MMA: Alvarez signing just the start to more marquee names jumping to ONE

In just seven years, ONE has exploded into the biggest martial arts organization in the world, with a talent pool that is 450 athletes deep, including a remarkable 94 world champions from across different disciplines of martial arts.

Of course, ONE would not be where they are at now without their past notable athlete acquisitions.

From Bibiano Fernandes to Brandon Vera, to Shinya Aoki, to Ben Askren, all these big names have gone on to do even bigger things under the ONE Championship banner. Alvarez is but the latest star to sign with the martial arts organization.

The 34-year old Alvarez immediately injects an exciting new dimension into ONE Championship’s already-stacked lightweight division. And while the arrival of Alvarez is no doubt one of the biggest coups in ONE Championship history, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if the Philadelphia-born star was just the beginning.

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong himself said so.

“Eddie is the first of our big signings, I think you will be surprised by announcements coming in the future,” Sityodtong said during the global conference call for ONE: HEART OF THE LION.

With ONE Championship continuing to grow not just in Asia, but all over the world, more and more stars like Alvarez are starting taking notice and it’s highly likely that a lot of them follow in Alvarez’ footsteps.

Truth be told, there are a litany of reasons why the world’s best martial artists would consider a jump to ONE.

Of course, one of the biggest factors is athlete pay, and no doubt, ONE has the means to compensate their athletes very well.

“If you look at across all the martial arts, we have the best roster, globally, and every free agent, globally, should think about ONE Championship, if they want to fight and compete on the biggest global stage of martial arts and get paid like a world champion should get paid,” Sityodtong said. “I think that's our value proposition. ONE Championship, I always say, is led by martial artists, for martial artists, it’s a very different organization compared to the other organizations.”

ONE also recently announced a massive financial windfall in its latest Series D round of funding led by venture capitalist Sequoia Capital. The funding round brought ONE’s total capital base to in excess of $250 million. This undoubtedly gives ONE the added financial muscle to lure in not only Alvarez, but also other big stars looking for a change of scenery.

Alvarez himself spoke about the offer that ONE Championship gave him, saying it was “too good to turn down.”

“ONE looked out for me, looked out for my family, they understood my wants and my needs,” Alvarez added.

Going back to what Sityodtong said, ONE Championship’s athletes perform on the biggest martial arts stage in the world, and global exposure is definitely something that can be counted on.

At any given night, ONE Championship can be seen by 1.7 billion viewers across 138 countries, surely an enticing platform for both aspiring young martial artists or established stars looking to broaden their reach.

In addition, ONE also offers all of their live events for free on the mobile app, which Sityodtong calls the ONE Super App. No other martial arts promotion in the world offers their live content absolutely free of charge. This means that anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection will be able to catch Alvarez’ ONE debut without paying a single penny.

ONE: Kingdom of Heroes, ONE’s latest spectacle which took place in Bangkok just a couple of weeks ago garnered over 25 million viewers. That’s a lot of eyes, and the kind of exposure ONE commands in Asia. Couple that with ONE’s steadily increasing TV footprint and social media metrics, and you have yourself the fastest growing sports media property in the world.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Sityodtong revealed that ONE is working on a US TV deal soon.

"You will see a major U.S. TV deal coming before the end of the year," Sityodtong told Forbes. "We're in discussions with multiple U.S. broadcasters and we're very close to signing with ONE.”

In an interview with BJPenn.com, reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera also spoke about athlete relationships as another potential selling point for ONE Championship.

“Honestly man, if I can sum it up in one word… the word [would be] respect,” Vera expressed.

“That word alone. They give the fighters the respect that they deserve as modern day samurai, as modern day elite athletes, as modern day gladiators. They treat them well for the performance that they want to see. That’s the only way I can explain it, is the amount of respect that they give to, each and everyone single one of the athletes. The attention to detail that they do for you and how well prepared they are for you, so that you can just do your job and perform to the best that evening [of your fight]. They make everything so easy for the athletes.”

“Talk to somebody from ONE Championship,” he said. “Reach out, send an email. If you are a free agent, find out if you qualify to be fighting for ONE Championship. Find out there’s a place and home for you and see if ONE Championship can do anything with you,” he continued.

While athlete pay, exposure, and relationships are all very important factors, ONE Championship, simply put, is a fresh new experience for a competitor.

The atmosphere and the energy of a ONE Championship event is comparable to none, and for a competitor, it is certainly something thrilling to be a part of.