ONE Championship, the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, has today announced partnerships with blockchain company Sui and technology innovation firm Globant.
Sui will serve as the official blockchain partner of ONE Championship.
The agreement will integrate it into various ONE products, including ONE Fight Arena — the promotion’s official Web3-enabled free-to-play mobile game built in partnership with Animoca Brands.
The deal was brokered by PinDrop, the new UK-based sports marketing agency that launched late last year.
Menino Pereira, co-founder of PinDrop and former technology consultant, has said: “Time and time again, we have seen Web3 brands fall into the trap of hollow branding deals, with minimal tech integration or showcase.
“From our first call with Sui, there was a strong alignment and shared desire to set the standard on how blockchain can shape the future of fan engagement.
“ONE Championship proved to be the perfect partner in achieving this given they were already building in Web3 and have a global tech-savvy audience fuelling an unstoppable growth trajectory.”
Meanwhile, Globant, through its sports division Sportian, will work with ONE Championship to protect its content against piracy.
Using Globant Sportian’s Content Protection services, illegal broadcasts can be detected in real-time and tracked across streaming sites, apps, VOD platforms, search engines, social media, and IPTV, enabling rapid blocking that will help ONE “protect the value of its global broadcast agreements.”
ONE claims to broadcast weekly events to an audience spanning more than 190 countries. The popularity of its events, which feature mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling, has caused a spike in content piracy that “threatens the future growth of the organization.”
James Marsh, vice president of global media rights for ONE Championship, said: “Piracy is a serious issue that requires speed and precision to counteract any illegal streams and protect both our intellectual property and our broadcast partners.
“Globant Sportian has shown its commitment to innovating in this space for many years, and we look forward to working with them to ensure our programming is secure moving forward.”
Pablo Lo Giudice, business lead for content protection at Sportian, added: “ONE Championship is one of the most exciting growth stories in sport, which makes it a key target for piracy rings that are focused on diverting fans’ money out of the industry.
“We are excited to establish a new partnership in Asia that will reduce the impact that piracy is able to have on fan experiences, broadcast agreements, and local jobs.”
