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ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said they are set to announce their plans for next year soon, which reportedly includes holding over 60 events and a return to its key markets.
The South China Morning Post MMA reported on it while official word from the promotion is being awaited. The report quoted the ONE executive as saying:
“The event calendar for next year is going to come out early next week. We will be announcing north of 60 events. When you add everything we are doing in the coming months, maybe 70, maybe more.
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“We have a bunch of others in the works. We are going back to key markets. I’m very excited for the announcement.”
ONE Championship is looking to build on what has been an eventful 2023 that has seen it set milestones on places reached and matches offered.
Back in May, the promotion held ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, its first-ever live on-ground event in the United States, which was played to a sold-out crowd in Colorado. The event also garnered a lot of interest from TV viewership as it was available, like all Amazon cards, in US primetime, free of charge for existing subscribers in North America.
It also introduced the weekly ONE Friday Fights series in January, spotlighting Muay Thai talents both from Thailand and abroad. The shows have been well received by fight fans, who enjoy the explosive nature of the matches.
New world champions have also emerged this year, particularly in submission grappling, with the likes of Danielle Kelly (women’s atomweight) and Tye Ruotolo (welterweight).
Chatri Sityodtong says there will be more MMA action for ONE in 2024
In 2023, mixed martial arts somehow took a backseat for other disciplines in ONE Championship. But the promotion’s chairman and CEO, Chatri Sityodtong, said for next year fans should expect MMA to be prominently featured in their shows once again.
According to a report in SCMP MMA, ONE is positioning more MMA matches for its packed lineup for 2024, which will see it hold shows in places like the United States, Japan, Qatar and the Philippines. The events, too, will be shown over Amazon Prime.
The report quoted Chatri Sityodtong as saying:
“You’re going to see MMA back in full force. We have our US stadium shows, we have Qatar, Japan. In the Philippines we have one or two shows.”
It should be noted, however, that ONE has yet to make its lineup for next year official, although an announcement on it is expected to be made soon.
In most of its shows this year, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling were spotlighted with events largely taking place at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
