ONE Championship, a Singapore-based MMA promotion, has found a television partner in the United States. According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Turner will air live ONE fights on B/R Live and also run them on tape delay on TNT.
Helwani reports that the deal begins on January 1. It includes 24 fights and a reality show that is still in development.
Turner and ONE Championship have already booked dates for the first three events of the new deal. They are January 19, February 22, and March 31. All three shows will be in Asia, which means that anyone wanting to watch them live will likely have to be up very early on the East Coast.
ONE has been very aggressive in talent acquisition lately. The company essentially traded Ben Askren for former UFC flyweight star Demetrious Johnson. In the lightweight division, ONE has added former Bellator and UFC champ Eddie Alvarez and won a bidding war with the UFC for rising star Sage Northcutt.
DAZN (Bellator) and ESPN (The UFC) are partnered with bigger, more established MMA brands in the US, but ONE’s recent success in roster building, and the various elements Turner has negotiated for make it clear that the company is serious about its investment in the sport.
