ONE Championship’s primary goal in 2023 was to put a spotlight on the elite Muay Thai competitors on its roster. And, having brought multiple world-class striking talents to the global stage over the last 12 months, it seems the promotion will shift its focus back to MMA in the new year.
ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has been busy planning 2024, and the two biggest announcements so far have been related to the all-encompassing sport, with two-weight world champion Christian Lee set to return and a rematch for the ONE strawweight MMA world title booked for the coming months.
Sityodtong outlined his satisfaction with the promotion’s accomplishments this year and went further into its exciting 2024 schedule in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.
“You’re going to see MMA back in full force. We have our US stadium shows; we have Qatar (and) Japan. In the Philippines, we have one or two shows,” he said.
“ONE Friday Fights and the Muay Thai product are very much on a firm footing now. We’ve laid the groundwork and feel very comfortable it’s running on autopilot, and now we’re able to scale up. We’ve firmly established we have the No. 1 striking property on the planet. The focus will be sharply back onto mixed martial arts.
“The event calendar for next year is going to come out early next week. We will be announcing north of 60 events. When you add everything we are doing in the coming months, maybe 70, maybe more.”
ONE Championship set a record for the number of shows this year, but it appears that even more are in the works for 2024, meaning there will be no letup in the amount of action fans will be treated to.
The organization also broke new ground in May, when it held its first event on US soil in Denver, Colorado, and it seems more audiences around the world will be getting a chance to see what ONE can do live in the new year – including a possible debut show in Europe, per Sityodtong.
“Yeah, knock on wood. I think in the next couple of weeks, I will be making a major announcement for Europe, our biggest for Europe in our history. It’s very exciting,” the ONE co-founder revealed.