Demetrious Johnson, left, of America and Tatsumitsu Wadverta of Japan, face off By way of the … [+] media currentation for this Friday’s ONE Championship mixed martial arts wrestle dubbed: Daybreak of Heroes, in suburban Pasay metropolis、 south of Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, July 30, 2019. Inside The center is Chatri Sityodtong, Chair and CEO Of 1 Championship. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez)
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Championship, a Singapore-based mostly expert martial arts league worthd final yr at Greater than $1 billion, plans on internet hosting its first event in America By way of The primary half of subsequent yr.
Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship’s CEO and chairman who based The agency in 2011, said He is contemplating pretty A pair of places for The primary U.S. event. He expects to have a quantity of playing cards in the U.S. in 2023.
As of now, all Of 1 Championship’s Greater than 100 events since its inception have been held in Asia. Every of the events As a Outcome of the coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020 has been in Singapore, collectively with the upcoming Aug. 26 card Which Might Even be The primary ONE Championship event to air on AmazonAMZN
Prime Video.
Earlier this yr, ONE Championship and Amazon signed a 5-yr contract for rights in the U.S. and Canadverta that Sityodtong says is worth “Greater than eight decides,” which means Greater than $10 million. The settlement Requires Amazon to stream A minimal of 12 ONE Championship playing cards Yearly. Anyone with an Amazon Prime membership can watch the events for no further cost.
ONE Championship beforehand hadvert a North American broadvertcast settlement with Turner Sports activities that started in 2019. Last yr, 4 ONE Championship playing cards aired on TNT. When the Turner deal ended, ONE Championship employed mega-agency CAA To look for a media rights deal in the U.S. and Canadverta.
Amazon is an rising participant in sports, most notably signing a deal to solely air an NFL recreation on Thursday nights starting this yr. Amazon’s NFL deal is for about $1 billion per yr for The subsequent 11 yrs. The agency furtherly recently inked a deal to air Champions League soccer matches in The united kingdom starting in 2024.
“We hadvert A pair of provides and ended up choosing Amazon because Amazon is an absolute huge,” Sityodtong said.
He advertded: “(Amazon is) very tight Of their extreme quality, They’ve chosen NFL, Champions League, ONE. They’re actually going after The easiest properties On the earth. They’re not making an try to do a shotgun strategy. They’re making an try to be actually focused and discover prolonged-time period partnerships. We’re very grateful to have Amazon.”
Since its founding, ONE Championship has raised $515 million, collectively with $150 million in a December 2021 spherical that worthd The agency at $1.4 billion, Based on Sityodtong. Guggenheim Fundings, a Ny-based mostly asset supervisor with Greater than $228 billion in belongings beneath advertministration, and the Qatar Funding Authority, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, led The latest spherical.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Group One Holdings, ONE Championship’s mother or father agency, is contemplating an preliminary public offering (IPO) in the U.S. and plans To vary its authorized domicile from Singapore to the Cayman Islands. That follows a December 2021 report from DealStreetAsia that Group One was contemplating going public via a merger with Gores Holdings VIII, Inc., a particular objective acquisition agency whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq tradverte.
Group One furtherly owns ONE esports, an esports events and on-line media agency, and “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Version,” a actuality tv current the place the winner works beneath Sityodtong for a yr and earns a $250,000 wage.
Sityodtong declined to Contact upon the Bloomberg report, however he famous that Group One is working with Goldman Sachs and Credit rating Suisse as its investment bankers.
“We’re On A daily basis Taking A look at completely different alternatives Throughout the globe for worldwide enlargement,” Sityodtong said. “I can’t conagency or deny that (IPO) rumor, however I can simply say we’re On A daily basis actively wanting…We’re On A daily basis Taking A look at numerous alternatives to velocity up our progress.”
Sityodtong advertded that these progress plans embrace growing its viewers and internet hosting stay events in the U.S. and Europe. ONE Championship is alreadverty properly-appreciated in Asia, and The agency has broadvertcast provides in 154 nations.
Nonetheless, Sityodtong referred to the Amazon settlement as “An important deal we’ve carried out in historic previous” As a Outcome of of agency’s attain with Greater than 200 million Prime subscribers all through the world.
ONE Championship principally options MMA and muay thai bouts, However it furtherly provides kickboxing, boxing and completely different disciplines. That completely differentiates ONE Championship from the UFC, the dominant fight sports agency that solely has MMA bouts.
The Aug. 26 ONE Championship card is headvertlined by an MMA bout that consists of flyweight champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil defending his belt in the direction of Demetrious Johnson, a Kentucky native and former UFC flyweight champion. Moraes defeated Johnson via TKO in April 2021.
Amazon has furtherly introduced ONE Championship events for 4 completely different Friday nights this yr: Sept. 30, Oct. 21, Nov. 18 and Dec. 2. Sityodtong is hoping these airings will assist drive curiosity in the group in the U.S.
“The U.S. is An monumental Market for us As a Outcome of of how huge stay sports is,” Sityodtong said.