Chi Lewis Parry still under ONE FC contract, says Victor Cui

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the highly-publicized controversy that followed his withdrawl from the main event of ONE Championship’s “Spirit of Champions” card on Friday, December 11, company head honcho Victor Cui revealed that Chi Lewis Parry remains under contract with Asia’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. 

The Filipino-Canadian promoter denied the circulating rumor that ONE has released Parry from his exclusive deal after his sudden pullout from his heavyweight championship clash against Brandon Vera.

“He is actually still a signed fighter with us,” Cui told Rappler.

According to ONE’s official press release, Parry failed to submit his medical results and drug tests that caused his removal from the bout.

The statement added that Parry decided not to board the plane departing from London to Manila, which was scheduled for Tuesday, December 8.

Parry denied the claim of ONE, asserting that the organization is misleading the general public.

“They have made up their excuse, which has taken them days to form, and are blaming me with bogus accusations. It’s disgusting that an organization claiming to be one of the top competitors in the world are happy to pull stunts like this,” Parry wrote in his personal Facebook account. 

A few days before the incident, the 32-year-old Englishman criticized ONE on social media as he alleged that the promotion already had plans of bringing in Paul Cheng to serve as a last-minute replacement without his knowledge.

As it turned out, Cheng stepped in to take Parry’s spot to battle Vera for the available heavyweight title after ONE made the shocking announcement. 

Cui admitted that ONE already prepared Cheng as its insurance policy in case Parry withdrew from the heavily-hyped encounter versus Vera.

According to Cui, he and ONE matchmaker Matt Hume are yet to sit down and discuss the course of action with Parry. 

“Matt Hume and I will regroup and will discuss about it and plan a strategy moving forward with Chi,” he shared.

Rappler tried to reach Parry for comment, but he has not released a statement as of this article’s publication.

Meanwhile, Vera went on to become the first-ever ONE heavyweight champion by knocking out Cheng in just 26 seconds. – Rappler.com