ONE Championship Events Go Behind Closed Doors due to Coronavirus

Chatri Sityodtong, the founder of the glitzy  ONE Championship mixed martial arts competition, has announced that all events for the championship would be staged inside closed doors as the coronavirus outbreak tightens its grip across the world.

The 49-year-old Harvard graduate announced this news on his twitter handle rendering all events to be audience-free effective immediately.

He further cited the reason through his social media account saying “safety of our fans, athletes, staff, partners, and the public is the highest priority for ONE Championship.”

The announcement wouldn’t be called a surprise given that coronavirus has spread its tentacles into the major sporting events across the world.

From Basketball, where the  NBA announced that it was suspending the season, to football where the major international league including Itlay’s Serie A were postponed to the later date.

The outbreak has thrown the entire sporting world into disarray causing more disruption than before and is only accelerating as it seems.

Earlier, the Premier League game between Manchester City and Arsenal on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium was postponed. And as this chaos intensifies, there is a series of new actions taken across the sporting league and events in the world in the hope of slowing the spread of the disease.

Due to the higher security measures, it remains to be seen whether the ONE Championship events will be helpful for the organizers as they move behind closed doors with no audience.

Earlier in football, the Liverpool and Manchester City managers Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola announced their reluctance to play matches in empty stadiums.

Who is Chatri Sityodtong?

Chatri Sityodtong is a former Harvard graduate and internet entrepreneur who created the most lucrative sporting spectacle in Asia called ONE Championship.

Chatri himself is a practitioner of Muay Thai, one of his long-time obsessions alongside financial investment. He took the name Sityodtong as a way of tribute to his master at whose training camp he studied.

Chatri Sityodtong will also be the host of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship edition”, featuring 16 contestants picked from around the world in the high pace game of business competitions and physical challenges.

The reality TV show will run on both streaming and linear platforms across the Pan Asian region in the second half of 2020.