ONE Fighting Championship has entered into a 10-year media partnership ESPN Star Sports, the largest sports network in Asia. ESPN Star Sports owns the broadcast rights in 24 Asian countries to many of the world’s leading sports events, including the Olympics, NBA, MLB, PGA, World Cup, Formula One, and English Premier League.

Official press release:

ONE Fighting Championship™, Asia’s largest MMA organization, announces a 10-year media partnership with ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s biggest sports content provider. This partnership marks the largest MMA media deal in Asian history and includes showcasing the best Asian mixed martial artists against one another through a series of events across all the major cities in Asia.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Fighting Championship, said, “Asia has been the birthplace and home to martial arts for the last 5,000 years and ONE Fighting Championship has a vision of bringing mixed martial arts to the 3.9 billion people living in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s biggest provider of sports content, is a wonderful partner to help with that mission.”

Adam Zecha, Executive Vice President, Head of Sales (SEA), ESPN STAR Sports, said, “ESPN STAR Sports has always been at the forefront in offering innovative and engaging programming to sports fans across the region. We have successfully showcased a diverse range of combat sports events to fans, and with this long-term partnership with ONE Fighting Championship, mixed-martial arts sports fans can now look forward to more exciting action on our networks.”

ONE Fighting Championship will be hosting events in Jakarta on February 11 and in Singapore again on March 31 featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions. The full calendar of events for the rest of 2012 will be announced in the near future.

Although the UFC remains the dominant player in mixed martial arts, with Bellator on Spike domestically, and ONE FC in Asia, there is no lack of formidable competitors.