One bout remains on Collision Course

One Championship's Collision Course event at the Indoor Stadium will proceed as scheduled tomorrow despite an athlete involved testing positive for Covid-19, the mixed martial arts organisation and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said yesterday.

This is the third One event, since it returned to staging shows in October, where an individual slated to feature in the event has had to withdraw owing to a positive test.

In a joint statement, One and STB said the athlete, a 29-year-old Russian, had tested positive upon arrival on Monday. He had tested negative for Covid-19 before flying from St Petersburg.

"As part of the stringent protocols for foreign athletes and crew taking part in this event, he was placed in isolation since arrival," added the statement. "After testing positive for Covid-19, he was conveyed to a hospital and is undergoing treatment. A cornerman who was on the same flight and had prior interaction with the athlete is currently serving quarantine in a dedicated facility."

In combat sport, cornermen can be trainers, coaches, cutmen or training partners, and often spend a lot of time in close proximity with their fighters.

There are two Russian fighters - Marat Gafurov and Yusup Saadulaev, both 35 - scheduled to compete in separate bouts on Collision Course, but neither tested positive.

The Straits Times understands the affected athlete was slated to be on the Collision Course II card, which is yet to be announced but is pre-taped on the same night as Collision Course. This will be broadcast on a later date.

Collision Course is the fourth One live event in Singapore since the coronavirus pandemic.

It held a closed-door event on Oct 9 and another on Oct 30, which was the first live sports event here to welcome spectators. It had 250 fans in attendance.

Before the second Inside the Matrix event, cornermen of two athletes tested positive but they were determined to be past infections after serological tests.

Member of a One contingent to have tested positive for Covid-19 upon arriving in Singapore.

Still, they were kept out of the event as a precautionary measure and the programme was not disrupted.

Then, the main event of the third show on Dec 4, called Big Bang, was pulled after one of the fighters, Roman Kryklia, was withdrawn as a precaution after coming into close contact with an individual who tested positive.

One's events are part of a pilot project the Government hopes will help identify a model that can be widely implemented so more large-scale events can resume safely in Singapore.

Stringent protocols have been adopted and include the requirement for all foreign-based athletes, cornermen and staff to be isolated until they receive a negative test result, after which they will follow a strictly controlled itinerary that has been pre-approved.

Foreign-based athletes and One's production crew are also required to be tested four times - before they depart their country, on arrival in Singapore, as well as before and after the fight.