The simmering tensions between Japan’s resurgent Okay-1 and Singapore-based ONE Championship have boiled over, with Okay-1 chief Carlos Kikuta taking direct purpose at ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s administration. In a scathing assertion, Kikuta raised questions on ONE’s monetary practices and its sustainability.
Okay-1 Slams ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong
“Let’s be serious,” Kikuta mentioned in a press release translated from Japanese concerning ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong, “ONE has raised more than $500 million in total from GIC, Temasek Holdings, Heliconia Capital, Mission Holdings, Sequoia Capital’s Indian and US funds, and Vulcan Capital, an investment company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, among others, and raised another $50 million from the Qatar Investment Authority in October of this year. In other words, it has used up the more than 750 million yen it has raised so far and raised another 60 million yen. So, does ONE have a good manager or not?”
Kikuta’s remarks come as Okay-1 continues its rebirth beneath his administration, capitalizing on its storied historical past in Japan. In the meantime, ONE Championship has been creating nice high quality occasions in Thailand and Tokyo. The 2 organizations are staring one another down with wins and losses on either side.
ONE Championship vs. Okay-1 World GP
Chatri Sityodtong has positioned itself as Asia’s reply to the UFC however has confronted scrutiny over its funds. The group has raised over half a billion {dollars} in funding capital from high-profile entities, which was what Carlos Kikuta is citing. Varied studies recommend that ONE has suffered important losses. Nonetheless, these statements have been largely rejected as false by ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Nonetheless, ONE lately booked the extremely anticipated Takeru Segawa vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon in Tokyo for March, proper in Okay-1’s yard. This is likely one of the greatest fights of the technology, one of the best of kickboxing going through one of the best of Muay Thai. Moreover, many Okay-1 fighters have left the group to compete in ONE Championship.
Carlos Kikuta
Carlos Kikuta took over as Okay-1 producer in July 2023 and has in depth expertise within the fight sports activities world, together with stints with GLORY the UFC, and Okay-1 in its early 2000s heyday. Okay-1’s technique features a important worldwide enlargement in 2024. The promotion goals to carry nationwide tournaments in international locations like Brazil, the Netherlands, the USA, and China, culminating in a year-end championship in Tokyo.
The rivalry between these two organizations might sign a broader shift within the fight sports activities panorama. For followers and fighters alike, the stakes have by no means been increased. Each corporations are looking for to dominate the hanging sports activities market with Japan on the road.
