Say What?! ONE CEO Attempts To Explain $110 Million In Losses

This could be one of the more intriguing angles to a story in wrestling.

Oh, wait, we are talking about mixed martial arts? And not a pro wrestling angle? 

Let me explain.

Here is ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong discussing a report of losing $110 million – that is a million with a capital M – to the financial regulator. This all comes from a report by Bloody Elbow.

Listen in….

Given an incredible platform and opportunity by MMA Fighting and Ariel Helwani, Sityodtong failed to deliver. Really on anything regarding the matter.

Earlier this month, Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena and John S. Nash, two of the more well-respected journalists in mixed martial arts and combat sports, reported that the promotion reported $110 million in losses for the 2021 calendar year.

All total, that adds up to $383 million in losses for the promotion that has tried to do all it can to replicate what the UFC has achieved. And failed, gratefully. 

Sityodtong has time and time again claimed “fake news,” trying his best to spin the negative press like former United States President Donald Trump. That seems to be the easy road to take, by just screaming as loud as possible, “fake news.”

But these are all real and legitimate reports that ONE has filed with the ACRA, which is as close as it get in Singapore to the SEC here in the U.S. 

Through Group One Holdings, the parent company to ONE, we have been given numbers such as this:

-2021 Revenue: 67,698

-2020 Revenue: 56,797

-2021 Cost Of Sales: -35,327

-2020 Cost Of Sales: -18,117

-2021 Other (Expenses) Income: -56,172

-2020 Other (Expenses) Income: -46,836

-2021 Administration/Other Expenses: -50,280

-2020 Administration/Other Expenses: -49,401

By the way, those numbers are all in thousands (000s) of U.S. dollars, the report states. 

Meaning, ONE reported $56 million last year in “marketing expenses” and another $50 million for “administration and other expenses.” Over $100 million with a revenue of under $70 million. 

The reporters do an incredible job of breaking down the numbers, explaining where the revenue comes from and just why it doesn’t work in the “real” business world.