The mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship has seen itself in the news this last week with a pair of major developments. The first was the announcement that they closed a $166 million financing round, bringing their total capital base above $250 million (US dollars). This represents a level of investment unheard of in a young MMA promotion. Not even Zuffa was willing to invest that much in the UFC before their success with the Ultimate Fighter. The closest comparison is probably the hundreds of millions Waddell & Reed Financial invested into Premier Boxing Champions.
The second development was the news that ONE Championship signed former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who is very likely the highest profile MMA fighter the promotion has ever signed.