Karate Combat vs. ONE Championship: KC Declares War!

Karate Combat has officially declared war against ONE Championship! The president of KC has had enough of ONE’s poor business practices, and a Karate Combat vs. ONE battle has begun.

Read the full story below to see what led to this war between Karate Combat vs. ONE.

Karate Combat President Declares War On ONE Championship

Two months ago, Asim Zaidi, the President of Karate Combat, went on “The Count,” Michael Bisping’s podcast promoting KC: 49. In the first fifteen minutes of the interview, “President Awesome” dropped a bombshell and announced a declaration of war against ONE.

Zaidi explained why he made it his mission to take out ONE and spotlight their lousy business practices.

What Caused the Tension?

The spark that ignited the Karate Combat vs. ONE war can be traced back to earlier this year in April. Zaidi explained that KC was putting on a show in Qatar, which was a Karate vs. Muay Thai event.

In the co-main event, Thai boxer Y2K Fairtex was scheduled to fight in the main event. However, during fight week, the main event was suddenly scrapped.

Apparently, the CEO of ONE, Chatri Sityodthong, allegedly called Fairtex Gym and threatened them. He reportedly told Fairtex Gym if Y2K competed at KC in Qatar, he’d ban all Fairte fighters from competing in ONE.

When this got back to the KC president, Zaidi, he was livid. Not only was another promotion’s event sabotaged, but fighters were blackmailed into not competing for them.

At first, Zaidi let it go and tried to focus on continuing to grow the Karate Combat brand. However, when ONE fighters and their managers contacted Zaidi, he felt he had to do something.

President Awesome Goes to War

After this fiasco in April, numerous fighters had begun reaching out to Asim to tell them their horror stories with ONE. After hearing so many horror stories from fighters and then investors, Zaidi had heard enough.

“To add to this, Qatar, one of ONE Championship’s major investors, publicly stated their embarrassment over investing in ONE FC. You can find articles about this if you look it up. This was the final straw for me. They weren’t just messing with me; they were impacting fighters’ careers during their prime. So, I decided to take action. We’re throwing an event on September 18th in Singapore, aiming to provide opportunities for former ONE FC fighters and Asian fighters and show them that there’s an alternative to what I see as a dictatorship.” -Asim Zaidi on Michael Bisping’s Podcast.

Taking the Fight to ONE

Zaidi’s first plan of action is to go right to ONE in their hometown of Singapore. Karate Combat is hosting #KC49 on September 18th in Singapore, the home of ONE Championship and its founder, Chatri Sityodthong.

Choosing Singapore was a deliberate choice by Karate Combat in an attempt to embarrass ONE. KC wants to put on a great show in ONE’s home base that shows respect for the fighters and their business partners.

Garry Tonon To Speak On Issues With ONE 

Image taken from @garry_tonon on X.

When we reported on Marcus Buchecha’s frustrations with ONE, we mentioned that Garry Tonon was abruptly moved from ONE’s featherweight rankings. The next chapter of this saga looks to unfold as Tonon has broken his silence.

On September 6th, 2024, Garry revealed that he’s open to doing an extensive interview about his issues with ONE. The ADCC veteran and former top-ranked ONE featherweight mentioned Joe Rogan and Ariel Helwani in his tweet.

When Tonon does this interview, it will be a huge story we’ll cover when it goes down.

What Does This Mean for BJJ Athletes & Grapplers?

As the Karate Combat vs. ONE Championship war begins, Muay Thai and kickboxing will be watching how this plays out. The world’s top Jiu-Jitsu athletes and grapplers will also be watching how this plays out.

Now that KC is getting into grappling super fights with their Pit Submission Series, we’ll be seeing more top grapplers get signed. Top grapplers who have participated in KC’s Pit Submission Series events have had nothing but positive things to say about the events.

They all have positive things to say about working with Asim Zaidi. They will hopefully do more business with him in the future.

How Will The Karate Combat vs. ONE War Play Out?

As a fan of combat sports, I want to see more fighters and grapplers get more opportunities. I don’t want to see ONE go out of business, but the treatment of fighters has been poor.

Fighters and grapplers only have a short window to compete at the highest level of their sport. ONE is handcuffing athletes to contracts where they’re not being used and can’t compete elsewhere. These actions not only hurt the athlete’s career but can cripple them financially. 

Now, ONE may have made the critical mistake of messing with the business of another promotion in Karate Combat. KC is now making it their mission to actively compete against ONE and attract top talent to their promotion.

Karate Combat has gained momentum, and fighters have praised them for their excellent business practices. ONE better start fixing their business model because Karate Combat is coming for them.

Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.