ONE Championship Postpone All Events In April
ONE Championship has been forced to postpone two shows scheduled for April due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Asian based promotion had previously planned to press ahead with their events until June behind closed doors. Speaking exclusively to LowKickMMA last week, ONE Vice-President Miesha Tate confirmed this was still the intention but stressed safety was paramount, she said.
“Right now the game plan is changing every day as is the spread of COVID-19. I can assure you ONE Championship is taking this matter very seriously, we are executing extreme safety precautions for all our staff and fans as safety is a top priority! But the show must go on! We have a will and we will find a way!”
Unfortunately for fight fans, ONE has been unable to find a way to press on. The promotions CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced late last night all audience-free events in April had been postponed, he said.
“BREAKING NEWS: Unfortunately, ONE Championship will have to postpone its closed-door, audience-free events for April due to new COVID-19 restrictions. To extinguish the recent growth of the coronavirus, the Singapore Government has just wisely ordered a partial lockdown of the country, whereby effective tomorrow (April 7th) onwards, only essential services (such as food, healthcare, and transportation) are allowed to operate. Additionally, major countries (China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Russia, India, Vietnam, Japan, etc) have temporarily closed their borders.
“We are living through the most extraordinary of times. The good news is that these short-term restrictions will undoubtedly slow down the coronavirus, and flatten the curve. To be clear though, it needs all of us to work together with vigilance. The most important thing that we can do as individuals is to follow the strict orders of our respective governments and to practice social distancing, good hygiene, and telecommuting. The virus cannot spread if we all stay at home. It really is as simple as that. Let us join hands in this fight and stand united as ONE. #WeAreONE“
Has ONE Championship made the right call in postponing their events?
