What is the difference between ONE Championship and UFC? – The Fight Fanatic
The Singaporean combat promotion ONE Fighting Championship is not well known in the West. ONE FC just made their American debut with their first live event aired on Amazon Prime, one of 25 blockbuster events they have planned for this year.
Stepping on the toes of the UFC, ONE makes massive strides in the Western market. Their first American daytime event was a huge hit, featuring world class martial arts, excellent production value, and insane value for money.
For the first time in many years, we have a strong contender on the world stage for martial arts. This is great for us fans, as these two mega-corporations must compete with one another to hold our attention.
ONE Championship hosts Muay-Thai, Kickboxing, MMA, and Submission Grappling
The UFC has a monopsony on mixed martial arts, and ONE knows this. ONE fills their fight cards top to bottom with the very best world-class talent from Muay-Thai, Kickboxing, and Submission Grappling, as well as some standouts from MMA. Your standard ONE fight card will have fights from different disciplines, so you’ll see two Thai boxers duke it out, before watching MMA, and then some submission grappling.
Muay Thai in 4oz Gloves
The best of this is probably ONE’s Muay Thai in 4-oz gloves, which is the best thing since sliced bread. Consider the world’s toughest, most ferocious strikers, with hundreds of fights under their belts. Imagine them fighting practically bareknuckle in tiny 4oz gloves. Muay Thai is typically fought with 16-oz boxing gloves, which makes a significant difference. You can hear every bone crunching strike, the crack of shin on dome, and the slap of foot on torso. It’s value for entertainment and ONE could sell this product on its own it’s so good.
What are the rules in ONE Championship?
- Mixed Martial Arts – ONE Championship uses the Global Martial Arts Ruleset, which is described as blending a combination of Best Practices from Asian and Non-Asian rules. These are essentially the same rules as the UFC, except knees to the head of a downed opponent are legal. Previously, soccer kicks to the head of a grounded opponent were legal, but have since been deemed illegal as part of ONE’s worldwide expansion plan.
- Kickboxing – ONE uses K-1 rules in their kickboxing bouts. Bouts are 3×3 minute rounds, with title fights being five rounds. Fights are scored using a ten-point must system. Fighters weighing at or below 65.5kg wear 8-oz gloves, fighters above wear 10-oz gloves.
- Muay Thai – ONE Superseries Muay Thai uses 3×3 minute rounds, with 5 rounds for title fights. Fights are scored using a 10 point must system. Elbow strikes, clinch fighting, sweeps and throws are all allowed. Fighters use open-fingered 4-oz gloves as opposed to boxing gloves.
- Submission Grappling – Using the ONE Grappling ruleset, grapplers can either win by submission or decision, which is scored over the course of one 10-minute round. Winners are determined on the “number of real submission attempts”. Yellow cards can also be issued for stalling.
What weight classes does ONE use?
| Weight Class | Upper Limit (LB) | Upper Limit (KG) | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atomweight | 115lb | 52.2kg | Female |
| Strawweight | 125lb | 56.7kg | Male / Female |
| Flyweight | 135lb | 61.2kg | Male / Female |
| Bantamweight | 145lb | 65.8kg | Male / Female |
| Featherweight | 155lb | 70.3kg | Male |
| Lightweight | 170lb | 77.1kg | Male |
| Welterweight | 185lb | 83.9kg | Male |
| Middleweight | 205lb | 93kg | Male |
| Light-Heavyweight | 225lb | 102.1kg | Male |
| Heavyweight | 265lb | 120.2kg | Male |
ONE Championship’s Weight Divisions
The UFC uses nine weight divisions as opposed to ONE’s ten. ONE introduces women’s Atomweight to account for female fighters who are too small for Strawweight.
How does ONE Championship weigh fighters?
No dehydrating in ONE Championship
ONE’s weight limits are based on a fighter’s “walking weight”. Weight cutting by dehydration is banned to promote fighter safety, instead, ONE checks fighter urine samples to check that they are hydrated, even up to three hours before a scheduled bout! The UFC allows fighters to cut massive amounts of weight through dehydration, and doesn’t allow rehydration via IV. In some states like California, they won’t let fighters cut more than 10% from what they determine to be “healthy hydrated weight”, which is a half-measure compared to ONE’s stance on dehydration.
ONE Championship Fighter Salary
Fighter salaries are not publicly disclosed. ONE does use a cash bonus known as the “ONE Warrior Bonus”, in which fighters can be awarded US$50,000 for meeting particular criteria such as:
- Thrilling the fans with exciting action
- Demonstrating an incredible warrior spirit
- Exhibiting amazing skill
- Delivering a phenomenal finish
ONE isn’t as transparent as the UFC about fighter pay (which isn’t saying a lot), but at the very least the award system is far superior.
For every event, the bar will be very, very high. If a few fighters impress me, then I will hand out the bonus to a few fighters. If no one impresses me, then no one will get it. Extraordinary performance deserves extraordinary rewards. Ordinary performances deserve ordinary rewards
“For every event, the bar will be very, very high. If a few fighters impress me, then I will hand out the bonus to a few fighters. If no one impresses me, then no one will get it. Extraordinary performance deserves extraordinary rewards. Ordinary performances deserve ordinary rewards.” – Victor Cui – CEO of International at ONE
Should you watch ONE Championship?
Without a doubt. The production value, spectacle, and skills on display all work together to give the viewer the best combat sports experience possible. ONE Championship is pure value for entertainment.
How to watch ONE Championship
ONE is moving away from free event streaming on their YouTube channel. You can still watch particular events on their channel for free, but PPV events are moving to Amazon Prime and the ONE FC website. PPV events are typically between £19.99 and £25 in the UK.
Thanks for reading!