The Coronavirus pandemic continues to play havoc with MMA schedules with ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announcing on Facebook today that all May events are to be indefinitely postponed.
ONE had three events scheduled for May, starting with two Singapore shows on May 1 and 8 and ending with what was supposed to be the promotions first mega event of 2020 ONE: Infinity 1 on May 29 inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Sityodtong’s announcement comes as no great surprise, given that Singapore’s lockdown, which started on April 7 and which was due to end on May 4, has now been extended until June 1.
It will be interesting to see the plan ONE comes up with in terms of producing shows going forward. Even if ONE gets the green light to hold closed-door events in Singapore, overseas-based fighters flying into the “Lion City,” will almost certainly be required to undergo a period of self-isolation for 14 days.
Few fighters will relish the thought of spending two weeks confined to a hotel room, but it may be what is required to make fights happen. However, ONE may be looking at options outside of Singapore or could be waiting to see what type of restrictions will be placed on visitors come June 1 before they begin making concentrate plans.
Times like this calls for companies to think outside the box and the brains trust at ONE will no doubt be looking at doing whatever it takes to safely get events running again.