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We’ve already noted that 2024 could very well be a make or break year for one of the world’s largest combat sports promotions. One Championship is reportedly set to run out of investor cash by Q3 2024, and is apparently struggling to gain more funds from its biggest backers, the Qatari government.
Unfortunately for the Singapore-based company, there are also reports that the principal feeling about past investment in ONE among has been more embarrassment than anything else—as the combat sports organization has seemingly repeatedly failed to hit profitability targets year after year.
3 senior staff reported to have left ONE Championship
To add more uncertainty into the mix, a recent Deal Street Asia article highlighted a talent drain apparently ongoing in Qatar’s sports entertainment industry, noting that with the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup, top executives were making the jump over to Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia has shown greater interest for investment in major sports-washing events.
Since the World Cup ended, Qatar’s attention to hosting mega sports events has fallen off a cliff, shared one Doha-based sports industry executive. Many of his colleagues have already left and relocated to Riyadh.
But it looks like it’s not just the Qatar side of the equation that’s losing its C-suite executives. A new article from DSA reveals that in just the past three months, ONE Championship has lost three members of its senior team and may not have any intentions of replacing them.
Back in October, it appears that Apprentice: ONE Championship Netflix show advisor—and head of company corporate strategy and technology—Niharika Singh severed her relationship with the fight promotion (having posted the end of her 4.5 year tenure with the company on her Linkedin profile). DSA notes conflicting reports as to the nature of Singh’s departure with one source reportedly telling the outlet that she had chosen not to renew her contract with ONE, and another source claiming that she had been let go from her position.
Alongside Singh, ONE VP in charge of analytics and insights Jane Guo is also reported as having exited the promotion after a 5.5-year run. No details about her departure were noted.
Chief commercial officer Hari Vijayarajan explains departure
Heading out the door with Singh and Guo, ONE Championship chief commercial officer Hari Vijayarajan has also left the company. In a letter posted on Linkedin, Vijayarajan explained his decision, calling it bittersweet. Vijayarajan is apparently leaving ONE to take on the role of CEO sustainability startup Reebelo. Despite reports of ONE’s potentially dire financial straits, however, he was very bullish on the promotion’s future.
After 5 amazing years at ONE as CCO, I have made a bittersweet decision to move on. This was truly the ride of a lifetime and I am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to be part of the ONE rocketship. I want to thank Chatri Sityodtong & Hua Fung Teh (郑华峰) and all my colleagues for their tremendous support and guidance over the years. I am proud of the excellent commercial foundation that we have built, the awesome team I had the privilege to hire and groom, and the exciting years that lie ahead as ONE continues to expand rapidly and globally.
ONE has had a record 2023 in terms of viewership, engagement and revenues, and our revenue pipeline is the largest it’s ever been. So leaving was an extremely hard (and almost unnatural) decision, especially with ONE’s future looking so bullish. However, the rare opportunity to take on a major Regional CEO role based in Singapore, in an area I am passionate about (sustainability), was a once in a life-time opportunity. I have always aspired to be a CEO, with end-to-end cross-functional and P&L responsibility. I would not have left ONE otherwise.
Of course, at this point, we all know about ONE Championship’s non-disparagement clauses and the inability for fighters to speak with any negativity about the company’s business practices. Hard not to assume that senior staff are also being held to the same kind of legal wrangling.
We’ll likely know more in the coming weeks and months, as to just how prepared ONE is to survive the year. In the meantime, the promotion will put on its first fight card of 2024 on Friday, January 12th featuring a mix of MMA and kickboxing, headlined by a flyweight (135 lbs) title defense for former multiple time Muay Thai champion and ONE Flyweight Grand Prix winner Superlek Kiatmuu9, taking on Elias Mahmoudi at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.