Why I love One Championship

One Championship is quickly becoming one of my favourite MMA promotions. The variety of events they put on from Muay Thai bouts to pure grappling contests and of course Mixed Martial Arts means that fans have an enormous wealth of consumable content readily available to them. The timings are also far more accommodating to us Brits. Whilst there is something weirdly enjoyable about staying up till 6am in the morning for most UFC events, the setting of One Championship in Singapore means that events typically start around midday if like me you are based in the UK. 

One Championship has the argument for containing the most talent rich pool of athletes, as it covers so many different disciplines of Martial Arts. An enormous selling point of the promotion is that their fight cards will feature these different disciplines throughout the event. I am currently watching One: Collision Course, in which we've seen several regular MMA bouts, before a Muay Thai co-main event and a Kickboxing main event. Even for the most casual of casuals, the Muay Thai bouts present 3 minute rounds of absolute hammers being thrown back and forth, with no hint of the fight hitting the mat. This does open up avenues of study for new fans to focus on one discipline at a time in order to understand the multiple facets of MMA, as it can often times be a confusing and complex sport. One Championship is truly in a league of its own and is without a doubt the most well-rounded promotion in the world, an astounding achievement considering it was only founded in 2011. 

While its mainstream popularity is still growing, the promotion has massively benefitted from high profile stars like Ben Askren and Demetrious Johnson taking centre stage, but it is their Asian stars that really sell the shows. You have talents such as Aung La N Sang, who is considered an almost Michael Jordan-esque figure in his native Myanmar, current Flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangon, and who can forget the likes of Stamp Fairtex, who became the promotions first ever two-sport world champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai. 

One of the fundamental drawing points of the promotion is its spectacle. Cinematic fighter entrances, confetti cannons and a combination of caged venues and traditional boxing rings that hark back to the glory days of Pride Fighting Championship, providing us with a nostalgic experience every time we tune in. Furthermore, the events are free to watch on Youtube and one the One Championship app, which means no more paying for PPV's or finding dodgy live streams. 

The promotion's move to eradicate the dangers of weight cutting cannot go unnoticed. One Championship athletes are required to compete at their walk-around weights. Using an innovative method to test the gravity of the athletes urine to determine the amount of solutes, the promotion has ensured that the fighters will not be competing under dangerous levels of dehydration. Speaking to MMAmania in 2017, former vice-chairman Rich Franklin detailed the process, stating 'That system keeps anybody from dropping a significant amount of weight and putting a significant amount of weight back on'. This highlights another aspect of the promotion that sets it apart and ensures the safety of its fighters like no other. 

All credit must be given to the promotion's CEO Chatri Sityodtong who built the promotion from the ground up into the global phenomenon it has become today. A lifelong student of Martial Arts himself, Sityodtong has incorporated the values of discipline and hard work throughout his life and business ventures. Sityodtong, born in Thailand, saw his family lose everything to bankruptcy, surviving off as little as $4 a day in America before building his multi-million corporation. Now valued with assets over $346 million, it is remarkable how far the promotion has come in its nine year existence and is gaining more and more critical acclaim around the world, and will continue to grow at an exponential rate!

~ James Eakin

Rich Franklin interview available at: https://www.mmamania.com/2017/5/25/15693052/one-championship-abolished-weight-cutting-in-mma [Accessed Dec '20].

Image credits: [Centre] "ONE Championship Reveals New Brand Partnerships for 2020", MustLoveMMA. Available at: https://mustlovemma.com/one-championship-reveals-new-brand-partnerships-for-2020 [Accessed Dec '20].