ONE Championship's push into the Japanese market has stepped up a gear with the announcement of a new broadcast partner.
The promotion's events will now be exclusively broadcast live and on-demand via video streaming service U-NEXT in Japan. The agreement kicked off with ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty v Lobo last Saturday.
ONE's world-class martial arts spectacle will be available with both English and Japanese commentary on the platform, which is operated by USEN.NEXT GROUP.
ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Japanese megastar Takeru Segawa headlined ONE 165 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo last month, in an epic five-round battle.
The event marked the promotion's first event in "the land of the rising sun" since 2019, showing its intent to renew its foothold on Japanese soil.
With a new broadcaster secured in the martial arts hotbed, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong doubled down on his commitment to the Japanese fans.
"ONE is honoured to kick off this partnership with U-NEXT, one of Japan's hottest platforms for live sports content," he said.
"Bringing ONE back to Tokyo last month allowed us to once again feel the deep-rooted passion for martial arts in the region. Through this partnership with U-NEXT, we can't wait to deliver world-class martial arts action to all of our fans in Japan."
Chatri's sentiment was reflected by Tenshin Tsutsumi, President and CEO of U-NEXT. "We are delighted to announce that the world's largest martial arts organisation, ONE Championship, with millions of passionate fans in over 190 countries, is now our exclusive partner in Japan," he said.
"U-NEXT strives to provide our Japanese athletes a global platform to showcase their skills and share their incredible stories. ONE Championship is known for its thrilling live events, and the organisation features a plethora of Japanese martial artists who compete on the world stage. We are committed to closely collaborating with ONE and bringing our heroes close to the fans. Please stay tuned for more exciting developments."
ONE is home to a bevy of top Japanese fighting talent, such as Takeru, former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki, former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto and atomweight MMA contenders Itsuki Hirata and Ayaka Miura.
ONE stages many of its shows at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Its weekly Friday Fights series and monthly numbered events are broadcast on Channel 7 in Thailand in the Asian primetime, as are its blockbuster Fight Night events in the US primetime.