ONE Championship, the regional Asian mixed-martial arts promotion, has tapped global commercial agency CAA to lead its licensing efforts across the continent.
The CAA Brand Management arm will help craft ONE’s licensing programming, with a focus on “fan engagement, community building, wellness, and self-improvement.”
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This partnership will seek to leverage ONE’s primary brand assets, including its top-line numbered events, its regular Fight Nights, and a roster of fighters that include Thai icons Rodtang and Superlek (among a range of Thai legends), Japanese star Yuki Yoza, British fighters Jonathan Haggerty and Nico Carillo, and US-Singaporean Christian Lee.
Speaking on the deal, CAA Brand Management’s head of Asia-Pacific (APAC) Elaine Chiu said: “ONE Championship is a global content powerhouse that we are thrilled to partner with to bring licensed products to their ardent fanbase. At this pivotal moment of exponential growth for ONE, establishing its licensed consumer products in these key home markets is very exciting.”
Hua Fung Teh, ONE’s co-founder and group president, added: “Our passionate fan base across Asia continues to drive ONE Championship’s massive growth. Partnering with a global leader like CAA Brand Management allows us to deepen our connection with these martial arts fans beyond our live broadcasts.
“We will leverage their incredible expertise to create new, innovative brand experiences that resonate with our multi-generational audience. We are thrilled to take this next step in elevating the ONE brand throughout our key regional markets.”
The company’s core markets are Thailand (where the vast majority of its events are held), Singapore (where the company is headquartered), and Japan, which is its newest target international market.
Indeed, ONE’s upcoming April 29 event will be the first under its new One Samurai brand of Japan-focused fight cards, through which it aims to establish a foothold in the country’s burgeoning combat sports market.
To this end, it has established fighter agreements with local MMA and kickboxing promotions Knockout, Rise, Shoot Boxing, Shooto, and Pancrase to help fill the events with Japanese talent.
Besides the aforementioned Yuki Yoza, who will compete at One Samurai 1 against ONE bantamweight kickboxing World Champion Haggerty, ONE’s roster of Japanese fighters also includes flyweight MMA World Champion Yuya Wakamatsu (who will fight Avazbek Kholmirzaev at the event) and atomweight muay thai World Champion Nadaka (who will face Songchainoi at the event).
That event will take place at the 15,000-capacity Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The first One Samurai card will be headlined by Japanese kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa, who will face Rodtang in his retirement bout, which will also be for the ONE interim flyweight kickboxing World Championship.
For CAA, this represents the latest addition to its APAC client portfolio.
The CAA Sports representation arm has expanded heavily into the region over the past year.
In March, the firm added two new vice-presidents for the region, where it boasts partners such as motor racing’s Formula 1, the Red Bull Racing F1 team, esports organization Riot Games, T1 Entertainment, English soccer giants Chelsea, and US soccer side LAFC. It also represents individual talent, including South Korean soccer star Son Heung-Min.
