ONE Championship news – Page 2

ONE Championship signs 5-year deal with Amazon; minimum 12 annual events to stream on Prime Video

ONE Championship has taken a significant leap in its North American exposure.

ONE Championship has taken a significant leap in its exposure to the North American audience by signing a new broadcast deal with streaming service Amazon Prime Video.

The organization, almost exclusively based out of Asia during its more than 10 years of existence, has come to terms on a five-year deal with Amazon to see no fewer than 12 events per year stream live on Prime Video in primetime hours in the United States and Canada.

ONE Championship and Amazon announced their deal Wednesday.

“ONE Championship is thrilled to work with Prime Video, one of the largest premium sports content providers in the world, to bring our live events closer to fans in the United States and Canada,” ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong said in a statement. “As the world’s largest martial arts organization, we believe our collaboration with Prime Video will allow us to reach a wider North American audience that is hungry for an authentic and differentiated product you simply cannot get with any other organization. We look forward to showcasing the absolute greatest martial artists on the planet right here in the ONE Championship Circle and on Prime Video.”

Although ONE Championship has several notable MMA fighters on its roster, from former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez to homegrown rising stars such as Angela Lee, the promotion also offers kickboxing, muay-Thai, submission grappling, and more as part of its fight card lineups.

A date and location for ONE Championship’s debut on Prime Video is expected to be revealed later this year, but the new partnership is one Amazon thought was a good fit.

“We are proud to add exclusive coverage of ONE Championship events to our suite of marquee live sports offerings,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video at Amazon. “In addition to offering a full suite of martial arts disciplines, ONE Championship shares our mutual commitment to elevate female athletes, boasting five reigning female world champions.”

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How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Eersel vs. Sadikovic’: Fight card, start time, live stream

Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: Eersel vs. Sadikovic,” which takes place this Friday in Singapore.

ONE Championship is back Friday with a mixed combat sports event, with 10 of 16 fights designated as MMA. The event also features two title bouts atop the card.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Eersel vs. Sadikovic” from Singapore.

How to watch ‘ONE X’: Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Saturday to commemorate its 10-year anniversary with “ONE X,” which includes two MMA title fights.

ONE Championship is back on Saturday to commemorate its 10-year anniversary with “ONE X,” which includes two MMA title fights.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE X” card from Singapore, where women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee (10-2) puts her title on the line against Stamp Fairtex (7-1) and flyweight champion Adriano Moraes (19-3) defends against Yuya Wakamatsu (14-4).

How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Lights Out’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Lights Out,” which includes two MMA title fights.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Lights Out” card from Singapore, where lightweight champion Thanh Le (12-2) puts his title on the line against Garry Tonon (6-0) and featherweight champ Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) defends against John Lineker (34-9).

How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Full Circle’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Full Circle,” which includes a middleweight title bout at the top of the card.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Full Circle” card from Singapore, where middleweight champion [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] (14-0) takes on challenger and welterweight champ [autotag]Kiamrian Abbasov[/autotag] (23-4).

How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Bad Blood’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Bad Blood,” which includes two title fights at the top of the card.

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Bad Blood,” which two title fights at the top of the card.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Bad Blood” card from Singapore, where Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) puts his bantamweight title on the line against John Lineker (34-9) and Kirill Grishenko (5-0) takes on Anatoly Malykhin (10-0) for the interim heavyweight title.

Stamp Fairtex, Ritu Phogat to lean on strengths in grand prix finale at ‘ONE Championship: Winter Warriors’

In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, Stamp Fairtex and Ritu Phogat will lean on their strengths in the atomweight grand prix finale.

ONE Championship will crown a winner of its women’s atomweight grand prix, with the victor earning a shot at the division’s champion.

On Friday, the featured MMA bout of ONE Championship: Winter Warriors will see [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] take on [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag] in the finals of the atomweight tournament. The winner will earn the right to challenge for Angela Lee’s title in the near future.

The event takes place on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, and airs live on the B/R Live app.

The grand prix finale matchup is a classic striker vs. grappler battle as Fairtex (7-1) is well known as a dangerous striker with her Muay Thai and kickboxing experience. On the other side, Phogat (7-1) is a smothering wrestler who would love to get this one to the mat as soon as possible to impose her will.

“If the fight goes to the ground, I will have to find a way to get back into my own game,” Fairtex said during a recent interview with ONE commentator Michael Schiavello. “I will not play her game. I think that if she would try to stand and fight with me, she would get knocked out.”

Fairtex has three first-round finishes under her belt in her ONE Championship tenure. If Phogat hopes to challenge for Lee’s title, avoiding her opponent’s striking game will be key. Dangerous in her own right, though, Phogat has a trio of finishes in her career, proving she has the ability to end fights early as well.

“In the atomweight division, my wrestling prowess has been unmatched, it’s been unparalleled,” Phogat said.”I feel that Stamp won’t be able to beat me. [I] look forward to the 3rd of December and I’m inviting everyone to understand, to see, and witness for themselves.”

The champion, Lee, is a fan of both competitors and doesn’t have a preference on who wins. She has immense respect for both women and will be ready to face whoever emerges victorious. “I really love Stamp and Ritu,” Lee said. “I think they both have such big hearts and they’re both very humble. I’ve been a fan of them for a while now so I just want to congratulate them both on being in the finals.”

The lineup of ONE Championship Winter Warriors includes:

MAIN CARD (B/R Live, 7:30 a.m. ET)

Stamp Fairtex vs. Ritu Phogat – women’s atomweight grand prix final
Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev vs. Timofey Nastyukhin
Marcus Almeida vs. Ji Won Kang
Yong Hu vs. Yuya Wakamatsu

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Proven grappling champ Marcus Almeida fully embraces MMA: ‘It’s a new chapter in my life’

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida discusses his decision to leave grappling and pursue a career in MMA.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – [autotag]Marcus Almeida[/autotag] has a new mountain to conquer.

“Buchecha,” one of the greatest and most accomplished grapplers in the history of sport jiu-jitsu, said goodbye to the mat as he now finds himself competing in the cage. Almeida (1-0) successfully transitioned to MMA in September, winning his professional debut by first-round submission under the ONE Championship banner.

It was the start of a new career as Almeida intends to invest all his efforts in MMA and no longer jiu-jitsu.

“It was amazing,” Almeida recalled fighting MMA for the first time when speaking with MMA Junkie. “To be honest, I thought I was going to be more nervous about it. Of course I was really excited, but I kept calm, and I stuck to the game plan. … I felt great, and it was better than my expectations. I think I got addicted to it, so that’s why I’m fighting again really soon. I don’t see myself leaving this sport anytime soon.”

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Almeida returns to the cage Dec. 3 at “ONE Championship: Winter Warriors.” He’s scheduled to face unbeaten heavyweight Ji Won Kang (5-0).

The 31-year-old is not fully closing the door on grappling but has no interest in competing. He believes he’s done it all in the world of jiu-jitsu and has nothing else to prove.

Almeida is eager to build a legacy in MMA, just as he did in grappling.

“I always had in my head that a real fighter always tests himself, and I want to test myself,” Almeida explained regarding his switch to MMA. “That’s what fighting is about. I test myself in the gi, and I got like 13 world titles as black belt and then I test myself no-gi, and I won two ADCC titles, which is kind of like the Olympics of grappling.

“So now I want to test myself in MMA. I did my first fight and of course I’m not done. I like it. It’s a new game. Since my last world championship, I don’t have the fire, the desire anymore to go through a camp with the gi. To win 14th time, 15th time, I think that’s not going to make a difference in my legacy.

“I proved myself already, so it’s time for a new challenge. It’s time to move on. It’s a new chapter of my life. I’m really excited about it, and it feels like a brand new beginning. It’s the same feeling when I got my black belt in 2010. I wanted to prove myself and test myself against the best. It’s a similar feeling I’m having right now in MMA.”

How to watch ‘ONE Championship: NEXTGEN III’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN III” on Friday.

ONE Championship is back Friday with the third installment of its “NEXTGEN” events.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN III” card from Singapore, where a mix of muay Thai, MMA, and kickboxing bouts will be on display.

How to watch ‘ONE Championship: NEXTGEN II’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN II” on Friday.

ONE Championship is back Friday with the second installment of its “NEXTGEN” events.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN II” card from Singapore, where a mix of muay Thai, MMA and kickboxing bouts will be on display.