During the tail-end of 2017, ONE Championship’s cards were headlined by an openweight bout, a superfight, and a dream match — the true essence of why mixed martial arts was born: to find out who is the best.
Last November in Myanmar, ONE Middleweight World Champion Aung La N Sang stopped heavyweight Alain Ngalani in the very first month. Days later, Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen was able to pick up his second belt after knocking out Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang in Manila. To cap the stretch, Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren was able to have his swan song after making quick work of Japanese great Shinya Aoki.
But beyond those matches, ONE also promoted bouts that were held under traditional rules.
Last September in Indonesia, Abdurrauf Abdul Karim defeated Hendri Fardli in a match held under traditional silat rules. The Manila card saw Thai legend Sam-A Gaiayangdahao batter Joseph Lasiri in a muay thai contest. Then to start the year, Aoki submitted Marat Gafurov in a grappling tilt.
This was done to build-up ONE’s new project, the Super Series, which will highlight traditional martial arts.
“We are no longer a mixed martial arts promotion, that is the big change that is happening,” disclosed ONE Championship Chairman Chatri Sityodtong. “We started the company as a mixed martial arts promotion because that is one vertical [integration]. If you think about all of martial arts, there is muay thai, there is kickboxing, there is wrestling, there is submission grappling, mixed martial arts, ONE has become doing this and then doing everything.
“That is why we are the world’s largest martial arts promotion. UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts promotion but that is just one small vertical. ONE is martial arts.”
In its first offering that will be held during ONE: Heroes of Honor in Manila, two kickboxing bouts and two Muay Thai matches are set to take place, headlined by a kickboxing match pitting Giorgio Petryosyan and Jo Nattawut.
“ONE Super Series will always be part of our events from now on but we are planning to have standalone events as well. So you can imagine, in a ring or a cage with all striking arts on it. You have muay thai, kickboxing, silat, et cetera,” added Sityodtong.
With ONE Championship becoming one of the hottest properties in sports in just a span of seven years, the youthful entrepreneur shared that this is their way of giving back to each martial arts form that his athletes represent — to help spread awareness about the discipline and the values it teaches.
“ONE Championship is starting to become the home of martial arts and it is my duty as a real martial artist, compared to our western counterparts, to honor, treasure, cherish, and take care of authentic martial arts and the deeply-rooted values in it,” expressed Sityodtong, who is a Kyu in Muay Thai and a Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
“What really upsets me on a personal level is that our western counterparts have damaged our image of martial arts or the word. People think that martial arts is about these goons running around breaking buses, throwing water bottles, and swearing a lot,” he lamented. “It’s so wrong! Real martial artists are like Jackie Chan and Jet Li! Honorable people! I have trained in martial arts for thirty years and because of martial arts I was able to get values like work ethic, discipline, courage, compassion.
“I want to show the world real martial arts and not just these crazy, bloodsport, events.”
Outside of the striking arts, Sityodtong invited the best boxers to come and take part, while divulging plans of promoting grappling arts as well.
In a way, unlike other MMA promotions, ONE Championship is making sure that it becomes the caretaker to long, storied traditions.
