Dubai: The One Fighting Championship (One FC) sees Dubai as a destination not a gateway to new markets, according to director of public relations Loren Mack.
The three-year-old Singapore-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, which claims to own a 90 per cent market share in Asia, makes its UAE debut on August 29 with a ten fight card at Dubai World Trade Centre. The 6,000-seater venue is expected to sell-out, with the event telecast through 70 channels to a potential global audience of more than one billion.
One FC’s western counterpart, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), based in Las Vegas, US, and founded in 1993, has already held two events in Abu Dhabi — in 2010 and April of this year — with a view to breaking into the Asian market.
But, with its arrival in the UAE next month, One FC is not looking to go toe-to-toe with UFC, encroach on its western market or regain lost ground, according to Mack.
“It’s more of an east-west thing,” Mack told Gulf News when asked about how the $2 billion (Dh7.34b) promotions for the world’s fastest growing sport compared. “We own a 90 per cent share of Asia and attract top sponsors from the Asian region.
“I wouldn’t call Dubai a gateway to new markets either, it’s more of a destination. We look at each market as a long-term investment and the potential here is huge.
“The UAE has a long tradition of grappling and jiu-jitsu, both are the foundations of MMA. We look to continue to bring premier products to the UAE and build local talent.
“Things take time,” he added. “Asia is a lot to conquer and we have done a good job at that. We are definitely excited to be in an international city like Dubai and we are narrowing in on that first, then we’ll see what more is to come.”
Mack said that One FC has the potential to outshine other promotions thanks to its product.
“We utilise a global MMA rule set,” he said.
“One FC is as close to an MMA competition as you can get. We allow kicking of a downed opponent and all different types of elbow strikes.
“We judge a fight on its entirety, whereas unified rules [like UFC] follow a ten-point scoring system.
“The biggest difference is that fighters in our cage need to press the accelerator for three rounds. You’re not going to see a boring fight. Our last bout in Taiwan ended in ten finishes: knockouts, technical knockouts and submissions — I’d say it’s as pure as you could possibly get.
“We are going to continue our global expansion and continue to put on the biggest fights with the best fighters in MMA. We have the product everyone wants to see. But we don’t just come to a city once and never return, we keep returning and develop grassroots.”
