New Figures Show That ONE Championship Is UFC’s Global Rival

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Singapore, January 6: The global mixed martial arts industry has been a tale of two halves over the last few years - but that might be about to change.

ONE Championship and the UFC are the biggest promotions in the world, with ONE owning the lion's share of the Eastern market and the Las Vegas-based promotion reigning as king in the West.

However, new figures - released by Nielsen as part of their "2022 Year In Review - Sports Consumption Evolution" - suggest that the competitive Western market is definitively a two-horse race.

The numbers, which are based on the promotion's activities, social media followings, and viewership numbers, show that ONE is the clear number two in the western hemisphere.

According to the 2022 report, ONE was the most active MMA promotion in the world last year, staging 63 events. The UFC hosted 43, while the next-most active promotion put on 18 shows.

Despite the number of events, it is the UFC that has the larger roster of athletes, with around 700 at the time of the report, while ONE has around 600 on its books.

The social media figures are also telling. The UFC has the largest following, with 115 million across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok. ONE is a clear second with 54 million - a staggering 45 million more than the third-placed promotion.

However, it is the organic video viewership numbers that paint an interesting picture. In the past 12 months, ONE clocked up 7.3 billion organic video views across their social media platforms, while the UFC managed 4.3 billion.

Though the UFC has more followers, the viewership figures show that ONE is closing the gap on the American promotion.

ONE has made significant strides into the U.S. market of late, broadcasting monthly live events in North American primetime via streaming giant Amazon Prime.

Asia's largest combat sports promotion is set to embark on an exciting new chapter in its evolution this year, with the announcement of ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III - its debut on-ground US show.

ONE will roll out the big guns at the 1stBank Center in Bloomfield, Colorado, on May 6. The event will be headlined by the trilogy showdown between ONE Flyweight World Champion and American legend Demetrious Johnson and former flyweight king Adriano Moraes.

As ONE - spearheaded by Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong - takes the latest step in its promotional evolution, only time will tell if its foray into the U.S. market will push the needle further in its favor in the global combat sports tug-of-war.

Source: Media Release