ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is adamant that despite the impact of the coronavirus, the company will still produce fifty events in 2020.
In a global conference call with members of the press, Sityodtong spoke about the company’s upcoming Singapore show ONE: King Of The Jungle, which will now be held behind closed doors, as well as how the rest of the year will unfold.
“I think the most important thing is that ONE Championship has proven to the world that no matter what crisis exists, the show must go on. Of course, public safety is our top priority, and we will asses and monitor the situation country by country, but the show will go one. ONE Championship will throw a minimum of fifty events this year, ” Sityodtong said.
“Whether it’s behind closed doors or whether it’s open to all fans, time will tell how it will unfold but make no mistake; we are throwing fifty events this year.”
ONE: King Of The Jungle is scheduled to take place Fri. 28 February. Sityodtong talked about the thought process behind the decision to stage the event behind closed doors.
“It was not an easy decision for us. In fact, many people were pushing us to cancel the event. 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,” he exclaimed.
“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.”
If ONE can keep its lights burning bright this year, it could go a long way to helping its fanbase get through what is looking to be a challenging, but hopefully brief, period for the region.