The UFC and ONE are by far the biggest - Chatri Sityodtong says during ONE X fight week

According to Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship and the UFC are the leaders in combat sports globally. ONE Championship will be hosting its 10-year anniversary event, ONE X, on March 26.

The ONE CEO sat down with the South China Morning Post this week to discuss the event. He talked about how ONE is bigger than the PFL and Bellator. According to him, it's the UFC and ONE at the top of the pile:

"The only two big giants, really, is UFC and ONE. If you just look at pure viewership numbers, fan numbers. I mean if you go to Facebook, right, as just a proxy, I think UFC has like 38-39 million, we have 34-35 million."

Regarding comparisons to bigger US-based promotions such as Bellator and the PFL, Sityodtong stated:

"I think Bellator is at two million and I want to say PFL is at... one-and-half million... It's not even on the same scale."

Watch Chatri Sityodtong's interview with the South China Morning Post below:

A quick search indicates that YouTube channels such as Bellator and the PFL have a combined 1.74 million subscribers and ONE Championship has 4.55 million. Bellator and the PFL on Instagram have a combined 3.6 million followers, with ONE having 6.6 million.

---

Chatri Sityodtong continuing the legacy of PRIDE FC

Like many MMA fans, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong is largely inspired by Japan's now-defunct PRIDE FC.

He said in an interview with John Morgan of The Underground that he wants to build off the legacy of PRIDE and make ONE X something fans will remember. Sityodtong said:

“If you ask any combat sports fan around the world, what is the most epic martial arts event you still have goosebumps over, people say it’s PRIDE Shockwave. The PRIDE glory days are still in my mind, some of the greatest events in history, and we’re trying to beat that. PRIDE Shockwave was massive. A 100,000 people, but it was only broadcast in Japan. Here, we have an opportunity to ignite the whole world and create something truly memorable for generations.”

Watch Chatri Sityodtong's interview with John Morgan of The Underground below:

ONE X will have a special-rules matchup, submission grappling matchups, kickboxing, Muay Thai and MMA contests, and more. The full event will be broadcast on March 26 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.