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ONE Friday Fights happening tonight will be a historic event for ONE Championship. It will be the Asian organization's first event to be held inside the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand.
ONE CEO and Chairman Chatri Sityodtong, being a proud Thai and a Muay Thai practitioner himself, is absolutely honored to bring his organization inside one of the most legendary fight venues in history.
Lumpinee Boxing Stadium has housed some of the greatest Muay Thai fighters in history, including ONE world champions like Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, Tawanchai P.K.Saenchai, and Rodtang Jitmuangnon, just to name a few.
As per their landmark deal with Lumpinee, ONE will hold multiple events inside the legendary stadium this year. In an interview with SCMP MMA, the ONE CEO spoke about what fans can expect from ONE Friday Fights in 2023:
"Yes you know it is. 12 fights and every week, just to clear up the confusion, there are no prelims. There is an international card which is called ONE Friday Fights which is focused on the international markets, our international broadcast partners, 179 countries around the world which will then be a miniature version of our big flagship stadium product, the ONE number of events like ONE 164 or whatever it is."
Sityodtong continued:
"It’s a miniaturized version, so you’re gonna see kickboxing, you’re gonna see MMA, you’re gonna see Muay Thai, you’re gonna see grappling, and it’s really focused on the international market. So you’re gonna see a lot of international athletes from around the world."
Watch his full interview below:
ONE Friday Fights will feature rising stars instead of already established superstars in ONE
Apart from featuring multiple fights in different martial arts disciplines, ONE Friday Fights will act as a stomping ground for future superstars in the organization. Think of it as ONE's counterpart to Dana White's Contender Series.
Stiyodtong said:
"It’s a miniature version of our big flagship, big stadium product right? The talent level is going to be rising stars as opposed to the superstars that we have already in ONE."
He continued:
"Then the Thai card is focused on the Thai market still gonna be broadcast around the world but it’s gonna be broadcast on our digital platforms around the world but it’s gonna be very Thai focused to entertain the Thai market which is, obviously Channel 7 is broadcasting."
With ONE becoming a global powerhouse in martial arts, its roster is starting to fill up with world class athetes. This can saturate their roster fast. With events like ONE Friday Fights, they can filter out the best from the mediocre while still being able to showcase up-and-coming talents for the world to see.
