It's time for One Championship to spend some cash and hire some well known talents.

[leto1776]

They already signed the GOAT Ben Askren.

Greatest Of All Time at wasting his time.

 

[king of theRing]

Greatest Of All Time at wasting his time.

If ufc wasnt as cheap as decent bush leagues he would have been there

 

[superpunch]

You say this but hasn't every org that tried to get bigger by hiring washed up UFC talent gone into the red? And I'm talking about western orgs that cater to American audiences who actually know the names, and it still doesn't work for them.

 

[eseseses681]

It just sucks that none of the big heavyweights and light-heavyweights are ever gonna be in ONE. There are hit-and-miss chances with just about every other big star that becomes a free agent, it depends on the guy, but there's none of that with light-heavyweight+. What notable light-heavyweights and heavyweights are based remotely close to Southeast-Asia? Being foreign doesn't matter, but I can't think of a single heavyweight or light-heavyweight that even goes to Thailand for training.
Maybe if that fat Australian goes like 4-1 or 5-0 in the UFC and enters free agency he'd be a guy ONE goes out of their way for, but I can't think of anyone else.

 

[nhbfan8080]

Chatri Sityodtong needs to throw some cash and hire some well known talents for their promotion,

Guy like Johnny Hendricks and Vitaly Minakov should be pick up by these guys and improve the roster.
Even legends like Vitor, Machida and Shogun can boost this promotion and attract some casual viewers.

ONE is more interested in growing deep roots for the next generations of fighters instead of picking up already established ones. Its a long term target instead of trying to compete with UFC/Bellator right now. And also to increase the homegrown audience numbers who are willing to pay to watch fights which might be tougher than expected because many Asian countries aren't into sports in general.

Baroni was a learning experience for them and Askren was an exception. Askren is a top elite who could've competed in the UFC after modifying his wrestling style to become more effective. He added prestige to ONE who could legitimately say that they had a genuine world champion.

I feel UFC left out by not signing Askren who could've inspired the next generation of American wrestlers on what they have to work on to fight in MMA to be more fan friendly. It was a shortsighted and penny pinching move by the UFC.

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

I think they thought they wanted him, until they realized it was better to focus on the regional market, by which time they were stuck with him. Same with Aoki, Vera, et al.

Vera is different. He represents the Philippines and is hugely popular there.

Aoki is also different to an extent because he managed to become quite popular in ONE demographic, he fought and won a lot, and he trains full time in Singapore.

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

Being foreign doesn't matter, but I can't think of a single heavyweight or light-heavyweight that even goes to Thailand for training.

Sergei kharitonov has been to train in Thailand a bunch of times i think.

 

[leto1776]

Vera is different. He represents the Philippines and is hugely popular there.

Aoki is also different to an extent because he managed to become quite popular in ONE demographic, he fought and won a lot, and he trains full time in Singapore.

After watching the ONE Warrior series, I agree about Vera. He speaks Tagalog, and everyone in the PI seems to recognize him, which I previously thought was just marketing.

 

[adifighter86]

I hope they sign some top European and Australian fighters.

 

[biomed190]

Those who watch one regularly. Is the talent pool similar to LFA levels? I really like LFA. While not top tier I find it much better than KOTC. I know Bibiano is decent based off him watching him a long time ago. I know Aoki was good too but I think both those guys are long in the tooth and shopworn. Could the new generation in one compete in a regional promotion like LFA?

 

[king of theRing]

Sergei kharitonov has been to train in Thailand a bunch of times i think.

More than you think. Alot do because is cheap and closer to where they have to fight.

One gave up on the big guys. They refused to give Roger a fight more than once a year and chi parry and vera fall out killed the heavyweight division.

 

[Koniradi98]

Imo the talent level of ONE is pretty overrated.
But it's not their fault, their market is SEA and they take what they can find there and promote the shit out of it.

 

[David Street]

For me I do not want to see them bring in old stars, I would like to see them pay out to bring more stars over from other Asian combat sports, Love fighters based in Wushu and Muay Thai, Silat...

 

[loyalyolayal]

After watching the ONE Warrior series, I agree about Vera. He speaks Tagalog, and everyone in the PI seems to recognize him, which I previously thought was just marketing.

Vera actually went full retard by getting alibata (pre-hispanic writing system that no one actually use or read) tattoos on his back.

 

[eseseses681]

Vera actually went full retard by getting alibata (pre-hispanic writing system that no one actually use or read) tattoos on his back.

How dare he choose to express himself in a way you dislike for a nitpicky reason.

 

[loyalyolayal]

How dare he choose to express himself in a way you dislike for a nitpicky reason.

 

[justbetter]

they should offer huge money to saenchai

 

[adifighter86]

They should partner with FNG, KSW, M-1 and ACB to bring European talents to their promotion.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Any scouts at the NCAAs this weekend?

 

[eseseses681]

Any scouts at the NCAAs this weekend?

Only Ben Askren. If any high-level wrassler is gonna be interested in fighting, Askren's the only bridge between them and ONE.
I'd like to see ONE have wrestling matches now that they're multi-sport oriented. It'd be the only way any of us would be able to see Askren compete again-- it's way more likely than the Georges St-Pierre fight, and at this point in his life Ben's not willing to go through the crucible just to get a title-shot-- and seeing him pin the 7th or 8th place finisher at the NCAA tournament would be cool.

They should partner with FNG, KSW, M-1 and ACB to bring European talents to their promotion.

Unless they wanna expand into Europe, they don't really have anything to gain from doing that. How many Filipinos are gonna buy a ticket because a bunch of Poles and Russians are on a ONE show?