ONE Lightweight Champion Eduard Folayang and challenger Ev Ting face off before ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Hauling in thousands of fans in its events in the Philippines, ONE Championship has expressed interest in staging future events outside of Manila.
Loren Mack, ONE Championship vice president for public relations and communications, shared that the Asian mixed martial arts giant has gone on to explore options of holding future fights in Cebu.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we start looking at holding future events in Cebu,” he said on Tuesday during ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny press conference at City of Dreams in Parañaque.
READ: Manila to host two ONE Championship events next year
“I think it’s gonna happen, it’s just a matter of the right time. The demand in Manila is hard to keep up with. We’re trying to do that to satisfy the fans in the Philippines.”
The American executive draws his optimism from the continuous success of the promotion’s events in the country, especially ahead of its 10th event in the Philippines on Friday for ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny.
“The Philippines is one of ONE’s biggest markets and that’s evident with the way we consistently sell out Mall of Asia Arena,” he said.
READ” Eduard Folayang is ONE Championship Fighter of the Year
“I think the reality is that the Philippines is MMA-crazy. You can’t put on enough shows in a year to satisfy the demand. Major cities outside Manila have been demanding an event for a very long time such as Cebu. It’s something we keep an eye on. We’re open to it and we’re looking at when the best time to do this. The fanbase is there. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”
Mack also expects more champions to come out of the country while also being a go-to hub for mixed martial arts in the region.
“I also think that we’re just seeing the start of the rise of world champions here in the Philippines. The whole mainstream aspect has really taken off with world class trainers flying in here and Brandon Vera moving here. We have organic superstars like Eduard Folayang and Danny Kingad,” he said.
“I think what you’re gonna see is more events, more gyms, and more content. It’s gonna be better and better. We haven’t disappointed thus far and we don’t plan to disappoint in decades to come.”