ONE Championship ‘King of Jungle’ event in Singapore now a closed-door affair
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
LIKE most sporting events in Asia hit by concerns over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), ONE Championship’s “King of the Jungle” event in Singapore on Feb. 28 was made to adjust, with the affair now a closed-door affair.
Set to happen at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, King of the Jungle will now be closed off to fans and media upon the advisory of the city-state’s Ministry of Health to prevent the further spread of the respiratory disease that is now affecting different parts of the world.
Singapore raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition level from yellow to orange after having confirmed 75 cases of infection to date and is discouraging people to attend large gatherings like sporting events.
“In light of the coronavirus situation in Singapore, I have made the decision to convert ONE: King of the Jungle on Feb. 28 into a closed event for broadcast only. The Singapore Indoor Stadium will not be open to the general public, but the event will proceed behind closed doors as scheduled live on all TV and digital platforms across 150+ countries around the world,” ONE chairman and founder Chatri Sityodtong said in a Facebook post earlier this week.
Mr. Sityodtong, however, assured that despite such a setup, fans can still expect quality combat sports action at King of the Jungle even as he advised that those who purchased tickets for the event would be given a refund.
Bannering the event is the atomweight kickboxing world championship fight between two-sport ONE world champion Stamp Fairtex of Thailand and Janet “J.T.” Todd of the United States.
Co-main event is the strawweight muay thai world championship clash of Thai champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Australian Rocky Ogden.
Honorio “The Rock” Banario of Team Lakay will also be part of the event as he goes up against Shannon Wiratchai of Thailand in a featherweight battle.
Other Filipinos in action at King of the Jungle are women atomweight Denice Zamboanga and bantamweight Mark Fairtex Abelardo.