There has been a ton of talk regarding crossover fights between rival MMA promotions, particularly between ONE Championship and the UFC, the two biggest combat sports organizations in the world today.
Perhaps the biggest fight to be made of them all involves none of their athletes. A hypothetical dream match between ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong against UFC President Dana White is an interesting proposition, to say the least.
A recent post suggested the pairing had sparked the imagination of countless fighters, including former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera.
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Vera burst into global MMA consciousness by going on a 4-0 run to start his UFC career in 2005. He later had a career resurgence when he joined ONE Championship in 2014.
Having worked with both promotions, ‘The Truth’ has had personal experience working with both White and Sityodtong.
Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, the Filipino-American fighter explained why the outcome would be clear should the match actually take place.
“This bizarre hypothetical would have Chatri whooping Dana’s ass! For sure! Aside from athleticism, just training. Chatri trains almost everyday. Five to six days a week. He does five rounds on the pads. Chatri stays ready. So I think he’d whoop Dana’s ass. I would absolutely love that. That would probably be the highest grossing pay-per-view event ever, if that ever happened.”
Pressed for a prediction, Vera interestingly had a very specific one in mind:
“This would be Chatri, round two head kick, shin to the face!”
The martial arts roots of both the ONE CEO and the UFC President
Martial arts is the common denominator of the two promotions and, unsurprisingly, both Chatri Sityodtong and Dana White have roots in the sport.
White was a former amateur boxer before becoming a manager and promoter. He also almost fought former UFC champion Tito Ortiz in a boxing match. With the wealth of talent he has worked with in the promotion, White has also been able to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to stay in shape.
Meanwhile, Sityodtong has 35 years of Muay Thai experience under his belt and recently earned his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He also founded Evolve MMA, where he regularly trains with some of the world’s most renowned martial artists.
Sityodtong has expressed in the past that his UFC counterpart may not be up for fighting, but if there’s one thing that the world has taught us over the past couple of years, it’s that anything is possible.