ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said he’d still be willing to co-promote with the UFC, and said between the two promotions they could stage one of the biggest female MMA fights in history.
During a Facebook Q&A Thursday, Sityodtong was asked about his “dream matchup for women’s mixed martial arts” and offered a UFC vs. ONE Championship clash he said would generate huge interest in his part of the world.
“For women’s mixed martial arts, I would love to see Xiong Jing Nan vs. Zhang Weili,” said Sityodtong. “I think Jing Nan is the one to beat Weili.”
The two Chinese fighters hold the two promotions’ strawweight titles, albeit at slightly different weights due to the way ONE categorizes its weight classes. But the pair certainly is close enough in weight to meet in an all-Chinese super fight with UFC’s Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) taking on ONE’s Jing Nan (14-2 MMA, 5-1 ONE) in a groundbreaking cross-promoted clash.
Sityodtong also said ONE’s atomweight champion, Angela Lee (10-2), would be a worthy inclusion in any female super fight.
“I think Angela Lee vs. any atomweight in the world,” he said. “Angela Lee is incredible. I’ve seen her in training. I’ve seen her go into a bout with pneumonia with doctor’s advice not to compete and I’ve tried my best to stop the fight. Angela Lee’s an absolute warrior and she’s just a genius on the ground.”
Sityodtong was also bursting with praise for his other female superstar, Stamp Fairtex. The Thai fighter competes in three different disciplines for ONE and captured the promotion’s kickboxing and muay Thai titles when she was just 22. Now she’s making inroads as an MMA atomweight with a 4-0 record. Sityodtong said he thinks her elite striking could also make her a dangerous opponent for the Weili.
“I think Stamp Fairtex could beat Zhang Weili, as well,” said a bullish Sityodtong. “Stamp Fairtex against any female striker in the world or any female MMA fighter in the world. Even though she’s only 4-0 in MMA, she’s a complete beast.”
The chances of a UFC vs. ONE Championship card may seem unlikely, with the UFC showing little prior interest in co-promoting with other big global organizations. But Sityodtong said the door would certainly be open if the UFC ever had a change of mind, and said the sheer scale of a UFC vs. ONE card would produce something unlike anything we’ve seen in the sport to date.
“I would definitely like to see the best of the East vs. the best of the West,” he said. “UFC vs. ONE Championship I think would be phenomenal. I think the whole entire world would watch it. And I’d love to see world champions vs. world champions. So definitely, for sure, I’m open to it.”
ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong says Zhang Weili vs. Xiong Jing Nan would be a 'dream fight' for Asia
