Glory isn't the premier kickboxing org anymore. One is now besides the heavier weight classes which aren't really worth watching anymore since they separated MW/LHW/HW. K-1 had a lot of talent in heavys because they didn't really have weight classes much like Pride. So the "HW" division seemed much more entertaining back then. Imagine if UFC just combined everyone from MW, LHW, and HW. Those shallow divisions would become much more interesting
Glory is by far the largest kickboxing organization in the world. I'm telling you as a kickboxing fan since Hug and Cikatic, the 90s, and a fan of the light and heavy divisions. In addition, ONE is even now selling "free" tickets. In a region that is financially far below the level of the Netherlands.
Not that ONE has ever expanded the kickboxing divisions, but now they have also reduced kickboxing. ONE IS now for Muay Thai, which is not a very developed sport outside of Thailand. Like Kickboxing.
It doesn't really matter what Combat Press or Beyond Kick say, because the first lacks kickboxing specialists. And both focus on stand-up fighting in Asia.
Recently, important kickboxers from ONE have fought in GLORY, where they represented almost nothing. ONE was like GLORY's 85 now.
But ONE was strong at 70, they bought practically the entire "lightweight" produced by GLORY. But now it's almost over and Chatri's dream is to promote Thais. The shorter figthers will be divided between Europe and Asia. Kickboxing is not just the light division. Most contact sports fans, with all due respect, would never just follow 55, 61, etc. In all sports, including boxing and MMA.
On kickboxing ONE missed the chance to become No 1. At the time they bought the GLORY lightweights and they had a few other divisions, but not very expanded and not very many. Because there are several elite Thai fighters, they can put on great events. And regionally, there are also top shorter fighters in Japan and China. But I can't see them becoming number 1 in the next few years without rebuilding themselves from the ground up. With fighters from all over the world, and not overrated. And Chatri has no intention of doing that. ONE missed their chance years ago, and now they've fired kickboxers.
I don't know, maybe on short term, ONE could be really strong on kickboxing in terms of light divisions, but I don't see yet the intention of signing non-Asian top talent. And even if they did, they are absent from the heavier divisions.
And Glory is also making a mistake now that they are starting to focus on fewer divisions. But even so, in kickboxing they remain much above ONE and more "international".
