‘Which Fighter Can Perform Their Best And Knock Their Opponent Down’

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Jakarta’s mixed martial arts fans will get the chance to watch their heroes pound on each other tonight, and they have Victor Cui to thank.

The Canadian businessman saw a good future in the no-holds- barred world of MMA and founded the ONE Fighting Championship, which is based in Singapore. He is bringing the ring mayhem to Jakarta tonight with an event at the Sports Mall in Kelapa Gading, the first of two events planned for the capital this year.

The 40-year-old former ESPN executive tells My Jakarta why nothing beats watching a good fight live, how his family feels about all the violence and why MMA is all about respect.

What’s the deal with the name of your organization, ONE? What does it stand for?

It doesn’t stand for anything. I chose ONE simply because it’s universal. Even if you’re coming from a non-English speaking country, you will understand the word one. Moreover, I believe that sports are one of the most effective ways of gathering and uniting people. I want in this ONE Fighting Championship for the practitioners and enthusiasts of various martial arts to come together as one, giving support to their favorite fighters and becoming a witness to this world-class fighting championship in finding the ONE true champion.

How did you come up with the idea for the tournament?

It’s just like the difference between watching Katy Perry’s music videos and seeing her live on stage. I believe it’s more fun to see the fights live. But ONE FC won’t just gather world-class fighters. We also want to discover local fighters, put them in together and let the spectators come to see them and give them their support. It’s awesome. You can feel the fighting spirit because you give your utmost support to your favorite fighter. I also want to show that Asia has great fighters.

And are you or were you one of those fighters yourself?

No, I’m way too old for MMA now. But I do hold a black belt in taekwondo.

How did you get involved in MMA in the first place?

I have 15 years experience working at ESPN, so sport stuff is not something new to me, especially MMA. This is a sport that is growing very fast and has a lot of fans around the world. It’s very fun to see two fighters practicing their skills in muay Thai or Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the octagon for three and a half minutes. The purpose is not about finding which martial art is the best. More important is which fighter can step up under pressure, perform their best and knock their opponent down in a real-life fighting situation.

Why did you decide to bring ONE FC to Jakarta?

Jakarta fans rock, especially when they watch sports, whether it’s badminton, football and anything else. In other countries, if their favorite players make a point, people will be just clap their hands and say ‘good job.’ But in Jakarta, it’s totally different. You can really feel the energy through the fans’ costumes, cheers, trumpets and everything else. That’s why Jakarta is such a good potential market, especially since we also have local fighters in the tournament.

There is also an increased enthusiasm for MMA in Jakarta. Many Jakartans are now practicing MMA, although they are still somewhat underground since there is no association or any formal competition that specifically focuses on MMA. So I also want to accommodate the MMA fans through ONE FC.

How is ONE FC doing so far?

ONE FC was created in July 2011, so it’s still a very young brand. Nonetheless, we have grown very fast. Our first event was in Singapore last year and tonight in Jakarta will be our second show. Next month we will have our third show, which will be back in Singapore on March 31. In all we will have 12 shows in 2012 and 14 shows in 2013. In addition, we will also be coming back to Jakarta by the end of the year. We now also have an exclusive contract with ESPN for 10 years.

I have a great team behind our success. I call them ‘Team ONE.’ They are all experts in marketing, publications and everything else necessary to make ONE FC more recognizable and interesting for everyone to see and participate in.

How has your family responded to this violent business?

They support me all the way. My wife also has a black belt in taekwondo. Actually, I’m quite the family man. I love to spend my time with my 3-year-old daughter and my baby boy.

Do you want your kids to grow up to be fighters?

As a matter of fact, yes. My 3-year-old daughter has started to learn how to kick and punch.

Last, in your opinion, what is the most important thing in every martial art?

Martial art is all about respect. Respect yourself, respect your teacher and respects your opponents.

Victor Cui was talking to Mulianingsih Kurnia.

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