Latest news with #ONEChampionship
Reuters
18 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
ONE Championship president says IPO always part of the plan
SINGAPORE, July 9 (Reuters) - Mixed martial arts promotion company ONE Championship's Co-Founder and Group President Hua Fung Teh said on Wednesday that launching an initial public offering has always been part of the company's plan. "We have definitely been in conversations with exchanges, both in the West and over here," he said on a panel at the Reuters Next summit in Singapore. Group ONE Holdings, the parent company of ONE Championship, previously floated the idea for a public listing in the United States in 2022 as part of a global expansion drive. ONE Championship is Asia's largest sports media player, according to Nielsen, a global audience measurement and data analytics company. To view the live broadcast of the World Stage go to the Reuters LIVE page:
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Muay Thai star Jojo ready to turn the tide in Bangkok showdown
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Muay Thai prodigy Johan Ghazali Zulfikar is determined to return to winning ways when he takes on Moroccan fighter Zakaria El Jamari at ONE Fight Night 35 in Bangkok on Sept 6. Known to fans as Jojo, the 18-year-old will step into the famed Lumpinee Stadium looking to snap a poor run of form that has seen him lose three of his last four bouts. Johan took the fight world by storm last year with five straight wins, including four knockouts, earning himself a six-figure contract with ONE Championship. But the Malaysian-American has struggled to maintain that early momentum, managing just one win in four fights since. His most recent outing ended in a shock split decision defeat to Colombian-American Diego Paez. "I'm excited to be part of ONE Fight Night 35 and just happy to be back doing what I love," said Johan. "Zakaria is a tough opponent, but I'm hungry to get back in the win column. I've trained hard and I'll be at my best. "To all my Malaysian fans, thank you for sticking with me. I promise to bring the fireworks. It's going to be a banger." Zakaria is also in need of a bounce-back, having lost his last three fights, including a knockout defeat to Malaysian Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff Rakib last year. With both fighters desperate to reignite their form, fireworks are guaranteed in Bangkok.
Bangkok Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Bangkok Post
ONE Championship: Allycia Rodrigues declares herself ‘queen of Muay Thai' and plots MMA switch after KO win
Allycia Rodrigues believes she's ONE Championship's queen of Muay Thai – and now she's ready to conquer the world of MMA. Allycia Rodrigues believes she's ONE Championship's queen of Muay Thai – and now she's ready to conquer the world of MMA. The Brazilian retained her atomweight Muay Thai title with a third-round knockout of Sweden's Johanna Persson on Saturday morning in Bangkok, closing the ONE Fight Night 33 card at Lumpinee Stadium in style. It was a second straight KO win – and a second straight US$50,000 bonus from ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. 'I don't know if I'm the most dangerous woman in ONE Championship, but I'm working for this,' Rodrigues told the Bangkok Post backstage. 'We want whoever comes to fight with us to be scared of us. They know it's going to be a hard time. We're going to be a problem for them.' The 26-year-old has repeatedly been linked with a super fight against ONE atomweight kickboxing champion Phetjeeja – but made clear she's grown tired of the question. 'We never pick fights,' Rodrigues said. 'Whoever they send, we'll take. It's not from her, not from us – it's up to ONE Championship. 'I know she wants to fight us. Everybody knows we want to fight her too. But if we need to face her, we're going to see who is No 1 in ONE. For Muay Thai, I'm the queen.' That may not be the case for much longer. The Bangkok Post understands a full move to MMA is on the horizon – with her coach at Phuket Fight Club, BJJ black belt Leo Elias, revealing she is already training regularly in the grappling arts. 'The focus is next year we're going to start MMA,' Rodrigues said. 'We just come back to Muay Thai when we have a fight, but we are already training.' A title shot against atomweight MMA champ Denice Zamboanga straight away? Rodrigues said 'no – step by step', smiling. 'No need to rush,' Elias added. 'We don't want to just fight. We want to compete. Many people come in the ring to fight, but not many people are ready to fight. When we come for the MMA belt, we're going to be ready.' For now, Rodrigues is focused on building an even more dominant legacy – one knockout at a time. 'We want to try to make more finishes – and we're doing it now,' she said. 'You're going to see a better version of me every fight. After every fight we come better and better.' Elias echoed the sentiment. 'We don't focus on anyone – it's about us,' he said. 'Right now, I don't see anyone at Allycia's level. Whatever they come with, we're going to be ready. 'In my eyes, she's the best in the world.' Rodrigues nodded. 'Yes – I feel so confident. I train really hard. My hands are so good. Everything is good now. I feel my Muay Thai is so good. 'And I can still get better.'
Bangkok Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- Bangkok Post
ONE Championship: Younes Rabah misses weight as Allycia Rodrigues survives title fight scare
Younes Rabah was the biggest name to miss weight at Thursday's ONE Championship weigh-ins – but atomweight queen Allycia Rodrigues narrowly avoided a title fight disaster of her own. The Brazilian Muay Thai champion needed a second attempt to make weight for Saturday's ONE Fight Night 33 headliner at Lumpinee Stadium, after initially coming in 0.25lbs over the atomweight limit. Rodrigues returned later in the official three-hour window to successfully weigh in and pass hydration, keeping her main event bout against the debuting Swedish challenger Johanna Persson intact. But three other fights were left in limbo after hydration failures at the host Best Western Wanda hotel in Bangkok. Algeria's Rabah arrived with just two minutes to spare and passed hydration, but came in heavy for his bantamweight Muay Thai clash with Thailand's Shadow Singha Mawynn. The co-main event bout may still go ahead at a catchweight, with Rabah set to forfeit a percentage of his purse to the ONE Friday Fights standout, who is making his main roster debut. Atomweight MMA newcomer Macarena Aragon of Argentina and Muay Thai debutant Cynthia Flores of Mexico were both unable to provide hydrated samples, leaving their respective bouts on the card in jeopardy. They were left needing to return to pass hydration before they could negotiate catchweights with their respective opponents. Aragon was scheduled to face Japan's Chihiro Sawada, while Flores had been paired with Poland's Martyna Kierczynska. All other fighters cleared the scale, with their bouts to proceed at their contracted weights.
Bangkok Post
6 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
ONE Championship CEO Chatri pushes back on speculation, says business is ‘very close to profitability'
ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has pushed back at online criticism of his promotion – insisting the business is on track and 'very close' to profitability. The Thai entrepreneur hit out in a lengthy Facebook post this week, responding to a wave of recent backlash from some fans and reporters, accusing ONE of facing a 'crisis across multiple fronts.' 'While my team and I are certainly frustrated, we understand it comes with the territory when building a young, high-profile global brand,' Chatri wrote. 'Sadly, there are some who simply want to see ONE fail.' In a post that ranged from financial transparency to athlete grievances, Chatri acknowledged past missteps – including underestimating the timeline to profitability – but said the organisation was now in a much healthier place after years of high investment. 'Revenues have grown every year since inception and continue on a good trajectory,' he wrote. 'As a result, our monthly losses have now seen several meaningful step-function reductions. The path to profitability is now very clear.' The comments follow the recent publication of critical articles, which claimed ONE was facing internal layoffs, athlete unrest, and investor anxiety – triggering debate across social media. The pieces also raised doubts about the promotion's US broadcast deal with Amazon Prime Video. But Chatri flatly denied suggestions that the five-year Amazon deal – signed in 2022 – was nearing its end. 'Some 'journalists' have even gone so far as to make the false claim that our Amazon Prime Video partnership in the US ends this year,' he wrote. 'The truth is that it runs through mid-2027.' Chatri also alleged that ONE had become the target of what he described as increasingly coordinated online smear campaigns, referencing deepfake videos and troll accounts. 'These attacks have happened before, and they will likely happen again,' he said. 'In many ways, these tactics resemble a dirty political smear campaign – except I am not running for any political office, and no one else at ONE is either.' While defending the company's position, Chatri admitted the business had endured setbacks and athlete frustrations. But he said criticism from some fighters stemmed from clashing perspectives over matchmaking and entitlement. 'No one is necessarily right or wrong in these situations,' he said. 'Some athletes feel they deserve a title shot. Others might be struggling with a string of losses and looking for someone to blame. Some might believe they deserve more money.' Chatri also touched on staff restructuring, saying downsizing in some countries had been necessary to support growth in others. The Facebook post ended on an emotional note, calling on fans to 'rally' behind the athletes and embrace the values ONE says it represents. 'If you love our athletes and you love ONE, I invite you to double down on the good fight for a better world together,' Chatri said. 'At the end of the day, I truly believe that good always triumphs over evil and that love always defeats hate.'
