ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong Compares ONE’s Strikers To Those Of The UFC

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ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has always freely expressed his sentiments when it comes to martial arts. Most recently, he compared the difference between strikers in ONE and those in the UFC.

When speaking with the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Sityodtong went on record to explain why he believes the level of striking in ONE surpasses that of the UFC's biggest stars.

While he acknowledges that wrestling and grappling is a strong pedigree in the West, Sityodtong firmly believes the striking prowess in the Eastern hemisphere is the greatest and most technical the world has to offer.

"What you see in, let's say the UFC, is very sloppy, mediocre-ish striking because they're not strikers. A typical UFC fighter is a D-1 college wrestler, 7-0 in the minor leagues and then they do a little bit of striking then they enter the UFC," Sityodtong told SCMP after ONE Fight Night 14.

"At ONE, all these are world champions before they arrive and they're already multiple [time] world champions at their peak of their career when they arrive. Anyone from an Anissa Meksen to a [Jonathan] DiBella, a Rodtang [Jitmuangnon], or Tawanchai [P.K. Saenchai], or Superbon [Singha Mawynn] ... or any of these legit killers."

Undeniably, the UFC is the biggest MMA organization in the West. But its sheer focus centers around mixed martial arts. ONE provides a platform for MMA as well as submission grappling, kickboxing, and Muay Thai - with 50 percent of the latter two heavily featured on ONE events.

Overall, the Singapore-based promotion has over 100 World Champions in the striking arts alone. And Sityodtong believes that means only the best of the best can survive in ONE's kickboxing and Muay Thai realms.

"That's what makes us different. If you look at our roster, I think UFC has about 700 athletes and so do we. Around there. But if you look at the number of world championship titles that our athletes have won before they joined ONE, it's like half the organization," Sityodtong said.

"You go to a UFC or a Bellator, it's like maybe 20, 30 maximum. That's why you see a lot of sloppy jiu-jitsu, sloppy low-level striking in those organizations whereas in ONE you see the very, very best on the planet in each of their disciplines and of course, MMA as well. I think bar none, we have the most exciting experience for fans all over the world."

As 2023 got underway, the world's largest martial arts organization vowed to place a spotlight on Muay Thai. And they've done that with its weekly ONE Friday Fights series. The events air from Bangkok, Thailand's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, showing the country's greatest fighters to the world.

And that led to one of the biggest Muay Thai fights in recent history this past September at ONE Friday Fights 34 when ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnong met kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in a battle for the ages.

The combustible collision captured the interest of longtime combat sports fans worldwide, as well as fresh faces. The iconic battle also caught the attention of Joe Rogan, who believes Muay Thai has an untapped potential around the world.

As ONE's strikers make their way into MMA, as we've seen with ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champ Fabricio Andrade and ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex, Sityodtong's point only becomes clearer.

"I think most fans will say now that ONE is the most exciting promotion, especially if you watch ONE Friday Fights. That is some insane stuff and I think Joe Rogan even came out yesterday or the day before and was saying, 'ONE has the most exciting product,' and I agree," Sityodtong said.

"People definitely see the level difference of our strikers vs. a UFC striker, definitely. Not even close. Even our MMA strikers like a Stamp Fairtex, much, much crisper and cleaner than 99.9 percent of the roster of our competitor."