Two days after the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv shook to the biggest combat-sports night Israel has staged, the man who built it from scratch is already talking about the next one. Moti Lasry, the producer behind GFN 1: Israel vs. the World, told ONE he expects a follow-up event around January — and that the ambition now is nothing less than the largest event in the country.
GFN 1 sold out Menora Mivtachim Arena on July 27 with three Israeli brothers, Ahavat Hashem, Ruach Hashem and Kibedy Gordon, each fighting a different international opponent on the same card under Muay Thai rules. In the headline bout, Ahavat Hashem Gordon beat Brazilian veteran and former ONE Championship bantamweight title challenger John Lineker by unanimous decision in front of roughly 11,000 fans, a result that drew coverage from MMA outlets well beyond Israel.
Lasry, whose background is largely in mainstream event production rather than combat sports, does not pretend the operation was smooth. "It's the craziest project we've done, because we barely know how to do this," he told ONE, describing a crash course in flying in international fighters, coordinating broadcast logistics and filling an arena for a sport with a limited track record of drawing crowds in Israel.
The numbers he gave ONE illustrate the scale of the gamble. Production alone cost roughly 2.5 million shekels, he said, with close to 400 suppliers involved in pulling the night together, on top of travel and accommodation for fighters brought in from Brazil, Moldova, Mexico and elsewhere.
Lasry also pointed to a community element to the event: around 2,000 tickets, he said, were distributed free to orphans and to wounded Israelis. It is the kind of detail promoters often use to soften the commercial edge of a big-ticket production, but paired with a sold-out arena it points to an event that reached well beyond a hardcore fight crowd.
Not every story from the build-up was flattering. Lasry recounted an incident in which a fighter was accused of stealing pickles worth 275 shekels from a vendor. According to his account, the fighter apologized and cried when confronted, saying he had wanted a souvenir from Israel; Lasry says he covered the cost himself rather than let it escalate.
Looking ahead, Lasry was unambiguous about his intentions. "My goal is to build the biggest event in Israel," he told ONE, adding that GFN has already fielded outside interest in taking the concept abroad, with offers from Miami and France to stage similar nights.
For now, the next Israeli date is pencilled in for around January, Lasry said, with no opponents or venue confirmed. Given the international attention GFN 1 pulled toward Tel Aviv, in a discipline that rarely gets a mainstream Israeli platform, the sequel will be watched closely both at home and by promoters abroad.
