ONE Championship Boss Doubles Down On Cross-Promotional Showdown With UFC

Following his world title victory at ONE 164 last Saturday, December 3, newly-crowned strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks praised ONE Championship in his emotional post-fight interview, stating that the Singapore-based combat sports outfit was @better than the UFC."

Having competed in the UFC from 2017 to 2018, it's fair to say that Brooks has a point of comparison between the two global promotions.

During the post-event scrum, Chatri Sityodtong—the chairman and CEO of ONE Championship—touched on Brooks' comments.

"We are bigger, there's no question, in terms of viewership and engagement around the world," Sityodtong told the media.

Chatri then went on to say that he would love to see the two organizations' world champions go head-to-head on a massive card.

"I'd love to see a UFC champion versus ONE champion. I believe we'd win our fair share, they'd win some too, but I do believe that we are the better organization," he explained.

"If you look at the roster quality, what is an average athlete in ONE? He or she is a world champion in one discipline or more prior to joining ONE—like a 'Buchecha' (Marcus Almeida)—on the highest level, or like Anatoly [Malykhin] who's a Russian wrestling champion and an amateur MMA world champion. The pedigree of these guys is just a different level," the company head honcho continued.

It's hard to argue with Chatri's comments, especially with Malykhin's dominant performance last Friday, December 2.

The Russian powerhouse blasted Reinier de Ridder to add the light heavyweight belt to his collection of titles along with the interim heavyweight championship at ONE on Prime Video 5.

Chatri then continued to praise Malykhin and even went as far as to say that he could defeat any other heavyweight on the planet.

"I am telling you, Anatoly will beat any heavyweight worldwide. If you look—and I'm speaking as a lifelong martial artist—Anatoly is the complete heavyweight. There is no other heavyweight on the planet that's complete. National wrestling champion in Russia, amateur MMA champion, black belt in jiu-jitsu, one-punch KO power in boxing. Name one other heavyweight that is 12-0 with a 90% finish rate," the Thai-Japanese executive argued

Chatri also mentioned de Ridder—who's still the promotion's middleweight king—and sang his praises as well, saying that "The Dutch Knight" would have his way against the UFC's last two middleweight champions.

"He (de Ridder) would strangle the hell out of Alex Perreira. He would strangle the hell out of [Israel] Adesanya, in the first round. These guys don't have grappling, they don't have wrestling," Chatri mentioned.

Prior to his defeat to Malykhin, de Ridder did look like a world-beater.

The submission specialist ran through a gauntlet of the promotion's top-ranked middleweights to set up a showdown with then-champion Aung La N Sang in 2020.

De Ridder submitted Aung La N Sang within a round to claim the ONE middleweight championship, and he would run it back with the Burmese superstar the following year and defeat him once again—his time dethroning him from his throne as the ONE light heavyweight championship.

The loss to Malykhin was de Ridder's first.

To wrap the discussion up, Sityodtong threw some shade the UFC's way, referring to the multiple times that its own talents have spoken up about being mistreated by the Las Vegas-headquartered organization.

"Lastly, if you ask our athletes, who's happier? Which roster is happier? Which roster has a great relationship with their boss?" Sityodtong stressed with a chuckle. "On one side, their boss has never even stepped into the ring, never set foot in a martial arts school. I have been a martial artist my whole life, I understand martial arts at the highest levels. I have empathy, I have compassion, I love our athletes, and all that comes out."

"That's why Jarred was talking about it. He's not the first guy to say that ONE Championship treats its athletes so well."

According to International Business Time sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano, there is a fair possibility that the UFC and ONE Championship could explore the idea of cross-promoting a live event.

Bellator and Rizin Fighting Federation are enjoying the benefits of talent sharing through their partnership, and both worked together in hosting back-to-back events in Japan in December 2019.

This coming December 31, Bellator and Rizin will once again stage a joint fight card at the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Meanwhile, ONE Championship recently announced the date of its maiden venture on American soil.

On May 5, 2023, the promotion will hold the 10th edition of ONE on Prime Video at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, which will be headlined by a rubber match between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes for the flyweight championship.