ONE Championship is going to conduct a huge Muay Thai open weight Grand Prix.
It will feature 16 lucky combatants from different weight classes competing to win a prize of $1 million. It is possible that MMA and kickboxing legend Alistair Overeem could be one of the competitors.
According to the South China Morning Post, the PRIDE and UFC veteran is interested in competing in the tournament. The reports say that Overeem is currently in talks with ONE Championship.
Overeem had an unceremonious exit from the UFC after competing there for almost a decade. He left the company after a TKO loss to Alexander Volkov last year. After leaving, he signed with Glory Kickboxing.
He has had only one match-up till now after returning to the sport. He defeated Badr Hari in their rubber match by unanimous decision but later failed a PED test.
This means that it could be a while since he returns to the promotion, which is probably why he’s negotiating with ONE.
As far as the tournament is concerned, ONE’s CEO Chatri Sityodtong hopes to host the “greatest grand prix in the history of the sport of Muay Thai,”.
“Sixteen of the best strikers in the world will descend this year for one million U.S. dollars. Fans all over the world, tell me who you want to see.”
He talked about the possibilities due to the open weight setup, saying:
“This is going to blow up. You’re going to see big guys against small guys, and it’s going to be huge.”