ONE Championship's 10th event in the Philippines turned out to be more successful than expected after the organization shattered records in terms of television ratings.
The event which saw Eduard Folayang retain his ONE Lightweight title against Malaysian EV Ting got a 26 percent peak ratings share, according to Nielsen.
That makes it the most watched MMA event on Philippine television, drawing a much bigger audience than the UFC 205 fight where Conor McGregor took out Eddie Alvarez, which garnered seven percent PRT.
“I am very happy with the turnout. For perspective, last year, UFC 205 did a roughly six to seven percent ratings share in the Philippines," said ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong.
"Numbers don't lie. We broke all records with a 26 percent peak TV ratings share as per Nielsen. Those numbers are massive. It means one in four Filipinos who were watching TV was watching ONE Championship,” he added.
ONE also making its presence felt on social media with a huge growth over the past three years, according to Nielsen, Facebook and Repucom.
Dating to 2014, ONE has reached over four billion impressions, more than a thousand percent increase from their 352 million impressions in 2014.
For Sityodtong, the key was tapping tradition and making a connection with its Asian audience.
"When you talk about martial arts, Asia is the home of martial arts. It has been the home of martial arts for the last 5,000 years. We live, breathe and understand it. We understand the philosophy of it and the spirit of it."
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