Chatri Sityodtong has touted the success of ONE Championship’s return to Denver, with the CEO hinting at more United States shows in 2025.
The Asia-based martial arts organisation held only its second event on American soil last week at Ball Arena, with the home of defending NBA champions the Denver Nuggets packed to the rafters for ONE 168.
And Chatri all but confirmed there would be more events in the US next year with plans to visit multiple new states afoot.
“Several state athletic commissions have already approved the ruleset,” he said at the post-event press conference backstage.
“Rich Franklin, our Vice President here at ONE, is leading the charge. He’s going state by state. They’ve been very receptive.”
Filling a stadium more than twice the size of Colorado’s 1stBank Center, where ONE made its on-ground US debut in May 2023, was certainly no easy task, especially just two months after the UFC sold out the same venue. “Obviously we’re very encouraged by the fans,” Chatri added. “I think there’s only two combat sports properties in the world that could fill Ball Arena, that’s UFC and ONE, right? That’s it.
“There’s no other organisation in the US that can do that. You guys saw the fan reaction. The energy throughout the whole night, the cheering, it was just insane. You couldn’t hear yourself speak. It was an incredible, epic night.”
ONE 168 lost its original headline bout after Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex suffered a knee injury in training, while Kade Ruotolo’s grappling super fight with Mikey Musumeci also fell through a week out from the event.
But despite the setbacks, the show still provided plenty of memorable moments, none more so than Thailand’s Superlek Kiatmookao knocking out Jonathan Haggerty in 49 seconds in the main event.
“For me, personally, this was the greatest ONE Championship event we’ve ever held, for many reasons,” Chatri added.
“We had Demetrious Johnson retiring, we had Liam Harrison retiring – it was just so full of magic.”
