The president of Karate Combat had some choice words for ONE Championship. According to Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, Qatar invested in ONE earlier but since has regretted partnering with them.
ONE Championship in Qatar
ONE Championship had a sizeable investment from Qatar in 2021 and later hosted a 2024 event in the country with ONE 166: Qatar. Qatari-based sponsors such as Qatar Airways and Ooredoo have withdrawn their support for the organization. Additionally, the Karate Combat President explained that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is not happy with their investment.
Karate Combat has recently declared war on ONE Championship and is hosting an event in ONE’s former home of Singapore. On September 18, Karate Combat will go down in Singapore.
Speaking in an interview with former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, explained:
“To add to this, Qatar, one of ONE Championship’s major investors, publicly stated their embarrassment over investing in ONE FC. You can find articles about this if you look it up. This was the final straw for me. They weren’t just messing with me; they were impacting fighters’ careers during their prime. So, I decided to take action. We’re throwing an event on September 18th in Singapore, aiming to provide opportunities for former ONE FC fighters and Asian fighters and show them that there’s an alternative to what I see as a dictatorship.”
According to DealStreetAsia, ONE Championship may not be in a great financial position. The company also had multiple rounds of layoffs in 2023. Several fighters and former employees are openly complaining about their contracts with ONE and being unable to get a fight. This included names such as Jiu Jitsu talent Marcus Buchecha, former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder, and kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov.
Currently, ONE is mainly focused on Muay Thai in Thailand and promoting events in the USA. A shift from their former strategy of working in Singapore. Only time will tell if they are successful.