After helming a press conference to introduce One Championship's new broadcast agreement with Amazon Prime, One Vice President and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Rich Franklin talked to Sherdog about introducing more North American fans to One's brand of martial arts, about bringing their unique weight and hydration protocols to areas governed by U.S. athletic commissions, and about the chance of some of One's BJJ stars crossing over to compete in the promotion's recently announced grappling division.
Timestamps:
(0:00) Everyone has been asking Rich how much he weighs, but it's a compliment(0:45) What can fight fans encountering One Championship for the first time through One x Prime expect to see that might be different from what they're used to?
(2:56) Rich discusses One's system of weight classes and hydration requirements, and why he believes it's a good thing
(5:35) What will happen when One Championship brings its weight and hydration protocol to locations where MMA is regulated by state athletic commissions?
(6:50) Now that One has launched a competitive grappling division, do you expect jiu-jitsu stars who originally signed with One to compete in MMA, such as Marcus Almeida to cross back over and grapple for One as well? Any plans for grapplers Kade and Tye Ruotolo to try their hand at MMA?