For the first time, ONE Championship is on a mini-tour of the United States.
The Asia-based promotion recently paid a visit to Seattle, home area of one of its recent high-profile signings, Demetrious Johnson. There, Johnson and ONE Championship executives Rich Franklin and Miesha Tate, who are former UFC champs like Johnson, met up with kids at the Southwest Boys & Girls Club.
Johnson fights Yuya Wakamatsu in his ONE debut on March 31 at “ONE Championship: A New Era” in Tokyo. The fight will be the opening round of ONE’s flyweight tournament.
“I am very excited to make my ONE Championship debut,” Johnson stated. “I feel as though the organization represents the true values of martial arts, which I really take pride in, like being humble and respectful. ONE Championship is everything that is great about martial arts. Even in events like this, where I get to visit the children at the Southwest Boys & Girls Club and share with them the benefits of martial arts in people’s lives, it’s an honor for me to be able to do this. We’re about a month out to Tokyo, and I’m excited to face Yuya Wakamatsu. I think he’s a very tough, well-rounded opponent and it should be a good test for me.”
Check out the photos from the meet-and-greet and Q&A session in the gallery above.
For more on “ONE Championship: A New Era,” visit the MMA Rumors section of the site.
