ONE Championship Going All-In With Grappling By Hiring Jiu-Jitsu Legend As New VP

ONE Championship has touted itself as the “home of martial arts,” and it is leaning ever closer towards its billing after announcing that the outfit had signed Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Leo Vieira as their new vice president of grappling.

Vieira is a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Pan American titlist and ADCC titleholder, and his brothers Ricardo and Leandro are the co-founders of CheckMat--one of the most decorated grappling teams in the world.

“I am thrilled to join ONE as vice president of grappling. I appreciate the trust and opportunity that Chatri [Sityodtong] and the ONE team have given me to shape ONE’s submission grappling divisions,” said Vieira in the official press release sent to the International Business Times.

“It is a dream come true to work alongside people who share similar values and beliefs about martial arts as I do. I am committed to building the world’s most exciting submission grappling promotion with ONE’s amazingly talented roster.”

The promotion’s first-ever grappling match happened in May 2017 as Garry Tonon took on Shinya Aoki at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes and will have its sixth and seventh grappling matches on May 20 at ONE 157.

Since then, grapplers have slowly been trickling into the organization with guys like Aoki, Ben Askren, and Masakazu Imanari gracing ONE Championship over the past years.

At first glance, submission grappling is not as exciting for most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans as the lack of striking could turn them away from the wizardry of the best grapplers in the world.

To combat this notion, ONE Championship announced this past May that there would be rule changes and incentives for scoring finishes during a grappling match.

The change was made because of the anti-climactic finishes between Andre Galvao and Reinier de Ridder and Danielle Kelly taking on Mei Yamaguchi during ONE X last March 26 as both fights came to a draw.

Improvements to the rules include yellow cards being given to fighters who stall the match, and if a match ends without a submission after 12 minutes, the competitor with the most number of real submission attempts will be proclaimed as the winner.

“Leo (Vieira) is a true trailblazer in martial arts, and as we continue to add depth to our grappling roster, his guidance will be invaluable,” said company chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

“ONE is proud to continue providing the world’s best martial arts athletes with a platform to showcase their unique talents and skills.”