ONE Championship fighters must be vaccinated to compete in Singapore; ruleset approved in multiple US states, says Chatri Sityodtong
- CEO Chatri says ONE is planning events outside Singapore ‘so it won’t be an issue for unvaccinated fighters’
- ‘We’ve booked venues [in the US], but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet in terms of saying OK we’re going to do it on that date’
ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong has confirmed fighters must be fully vaccinated to compete in Singapore shows, but revealed plans for events on US soil are gathering pace.
“We are planning events outside Singapore in the rest of the world so it won’t be an issue for unvaccinated fighters. But for Singapore you have to be fully vaccinated,” he told the Post.
The Asian promotion has set up shop in its home city since last September, putting on events mostly behind closed doors at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which will host Friday night’s all-female Empower card, featuring the quarter-finals of the atomweight grand prix.
Empower will also mark the return of preliminary fights, marking an end to the era of shortened live cards and pre-taped events.
“Everything is just down to Covid and now we’re getting government approval from Singapore to get back to our big live cards,” Chatri said. “I agree with the government, if you look how they’ve handled Covid relative to the rest of world. The country is 80 per cent vaccinated now, with very minimal rates of death. They have done a great job managing the whole thing.
“I’m super grateful they allowed us to come back with events in the middle of a pandemic last year. Part of the arrangement was full Covid protocols and safety measures, including smaller bout cards so it was easier to control safety and medicals if there was an outbreak. Now the country is almost fully vaccinated, and things are moving in the right direction.”
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Combat Sports Law’s Erik Magraken reported in July that ONE had had its global ruleset approved in Colorado, paving the way for a first event in the US, but Chatri said plans are “still up in the air”.
“I can confirm the global rule set has been approved by a few states in the US,” Chatri said. “Our team in the US has been doing a lot of great work there, but I don’t want to commit yet to a date.
“We’ve booked venues, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet in terms of saying OK we’re going to do it on that date. We have dates secured and locations, but we have a bunch of things to figure out, including our 10th anniversary show.
“It’s gonna be the biggest show we’ve ever done, so we’re just trying to think through the logistics. Do we do it in the US or Singapore? Where does it make sense? There’s a lot of moving parts. If it was just a regular show there would be less stakes.”
