Renzo Gracie surprises Chatri Sityodtong at ONE 168 by promoting him to a black belt in jiu-jitsu

ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong just got the biggest surprise of his life when, in the midst of the ONE 168: Denver card chaos, he was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt by none other than the legendary MMA fighter himself, Renzo Gracie.

Sityodtong prides himself as a lifelong martial artist, and he is known for practicing Muay Thau on a daily basis. But aside from training in 'the art of eight limbs' all his life, the ONE Championship head honcho has also been training in BJJ.

An emotional Sityodtong was shocked to see his close friend and mentor tap him on the shoulder with the black belt live on broadcast.

Sityodtong told announce Mitch 'The Dragon' Chilson:

"In 2005 when I was living in the States, New York City, I walked into Renzo Gracie Academy, the blue basement. Before that, he's been an idol, a hero of mine. And I got my blue belt in 2007 and kept training and training. I never thought this day would come."

Sityodtong then continued to give Renzo Gracie his props. He added:

"And Renzo, you know, there would be no ONE Championship without Renzo. He came to the very first show. He flew all the way from New York. He was literally in Switzerland yesterday, flew in here. I can't thank him [enough]. This guy is not a legend, he's a superstar, a hero to billion of people all over thee world, an incredible fighter, philosopher."

ONE 168: Denver featured an absolute smorgasbord of exciting fights, featuring thrilling knockout finishes and high drama.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch the full replay of ONE 168: Denver on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.