Watch this intense documentary about Chatri Sityodtong and the rise of ONE

It’s no secret that ONE Championship was brought forth into the world through the visionary wisdom of CEO Chatri Sityodtong and his team.

While the promotion has now grown into a global power, its inception is far from easy. Sityodtong had to battle personal and professional mountains not just to help found ONE Championship but lead the martial arts promotion into what it is today.

ONE Championship’s journey from an upstart promotion to a worldwide phenomenon has been written several times over, but martial arts YouTuber Patrick Gavia produced a short yet detailed documentary on how the organization rose to prominence.

Though the documentary shone a light on ONE Championship’s rapid growth, it also detailed the inspiring personal and professional journey that Sityodtong went through.

The 27-minute-long video showed Sityodtong, now one of the most influential people in the overall martial arts realm, battling through personal struggles on his way to graduating from Harvard University and using that education to change his and his family’s fortune.

The documentary also showed how Sityodtong switched his career from a budding megastar in the investment world to ultimately realizing his vision of creating an organization rooted in his identity as a martial artist:

“I climbed to the top of Wall Street, I owned a $500 million business, making millions a year, and I was depressed inside. I didn’t understand the concept of ‘Ikigai’ at that point,” said Sityodtong in a video of his TEDx talk that was used in the documentary.

“Ikigai” is the Japanese word for “life purpose” and it was this concept that ultimately pushed Sityodtong and his team to form ONE Championship. It was "Ikigai" that eventually re-ignited Sityodtong’s drive and practically unite all of the world’s martial arts into one place.

Even though ONE Championship began to take root, it wasn’t until a fateful series of events converged together to launch the promotion into the stratosphere.

More than a decade after its inception, ONE Championship has risen to a global name that has showcased the best martial artists across MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling.

For more of ONE Championship’s rise, check out Gavia’s documentary below: