In April, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video had struck a deal with Singapore-based ONE Championship, the largest mixed-combat-sports promotion offering MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling. The plan was to have Amazon Prime Video broadcast 12 ONE events each year, beginning sometime in 2022.
On Tuesday, Jul. 12, per a press release, it was announced that on Wednesday, Jul. 20, the two organizations would be holding a joint press conference to officially launch the broadcasting partnership. The press conference will take place at The Novo in Los Angeles and is free and open to the public.
In addition to ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Amazon Vice President of Global Sports Video Marie Donoghue, and ONE Vice President Rich Franklin, a handful of fighters will attend the event, including ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes, top flyweight contender Demetrious Johnson, and the world-champion grappler, who is now an undefeated MMA fighter, Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida. While the events that will air on Amazon Prime Video have not yet been announced, it should be noted that all three of those athletes are scheduled to fight on the ONE 161 card on Aug. 26.
With the broadcasting deal scheduled to hold five events in the remainder of 2022, it would only make sense to air one event each month from August through December, but that schedule will likely be announced next week.
ONE 161: Moraes vs. Johnson II takes place, Friday, Aug. 26, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and the primetime event will start at 9 p.m. ET. The event not only features the main-event championship rematch between Moraes and Johnson, but will also showcase the bantamweight Muay Thai title bout between Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Liam Harrison, as well as two bouts from the flyweight Muay Thai grand prix.
The joint press conference on Jul. 20 will take place at 9 p.m. ET, and will air live on ONE Championship’s YouTube and Facebook pages.