ONE Championship chairman responds to UFC slight
Chatri Sityodtong; “The theme of foreigners coming here and bashing Asians is not a new one.”
ONE Championship women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee recently expressed belief in her ability.
I am confident in my skills, I can compete against any of the top fighters you put me in a fight with,” she said, as quoted by the Straits Times. “I know I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter.”
Her boss, ONE chairman and chief executive Chatri Sityodtong, agreed and had proposed an inter-promotion super fight.
Lee was born in Canada, trains in Hawai’i, and is of Singaporean and Korean descent. Last Saturday saw a UFC event in Singapore and senior vice-president of international and content Joe Carr was asked by reporters about the idea.
“There won’t be a cross-promotion between UFC and One Championship,” he said to the Straits Times. “That’s not going to happen. It really doesn’t make sense for us, we have all of our fighters under exclusive contract for us and I think she’s fairways away from competing at UFC.
“She’s talented and she’s young, but there’s a pretty big gap between where she is and where our top female fighters like Joanna, Claudia Gadelha are at, It’s not really close and I don’t think it’ll be competitive. “
Lee was not impressed.
I don’t agree with that,” she said to the Straits Times. “If you pit my previous opponent, Istela Nunes, against Joanna, it’ll be a close and competitive fight. It would be a striking battle.
“I know [the UFC] might try to entice me to go into their organization, but I will never leave my organization. I won’t be joining the UFC, to fight through the ranks in order to earn a title shot to prove myself.”
“I want to leave a legacy and be known as one of the most successful and dominant champions inside and outside the ring. Each time I fight, I want to put on a dominant performance that people are going to remember.”
Sityodtong was truly not impressed with Carr’s remarks. The retired Muay Thai fighter has an MBA from Harvard and an extraordinarily successful track record as an entrepreneur including founding the Evolve MMA chain. He is ordinarily measured in his speech, and spoke frankly in response to Carr.
I am disappointed by the western arrogance displayed by the UFC, especially as guests in our home of Asia,” he said, as transcribed by ABS CBN News. “The theme of foreigners coming here and bashing Asians is not a new one. If they [UFC] really believe they are the best, then they should have no issues accepting our humble invitation of our world champion versus their world champion.