Issue 177

April 2019

The seasoned campaigner talks free agency and how he is loving life at his new home, ONE Championship.

You made huge waves signing with ONE Championship this past October. You said aside from the eight figure deal that it is more of a partnership. Can you walk us through that piece of the puzzle?

We can’t speak to other promotions until we are out of our temporary negotiation period with the UFC. The UFC was kind enough to speed that up and let us out of that period. If we wanted to speak with other promotions they were more than happy to let us do that. We got out of that and ONE Championship came right away and let us know they were interested. It was pretty quick. What I noticed during this whole scenario was that there are so many high level promotions all around the world. I didn’t know that there were promotions in Poland and Russia selling out major stadiums. I didn’t know that there was such a huge market, that there was so much money out there, until I became a free agent. I spoke to the UFC and they were generous in their offer compared to other UFC fighters. I would have been one of the higher paid lightweights in the division, compared to everyone else. I would have been paid like a champion but I still thought everyone’s pay was low. I always thought that the UFC and a lot of the fighters in MMA in general are just receiving very low pay. I felt that someone needed to step up and pay athletes like myself more money. In ONE we finally got what we deserved.

What a fighter looks for is win and show money. All fighters are concerned with are what they get paid to show and what they get paid to win. Everything is . . . who cares? That isn’t how my contract is set up with ONE. It included a lot more than that. I would never take a win and show. I think it’s a promoter’s way of keeping their costs down. It’s not beneficial to fighters in any way. It’s only beneficial for a promoter to save money.

You were the hottest free agent in the game. How were you courted by other promotions?

It was your typical contract offers – win and shows from everybody. People wanted to sit down and have dinners and talk about a whole lot of nothing. I really just wanted to get to the meat and potatoes of the contract and see who was serious. I feel like ONE not only gave me a flat rate but they also made the most legitimate offer. The biggest intrigue beside the money is that this is a promotion that, I feel, the way they are running it, they will become one of the most dominant promotions in the world. I want to hold the world title. Before I leave this spot, whenever that is, I want to hold every major world title from every major organization. I feel like these guys are going to be one of them. I will have every one when I get ONE’s championship belt. 

You are jumping right into the mix, entering the Lightweight Grand Prix. What are your thoughts about the competition and what will it mean to capture that third major title?

I’m clearing my mind. This is a new slate. A lot of fighters are saying they are using me as a golden boy, I am the guy ONE wants to use. I don’t look at it that way. My past is my past and whatever I did in the past, that’s where it is staying. I am joining a new promotion with new opponents in a new territory. I look at the field and it’s a very tough tournament. I’m not ignorant to the fact that some of the best fighters in the world are completely unfound. I am a testament to that. I know there is a lot of really good talent in the tournament and I am looking forward to competing and going in there being my best self and showing the world why I am a champion. 

You have fought for basically every major promotion around the world. What makes ONE Championship special or different? 

If you are a who’s who of your martial art, if you are a champion in any way, ONE wants you. You watch ONE and see over 100 champions. You watch ONE and you will see super technical striking. You see super technical groundwork. You see fighters that are super technical and experts in their particular art. It’s a different breed of champions and a different breed of athletes when it comes to martial arts. 

  In the UFC and Bellator and other promotions you see that as well but it’s a little watered down in America. People are training MMA all over the place. They are good at everything versus being great at one thing. In ONE I see very technical fighting. I see ONE bringing the sport back to the martial arts, where respect and honor for your opponent is held to the highest degree. It’s about growing individually as a martial artist and not about shit-talking your opponent and causing drama for the fans.

I spoke to Demetrious Johnson recently and he echoed the same sentiments, about how the sport should be more about respect and honor. Was that a major factor in you signing there? 

Yeah, I don’t mind selling a fight. I get it. Ratings are important. This is a business. I totally get it. It’s just getting more and more out of hand. I’m just getting a little more out of my own character and who I am as a person and I don’t want to go where I feel it’s about to go. I see more WWF wrestlers coming in. I see more guys getting title shots who happen to have the most followers on Twitter and Instagram rather than the guy who actually deserves it. If it’s told correctly and the right time is put into it, you don’t need to sell anything else. You don’t need to sell a grudge match or a fake grudge match to people. You don’t have to do that. You can just tell the people’s stories and what they have been through and that should be enough. When money is at the forefront of everything you lose the integrity of the sport. Where it’s going I don’t know if I am willing to go. I just opt out and I am going to sit tight at ONE Championship. They treated me as a fighter and as a partner and valued me and everything I bring to the sport. I am going to return that favor. 

As a viewer you could see fighters in the UFC, whether they were pressured to sell fights or not, it just wasn’t in their natural character to try to oversell fights. Did you feel a level of pressure to try to be over the top in promoting fights?

You have to. The promotion and your boss creates the system. They create the system to make money. They lay the foundation down. They say, ‘Hey, this is the system. If you follow the system you will make money, get title shots and get all of the rewards and the benefits of following the system.’ 

  It comes to the point, as a fighter, where you ask yourself whether you are willing to sell yourself to that system or not. I don’t feel like a lot of fighters are able to be genuine and get title shots at the same time. At some point, they are being disingenuous. At some point they have to sell themselves in order to get that title shot and in order to reach that dream they have been dreaming about their whole life.   

It has to feel great to be a part of a company who is investing in elite talent like yourself and Demetrious Johnson while also upholding very high standards across the board. 

They are interested in high level talent but they are interested in high level martial artists and human beings. What they are really trying to do is they are taking stories like mine and others who had tough upbringings and fought through adversity and they are telling their stories and they are pushing it to schools in Asia and trying to create role models in martial arts to make the world a better place, not a worse one. What they are really selling is good human beings and the idea of becoming a better human being through martial arts. They are touching on the good parts of martial arts and everything that creates better humans. 

Do you feel like the floodgates are just starting to open for high level talent and the right talent to head to the Far East for ONE Championship for greener pastures?

I think free agency is undervalued in our sport. Fighters are a little nervous about doing that. Maybe they are insecure or maybe they are weary that there are not options outside of the UFC or Bellator. If you are a name, if you are a top five or top ten fighter in the world there is huge value as a free agent. There aren’t that many free agents, there just aren’t. When you get out there and you have some hope and some faith you will be surprised at what you are worth to the world of MMA. I implore everyone to test free agency. I don’t know why so many people are afraid. I was always one to take some swings, even if it meant getting hit. I’m the same way when it comes to negotiating contacts and dealing with business.