Indo-Canadian Bhullar, a former UFC athlete prior to jumping to ONE as a free agent, was paired up with heavy-handed Iranian wrestler Amir Aliakbari at ONE 166 in Qatar, a massive card for the promotion, which counts Qatari investors among its backers.

The fight could have produced the next title challenger, but instead, there wasn’t much fight to talk about. Bhullar refused to engage through much of the bout, being warned by ref Herb Dean early on, and more than once. Then, in the third round, after enduring a low blow (an uppercut that strayed well south of its intended target), Bhullar wasn’t just warned. Rather, he was disqualified, handed a red card by Dean for timidity.

Aliakbari got the win, though he’ll be hard-pressed to justify a title shot off a victory over someone he didn’t appear willing to fight. As for Sityodtong, it’s clear he was livid after the debacle.

“There’s just no excuse,” Sityodtong told reporters during the ONE 166 post-fight press conference in Lusail, Qatar (h/t MMA Junkie). “What Arjhan did is just unacceptable at ONE Championship.”

“That’s the first time in the history of the company that we’ve ever issued a red card on timidity,” Sityodtong continued. “He didn’t want to fight. And if you don’t want to fight then why are you a professional fighter? And you definitely don’t belong in the pinnacle of martial arts. I was deeply disappointed in Arjan, and I think he let down India.

Sityodtong saved perhaps his harshest words for last. “India will no longer look at him as a hero.”

Bhullar (11-3) posted a 3-1 record in the UFC before opting to sign with ONE Championship in 2019. He has fought only sporadically, but did claim heavyweight gold by defeating Brandon Vera at ONE: Dongal in 2021. An extended contract dispute and a revolving door of dates with then-challenger Anatoly Malykhin followed; when the pair did meet, Malykhin dethroned Arjan Bhullar in the third round of their 2023 title fight. Saturday was Bhullar’s first fight back from that loss.

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The Asian MMA promotion has been hit with rumors about dissatisfaction from Middle Eastern investors of late. Qatar, in particular, is a financial backer of ONE Holdings, the group behind ONE Championship, having chipped in $50 million just a couple of years ago.

That makes Qatar an obvious destination as the promotion attempts to shore up the relationship. ONE 166: Qatar will take place on March 1, 2024 at the Lusail Sports Arena with a full five title fights planned for the eent.

News of the Qatari show was announced by promotion officials on Thursday.

“I’m thrilled to announce ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East with one of our biggest events ever,” promotion chair Chatri Sityodtong stated in Thursday’s press release. “We’re building a spectacular card that is stacked from top to bottom, which will feature World Championship fights across all of our martial arts disciplines. We can’t wait to put on a show for the greatest fans on earth and would like to thank Qatar Tourism, Media City Qatar and Ooredoo for teaming with us to make history.”

News of the title fights set to headline ONE 166 is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. However, the promotion did state that MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Submission Grappling titles will all be on the line.

ONE Championship just recently announced its return to Tokyo, Japan.

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Rather than doubling down in 2024, the promotion will be back in the U.S. for four dates next year, all of which are expected to air on Amazon’s Prime Video platform. ONE officials announced the news on Thursday, with ONE President and CEO Chatri Sityodtong issuing a brief statement.

“I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship is coming back to the U.S. with four massive events in 2024,” Sityodtong was quoted as saying in Thursday’s announcement. “When we made our historic U.S. debut with ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, I was blown away by the support we received from our fans in the U.S.”

“ONE is home to the greatest martial artists in the world, and I’m excited to once again showcase our World Champions on American soil. To our fans that haven’t seen a live ONE event, I promise you an experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

No location or venue has been announced for any of ONE Championship’s 2024 U.S. shows, nor have any dates been made official. However, given the global ruleset employed by the promotion, which allows knees to downed opponents among other variations from the Unified Rules of MMA used by American promotions, it’s likely that options will be limited. Colorado, which approved the global ruleset earlier this year, is likely to get a return visit with that in mind.

ONE Championship’s debut in the U.S. saw Demetrious Johnson defend his flyweight title in the rubber match of his trilogy with Adriano Moraes. Although “Mighty Mouse” had openly talked about retirement ahead of the fight, he delayed any final decision and remains part of the promotion’s active roster. Fellow ONE stars including Stamp Fairtex and Aung La N Sang were also part of the well-received show.

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Overshadowing the event somewhat has been the announcement by Sityodtong that ONE was dropping out of the race for Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou entered the free agent market earlier this year, and had previously stated that his decision on the MMA side of things (the heavyweight is still pursuing a payday in boxing) had come down to the PFL and ONE Championship.

Sityodtong provided a bit of detail into what ONE’s offer would have been during a media scrum ahead of ONE Fight Night 10.

“I wish Francis the very best, he’s a good guy, a good champion. It’s unfortunate that ONE, that we decided to withdraw from the process, but it doesn’t take anything away from his life story,” Sityodtong stated when asked about the heavyweight. “Incredible. He has incredible martial arts, I wish him the best wherever he goes, wherever he ends up. Francis is a stud, he’s a good guy. He’s also a very good guy.”

As to what ONE Championship was prepared to offer “The Predator,” “I can tell you that our offer included, which we never finalized and submitted, but my contract for him, it was a minimum $20 million dollar guarantee for two fights, and then more fights beyond that and a bunch of other stuff. But like I said, what it came down to was not the money, it was non-financial stuff.”

Rather than focus on that, however, Sityodtong said “I’d rather focus on ‘hey look, it didn’t work out with Francis, but we wish him the very, very best. He’s a stud, he’s a good guy, he’s going to do well in like no matter what.”

Now, it’s on to ONE Fight Night 10. ONE’s chief exec is happy with the response to the Asian promotion’s American coming out party thus far.

“A lot of state athletic commissions have approved or are in the process of approving the Global Ruleset. American fans are clamouring, the Amazon numbers, the Amazon leadership is coming, and afterwards we’re going to sit down and say how to we broaden, how do we deepen, how do we expand the partnership? Our numbers have beaten Amazon’s internal expectations by a large margin. It’s just really exciting times.”

Watch the full ONE Fight Night 10 media scrum with Chatri Sityodtong above.

The post Chatri Sityodtong Reveals What ONE Championship Would Have Offered Ngannou, Financially appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ngannou (17-3) vacated the UFC heavyweight championship earlier this year and made his exit from the promotion after contract negotiations failed. Among the sticking points were the opportunity to pursue a high-profile boxing match, and ideas such as fighter representation within the promotion.

“The Predator” instantly became the most high-profile combat sports free agent on the market, with suitors including Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, and the PFL lining up. Ngannou then narrowed the field down to the latter two promotions — which is down to just one, per ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

A meeting between the ONE exec and Ngannou had been hyped in recent days, with the meeting taking place on Sunday. However, Sityodtong revealed to the South China Morning Post that ONE had opted to drop out of the running for the heavyweight’s services.

“I met with Francis yesterday for almost three hours,” Sityodtong told the outlet. “ONE has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding for Francis Ngannou’s services. After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. Francis is a good guy and a good champion. I wish him continued success and happiness.”

Sityodtong would add that “At the end of the day, I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”

The head of ONE Championship, the sport’s largest player in Asia, did not clarify which non-financial matters were the sticking point. Following his failed negotiations with the UFC, Ngannou revealed that health insurance for fighters, a representative at board meetings, and sponsorships were among the sticking points with his old employer.

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“I am heartbroken by Victoria Lee’s passing. I first met Victoria when she was 11 years old. I watched her blossom over the years as a martial artist and a human being. I always remember thinking how wise, thoughtful, and selfless she was beyond her years. Of course, she was an extraordinary martial arts prodigy even back then, but I could see that she was so much more than that. Victoria had the purest heart of gold and a brilliant mind. She looked after others before herself. She wanted to use her life to help the world. I will always remember Victoria for the beautiful and precious soul that she was.

 

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No cause of death has been released by the Lee family or ONE Championship.

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Capturing a second title at welterweight, Lee (17-4) put away Kiamrian Abbasov in the fourth round with a hailstorm of elbows in a finish that would make Paul Felder proud. The back-and-forth fight saw the now double-champ Lee overcome some serious adversity, after looking out on his feet while being lit up in the opening five minutes.

Had Abbasov put Lee away then, ONE’s welterweight title would have remained vacant. That’s because, for the second time in as many Prime Video cards, the champ missed weight, losing his belt essentially on the scale.

ONE Championship’s arrival on the Prime Video streaming platform has been a feather in the promotion’s cap, and the cards to date have been quality offerings, faring better than the ill-fated ONE on TNT series last year. But between Abbasov and John Lineker, who was stripped of the organization’s bantamweight title ahead of ONE on Prime Video 3, there have definitely been some bumps in the road.

Asked by Cageside Press following Friday’s card whether these incidents were the sign of a problem, or alternately that the system was working, and a signal that certain fighters might need to move up in weight, ONE Chairmain and CEO Chatri Sityodtong referred to the incidents as “growing pains.” And he’s willing to accept that, in the name of fighter health and safety.

“I think it’s an example of, athletes, if you want to fight the highest levels in the world, and you want to fight in the healthiest system — our medical process, obviously with our hydration, with our Fight Week CAT scans, with our neurological exams for athletes, it is by far the highest standard of any organization in the world, and I’m very proud of that.”

“So there are some growing pains with our entire medical system, there clearly is. But I think it’s an amazing thing,” Sityodtong continued. “Fighters need to know they can’t game the system.”

“If you look at what’s happening in the States, people cutting 25 pounds of water weight and regaining it back and more 24 hours later is terrible for the human body. Terrible for your health long term, let alone your brain health,” ONE’s top exec added. “The water doesn’t necessarily hydrate your brain as it does other organs in the same amount of time.”

Sityodtong believes that extreme weight cutting is to blame for “a lot of strange knockouts in American organizations. Maybe a jab knocks someone out, because their brain isn’t hydrated still.”

“So from that perspective, I’m okay. We will have little bumps and bruises, but we have the healthiest medical system, medical process for athletes globally, full stop, at the highest levels in the world. If these things happen, it happens. But I think also fighters who quote unquote try to ‘game’ the system, this is what happens.”

With Lee getting the job done Friday, Abbasov is off the hook in a sense. Whether he chooses to remain at welterweight (which in ONE’s modified weight system is 185lbs, with minimal weight cutting enforced by hydration tests) remains to be seen. As for Lineker, he’ll compete for the title stripped from him early next year.

Still, a reported ten fighters either missed weight or failed hydration tests ahead of ONE on Prime Video 4, a sign that these “growing pains” may be far from over.

Watch the full ONE on Prime Video 4 post-event media appearance by Chatri Sityodtong above.

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Starting with ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on August 26, 2022, ONE Championship will run one event per month on the streamer. Each event will air during U.S. Prime Time. As announced in a press release on Thursday, the schedule breaks down as follows:

• August 26 – 9:00 p.m. EDT – ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II
• September 30 – 9:00 p.m. EDT – TBD
• October 21 – 9:00 p.m. EDT – TBD
• November 18 – 9:00 p.m. EDT – TBD
• December 2 – 9:00 p.m. EDT – TBD

“We are incredibly excited to kick off our new relationship with Prime Video on August 26 and announce the full 2022 event schedule! The first time that Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson met inside The Circle, no fans were allowed in the arena due to COVID-19. This time, the fight will be in a packed arena with millions watching around the world, and there could not be a better way to launch our U.S. prime-time events,” said ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, quoted in Thursday’s press release. “We know that ONE brings an incredible and unique experience for fight fans; something completely different from what American audiences have seen before. We are excited to celebrate the wide range of martial arts disciplines and showcase the world’s best competitors on Prime Video.”

The Prime Video series marks ONE Championship’s second attempt at drawing eyes among western MMA fans. Last year, the promotion ran on cable network TNT, with its ONE on TNT series running across four events, to mixed results. While the production values reflected the usual high standards fans have come to expect from ONE, bout cancellations and odd finishes (Eddie Alvarez losing via DQ, which was later overturned) didn’t help matters.

ONE will hope to see better results on Prime Video, which boasts over 200 million subscribers worldwide. It’s estimated that roughly 100 million users reside in North America, where ONE on Prime Video will air.

In the meantime, ONE Championship returns to action this Friday, with ONE 159 going down in Singapore.

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ONE Championship has officially found a new North American broadcast home.

The promotion announced a new deal with Amazon’s Prime Video platform on Wednesday, which will see it air 12 live events in the United States and Canada starting later this year.  The first event to air on the platform will be announced at a later date.  Per MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the deal is set for five years.

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ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong said in a press release on Wednesday:

“ONE Championship is thrilled to work with Prime Video, one of the largest premium sports content providers in the world, to bring our live events closer to fans in the United States and Canada. As the world’s largest martial arts organization, we believe our collaboration with Prime Video will allow us to reach a wider North American audience that is hungry for an authentic and differentiated product you simply cannot get with any other organization. We look forward to showcasing the absolute greatest martial artists on the planet, right here in the ONE Championship Circle and on Prime Video.”

Marie Donoghue, the Vice President of Global Sports Video at Amazon said in the same release:

“We are proud to add exclusive coverage of ONE Championship events to our suite of marquee live sports offerings. In addition to offering a full suite of martial arts disciplines, ONE Championship shares our mutual commitment to elevate female athletes, boasting five reigning female World Champions.”

The deal comes following the expiration of an American broadcast deal with Turner Sports that saw events air live on the Bleacher Report app and via tape delay on TNT.  Sityodtong had teased the announcement of the Prime Video deal in the lead-up to their highly publicized ONE X event last month in saying that it would be one of the biggest announcements in the history of the promotion.

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It’s rather hilarious to think anyone would expect the heads of two of the world’s major MMA promotions to duke it out. Then again, Dana White was once expected to box Tito Ortiz, so anything is possible.

The subject was brought up again at ONE: Revolution’s post-fight press conference on Friday. “The two most common questions I get on my social media, or even ONE Championship, is when will there be a ONE versus UFC event, and I would love to do that in a heartbeat, champion versus champion,” said Sityodtong. “And then the second question I always get is, whenever I post— my brown belt promotion, ‘go fight Dana,’ or whenever I post a video of me doing Muay Thai, ‘go fight Dana.'”

Sityodtong, however, questions whether it would be a fair fight. “I honestly don’t think that would be competitive. Does Dana even do martial arts? I don’t think so. I don’t know what his background is. I think he’s an awesome businessman, he’s a great fight promoter, but I don’t think he does martial arts. Not that I know of.”

The question originally arose when the ONE exec was asked about comments White had made in relation to a planned Demetrious Johnson vs. Rodtang special rules bout. At ONE X, the pair are expected to compete in a four-round MMA/Muay Thai hybrid fight — though a COVID-19 positive from Rodtang could see the fight delayed.

White, for his part, wasn’t a fan of the idea, suggesting Muay Thai and MMA should be left separate.

“Dana is a great businessman, but he doesn’t know anything about martial arts,” Sityodtong said in response. “I don’t think he even knows how to throw a leg kick. He talks like it with his athletes, but I’d love to see a video of him throwing a leg kick. So I don’t think he’s qualified to talk about Muay Thai.”

“For me, we have a different approach,” ONE Championship’s CEO continued. “UFC is the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world, ONE is the largest martial arts organization. In that we have many verticals of martial arts. We have mixed martial arts, we have Muay Thai, we have kickboxing, we’ve even had a boxing world title fight, we have submission grappling. We try to excite and delight and surprise combat sports fans from all over the world, and from all genres.”

“[Dana White] can take whatever digs he wants, I’ll take a dig at his leg kicks,” Sityodtong added.

Coming up, ONE Championship will be looking to extend its reach in North America. After a series of shows on Turner’s TNT earlier this year, the promotion is looking for a new TV deal. That could include a return to TNT, or a new broadcast home stateside.

“CAA [Creative Artists Agency] represents us in the U.S. I can tell you that we’ve been on a U.S. media rights roadshow the last several weeks, talking to all major network broadcasters as well as the digital players in the U.S. Knock on wood, if conversations continue as they are, we will have some good news to announce in the coming weeks,” revealed Sityodtong. “Still, we’re right in the middle of it. Obviously Turner is in those discussions as well, but we’re talking to every broadcaster. CAA lined this up for us.”

AEW, the pro wrestling outfit ONE was paired with on TNT, moves to the larger TBS starting in January 2022. That leaves something of a gap in TNT’s programming. Whether ONE follows, returns to TNT, or moves elsewhere remains to be seen.

Watch the full ONE: Revolution post-fight press conference with Chatri Sityodtong above.

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