ONE Championship continues its aggressive expansion in the grappling space with the signing of elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Giancarlo Bodoni. The announcement comes as part of ONE’s broader strategy to build a world-class submission grappling division, following recent high-profile acquisitions including Cole Abate, Dante Leon, and legendary figure Marcelo Garcia.
Bodoni represents an interesting strategic addition to ONE’s roster. With the promotion’s grappling division historically focused on lighter weight classes, anchored by the Ruotolo brothers, Bodoni’s signing could signal ONE’s intention to develop its heavyweight grappling presence.
The timing of this signing comes during a period of significant transformation for ONE Championship. The promotion recently secured a $50 million investment from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), barely maintaining its reported $1.35 billion valuation as per Bloomberg.
ONE Championship announced layoffs of “a few dozen employees” as part of its strategy to achieve profitability in the coming months. The company, which operates globally with offices in major cities across Asia, the U.S., and Europe, stated that the decision aligns with its focus on streamlining operations for long-term sustainability and growth. Despite claiming they’re nearing profitability through record revenues and cost efficiencies, CEO Chatri Sityodtong emphasized the necessity of these measures in an email to staff as per SCMP.
Interestingly, just a couple of weeks ago Bodoni had Oliver Taza on his podcast and the two discussed the dangers of exclusive contracts.
Taza spoke candidly about the pitfalls of exclusive contracts in a growing professional jiu-jitsu landscape. Sharing his experiences with ONE Championship, Taza highlighted the complexities of committing to such agreements.
“They’re like ‘oh well you can’t fight anywhere else’…and then the timing of it was weird like they were hitting me up like two weeks before the match where you have to go to Asia,” Taza explained.
The rushed circumstances and restrictive terms raised concerns for Taza. He noted that poor preparation time could jeopardize performance and, in turn, future opportunities:
“Let’s say the match doesn’t go my way, now I’m stuck. You guys are not going to be down to get me a match because I didn’t put on the best performance.”
“I’m learning how to pick my shots. We talk about it, but it also taught me to go over a contract, like actually hitting up a lawyer. Because jiu-jitsu guys, you know, we don’t see it”
While ONE continues to attract top grappling talent, some questions remain about event frequency and activity. Recent comments from Garry Tonon highlighting challenges in securing matches, coupled with his reported interest in UFC negotiations, underscore the importance of maintaining regular competition opportunities for their expanding roster.
