Pinagsamasama ng ONE Championship ang ilan sa mga kilalang pangalan sa The Home Of Martial Arts para sa taunang ONE Elite Retreat sa Phuket, Thailand.
50 sa mga kilalang martial artists ng organisasyon ay nagtipon ng ilang araw para magpahinga at mag-enjoy at ilang mga seminar at workshop upang mas maging handa sila sa kanilang mga laban.
“This is how ONE Championship gives back to the athletes and shows that we’re very much appreciated. We’re not just cattle,” sabi ni ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera.
“On top of that, aside from being thrown into this five-star resort, we’ve been set up in classes, so we’re learning all these different things we should know, but don’t know.
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"ONE has brought in speakers and professors from all over the world to help educate us, and that’s something that’s very rare, especially in our industry. We are ONE. It’s not just a hashtag, it’s a lifestyle.”
Ang retreat ay isang perpektong opurtunidad para sa mga magkakalaban na team na magsamasama at iwanan muna ang kanilang mga pagkakaiba sa loob ng ONE circle.
Ibinahagi ni Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon na nakasama niya ang ngayong ONE Lightweight World Champion na si Shinya Aoki ilang araw matapos nitong matalo ang kasamahan niyang si Eduard Folayang.
“I sparred with Shinya Aoki, and I had a great experience with him. I learned a lot, so I was so happy to be a part of the retreat,” sabi ni Belingon.
“I made new friends by meeting these other athletes, talking to them, and hearing their stories.”
Tulad ni Belingon, naging malapit din si Vera sa kanyang magiging kalaban na si Aung La N Sang na two-division ONE World Champion na makakaharap niya sa Oktubre sa Japan.
“ONE Championship is a very different thing, and it starts from its core values. It just pours over into the athletes. It’s nothing but love. Everyone here is supportive, and everyone is hanging out,” sabi niya.
“You might think that because Aung La and I have a match coming up in October – I challenged him recently – [we'd be at odds], but man, we’ve been talking and hanging out ever since then.”
