19 December 2014 (ONE FC: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing))
Flyweight China Wei Bin Li 19 December 2014 (ONE FC: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing))
Featherweight China Sen Yang 21 November 2015 (ONE FC: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II))

Guangzhou National Champions

Division Champion Since
Featherweight China Huang Di Yuan 20 June 2015 (ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Guangzhou))
Flyweight China Wu Ze 20 June 2015 (ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Guangzhou))

Myanmar National Champions

Division Champion Since
Featherweight Myanmar Tha Pyay Nyo 18 July 2015 (ONE: Kingdom of Warriors)
Lightweight Myanmar Thway Thit Aung 18 July 2015 (ONE: Kingdom of Warriors)

References

  1. ^ "ONE Fighting Championship™ unveils CHAMPION versus CHAMPION". sherdog.com. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  2. ^ ONE Championship
  3. ^ "Mixed martial arts-ONE FC returning to Manila in May". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Asian MMA: Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. Shinichi Kojima Flyweight Title bout set for ONE FC in Jakarta". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Aoki cruises to ONE FC lightweight title". eurosport.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  6. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: ONE FC CEO Reveals Big Plans for China on Cusp of Beijing Debut". Yahoo!. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. ^ a b "ONE FC Announces Asian TV Deal with ESPN". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  8. ^ "One FC Announces List of Champions on Their Roster, Unveils Plans to Host Shows Around Asia". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  9. ^ "ONE FC: Ole Laursen Injured, A Sol Kwon Steps In to Headline Against Eduard Folayang". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. ^ "FOLAYANG SURVIVES BROKEN NOSE, DECISIONS KWON IN ONE FC". sherdog.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  11. ^ "ONE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP™ ANNOUNCES 10-YEAR DEAL WITH ESPN STAR SPORTS". sherdog.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. ^ "NEWS CORP. BUYS DISNEY'S STAKE IN ESPN STAR SPORTS; FOX TAKES REINS OF ONE FC BROADCASTS". sherdog.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  13. ^ "One FC signs MMA stars Fernandes, Aoki". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  14. ^ "After Failed UFC Negotiations, Bibiano Fernandes Signs With ONE FC". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  15. ^ "GLORY Joins ONE FC Network, Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes Set to Feature on NYE Card in Japan". mmamania.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Matt Hume appointed as Vice President of Operations and Competition at ONE FC". mmamania.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Ben Askren announces signing with ONE FC, blames 'immature' Dana White". mmamania.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Former UFC champ Rich Franklin officially joins ONE FC as executive". mmajunkie. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  19. ^ "Manny Pacquiao buys into ONE FC". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  20. ^ "ONE FC DROPS 'FIGHTING' FROM ITS NAME, WILL NOW BE KNOWN AS ONE CHAMPIONSHIP". Sherdog. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  21. ^ "CEO Victor Cui explains why ONE FC is now simply known as ONE Championship". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  22. ^ "RULES". Official ONE site. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  23. ^ "WEIGHT CLASSES". Official ONE site. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  24. ^ "ONE FC LANDS INDONESIAN TELEVISION DEAL". Fighters Only. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  25. ^ "SINGAPORE'S ONE FC LAUNCHES; GRACIES, FILIPINO CHAMPS ABOARD". sherdog.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  26. ^ "GMA signs partnership with Asian MMA promotion ONE FC". gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  27. ^ "MyTV to screen live ONE FC events". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  28. ^ "ONE Fighting Championship Inks Official Partnership With Malaysia's TV9". Bernama.
  29. ^ "ONE FC 9: Rise to Power LIVE on Fight Network Play-By-Play". thefightnetwork.com. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  30. ^ "Fight on, bro". thestar.com.my. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  31. ^ "ONE FC and CEO Victor Cui are Finalists for World MMA Awards 2012". mmasucka.com. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  32. ^ "Young MMA organisation trumps industry stalwarts at Marketing Awards". yahoo.com. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  33. ^ "Cha-ching! Ben Askren reveals details behind new contract with ONE FC". mmamania.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  34. ^ "ONE FC TO INTRODUCE $50K 'ONE WARRIOR BONUS' TO STANDOUT PERFORMERS". sherdog.com. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
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