One Championship lays off dozens of staff to cut costs, reach profitability

SINGAPORE-BASED combat sports organisation One Championship has laid off “a few dozen” employees as part of a cost-cutting strategy to bring the company to profitability, The Business Times has learnt.

In an internal e-mail to staff on Wednesday (Oct 16) morning, One Championship chief executive Chatri Sityodtong said the sports promoter was “on the verge” of profitability on the back of “record revenues and cost efficiencies”, alongside strong viewership numbers.

The promoter has continued to achieve “new highs” in its key markets, especially across Asia, he said, in the e-mail seen by BT.

He noted, however, that the external global macroeconomic environment remains “both challenging and uncertain”, with capital markets continuing “to demand immediate profitability and profit maximisation”.

“Many of the largest and most successful companies in the world have responded by cutting costs aggressively and actioning layoffs, and we unfortunately have no choice but to take this difficult step as well,” said Sityodtong.

“In a perfect world, we would keep everyone. However, the reality is that our board of directors and shareholders all demand imminent profitability from One (Championship).”

According to regulatory filings, One Championship posted a net loss of US$61.7 million for its financial year ended December 2022, narrowing losses from the US$111 million loss it recorded the year before.

Its revenue rose to US$84.5 million for FY2022, up from US$67.7 million. Records for 2023 and 2024 were unavailable.

Founded in 2011 by Sityodtong and Victor Cui, One Championship is among Asia’s largest global sports media properties. Its mixed martial arts (MMA) events – such as Muay Thai, kickboxing and taekwondo – are broadcast to more than 190 countries globally.

The promoter is operated by parent company Group One Holdings, and counts Temasek Holdings among its institutional investors.

Headquartered in Singapore, One Championship has offices in Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, London, Shanghai, Milan, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, and Bengaluru. It has a global staff strength between 201 and 500, according to its LinkedIn profile.

While Sityodtong did not reveal which markets were affected, a source close to the matter told BT that the layoffs were worldwide, with the Singapore workforce “hardest hit”.

The cuts were across departments, including client services, finance, marketing and public relations, broadcast and e-sports, the source added.

The layoffs come even as earlier media reports this year had cited Sityodtong as saying that One Championship is set to reach profitability and positive cash flow in the third or fourth quarter of 2024.

The promoter was valued at US$1.3 billion by Forbes in 2024, positioning it as the world’s fourth-most valuable combat sports promoter behind American companies Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling.

But in recent years, One Championship has scaled back the staging of live MMA events in its home ground of Singapore, turning instead to lower-cost markets such as Thailand. Since 2023, it has broadcast live fight events weekly from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

It has also entered new markets such as the Middle East and the United States, staging its first US show in Denver, Colorado, in May 2023.

One Championship staff were first informed of the latest cuts on Wednesday morning in a mass virtual address delivered by Sityodtong.

Affected individuals were later invited to private virtual meetings with their reporting manager and informed of their compensation package, said the source. Those laid off would receive half of their monthly salary for each year of service.

The company’s leaders will be offering references to departing staff to support their career transition, said Sityodtong in the internal e-mail.

Besides receiving severance pay, staff will have their corporate health insurance and Evolve membership – which grants them access to complimentary MMA classes under One Championship’s Evolve brand – extended until the end of the year. Those who own stock options will also be granted an exercise deadline extension to 24 months.