ONE X: Chatri Sityodtong says UFC’s Francis Ngannou ‘would get smoked by our heavyweights’
- ‘He’s not as technical of a boxer as Anatoly [Malykhin] or even Arjan [Bhullar],’ says ONE Championship CEO
- Chatri also confirms ‘major, major’ multi-year US television deal announcement next month, and returns to Bangkok, Manila and Tokyo
In the aftermath of ONE Championship’s greatest ever event, Chatri Sityodtong was understandably upbeat as he gave his assessment of Saturday’s spectacular action.
The Asian martial arts promotion’s chairman and CEO pointed to big announcements ahead regarding a new US prime time television deal, as well as a return to hosting events outside Singapore, where the promotion has been based almost entirely throughout the pandemic.
He was also in a jovial enough mood to take a few potshots at UFC, the US-based global leader in the MMA industry, and more specifically its heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who is set to test free agency later this year.
“I like Francis Ngannou but I think our heavyweights would smoke him,” Chatri told a media scrum backstage at Singapore Indoor Stadiumm, when asked if he would be interested in signing “The Predator”.
“He’s just not a complete fighter. For sure, if you ask any expert martial artist, you look at [ONE interim heavyweight champ] Anatoly Malykhin – Russian national pedigree wrestler, dynamite in his hands. Much faster than Francis, much better ground game, black-belt level.