ONE Championship CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong opening the press conference. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–ONE Championship’s first show in Singapore this year will push through despite the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Chatri Sityodtong, ONE chairman and CEO, said the King of the Jungle event scheduled on Feb. 28 at Singapore Indoor Stadium will proceed behind closed doors without the presence of fans and media.
“The Singapore Indoor Stadium will not be open to the general public, but the event will proceed behind closed doors as scheduled live on all TV and digital platforms across 150+ countries around the world,” Sityodtong wrote on his official Facebook page on Monday.
As of Monday, Singapore has 77 confirmed cases, according to The Straits Times.
“It was not an easy decision for us. In fact, many people were pushing us to cancel the event,” ” Sityodtong said during a global conference call Tuesday.
Official poster of the ONE: King of the Jungle.
“But I thought back to why I started ONE Championship in the first place. And our mission since day one has been to unleash real-life superheroes who ignite the world with hope, strength, dreams, and inspiration.”
“It’s a very different mission than all of our other global competitors. Yes, we want to put on the greatest fights. Yes, we have the greatest martial artists in the world but there’s a deeper mission for ONE Championship. And in a time of crisis, in a time of fear in the continent of Asia, our heroes are ready to inspire the world.”
Sityodtong also assured a full refund for those who had already purchased tickets to the event.
Two-sport ONE world champion Stamp Fairtex of Thailand will defend her ONE atomweight kickboxing world title against Janet “J.T.” Todd of the United States in the main event.
Filipino bets Mark Fairtex Abelardo and Denice Zamboanga are scheduled to fight in the lead card.
ONE’s future events after Singapore will proceed as planned.