MMA News: ONE: X Forced To Reschedule Due To COVID-19 Outbreak In Singapore

Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship's chairman and CEO, has announced that their 10-year anniversary show, ONE: X, will be rescheduled to next year due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Singapore.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Chatri noted that their other events scheduled for November and December will remain unaffected.

“I am full of gratitude and appreciation for [the Singapore Government’s] incredible leadership and excellence. Please note that our regular shows for November and December are expected to continue as per usual,” he said.

According to Reuters, Singapore experienced a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the country, with the health ministry reporting 5,324 cases on Wednesday, October 27; the highest single-day tally recorded since the start of the pandemic.

ONE: X was set to feature the unique main event of Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Demetrious Johnson in a hybrid MMA–Muay Thai setup and also a blood feud between Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker.

The special rules super-fight between Rodtang and Johnson was set to be the first of its kind, with the first and third rounds being fought under Muay Thai rules and the second and fourth rounds under MMA.

It is worthwhile to note that Rodtang contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated, leading to his removal from the ONE: First Strike card held last October 15.

Lineker and the reigning ONE bantamweight champion had a highly interesting media call, with the two fighters trading barbs that had fans highly anticipating their in-cage meetup.

Lineker started off the exchange, mentioning that fighters had claimed they were going to knock him out in his past fights.

Feeling disrespected himself, Fernandes responded that he would knock Lineker out for even thinking that he could get the bantamweight title off him.

Besides the two marquee matchups, Garry Tonon will have the opportunity of his life as he has been slated to challenge Thanh Le for the ONE featherweight title.

The ONE: X card is not filled out yet and Chatri himself bared that they will have more surprises for fans.

“ONE: X is not only a celebration of our tenth year anniversary, but it is also going to be the biggest event in our history. I cannot wait to unveil what else we have in store for fans with ONE: X. Stay tuned for more exciting news,” he stated.