Martial Arts

ONE Championship’s Hydration & Weigh-In System

ONE Championship’s weight classes are unlike any other organization in the world. ONE has been an industry leader by banning weight-cutting via dehydration. Instead, the promotion has implemented a revolutionary system that ensures athletes are hydrated, fit, and healthy ahead of their bouts.

The weigh-in program was established after thorough discussions and recommendations by ONE’s Medical and Competition teams, consisting of Vice President of Medical Services Dr. Warren Wang, Chief Medical Advisor Dr. James Okamoto, Senior Vice President of Competition Matt Hume, and Vice President Rich Franklin.

How Does ONE’s Hydration & Weigh-In System Work?

• All athletes will participate in a combined weigh-in and hydration test just 24 to 48 hours before the event.
• Hydration will be checked through a urine specific gravity test in which every athlete will submit a urine sample under the supervision of a medical technician.
• ONE’s doctor will test the athlete’s urine sample using a refractometer to ensure that the athlete is hydrated (hydrated = urine specific gravity ≤1.0250).
• The athlete’s weight must be within the contracted weight class or catchweight’s limit. If the athlete passes the hydration test, then he or she must immediately weigh in. If the athlete fails the hydration test, then he or she will not be allowed to officially weigh in until they have first passed the hydration test.
• If the athlete passes the hydration test and makes weight, then he or she is cleared to compete in their weight class. If the athlete passes hydration but fails to make weight, then he or she may try again up to the allotted weigh-in time window. However, the athlete must pass hydration and make weight on any successive attempt within the allotted hydration and weigh-in time window.
• If the athlete fails to pass hydration and/or make weight during the allotted 3-hour time window, then he or she will be permitted to submit a hydration sample outside of the time window and then weigh in. From there, a catchweight can be negotiated, so long as both athletes are within 105 percent of the opponent’s official hydrated weight, and the athlete will surrender a percentage of his or her purse to the opponent if a catchweight can be agreed upon.

ONE Championship uses the Global Mixed Martial Arts Rule Set, which blends a combination of best practices from Asian and Non-Asian rules in mixed martial arts. All athletes will wear 4-ounce mixed martial arts gloves in their bouts.

Bout Duration

Each bout will be three rounds of five minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds. World Championship bouts will be five rounds of five minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds.

Ways To Win

A victory can be attained by:

• Knockout
• Technical knockout due to referee/doctor/corner stoppage
• Submission
• Technical submission due to referee/doctor/corner stoppage
• Judges’ decision
• Technical decision
• Athlete verbally requests a stoppage
• Disqualification

Decision Wins

In the event that a bout goes the distance, it will go to the judges’ decision. The three judges will score the bout in its entirety, not round-by-round. Judges will utilize the ONE judging criteria in descending order of importance to determine the winner of the bout.

ONE Judging Criteria

• Near-knockout/near-submission
• Damage (internal, accumulated, superficial)
• Striking combinations and cage/ring generalship (ground control and superior positioning)
• Earned takedowns or takedown defense
• Aggression

ONE Championship uses the Global Muay Thai Rule Set. All athletes will wear 4-ounce mixed martial arts gloves for bouts.

Bout Duration

Each bout will be three rounds of three minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds. World Championship bouts will be five rounds of three minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds.

Ways To Win

A victory can be attained by:

• Knockout via punch, kick, knee, elbow, or legal throw
• Technical knockout due to referee/doctor/corner stoppage
• Technical knockout due to 3 knockdowns in a round/4 knockdowns in a bout
• Athlete verbally requests a stoppage
• Judges’ decision
• Technical decision
• Disqualification

Decision Wins

In the event a bout goes the distance, it will go to the judges’ decision. The three judges will score the bout round-by-round using the “10-Point-Must” system, and victory is awarded by the judges’ majority decision. If the points tally is equal, then the judges shall utilize the ONE Judging Criteria to determine a winner.

ONE Judging Criteria

• Knockdowns
• Damage (internal, accumulated, and superficial)
• Number of clean strikes
• Aggression and cage/ring generalship (superior positioning)

ONE Championship uses the Global Kickboxing Rule Set.

Athletes competing at bantamweight or lighter will wear 8-ounce boxing gloves. Athletes competing at featherweight or heavier will wear 10-ounce boxing gloves. 

Bout Duration

Each bout will be three rounds of three minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds. World Championship bouts will be five rounds of three minutes per round, with a one-minute break between rounds.

Ways To Win

A victory can be attained by:

• Knockout via punch, kick, or knee
• Technical knockout due to referee/doctor/corner stoppage
• Technical knockout due to 3 knockdowns in a round/4 knockdowns in a bout
• Athlete verbally requests a stoppage
• Judges’ decision
• Technical decision
• Disqualification

Decision Wins

In the event a bout goes the distance, it will go to the judges’ decision. The three judges will score the bout round-by-round using the “10-Point-Must” system, and victory is awarded by the judges’ majority decision. If the points tally is equal, then the judges shall utilize the ONE Judging Criteria to determine a winner.

ONE Judging Criteria

• Knockdowns
• Damage (internal, accumulated, and superficial)
• Number of clean strikes
• Aggression and cage/ring generalship (superior positioning)

ONE Championship uses the Global Submission Grappling Rule Set.

Bout Duration

Every bout, including World Title bouts, will consist of a single 10-minute round.

Ways To Win

A victory is attained by one of the following ways:

• Submission
• Verbal tapout
• Referee stoppage due to imminent danger
• Athlete’s cornerman requests a stoppage
• Judges’ decision

Decision Wins

In the event a bout goes to the distance, it will go to the judges’ decision. The three judges will score the bout by the number of catches, or legitimate submission attempts.

Judges will award the victory to the athlete with the greater number of catches. If there are an equal number of catches or no catches, the athlete determined to have shown more aggression will win. If there are no catches, the judges will award the victory to the athlete determined to have shown more aggression.

Guard-pulling must be used as an offensive maneuver with the intent to engage the opponent (jumping triangle, jumping armbar, etc.). Athletes must engage at all times. Stalling will result in a verbal warning or yellow card and the referee will restart the match from the standing position.

Athletes will receive a yellow card if he or she is stalling, and a yellow card will negate one of the recipient’s catches. If an athlete receives more yellow cards than his or her opponent, then the decision will be determined by the standard criteria. If both athletes receive the same amount of yellow card(s), then the aforementioned decision rules apply.

ONE Judging Criteria

• Number of catches
• Aggression