Rich Franklin Is On The Hunt For Asia's Next Martial Arts Superstar

Rich “Ace” Franklin has an eye for talent, and he is looking for Asia’s next martial arts superstar.

On Thursday, 16 November, ONE Championship announced the production of a new documentary show entitled “Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series.”

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “I am pleased to announce ‘Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series.’ At ONE Championship, one of our biggest missions is taking martial arts, Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, and placing it front and center for the entire world to witness.

“One of the ways to do this is by developing local homegrown martial arts superheroes. We are excited to travel across Asia, visiting the most iconic cities, to discover the next big superstar.”

ONE Championship’s world-class production team will follow the multi-time Middleweight World Champion, as he journeys throughout Asia to find the continent’s most promising undiscovered martial artists, and reward them with six-figure contracts to compete on the global stage of ONE Championship.

“Asia is the hotbed of the industry’s top martial arts prospects. It comes as no surprise, since martial arts has been home to the region for the past 5000 years,” stated Franklin, the Vice President of ONE Championship.

“Throughout my time in ONE Championship, I have been witness to some of the best martial arts talent I have ever seen. Stars today such as Angela Lee and Eduard Folayang came from the grassroots level of talent in Asia, and the next martial arts superstar is just waiting to be discovered.”

Franklin’s quest to discover the next martial arts superstar will take him to gyms in Bangkok, Thailand; Manila, Philippines; Seoul, South Korea; Tokyo, Japan; and Beijing, China.

At these gyms, athletes can audition for the show, where they will demonstrate their martial arts skills by passing a series of tests. If selected, they will be invited to compete in a trial exhibition bout, with a chance to earn the ultimate prize of a six-figure ONE Championship contract.

In addition to Lee and Folayang, some of the hottest young talents to emerge on the Asian martial arts scene includes Malaysia’s Agilan “Alligator” Thani, Singapore’s Amir Khan, and Thailand’s Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai.

Now, the search for the next hottest young talent begins.

“Follow me on this journey to showcase Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, and join me on the hunt to find ONE Championship’s new wave of superstars,” said Franklin.

“Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series” is scheduled to premiere in the first quarter of 2018.