Fans react to Tom DeBlass being named as ONE Championship's VP of grappling
Tom DeBlass has joined the ONE Championship ranks at a high level after being named as the new Vice President of Grappling.
The promotion has been making submission grappling a priority in recent years with four current world champions on the roster. It's important for ONE to provide these athletes with a global stage, and with DeBlass' help, that's only going to continue.
As a former MMA fighter and third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he will use his own experiences alongside Leo Vieira to help continue pushing ONE to the forefront of the sport.
Some ONE Championship fans may already be familiar with DeBlass due to the occasional hand that he lends on commentary, but in this role, he will be far more involved with finding the best talent that is out there.
After announcing the news, the former IBJJF world champion received lots of positive feedback on his Instagram page:
@sbrflores:
"Congratulations Tom DeBlass. This is amazing news and so great for ONE Championship. Let's go!!!!"
@hectorlombard:
"True martial artist"
@adjacent_odd:
"Huge congratulations! Literally could not have a more qualified person to help run the BJJ side of things over at ONE!"
@brettkuik:
"Congratulations Tom LFGGG. ONE FC grappling is about to get a whole new reach."
@911strong:
"Amazing. Love it when good things happen to good people!"
Tom DeBlass gives a long statement when announcing the news
The Instagram post that saw him announce the news also featured a long statement from Tom DeBlass.
In the caption, he spoke about what the role is and how he feels at home in ONE Championship.
DeBlass also thanked Chatri Sityodtong for putting him in this position and issued a message to the athletes.
"To the athletes, what you can expect from me? You can expect total honesty and transparency. I was an athlete before I was a busines man, (the same way Leio was) and understand what it is to be you. Let's go!!!!"