One Championship Postpones Closed-Door Event Slate for April Due to Coronavirus

One Championship will not go forward with its plan to hold a series of closed-door, audience free events this month due to ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

One CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the news in a post on his Facebook account Sunday, citing a partial lockdown in the promotion’s home base of Singapore as well as additional travel restrictions in nearby countries.

“Unfortunately, One Championship will have to postpone its closed-door, audience-free events for April due to new COVID-19 restriction,” Sityodtong wrote. “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 7) 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.”

Last month, the organization moved an event previously scheduled for March 20 to June 26 and announced that all events until May 29 would be held behind closed doors, with each card taking place in Singapore. As of now, One Championship “Hope” on April 17 and One Championship “Strength” on April 24 have been postponed.

The promotion still has closed-door events scheduled for May 1 and May 8 in Singapore, but Sityodtong did not reference the status of those cards in his post. However, Singapore’s government restrictions will begin on April 7 and last approximately one month.

“We are living through the most extraordinary of times,” Sityodtong wrote. “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.”