ONE Championship confirms return to Middle East with first visit to Qatar for ‘biggest event ever’
- ONE 166 event at Lusail Sports Arena on March 1 expected to feature five title fights
ONE Championship is heading to Qatar in March, and while details are scarce, there are believed to be plans to put five titles on the line.
The promotions first event in the Middle East country, ONE 166 is slated to take place at the 15,300 capacity Lusail Sports Arena, which recently played host to the Basketball World Cup.
There is also a new broadcast partner too, with BeINSport televising the event, with the show set to get under way at 10.30pm local time.
ONE is also working closely with local authorities, according to Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, chief marketing and promotion officer at Qatar Tourism.
“Qatar Tourism is delighted to be the official event host, presenting partner, and VIP Lounge Sponsor of what will be the biggest ONE Championship event the region has ever seen,” he said. “This exciting addition to Qatar’s world-class roster of events reinforces our commitment to bringing exceptional experiences that resonate with local and global audiences.”
This will be the promotion’s first event in the Middle East since 2014. ONE: ‘Reign of Champions’ was held at the World Trade Centre in Abu Dhabi and featured the likes of Ben Askren, Roger Huerta and Shinya Aoki.
The promotion has gone from strength to strength in the past decade and the event will feature a variety of combat sports. In 2014 the cards consisted exclusively of MMA fights, but Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling has now been added to the mix.
Chatri Sityodtong, the ONE Championship CEO, promised this would be one of the biggest events he had ever put on.
“I’m thrilled to announce ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East with one of our biggest events ever,” he said. “We’re building a spectacular card that is stacked from top to bottom, and will feature world championship fights across all of our martial arts disciplines.”
ONE 165 has already been booked for Tokyo on January 28th. With fight cards in three different countries already confirmed for the first quarter of 2024, it looks set to be a very busy year for Chatri Sityodtong’s promotion.
