Fans have mixed reactions after a ONE Championship fighter leaked how much they are getting paid.
In 2022, ONE announced they signed a partnership to hold weekly events inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium. The Lumpinee events feature mostly Thai Muay Thai fighters, carrying on the tradition in Thailand.
Along with mostly Muay Thai fights, there are several MMA bouts on the undercards. On March 31, ONE returns to Lumpinee Stadium for their eleventh event associated with the partnership. The first fight of the night is a women’s strawweight MMA matchup between Anelya Toktogonova and Aleksandra Savicheva.
Toktogonova decided to share pictures of her contract on social media. The photo revealed that she was being paid $1,300 to show and another $1,300 to win. Although the Lumpinee events are somewhat of a tryout for ONE Championship, some fans were concerned about how much she was being paid.
$1300 show/win pay 😭😭😭 Chatri what the actual fuck pic.twitter.com/GDrg1Kas2p
— wholesomeMMA (@wholesome_mma) March 30, 2023
Fans react to Anelya Toktogonova’s contract with ONE Championship
Fighter pay has been a hot topic in the MMA community for several years. Once Anelya Toktogonova shared what she was getting paid for ONE Friday Fights 11, there were mixed reactions on Twitter, including some saying:
“So does Chatri think “billions of viewers” is an even trade off or?? lol jk These figures would be decent if it was a regional show in North Dakota. Not the supposed 2nd biggest promotion in MMA.”
So does Chatri think "billions of viewers" is an even trade off or?? lol jk
These figures would be decent if it was a regional show in North Dakota. Not the supposed 2nd biggest promotion in MMA.
— Mikey Bats (@MikeJBknows) March 30, 2023
“I know Lumpinee is like contender series but like jfc that’s like amateur money”
I know Lumpinee is like contender series but like jfc that's like amateur money
— 🔪Callie🔪 (@Tentaclestuff) March 30, 2023
“I looked it up and she 2-1. She not actually sign with ONE but doing the Friday Fights which is ONE tryout show. Sounds like a one fight contract too. The pay in Thailand sucks but this is a lot compare to Muay Thai fighters get over there. She opening fight on the card. Like idk”
I looked it up and she 2-1. She not actually sign with ONE but doing the Friday Fights which is ONE tryout show. Sounds like a one fight contract too. The pay in Thailand sucks but this is a lot compare to Muay Thai fighters get over there. She opening fight on the card. Like idk
— silverwolf (@thesilverwolfgg) March 30, 2023
“So if she trained 6 weeks or so.. Paid for a camp.. then wins.. She is in debt..”
So if she trained 6 weeks or so..
Paid for a camp.. then wins..
She is in debt..— ☁ (@moxfulder3000) March 30, 2023
“A 2-1 fighter on a next gen card opening up the show, not even signed with one, fighting for exposure $1300 show pay is actually not too bad, especially considering most Muay Thai fighters get paid $100”
A 2-1 fighter on a next gen card opening up the show, not even signed with one, fighting for exposure $1300 show pay is actually not too bad, especially considering most Muay Thai fighters get paid $100
— Ryan Lewis 🏴🏴 (@Ryan_Lewis226) March 30, 2023
There are two different ways to analyze the situation. On one hand, $1,300 is not a lot of money for the risks of fighting. With that said, most regional promotions pay equal to or less than that. ONE Championship is not a regional promotion, but their Lumpinee fight cards are mostly filled with unknown fighters to make a name for themselves before being added to the bigger fight cards where everyone is paid more. It should also be noted that Lumpinee events feature several $50,000 performance bonuses.
