ONE Championship, ARES postpone upcoming shows due to coronavirus outbreak

ONE Championship and ARES Fighting Championship have both pulled the plug on upcoming shows due to the ongoing outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

The outbreak, which started in China, has now infected more than 100,000 people across numerous countries with over 3,400 deaths as a result of the virus.

On Friday, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced that the promotion’s upcoming show in Vietnam would be postponed until a later date due to the coronavirus continuing to spread across Asia.

“After discussing all options with the Vietnam Government, my team and I have decided to postpone ONE: Heart of Heroes on March 20 in Ho Chi Minh City,” Sityodtong wrote on Facebook.

“The event will now take place on June 26, assuming the coronavirus situation eases. Bar none, the safety of our fans, athletes, staff, partners, and public are the highest priority for ONE Championship.”

ONE Championship recently held an event in Singapore behind closed doors without an audience in attendance due to the outbreak. With the numbers of infected people continuing to rise every day, Sityodtong obviously didn’t see a need to risk further spread of the disease with thousands of people packed into an arena together.

ARES Fighting Championships made a similar decision with their upcoming ARES 2 card that was scheduled for April 2 in Brussels, Belgium. The organization is currently planning for the event to now take place on Oct. 30 instead.

“The coronavirus epidemic raises serious questions about contagion in closed environments,” ARES officials said in a statement. “We don’t know at this stage how the situation will evolve. The health of our audience, international fighters, and staff is our utmost concern and we are not willing to take any unnecessary risks.

“With the full support of all our partners involved and that of the ARES fighters themselves, ARES Fighting Championship has therefore decided to postpone the event.”

Tickets already purchased for the ARES event will remain valid for the rescheduled date but fans are also able to ask for a refund at the point of purchase for the event.