By:  | September 14, 2023 12:10 pm

Anissa Meksen is in the middle of a well publicized dispute with ONE Championship. In January the French fighter pulled out of a mixed rules fight with Stamp Fairtex at the last minute and she has not been seen since.

Meksen was booked to fight Stamp at ONE Fight Night 6. The French fighter no showed the weigh ins and initially claimed to have a family problem although she subsequently announced she had withdrawn because she wasn’t happy with the contract.

Speaking to SCMP MMA’s post fight podcast Chatri Sityodtong said he hoped to see Meksen fight for ONE Championship again,

“I wish my team and Anissa (would) work everything out. I’d love to see Anissa come back into the fold.”

Amicable resolution

Meksen announced she was going to be making her MMA debut at Ares 15 in May. But she subsequently pulled out, presumably because the French promotion became aware that she had an exclusive contract with ONE Championship.

If Meksen is contractually unable to fight anywhere else then her options are very limited. This isn’t the first time a fighter has fallen out with ONE Championship and Chatri says these type of issues normally get resolved,

“I’m sure our team is working very hard to try and resolve everything with Anissa. We’ve had issues in the list with multiple athletes and my team has been able to resolve them amicably so everyone gets back into the fold.”

 

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Potential fights

The frustration for fans is that there are so many potential fights for Meksen. Had she shown up to her mixed rules match with Stamp she would have been guaranteed an interim title shot against the same opponent under Muay Thai rules.

Since then Allycia Rodrigues has made a successful comeback after giving birth and Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom has burst onto the scene. Meanwhile Janet Todd still holds the atomweight kickboxing title and Meksen made it clear she wanted that fight.

It sounds like Meksen is contractually unable to compete outside of ONE Championship. But Chatri says the French fighter knows where the biggest fights are,

“The atomweight division, whether it’s kickboxing or Muay Thai, I think Anissa knows it’s the best in the world.”

Part of the business

For a fighter to sit on the sidelines for a year can be devastating, potentially meaning a total loss of income. But for the promotion life goes on and Chatri sounded calm about the current situation with Meksen,

“These things happen, it’s just part of the business.”