GLOBE Group’s partnership with ONE Championship aims to look for a new breed of Filipino champions on the world stage.
Globe and ONE are bringing to local fight fans ONE 164 on December 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena with nine Filipino mixed martial arts fighters going head to head against international opponents.
The event, which marks ONE’s return to Manila since 2020, will feature Filipino-American Brandon Vera battling Iran’s Amir Aliakbari.
Fighters from Team Lakay, the fabled martial arts group based in La Trinidad, Benguet, will also take to the circle against foreign rivals with Joshua Pacio defending his world strawweight belt against top-ranked American Jarred Brooks.
ONE founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stressed on the organization’s enduring partnership with Globe, including production and airing of the ONE Warrior Series, in a press event at The Theater in Solaire Wednesday night.
Sityodtong called Globe “a very important partner in pursuing the shared goal of producing Filipino world champions from the grassroots.”
Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu shared how Globe has always provided support for Filipino athletes in various sports, from soccer and rugby to tennis, including US Open junior girls champion Alex Eala, who Cu described as “a picture of what Filipino success can be in sports.”
“Our partnership is borne out of Globe’s desire to help the Filipino athlete,” Cu said. “We desire to have a Filipino world champion and there’s no other great partnership than with ONE Championship.”