Exchange of harsh words and insults by their fighters has always been the staple of every mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.
Not for ONE Championship, Asia’s top MMA media organization.
Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of the One Championship, said they are doing away with that sort because “Martial arts is not about negativity. It’s about integrity, honor, courage, humility, respect and discipline.”
Taking a notch higher, Sityodtong has teamed up with Global Citizen, a global non-government organization (NGO) with the goal of ending extreme poverty across the world, for the organizations Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).”
“This will be our CSR. Yes, we are an MMA organization with a heart, probably the only one in the world,” said Sityodtong, during the launch of the partnership on Monday at the grand ballroom of the City of Dreams in Pasay City.
Headquartered in New York with offices in Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Global Citizen was founded in 2012 with the goal of building the largest platform where people can learn about issues and join a global movement working to end extreme poverty by 2030.
The partnership will harness the power of ONE’s platform to engage in billions of martial arts fans around the world to support the initiatives and find solutions to the issues associated with extreme poverty.
ONE Championship has 1.7 billion audiences at any given championship night around the world.
To date, the actions by Global Citizen’s global community, along with its high-level advocacy efforts and various partners, have resulted in 130 commitments and policy announcements from leaders, including financial aid valued at over US $35-billion, that is set to affect the lives of over 1.3 billion people.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with ONE Championship to bring Global Citizen to Asia. ONE Championship reaches millions of young people around the region and together we will engage them on issues that impact the entire world,” said Wei Soo, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Global Citizen
ONE Championship has been promoting MMA talents in Asia, creating heroes, telling their stories of perseverance through martial arts for children to emulate.
One of them is the Philippines’ Eduard Folayang of Benguet-based Team Lakay.
Folayang, the former ONE lightweight world champion, rose to become a household name not only in the Philippines but also in Asia.
Folayang, along with ONE world heavyweight champion Brandon Vera and women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee of Singapore, were introduced as brand ambassadors of the Global Citizen.
