Chatri Sityodtong

Chatri Sityodtong, born Chatri Trisiripisal in Thailand, experienced a significant change in his early life when his family faced financial hardship during the Asian Financial Crisis, leading to his father’s abandonment. Despite these challenges, Sityodtong, supported by his mother, pursued higher education, graduating with a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University in 1994 and later earning an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999. During his time in the US, he often subsisted on limited funds, even living on $4 a day and working to support his family while completing his studies. His early career included roles as an investment analyst at Fidelity Investments and a managing director at Maverick Capital, a hedge fund, before launching Izara Capital Management in 2005, a New York hedge fund backed by Farallon Capital.

Sityodtong’s martial arts journey began in childhood, training in Muay Thai under Kru Yodtong Senanan at Sityodtong Gym in Pattaya, Thailand, where he earned the ring name Yodchatri Sityodtong, or “Extraordinary Warrior.” He is a certified senior Muay Thai instructor and has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Master Renzo Gracie, which he received on air at ONE 168 in 2024. In 2019, he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. After a decade in finance, he retired and founded Evolve MMA, a chain of martial arts academies, in 2008. These experiences laid the groundwork for his most significant endeavor, the founding of ONE Championship.

In October 2010, Chatri Sityodtong established ONE Championship with the mission to highlight authentic martial arts and its values. Under his leadership, ONE has grown into a billion-dollar global sports media property, recognized by Nielsen as one of the world’s top 10 biggest sports media properties in terms of viewership and engagement across 190+ countries. Sityodtong also starred in the global edition of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition on Netflix, which won Asia’s Best Reality TV Series at the 2021 Asian Academy Awards. In 2022, he accepted an invitation from the Royal Thai Army to become a promoter at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. His philanthropic efforts include supporting the Global Poverty Project, Boys’ Town Home, the Singapore Children’s Society, and the Children’s Cancer Foundation.