ONE Championship chief vows to bring Asian MMA into new heights

SINGAPORE – Although ONE Championship has established itself as Asia’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in a span of 5 years, company chairman Chatri Sityodtong is aiming higher.

The 45-year-old head honcho sets his eyes on turning the Asian combat scene into the world leader of MMA.

“There’s no question that it is my goal. As a lifelong martial artist, I believe in the power of martial arts to change lives and inspire people,” he told Rappler. “My job as the leader of ONE Championship is to make that happen.”

Since its inaugural event in September 2011, ONE Championship has staged 48 fight cards and is set to end 2016 with 4 more international shows.

In addition, ONE Championship is broadcast to over one billion homes in 118 countries and has partnered with blue-chip sponsors.

“We’ve done the hardest part, in my opinion, in terms of achievements. Now, it’s about laying the groundwork and preparing a better future for everybody,” Sityodtong said.

For Asia to become the frontrunner of MMA, Sityodtong emphasized the importance of grooming homegrown talents from different countries in the region.

With that objective in mind, he extends his hand to work with other MMA leagues in Asia.

“Those promotions are actually great for the [MMA] ecosystem. Sometimes the best athletes graduate to the ONE Championship platform. They are necessary to the ecosystem,” Sityodtong said.

As several major MMA players such as Pacific Xtreme Combat, Shooto, Pancrase, DEEP and ROAD Fighting Championship stake their claim as the best in Asia, Sityodtong insisted that he sees these entities not as competitors, but as partners in the growth of the sport.

“I don’t view them as competitors. For me, it’s about the ecosystem, growing the sport as a whole,” he said.

ONE Championship recently secured a knockout investment that is worth an 8-figure sum, as the Singapore-based MMA organization formed a joint venture with Heliconia Capital Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

With Heliconia serving as a chief backer, Sityodtong seeks to build ONE Championship into a $20 billion-worth sports property.

Sityodtong stressed that if ONE Championship achieves its multi-billion dollar goal, every member in the Asian MMA circuit will benefit from it.

“In ONE Championship, as the leader of the market, we have a massive responsibility to continue the growth of the entire industry. If we are able to create the vision of becoming a $20 billion dollar company, everyone in the ecosystem will benefit from that,” he said.

If ONE Championship managed to prove its critics wrong by exceeding expectations in just 5 years, Sityodtong foresees Asian MMA to be on a higher level in the next 5 years.

“I think the world is going to be shocked in the next five years with what ONE Championship is going to do. If we hit our plans, ONE Championship is going to be the biggest sports media property possibly on earth,” he said. – Rappler.com