Fight Hub TV contributor Pete Tarpin had the opportunity to speak with the head of ONE FC, Victor Cui in depth. Cui shares the origins of the Asian based organization, his future plans for ONE FC and how he plans to turn the company into the biggest Asian based promotion for MMA.
By Pete Tarpin
FHTV: Tell us a bit about how ONE FC came to be?
VC: I have spent the last 15 years of my career in the sports media industry with ESPN StarSports and the PGA Tour, helping to organize events such as the X Game Asia, the Olympics, PGA Tour, World Cup Indoor Soccer, and many other world-class events. I’ve never seen a sport like MMA take over the sports world before – MMA has skyrocketed with 30x growth in the last 10 years and it’s barely scratched the surface of its potential. For example, less than 1% of the 3.9 billion people in Asia have heard of or watched MMA. Many experts believe that it has a real chance of becoming the largest sport in the world…yes, even bigger than soccer. ONE Fighting Championship really began as a product of my passion and my expertise. I have always loved martial arts; as a child, I learned to box from my father in our backyard and I also even earned a black belt in Taekwondo. An enormous market opportunity, coupled with my passion and my expertise, is simply a dream. I am living my dream right now.
FHTV: One FC has a bit of the “Pride FC” feeling to it, was this something that you sought to do?
VC: I’ve been working on ONE Fighting Championship for about 1 year now…putting the business plan together, rounding up a group of foreign investors, striking distribution deals, signing up the best fighters and world champions in Asia, etc and of course in that planning and creation you look at the success of PRIDE FC and what they did. The fact is that MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world…I have the expertise…and Asia has been the birthplace and home of martial arts for the last 5,000 years. If anyone is going to be able to commercialize martial arts in Asia, it is me.
FHTV: Your most recent event was a huge success, when can we expect the next event?
VC: The media coverage has been spectacular…truly beyond my wildest expectations…and I have very high expectations as a businessman anyways. ONE Fighting Championship has been featured in Reuters, Yahoo Sports, Eurosport, Channel NewsAsia, The Bleacher Report, and so forth. If you look at my email inbox, you will see that it is completely flooded with incoming emails from fighters, managers, sponsors, media partners, etc. I’ve never seen so many emails a day in my life! I need more hours in the day to respond to all the requests. The media has already crowned us the UFC of Asia and you can expect better and better events as we continue to grow.
FHTV: How many events are planned for 2011, 2012 and beyond?
VC: The frequency will scale up with each year. Right now, I have 8 events planned for the next 12 months and we will eventually scale it up to 24 events a year.
FHTV: Are you signing fighters for long term deals or one offs?
VC: All of the fighters we sign to ONE FC are for long term partnerships and global exclusivity.
FHTV: When will we begin to see championship bouts in each class?
VC: The great thing about ONE FC and the ONE FC Network that we launched is that it brings together all the champions from every major event in Asia already. Most of the fighters on our cards are already multiple times over champions in some discipline. Eventually, we will be crowning world champions but for the moment, we are focused on bringing the best fighters together and giving them the biggest stage and TV broadcast exposure to grow as an athlete.
FHTV: Battle of the Heroes had fantastic match ups and was a pleasure to watch. What do you look for when putting a bout together?
VC: For lack of a better analogy, One Fighting Championship is the UFC of Asia, but with a focus on the best Asian fighters. I have a simple philosophy: I just want the best Asian fighters in Asia on our show. I don’t care if it’s a guy or a girl. If you’re a world champion martial artist and you want to let it all hang in the cage, then I want you. If you are the baddest fighter in your country in Asia, then I want you. If you think you’re the best MMA fighter, then I want you. One Fighting Championship is about the best Asian fighters competing on the biggest Asian stage.
FHTV: I noticed the “Human Weapon” was calling your bouts, can we expect to see Jason Chambers as a fixture in ONE FC?
VC: Jason is an outstanding addition to the ONE FC Family and fans can expect to see him out in Asia again.
::At this point Victor Cui informs me that Jason Chambers is on the other line and would like to chime in real quick about working the latest ONE FC event::
FHTV: Hey Jason, so how was it like going to Asian and working the ONE FC event?
JC: Having the ability to travel to the land (Asia) that birthed many of the Martial Arts we see today was a wonderful experience. The culture, people and general ambiance of the East is spectacular.
FHTV: What did you think of the talent displayed that night?
JC: There are some exceptionally talented fighters coming up through the ranks and ONE FC has done a tremendous job of giving them a platform to showcase their skills.
FHTV: So with this experience behind you, how do you look at it with a hindsight point of view?
JC: I am honored to be part of the ONE FC family. Victor has the business acumen and sports background to create something magical for MMA fans worldwide. I was able to see firsthand how passionate Victor is when it comes to Martial Arts and that passion ignites the best in everyone around him. ONE FC has already formed a plethora of relationships with other organizations, gyms, fighters and media in short order. I feel like they fill the gap “PRIDE” left with the Zuffa acquisition, by seamlessly merging spectacular fights with great entertainment. I gotta run now guys, good speaking to you!
FHTV: Thanks Jason. So Victor, the 10 year deal with ESPN is nothing short of amazing, how did you convince them to come on board when many companies like Bellator could not.
VC: This is an unprecedented TV partnership and shows just how confident ESPN is in ONE FC and in what I am doing. There is no sport organization that has this level of a partnership. Of course, my 15 years in the sports media industry has helped to open doors to creating world-class events. With ONE Fighting Championship, I am the first legitimate businessman with deep sports media experience to head an MMA organization in Asia.
FHTV: Do you see ONE FC bringing in womens MMA?
VC: We just announced for our March 31st card the debut fight for Singapore’s first Pro MMA Fighter, Nicole Chua.
FHTV: Will there be a DREAM/ONE FC card in the near future?
VC: Absolutely and you can expect another huge announcement very soon.
FHTV: You have been called the “Dana White of the East” by many people, how does ONE FC compare to the UFC?
VC: Dana White, President of the UFC, believes that MMA is going to be the biggest sport in the world in 10 years. I have to agree with him. I had our team of analyst do tons of research on every statistic possible and you know what, there has never been a sport that has registered this type of growth in history…it’s unbelievable…truly. Mark my words, MMA will be the biggest sport in Asia and ONE Fighting Championship will lead the way. It will be bigger than soccer…and that’s a lofty prediction, but I believe it in my heart.
FHTV: How can fans learn more about ONE fc (plug the website or facebook here)?
VC: Check us out at www.facebook.com/onefcmma or www.onefc.com
FHTV: Thank you for your time, in closing what is one thing the fans should watch out for in 2012 from ONE?
VC: My goal is to make the sport of MMA the biggest sport in Asia and ONE Fighting Championship will lead the way. When 3.9 billion people in Asia tune in to watch our shows on TV or the Internet with excitement and anticipation, then I will know that I have made it. Until that happens, I will drive 1,000 kilometers an hour to see that vision come to reality.
