ONE Championship is setting up shop in the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
The Singapore-based organization, already the largest sports media property in Asia, continues to aggressively expand its growth and reach all over the world. On Tuesday, 8 November, the promotion named Yoshiaki Ito to the position of President of ONE Championship (Japan).
“I am elated to join ONE Championship, one of the greatest global sports brands. It’s amazing to be a part of the rapid growth of MMA in Asia. I will focus my efforts on developing the budding Japanese market,” Ito said in a statement.
“Japan has always enjoyed sports entertainment and ONE Championship’s unique live event atmosphere is something I am delighted to share with Japanese fans.”
Ito is a highly accomplished business executive with over 20 years of experience. He is the Founder of X-TANK Consulting, the former CEO of Haier Asia Group, and a former Senior Vice President at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In addition to those positions, he has won a variety of honors including the Money Ball Award and the Global Best Leader Award from Sony Pictures Entertainment, proving his remarkable capability.
This latest signing follows ONE’s desire to add brilliant minds and incredible talents to its global team, which relentlessly develops and builds the brand all over the world.
“ONE Championship continues to seek out the top executives from various fields to become part of our elite senior management team,” Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, said in a statement.
“Yoshiaki Ito is an excellent asset to have on our team. He, along with our very capable leadership, will be responsible for taking our organization to the next level and beyond.”
With the appointment of Ito, fans can expect to see the ONE cage and the promotion’s brightest stars such as ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki and ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito, in Japan sometime in the near future.
That is a tantalizing prospect indeed, and should be no surprise, given ONE Championship’s track record in putting on blockbuster events in new cities every year.
