ONE Championship unveils official athlete rankings

ONE Championship has launched its first-ever, official athlete rankings.

“It is with great excitement that I announce the inaugural ONE Championship Official Rankings,” said ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

“The rankings will bring more clarity and transparency for our athletes as they chase their dreams for a world championship title. Fans can also follow their favorite athletes and their journeys more closely as they climb or fall in the rankings.”

ONE Championship claims to have a roster of roughly 550 fighters. Those fighters compete in MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing.

The official ONE Championship rankings will be updated after each event, “in accordance with the findings of a panel of industry experts, who will consider the participants based on criteria such as wins and losses, their most recent performances, and the quality of competition.” Representing BJPENN.com on the panel is Tom Taylor.

Here is the athlete ranking panel as it currently stands.

Tom Taylor – BJPenn.com
Stewart Fulton – MMA in Japan
Nicolas Atkin – South China Morning Post 
Ian Shutts – Lowkick MMA 
Santino Honasan – ABS-CBN
JM Siasat – GMA Network
Manabu Takashima – MMA Planet
Yuji Kitano – Abema TV Japan
James Goyder – AsianMMA.com 
Marcelo Alonso – Combate 
Sazali Abdul Aziz – Straits Times
Worapath Arunpakdee – Thairath TV 
Poptorn Roongsamai – Champ Magazine
Wanlop Sawasdee – MGR Online
Adam Kayoom – Former Athlete
Ann Osman – Former Athlete
Rich Franklin – Former Athlete
Miesha Tate – Former Athlete

ONE Championship has already released the rankings for its strawweight to lightweight divisions. The rankings for the organization’s welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions are expected to be released soon.

Here is the first edition of the official ONE Championship rankings:

ONE Championship Official Rankings (as of April 27, 2020)

Strawweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Joshua Pacio
1. Yosuke Saruta
2. Yoshitaka Naito
3. Rene Catalan
4. Alex Silva
5. Lito Adiwang

Strawweight Kickboxing 
World Champion: Sam-A Gaiyanghadao
1. Astemir Borsov
2. Wang Junguang
3. Rocky Ogden
4. Josh Tonna
5. Daren Rolland

Strawweight Muay Thai
World Champion: Sam-A Gaiyanghadao
1. Josh Tonna
2. Rocky Ogden
3. Daren Rolland
4. Andy Howson
5. Rui Botelho

Flyweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Adriano Moraes
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Danny Kingad
3. Kairat Akhmetov
4. Yuya Wakamatsu
5. Reece McLaren

Flyweight Kickboxing
World Champion: Ilias Ennahachi
1. Rodtang Jitmuangnon
2. Superlek Kiatmoo9
3. Walter Goncalves
4. Panpayak Jitmuangnon
5. Elias Mahmoudi

Flyweight Muay Thai
World Champion: Rodtang Jitmuangnon
1. Panpayak Jitmuangnon
2. Superlek Kiatmoo9
3. Jonathan Haggerty
4. Elias Mahmoudi
5. Petchdam Petchyindee Academy

Bantamweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Bibiano Fernandes
1. Kevin Belingon
2. Shoko Sato
3. Yusup Saadulaev
4. Shuya Kamikubo
5. Daichi Takenaka

Bantamweight Kickboxing
World Champion: Alaverdi Ramazanov
1. Nong-O Gaiyanghadao
2. Sangmanee Sathian MuayThai
3. Zhang Chenglong
4. Liam Harrison
5. Rodlek P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym

Bantamweight Muay Thai
World Champion: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao
1. Sangmanee Sathian MuayThai
2. Bobo Sacko
3. Kulabdam Sor. Jor. Piek Uthai
4. Alaverdi Ramazanov
5. Muangthai P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym

Featherweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Martin Nguyen
1. Christian Lee
2. Koyomi Matsushima
3. Thanh Le
4. Tetsuya Yamada
5. Garry Tonon

Featherweight Kickboxing
World Champion: Vacant
1. Giorgio Petrosyan
2. Superbon Banchamek
3. Tayfun Ozcan
4. Samy Sana
5. Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex

Featherweight Muay Thai
World Champion: Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy
1. Superbon Banchamek
2. Jamal Yusupov
3. Jo Nattawut
4. Samy Sana
5. Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex

Lightweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Christian Lee
1. Iuri Lapicus
2. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev
3. Pieter Buist
4. Timofey Nastyukhin
5. Shinya Aoki

Lightweight Kickboxing
World Champion: Regian Eersel
1. Nieky Holzken
2. Mustapha Haida
3. Anthony Njokuani
4. Andy Souwer
5. Elliot Compton

Women’s Atomweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Angela Lee
1. Denice Zamboanga
2. Meng Bo
3. Lin Heqin
4. Mei Yamaguchi
5. Gina Iniong

Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing 
World Champion: Janet Todd
1. Stamp Fairtex
2. Alma Juniku
3. Chuang Kai Ting
4. Anne Line Hogstad
5. Ekaterina Vandaryeva

Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai 
World Champion: Stamp Fairtex
1. Janet Todd
2. Anne Line Hogstad
3. Alma Juniku
4. Ekaterina Vandaryeva
5. Rudzma Abubakar

Women’s Strawweight Mixed Martial Arts 
World Champion: Xiong Jing Nan
1. Tiffany Teo
2. Michelle Nicolini
3. Angela Lee
4. Ayaka Miura
5. Maira Mazar

What are your thoughts on ONE Championship unveiling a new athlete ranking system?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/24/2020.