Coronavirus Forces Postponement of One Championship, Ares FC Events

The coronavirus health situation is keeping in check several MMA promotions around the world.

Bad news for One Championship fans who were planning on attending the upcoming One: Heart of Heroes at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on March 20. On Friday morning, One CEO Chatri Sityodtong took to his social media to announce that the event has been postponed due to the coronavirus global emergency.

"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. "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. On a positive note, I am super excited to make the biggest announcement of 2020 (so far) next Friday March 13. Stay tuned!"

The main event would have featured a bantamweight kickboxing title clash between champion Alaverdi Ramazanov and Nong-O Gaiyanghadao. On top of that, Viktoria Lipianska and Iman Barlow were booked to square off for the vacant strawweight Muay Thai belt.

The next One scheduled event is One: Infinity 1, which will go down in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 10. The card will feature the return of former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in his attempt to win the One flyweight championship at the expense of Adriano Moraes.

Please find attached below a Press Release as regards to the change in date for the ARES 2 event initially scheduled for the 3rd of April in Brussels pic.twitter.com/4PlY5MCDVl

— ARES Fighting Championship (@ares_fighting) March 6, 2020

Not long after One Championship postponed one of its events to June, Ares Fighting Championship announced via press release on Friday that it has been forced to rescheduled its upcoming event to later this year.

Ares FC 2 was slated to go down in Brussels, Belgium, on April 3. The card featured Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans including Nordine Taleb and former UFC flyweight title challenger John Moraga. The 12-time UFC veteran Taleb (15-7) was set to lock horns with Maarten Wouters(12-8) in the middleweight main event, while Moraga (19-7) was matched up with Hector Sandoval (15-4) in the flyweight division.

The event should have figured the debut of the 28-year-old UFC alum Juan Adams in the heavyweight division, and also the return in action of the Senegalese sensation "Reug Reug" Oumar Kane (1-0), who was supposed to clash with undefeated Ivan Romanov (5-0).

Ares 2 has been postponed to Oct. 30. Officials announced that the tickets already purchased will remain valid for the rescheduled date, but fans can also seek reimbursement from the dedicated ticketing operator should they choose to.