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ONE Vice President Rich Franklin was quite skeptical when Chatri Sityodtong first proposed to add Muay Thai bouts to ONE Championship’s previously MMA-exclusive cards.
The UFC Hall of Famer, after all, is admittedly old-school and wondered if fans would pay money to see a striking-only affair in a mixed martial arts event.
It didn’t take long for Franklin to change his tune upon witnessing the beauty and allure of ‘The Art of Eight Limbs’ up close.
The ONE executive recently reunited with his MMA buddies ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh Thompson, by serving as a guest in their Weighing In Podcast.
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Among the many interesting topics discussed was ONE’s rather unorthodox idea to introduce Muay Thai matches to its MMA cards.
“When Chatri [Sityodtong] first introduced this concept to the leadership team, I remember sitting on the phone on the opposite side of this conference call. And he's like, ‘I want to put a Muay Thai match on the card. And I was like, ‘Who comes to an MMA event to watch Muay Thai? Like that was that was my reaction. And then I watched the first event where we had a Muay Thai match. And I was like, ‘Yeah, it was pretty good., but I don't want to like it.’”
Rich Franklin continued:
“I watched the second one with the Muay Thai match and I was like, ‘This was actually a really good idea.’ You know? And so it was like I was born again, I guess, so to speak with the the concept.”
ONE’s first-ever Muay Thai match showcased Sam-A Gaiyanghadao knocking out Joseph Lasiri at ONE: Global Superheroes in Manila back in 2018.
The rest, as we now know, is history. The promotion’s Muay Thai fighters are now considered the best in the world, with elite world champions in multiple divisions.
It’s also the most exciting striking affair on the planet, as the four-ounce gloves added extra flair to Thailand’s national sport.
ONE is now the world’s largest martial arts organization, featuring MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling matches, on top of its super fights and special rules offerings.
Watch Rich Franklin’s full interview, here:
