ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong promises that the promotion will soon return, and that they are taking stringent precautions before jumping in.
The amiable founder of the company is working with government officials and health experts from different territories to ensure a safe working environment for its athletes and employees once they reopen.
This comes after their western counterpart, the UFC, actively promoted shows during the pandemic. While Sityodtong tipped his hat to UFC President Dana White, he does not want to risk the safety of his peers.
“Of course I give mad respect to Dana White for having the courage and the vision to pull off events in such a tricky time,” Sityodtong said in an interview with the Associated Press.
“At ONE Championship, we have the same level of intensity, but I would say we are a little more prudent, because safety is our highest priority. We are not in a rush to come back just for the sake of coming back due to our financial commitments to broadcasters and brands and whatnot.
“We want to come back in an environment where we are sure that we can do it safely for all parties involved.”
The Home Of Martial Arts has been active in different countries in Asia outside of their headquarters in Singapore, and this poses another problem altogether with some countries still scrambling for normalcy.
“Different governments have different policies on their borders, as well as their lockdown policies, so that’s been a little bit tricky in getting everything up and running,” Sityodtong said.
“But my team and I have been working on it nonstop, and we feel pretty good about it.”
Despite not being able to hold any events since February, ONE has dominated the world of combat sports. According to reports from Tubular Labs, ONE ranked fourth in online watches for the sports category with 5.6 billion views in 2019. They came in ahead of the UFC, who drew 3.8 billion views.
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