At Wednesday’s ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov press conference, ONE Championship Chairman & CEO Chatri Sityodtong made a huge announcement for what 2023 has in store for striking fans.
The ONE founder laid out plans for a 16-man tournament featuring the world’s best and brightest Muay Thai practitioners facing off against one another in the ONE Openweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.
The tournament will begin later this year and each entrant will compete for a one-million-dollar grand prize.
“I promise you this will blow up the sport all over the world. With our global broadcast, people will be tuning in from all over the world. The very best – the very, very, very best, irrespective of weight class – Muay Thai world champions will be competing. Sixteen of the world’s best,” Sityodtong said.
No official date was given for when the historic grand prix would begin, and no athletes were announced to take part in the tournament. But, Sityodtong asked the fans to tell him who they want to see competing.
“Fans all over the world, please tell me who you want to see. Do you want to see Superbon? Do you want to see Rodtang? Who do you want to see, because this is an openweight grand prix,” he said.
Both men mentioned will have a chance to shine at ONE Fight Night 6 before the ground-breaking tournament kicks off.
With ONE launching a weekly event series at Lumpinee Stadium and the huge announcement, the Singapore-based promotion is making sure Muay Thai will be front and center in 2023.
The use of four-ounce gloves in ONE has made Muay Thai one of the most exciting martial arts to watch, and this tournament will only prove to ignite more fervor around it.
ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov airs live on Prime Video on Friday, Jan. 13. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET and is free to all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.