ONE Championship Outranks UFC In Nielsen Rankings

01 May 2022

A recent report published by Nielsen titled “Year In Review: Sports Consumption Evolution” shows that ONE Championship’s digital viewership and engagement on social media grew significantly in 2021.

The organization has successfully used its social media to connect with audiences and help draw fans into the world of combat sports. This strategy has increased engagement across platforms and has funneled attention toward ONE’s video content. 

ONE ranked second in 2021 for digital viewership, rising from fourth in 2020. Primarily streamed via apps such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, the organization earned nearly 14 billion video views throughout the year, which placed it behind only the NBA.

Meanwhile, American-based MMA promotion UFC fell to fifth in the rankings, with just under seven billion views. It’s clear from the report that ONE’s dedication to making martial arts more accessible to a broader audience is paying dividends. 

ONE performed particularly well on Facebook, where it ranked fourth overall. According to the Nielsen data, it received nearly 17,000 average engagements per post last year. These figures again placed ONE Championship ahead of the UFC, which snagged the eighth spot in the rankings. 

ONE's followers across social media platforms increased to nearly 43 million as well – up by almost 25 percent from 2020. The only organizations that outperformed it were long-standing institutions such as the Olympics, the UEFA Euros, and F1.  

The company also ranked 11th overall in broadcast hours, performing well in the face of the many new challenges sports organizations faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Overall, ONE ranked fourth place on YouTube, 11th on the wildly popular app TikTok, and 17th on Instagram for sports properties.