Shooto enters into exclusive partnership with ONE Championship

I feel like we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and ONE Championship will own my house, since it seems to be scooping up everything else these past few months (including his Royal Sexiness).

Joining Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, now a major player in international Esports, is the Shooto combat sports promotion, which recently entered into an exclusive partnership with ONE.

“It is an honor for me to announce a historic partnership between ONE Championship and Shooto, the world’s oldest mixed martial arts organization,” CEO Chatri Sityodtong wrote on Twitter. “It is a misconception that America is the birthplace of mixed martial arts; Japan is the true and rightful birthplace of mixed martial arts. Everything started with Shooto in 1986.”

Aligning with Shooto will help ONE reach a Japanese audience, beginning with the promotion’s debut in ”The Land of the Rising Sun” in March.

“This is the first time in 30 years that Shooto is partnering with an international martial arts organization,” CEO of Shooto, Kazuhiro Sakamoto said. “We believe our close collaboration with One will not only be beneficial to Shooto and its athletes, but also for the future of the martial arts industry in Japan.”