The simmering tensions between Japan’s resurgent K-1 and Singapore-based ONE Championship have boiled over, with K-1 leader Carlos Kikuta taking direct aim at ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s management. In a scathing statement, Kikuta raised questions about ONE’s financial practices and its sustainability.
K-1 Slams ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong
“Let’s be serious,” Kikuta said in a statement translated from Japanese regarding ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong, “ONE has raised more than $500 million in total from GIC, Temasek Holdings, Heliconia Capital, Mission Holdings, Sequoia Capital’s Indian and US funds, and Vulcan Capital, an investment company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, among others, and raised another $50 million from the Qatar Investment Authority in October of this year.