Ultimate Fighting Championship Has an Asian Rival

Thai kick-boxer turned fund manager builds regional rival
One Championship plans a fight a week in cities across Asia

Fighters fight during The One: Kings & Conquerors Bantamweight World Championship in the Venetian Macao in Macau on Saturday, Aug 05, 2017.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg

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By Yoolim Lee

August 30, 2017 at 9:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Chatri Sityodtong was nine years old when his father took him to Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium for a Thai-boxing fight. The fascination for rapid, hard-hitting martial arts never left him.

The Muay Thai-mad boy grew into Asia’s foremost promoter of mixed martial arts. His One Championship is becoming Asia’s biggest competitor to Ultimate Fighting Championship, the combat mashup that has built a global fan base. When UFC champion Conor McGregor was defeated on Aug. 26 by Floyd Mayweather in a high-profile Las Vegas boxing match, the bout reached 1 billion homes with an estimated pay-per-view take of $700 million.