ONE Championship will head to South Korea in the first half of 2020, with dates in the U.S. and India targeted for later in the year.
ONE Championship has revealed its travel plans for the first half of 2020. In a press release Monday, Asia’s leading MMA outfit listed stops in China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as a return visit to Vietnam. Twelve destinations were announced in total, with the promise of more dates to be added shortly. ONE will make its debut in Seoul next year, as well as Chongqing, China.
ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong also revealed some big news for 2020 as a whole. “For the coming year, ONE Championship intends to hold a minimum of 50 events, including those from ONE Championship, ONE Hero Series, ONE Warrior Series, and ONE Esports. More announcements will be coming shortly for the 2020 calendar,” he was quoted as saying in Monday’s press release. “In addition, if all goes according to plan, we hope to throw our first events in the United States, India, and Korea in 2020. While nothing is 100% confirmed yet for US and India, serious initial discussions have been underway. Also, with the success of ONE Hero Series China, we will now launch ONE Hero Series Philippines, our local league in the Philippines, in 2020 to widen our search for the next global martial arts superstar.”
That’s right, ONE Championship is looking to head to the U.S. for the first time. With a TV deal underway in the U.S. and stars like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez, that sort of booking could turn out rather interesting. A date in India should also draw a lot of attention. With a population upward of a billion people, India remains a great untapped market for MMA. While the UFC has flirted with the idea of heading to India, ONE recently signed Indo-Canadian free agent Arjan Bhullar, and could use him to launch a show there.
The 2020 dates announced by ONE on Monday are as follows:
Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, 10 January
Manila, Philippines
Friday, 31 January
Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 7 February
Singapore
Friday, 28 February
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Friday, 20 March
Chongqing, China
Saturday, 28 March
Tokyo, Japan
Sunday, 5 April
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Friday, 24 April
Macau, China
Friday, 15 May
Manila, Philippines
Friday, 29 May
Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 5 June
Seoul, South Korea
Friday, 19 June
