ONE Championship removes Russian MMA fighters from upcoming events in Singapore

14 March 2022

ONE Championship has removed Russian fighters from their upcoming events in Singapore after the local government decided to ban the Russian athletes from competing in the city-state.

The Singapore-based promotion has released a statement regarding the issue and noted that the Russian fighters will be back in action when the promotion holds events outside Singapore.

“In consideration of the international sentiments around the ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict, currently arranged bouts involving ONE’s Russian athletes will be/have been rescheduled. We remain focused on supporting athletes affected by the current situation,” A statement from the promotion noted.

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This means that the fighters who were scheduled to fight at the 10th-anniversary show of ONE Championship, ONE X will not be competing on the card. Kickboxer Islam Murtazaev and MMA Fighter Yusup Saadulaev will be directly impacted by the decision as they were scheduled to compete at ONE X.

“It’s just about international sentiment. The Russian athletes will be paid their show money. You will see them back in action as we throw events all over in different countries,” ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong noted during a recent post-fight interview.

Recently ONE Championship had also provided Ukrainian fighter Kirill Gorobets a chance to give his take on the Russia – Ukraine conflict following his fight at ONE: Lights Out which he lost against Martin Nguyen.

What do you think of the development in Singapore and the ban on Russian athletes? Let us know in the comment section of the article below.