The Malaysia Mixed Martial Arts Association (MASMMAA) is delighted that ONE Championship is back in the country.
Its president Rashid Salleh said tomorrow’s event – ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs Andrade at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur – is the jab in the arm the industry needs after being hit hard by Covid-19.
“MMA, like other sports, suffered during the pandemic,” said Rashid.
“The industry was harder hit as many gyms that offered training could not survive the numerous lockdowns.
“Kudos to the organisers for bringing ONE back to Malaysia, and we hope ONE can have more than one event in the country.
“It does not have to be in Kuala Lumpur. It can be in other states, as that will help boost the sport’s popularity.
He added that the good thing about having this event in Malaysia is that the organiser will use local talents as officials and crew to work behind the scenes. Rashid said being involved this way was an “invaluable experience”.
Two Malaysians are on the fight card tomorrow. They are Keanu Subba (featherweight) and Agilan Thani (welterweight).
Rashid admitted MMA’s popularity suffered during the pandemic but said there are signs it is picking up.
“For us at MASMMAA, this year is about consolidating our assets and helping those who want to organise events,” said Rashid.
“Next year is our ‘great reset’, where we will introduce more programmes and tournaments. It would be great to have more international companies coming to our shores, too.”
Among the plans is a national championship. Rashid said MASMMAA hopes to rope in existing tournaments as the qualifiers.
An F-3 Championship was held in Putrajaya earlier this month. Penang is hosting the finals of the Octagon Fighting Championship later this month, and Johor has the Ultimate Beatdown in November.
“That means three regions have had, or are having MMA tournaments. That is just in the last two months.
“Hopefully, with a proper calendar of events, we can organise more events next year. As for our national tournament, we could talk with those who are planning to organise events to use them as the qualifiers, or we could organise our own.
“This is just an idea. We are still at the planning stage.”
Separately, although Covid-19 hit the industry hard, Rashid said there was an upside, as it gave locals more chance to shine.
“We may not have had many foreign coaches in the country, but that means our locals have stepped up.
“I would say the shutdown reduced the quantity of those picking up MMA, but the quality of those training was still high.”
Subba agreed with Rashid that MMA’s popularity had suffered in the past two years.
“Sadly, many people lost interest in MMA. It is not as popular as it was five years ago,” said Subba, who faces South Korean Yoon Chang-min.
“Hopefully, the ONE event will get more Malaysians interested in MMA once again.”
Agilan, who fought for a world title in 2017, called on the fans to watch the action at Axiata Arena.
“It has been three years since ONE had an event in Malaysia. I hope the fans come out in full force as there are many interesting fights on the card,” said Agilan, who faces Ilja Stojanov of Germany.
To purchase tickets for ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs Andrade, click here.
