Anton Tabuena
ONE Championship’s former champion and face of the company talks about how the promotion is likely fighting for survival in 2020.
Shinya Aoki, who has been among ONE Championship’s biggest stars from its early years, recently wrote about the promotion’s struggles, saying that the company could be fighting for its survival in 2020.
The two-time lightweight champion penned a piece for Abema, and as translated by Karaev_Fan on twitter, Aoki brought up some of ONE Champinship’s “red flags.”
?????2020?????
— ???? shinya aoki (@a_ok_i) January 1, 2020
Shinya Aoki wrote a short essay for Abema, noting that “survival” is likely to be the theme for ONE Championship in 2020. Notes that low view numbers and the postponement of the next ONE Japan card are red flags and that fighters should expect there to be a round of cuts in 2020 https://t.co/5wftJ6xVQu
— Karaev fan (@Karaev_Fan) January 1, 2020
He notes that while K-1, RISE and RIZIN have found success in raising new stars, ONE is still lacking young talent that are building the genre
He urges them not to get comfortable with living off of a platform and to shift their mindset to expanding the pie
— Karaev fan (@Karaev_Fan) January 1, 2020
Despite their constant bold claims about big numbers and incredible success, ONE’s financial troubles have actually been well documented and paint a completely different picture. Documents from Singapore showed that ONE had accumulated losses of S$92.6 million as of 2017, and their spending has only increased in the following years.
Bringing up financial issues, low viewership, and a possible round of cuts isn’t the most shocking revelation to those who have been paying enough attention, but what comes as a bit of a surprise is the person talking about it now. ONE Championship and Evolve MMA has a history of trying to control the narrative and taking action against fighters who speak out or step out of line. And for years, Aoki has been the face of both those Chatri Sityodtong-owned companies.
Aoki also did explain that with the MMA promotion’s uncertain future, he’s also been trying to diversify his income streams, which includes giving his expert opinion on the sport and writing editorials like this.
The 36-year-old JMMA star has won five of his last six bouts, compiling a record of 44-9 (1 NC) in a career that saw him win belts from ONE, DREAM, Shooto and WAMMA.