“Ask Your Athletes Who’s Happier?” – Chatri Sityodtong Takes a Subtle Dig at Dana White as He Explains How ONE Championship Is Better Than the UFC

Published 12/05/2022, 6:15 AM EST

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Chatri Sityodtong is the CEO of the Asia-based global MMA promotion, ONE Championships. He is known to the MMA world for his outspoken nature and highly ambitious recent ventures to popularize ONE across the entire globe. Sityodtong has always been speaking of ONE with high esteem. Recently, he also compared ONE Championship to the grandest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC.

But Sityodtong didn’t hesitate, as he stated that ONE Championship was a lot better than the UFC in various respects. ‘The ONE Championship boss’ also mentioned that fighters in ONE are a lot more content and share a close relationship with the CEO, unlike the UFC.

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Chatri Sityodtong fired at the UFC boss Dana White

Sidyodtong has always been vocal about the happiness index of ONE fighters, which according to him, was better than UFC fighters. He also appeared at the ONE 164 post-event press conference, which was of this year’s final showdown by ONE.

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The ONE Championship boss addressed the UFC president, Dana White stating, “Ask your athletes who’s happier? Which roster has a great relationship with their boss? I understand them.”

Sityodtong has trained in martial arts himself. Thus, he implied that being a martial artist facilitates a better understanding between him and his fighters.

The ONE boss mentioned, “On one side the other boss has never stepped in the ring or a martial arts school. I understand martial arts at the highest levels, I have empathy and compassion. I love our athletes, and all that comes out”.

Sidyodtong also brought up the 2021 figures published by Nielsen, which rated sports franchises in terms of their viewerships and fan engagement.

In 2021, ONE Championship got the better of the UFC amassing a whopping 13.8 million video views across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. ONE claimed the second spot on the list while the UFC stood at the fifth position.

Chatri Sityodtong lauded the quality of athletes in his roster with a ONE vs UFC wish

Sityodtong also claimed that ONE Championship is better than the UFC in terms of the quality of athletes signed into the promotion. He stated, “If you look at roster quality, what is an average athlete in ONE? He or she is a world champion in one discipline or more prior to joining, at the highest levels. The pedigree of these guys is just different level.”

Sityodtong also put up the names of Demetrious Johnson and the Ruotolo Brothers as some of the elite athletes currently competing under the ONE Championship franchise.

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It was also evident that Sityodtong wanted a matchup between UFC fighters and ONE Championship fighters to prove their superior quality. He said, “I’d love to see a UFC versus ONE, champion versus champion.”

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Quite expectedly, different people will have different opinions about it. But, looking at Nielsen’s figures, a lot would agree that Sityodtong wasn’t too wrong regarding his words about ONE Championship being better than the UFC in quite a few respects.

So, which one would you prefer, ONE or UFC?

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Written by:

Souvik Roy

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Souvik Roy is currently a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. An avid UFC follower, Souvik combined his love for the sport and his passion for words to turn his interest into his Livelihood. A Diploma holder in Electrical Engineering, Souvik has worked as a Freelance Link Builder and Content Writer previously and wrote for various clients and businesses.
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Edited by:

Rohini Kottu