One Championship bags $70m, cuts 20% of staff

Singapore sports entertainment firm One Championship said it has raised US$70 million despite the Covid-19 pandemic limiting contact sports.

Photo credit: One Championship

Though the company kept the investors in the round undisclosed, One Championship group president Hua Fung Teh said it included participation from existing institutional investors as well as a new institutional investor.

Founded in 2011, the mixed martial arts major is one of the region’s largest sports media properties, broadcasting to over 2.7 billion potential viewers across more than 150 countries.

It most recently raised US$166 million in a series D round in late 2018 led by Sequoia Capital. Other investors in the round include Temasek and Greenoaks Capital. In 2017, One Championship banked US$100 million in a series C raise co-led by Sequoia India and Mission Holdings.

In addition to the funding, One Championship also said it has streamlined its operations, which included cutting its total worldwide headcount by 20%. According to its LinkedIn profile, the company has between 201 and 500 employees.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, One Championship announced in March that it would be suspending live events. It was planning to hold matches without fans in Singapore during April and May, but strict social distancing measures forced the company to cancel the events.

One Championship’s last event was held in Singapore on February 28. However, Teh remains positive about the company’s operations moving forward.

“With nine figures of cash on the balance sheet and a streamlined organization, One Championship looks forward to continuing to delight our fans around the world with more heroes and new experiences for many years to come,” he said.

On the other hand, its US-based peer Ultimate Fighting Championship has already returned to action last month. It held its first event after local lockdowns on May 9 despite one of the undercard fighters testing positive for Covid-19.