ONE Championship officially moves away from fight reviews, competition committee abolished

ONE Championship will now book immediate rematches for fights that end via controversial decisions.

The news first broke on the South China Morning Post following yet another questionable outcome at ONE: Heavy Hitters last Friday, January 14. In the report, a source revealed that the competition committee will also be disbanded.

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed the organization’s verdict via a text message sent to the International Business Times:

“ONE Championship will do automatic rematches for controversial decisions. ONE competition committee was disbanded [at the] end of 2021 and ONE will no longer review fights.”

The strawweight Muay Thai clash between Supergirl and Ekaterina Vandaryeva became an instant topic of discussion following the conclusion of ONE’s first event of 2022.

The Judges handed the win to the young Thai striker, who was dominated by her Belarusian rival for large periods of the nine-minute contest. After a close first round, Vandaryeva upped the pressure in the second and third frames.

The result was criticized by fans online, while several top names in the sport took to social media suggesting that Vandaryeva easily won the match. Some even pointed out that the 30-year-old athlete was "robbed" by the judges in her last outing, a majority decision defeat to American striker Jackie Buntan.

Sityodtong called for an instant rematch between the pair, while reports online also suggest that both ONE Super Series athletes have agreed to run it back.

Despite the unfortunate outcome, Vandaryeva was still gracious in defeat. The fighter, nicknamed ‘Barbie’, expressed her gratitude to the 1,000 fans who cheered her on at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

At the post-fight press conference, Sityodtong said Vandaryeva easily won the fight. He also awarded ‘Barbie’ one of three US$50,000 performance bonuses on the night.

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Fights that will light up the next ONE event

Following another memorable spectacle, the world’s largest martial arts organization will host ONE: Only the Brave next on Friday, January 28.

The event will be headlined by two undefeated heavyweight superstars. Russian tank Anatoly Malykhin will take on Belarusian colossal Kirill Grishenko for the ONE interim heavyweight world championship.

ONE’s second show of the year will also feature the semifinals of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix. Sitthichai will face off against Davit Kiria, while Marat Grigorian is set to trade leather with Chingiz Allazov to book a spot in the final, which will take place this year.