ONE Championship targeting 50 events in 2020, including plans for U.S. debut

Asian MMA promotion ONE Championship has unveiled ambitious plans to stage 50 live events throughout 2020 as part of a packed schedule of shows that spans its martial arts and esports entities.

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced on social media Sunday night that the organization will host 50 shows across its various sports and entertainment properties, including its main ONE Championship MMA brand, feeder shows ONE Warrior Series and ONE Hero Series, and its newly launched e-sports arm, ONE Esports.

“I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship will produce a record high 50 events in 2020 (vs. our prior record of 42 events in 2019) across our key properties: ONE Championship, ONE Super Series, ONE Hero Series, ONE Warrior Series, and ONE Esports,” Sityodtong stated.

The main ONE Championship event season for 2020 kicks off Friday with “ONE Championship 106: A New Tomorrow” in Bangkok, Thailand, with a card packed with muay Thai matchups, as well as the MMA return of two-sport ONE champion Stamp Fairtex.

In addition to events in its regular host cities of Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, ONE plans to continue its expansion into China, as well as holding events in India and, “if all goes according to plan,” the United States.

ONE made its first inroads into the U.S. market with a media day in 2019 featuring familiar star names Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Miesha Tate and Vitor Belfort, but no formal plans for a U.S. show have been announced so far.

The promotion, which has events featuring a mix of MMA, kickboxing and muay Thai matchups, held 22 major ONE Championship MMA events in 2019, and 42 ONE-branded shows overall.