It’s safe to say that there is no love lost between RIZIN President Nobuyuki Sakakibara and ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
During a recent episode of RIZIN CONFESSIONS on YouTube, Sakakibara, who has ties to both PRIDE FC and K-1, recently spoke about the promotion’s move into South Korea. During his comments, Sakakibara insisted that Asian-based combat sports organizations should “bring the heat to Asia” before attempting to branch out into other markets.
It was a clear dig at one of RIZIN’s biggest rivals in Asia, ONE Championship, but Sakakibara didn’t stop there. He went for the jugular, calling out ONE’s sketchy “fund-based scheme” for survival, likening it to being on life support.