Rumors are circulating fervently regarding the trajectory of ONE Championship’s future.
Recently, the longstanding major MMA promotion Bellator underwent a significant transformation. Last week on November 20, 2023, it was revealed that Bellator would no longer operate as a standalone entity.
The PFL successfully ended up acquiring Bellator. According to the initial announcement, Bellator will now function under the umbrella of PFL, continuing as a separate brand or event type for one year. It is set to host eight events throughout the course of 2024.
Simultaneously in Asia, ONE Championship has been actively pursuing new investments to fortify its financial standing for the future. This endeavor has triggered widespread speculation about the company’s stability in the forthcoming period.
Notably, former Bellator executive Mike Kogan has added fuel to the ongoing speculations.
During an interview on The MMA Hour, Kogan articulated his thoughts on the matter. He stated: “I’ve been at this sport for a long time. I don’t have it in me to start from scratch. There just isn’t anybody else. If you don’t go to PFL, obviously, I’m not getting hired by the UFC, ONE FC pissed away $600 million and is about to go out of business, where do you go?”
He further expressed, “They’re gonna go out of business. These people scammed everybody they could scam. They’ve run out of people to scam. It’s the truth. I mean come on. 10 years. You can’t be a start-up for 10 years. Jesus Christ.”
“At some point, you’ve got to start showing something. So, they’re gonna go out, so where’s there to go? There’s nowhere else to go. I’ve always said, this is like the largest small industry in the world. It’s big, it’s on TV, there’s millionaires being made, there’s all these stories, but at the end, it’s a handful of people that run it and a handful of people that have an ability to do anything with it.”
According to PFL founder Donn Davis, Kogan and the entire Bellator team will be presented with new opportunities within PFL. Regarding his personal trajectory, Kogan mentioned that a decision regarding his continuity in the MMA world would surface this week.
He is scheduled to meet with Donn Davis and PFL CEO, Peter Murray, on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.