IPO-seeking ONE founder plays down safety fears

Singapore : Asia's top mixed martial arts promoter said he has introduced world-leading safety procedures to prevent another death in the competition, as it prepares for an intended billion-dollar stock market listing.

The death of a dehydrated Chinese fighter before a ONE Championship bout last year underlined safety fears about the fast-growing sport, which is rapidly moving into the mainstream.

But ONE chairman and founder Chatri Sityodtong told AFP that the competition had moved to prevent another tragedy by introducing the "world's safest" procedures to stop the dangerous practice of pre-fight weight-cutting.

"We now have the world's safest weight-cut procedure and policy for any MMA organisation," Chatri told AFP in an interview in Singapore.

"I'm very confident that our safety regulations are among the best in the world," he added. 

"Can I predict that there'll be no more injuries or issues in the future? I can't say 100 percent, no... risk-minimisation is key."

Last December, China's Yang Jian Bing collapsed with severe dehydration and died from a heart attack a day before a ONE Championship fight in Manila.

The 21-year-old was preparing for his weigh-in later that day. ONE Championship subsequently banned weight-loss by dehydration and stepped up monitoring fighters' weight.

ONE now weighs fighters regularly and has its weigh-ins three hours before a bout, reducing the likelihood that combatants will go to extreme measures.

In cage-fighting events worldwide, several combatants have also died during or after bouts, mostly from head injuries.

But MMA's growing audience has turned it into a commercial success, with America's UFC selling to a consortium for $4 billion in July and ONE seeking a $1 billion dollar IPO within three years.

In another sign of the sport's growing acceptance, Singapore-based One was handed an "eight-figure" cash injection from an arm of the country's state investment firm.