Rating programs should not new in fight sports activities, and ONE championship is not a brand new promotion. This raises the query of whether or not we must always maintain the ONE championship to a normal much like that of the UFC or top-level boxing. If we had been to carry them to that, an appropriate rating system could be the minimal we might ask of them.
Nevertheless, they’re failing in that regard and failing badly.
The MMA fighters signed to ONE Championship appear dissatisfied with their inactivity and being outright ignored by the matchmakers. Prime-ranked flyweight Reese McLaren would go on to say in an Instagram put up.
“with the promotion shifting its focus in direction of Muay Thai and kickboxing, together with being ghosted by a matchmaker and an absence of communication, I really feel it’s time for me to maneuver on. As a competitor, I want to remain energetic and proceed rising.“
McLaren isn’t the one MMA fighter to talk as even the likes of Reinier De Ridder, two weight divisions for the promotion. I’d additionally inform different fighters to keep away from signing with ONE Championship.
“This is something that’s hard for me to talk bad because I had a couple of good years at ONE as well. In the beginning they treated me well, but over the last couple of years it’s been really bad.”
“This is something I feel I have to do for other fighters, if you think of signing with ONE Championship, don’t. It’s that simple, you should not, there’s nothing there, there’s no fights, you’re just wrong if you do this. If you sign there it’s a bad mistake.”
That is simply on the MMA facet of the issue, however you might ask, ” What does this should do with the rankings?” That’s a great query. The reply is that there are barely any rankings within the first place.
ONE Championship’s rating system: A more in-depth look.
If we had been to go to the fighter rankings web page for ONE, the issue would instantly develop into obvious: the rankings are barren. They’re so barren that there are not any rankings for all fight sports activities after the featherweight division.
This implies there are basically simply the champion and some fighters. Together with rankings, solely monitor 5 fighters per division and a really missing quantity in comparison with different promotions.
That’s unacceptable not solely in MMA but in addition in Kickboxing and Muay Thai. One has had a stranglehold on Muay Thai, as its variation has made it as mainstream as ever.
Particularly since ONE is a promotion working out of Singapore and owned by Thai nationwide Chatri Sityodtong, together with the corporate holding practically all of its occasions in Thailand and renting out Lumpinee Stadium each Friday for its Muay Thai occasions.
So the truth that ONE has but to fill out even their Muay Thai rankings within the lighter divisions in a nation recognized for Muay Thai is frankly insane.
This situation additionally notably plagues kickboxing as Pound for Pound Quantity kickboxer on the planet, Chingiz Allazov, would infamously sever his ties with ONE over disagreements on the technology’s nice profession and, most lately, even Muay Thai. Russian Muay Thai Light-weight Dmitry Menshikov is trying to go away ONE utilizing authorized motion.
For sure, this can’t persist. As these issues will solely serve to harm ONE sooner or later if doesn’t kind out these points plaguing its promotion and in consequence system of rating fighters.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: UFC CEO Dana White is seen on stage through the UFC 311 press convention at Intuit Dome on January 16, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photograph by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
Classes ONE can study from the UFC.
The UFC, for the issues one can criticize them for, is superb at making a comparatively easy-to-follow product. As for those who had been to go to their fighter rankings web page. It could present that they monitor 15 fighters per division, which exhibits that even in additional stagnant divisions like the present heavyweight division.
There are nonetheless narratives to be instructed and thrilling matchups to be made, which is able to repay in thrilling fighter journeys, rivalries, and, after all, title photographs. This additionally provides status to the belt, as the entire fighters within the division are marketed as having the potential to someday develop into champions; thus, the title of champion within the UFC means a lot greater than an MMA champion in ONE.
This can be a moderately simple drawback to repair for ONE as they’re now a world powerhouse in martial arts and have come the closest to creating kickboxing and Muay Thai mainstream in ways in which Glory and k-1 haven’t been in a position to obtain for a while now.
So, for one, the pathway is obvious, however it isn’t clear whether or not they make the appropriate selections for the great of Muay Thai and Kickboxing, which we don’t. As a man who loves these two sports activities probably the most, I certain hope they do.
