Promotion History

2011–2013: Building Asia’s Premier MMA Promotion

ONE Championship held its inaugural event, ONE Fighting Championship: Champion vs. Champion, on September 3, 2011, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The promotion was founded with the ambition of creating a truly pan-Asian organization capable of rivaling the world’s leading MMA promotions while showcasing the region’s elite fighters.

During its early years, ONE rapidly expanded throughout Southeast Asia, staging events in:

• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Philippines

The promotion quickly attracted many of Asia’s top fighters and began crowning its first world champions.

2014–2018: Regional Expansion

Following its successful launch, ONE expanded into several new markets, including:

• China
• Myanmar
• Cambodia
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Japan

During this period, the organization also signed many internationally recognized athletes, including former UFC, Bellator, and Pride veterans, helping establish ONE as Asia’s premier MMA organization. In 2015, the company officially shortened its name to ONE Championship, reflecting its broader vision as a multi-discipline martial arts organization rather than solely an MMA promotion.

2019–Present: Becoming a Global Martial Arts Organization

Beginning in 2019, ONE significantly expanded beyond mixed martial arts by placing greater emphasis on:

• Muay Thai
• Kickboxing
• Submission grappling

The introduction of 4-ounce Muay Thai and kickboxing bouts became one of the promotion’s defining innovations, producing internationally acclaimed stars such as Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Superlek Kiatmoo9, Tawanchai PK Saenchai, and Superbon.

In 2022, ONE entered the U.S. primetime market through ONE Fight Night events on Prime Video, dramatically increasing its global audience while continuing to host traditional Asian arena events.

Rules and Format

Unlike most combat sports promotions, ONE Championship operates multiple rule sets depending on the discipline.

Mixed Martial Arts

ONE uses its own Global Mixed Martial Arts Rule Set, which differs from the Unified Rules used by the UFC in several important ways.

Key differences include:

• MMA judged as a whole, not round-by-round.
• Greater emphasis on overall damage, near-finishes, and aggression.
• Knees to the head of a grounded opponent are permitted under specific circumstances.
• Four-ounce MMA gloves are used.

World title fights consist of five five-minute rounds, while non-title bouts are three five-minute rounds.

Muay Thai

ONE helped popularize 4-ounce Muay Thai, combining traditional Muay Thai rules with MMA gloves to create faster-paced, action-oriented contests.

Features include:

• Three 3-minute rounds
• Five rounds for championship bouts
• Traditional Muay Thai techniques
• MMA gloves instead of boxing gloves

This format has become one of ONE’s signature attractions.

Kickboxing

ONE’s kickboxing division follows international kickboxing rules with:

• Three 3-minute rounds
• Five rounds for championship fights
• Eight- or ten-ounce gloves depending on weight class
• The 10-point must scoring system for kickboxing bouts.

Submission Grappling

ONE also promotes elite no-gi submission grappling.

Matches feature:

• A single 10-minute round
• Victory by submission or judges’ decision
• Judging based primarily on legitimate submission attempts (“catches”) and aggression.

Grand Prix Tournaments

ONE periodically hosts World Grand Prix tournaments across multiple sports, where elite competitors advance through bracket-style competition to determine tournament champions. These events have featured divisions in MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and submission grappling.

Broadcast History

ONE Championship has become one of the world’s most widely distributed combat sports organizations.

Early Television Expansion

During its early years, ONE secured television partnerships throughout Asia, broadcasting events in countries including:

• Singapore
• Philippines
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• China

These partnerships helped introduce the promotion to millions of viewers across the region.

Global Distribution

Today, ONE broadcasts in more than 190 countries through an extensive network of international media partners.

Current and recent broadcast partners include:

• Amazon Prime Video (United States)
• Sky Sports (United Kingdom)
• Globo (Brazil)
• Channel 7 HD (Thailand)
• U-NEXT (Japan)
• Disney+ Hotstar (select markets)

Events are also available through the promotion’s official digital platforms, extending its reach to a worldwide audience.

Digital Media

ONE has built one of the largest digital audiences in combat sports through:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Official streaming platforms

Its behind-the-scenes documentaries, athlete profiles, highlight packages, and educational martial arts content have attracted hundreds of millions of online views.

Notable Milestones

Founded in 2011

ONE Championship was established with the goal of creating a unified platform for Asia’s best martial artists and has since grown into the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Rebranding to ONE Championship

The 2015 transition from ONE Fighting Championship to ONE Championship reflected the organization’s expansion beyond MMA into multiple martial arts disciplines.

Introduction of 4-Ounce Muay Thai

ONE revolutionized modern Muay Thai by introducing elite-level competition using four-ounce MMA gloves, dramatically increasing the sport’s international popularity and creating some of combat sports’ most exciting matchups.

Expansion Beyond MMA

Unlike most combat sports promotions, ONE successfully integrated:

• Mixed Martial Arts
• Muay Thai
• Kickboxing
• Submission Grappling

under a single promotional banner, allowing world champions from multiple disciplines to compete on the same events.

Prime Video Partnership

The launch of ONE Fight Night on Amazon Prime Video marked a major milestone in the organization’s global expansion, bringing live events to U.S. primetime while significantly increasing exposure in North America.

Producing Global Superstars

ONE Championship has been home to many of the world’s most accomplished martial artists, including:

• Demetrious Johnson
• Rodtang Jitmuangnon
• Stamp Fairtex
• Superlek Kiatmoo9
• Tawanchai PK Saenchai
• Superbon
• Christian Lee
• Anatoly Malykhin
• Reinier de Ridder
• Angela Lee

These athletes have helped establish ONE as one of the premier destinations for elite martial artists across multiple disciplines.

Legacy

ONE Championship has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of Asian combat sports by evolving from a regional MMA promotion into a truly global martial arts organization. Rather than focusing exclusively on mixed martial arts, ONE has successfully elevated Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling alongside MMA, giving world-class athletes from multiple disciplines a shared international stage.

Its emphasis on martial arts values, innovative rule sets, and global accessibility has distinguished ONE from other major promotions. With events spanning Asia, worldwide broadcast partnerships, and a roster of elite champions from across the globe, ONE Championship has become a cornerstone of modern combat sports and a driving force behind the international growth of martial arts.