UFC Mexico City ended without a highlight-reel knockout … unless you count the wild brawl that broke out in the crowd during the event.
While skirmishes happening during sporting events is nothing new, a fight between several people in the audience at the UFC’s return to Mexico on Saturday resulted in a moment that Dana White won’t soon forget. Not only did the fight go until one person got absolutely demolished by a punch, it also didn’t appear security was anywhere nearby to intervene.
The UFC CEO reacted to the melee during the post-fight press conference on Saturday.
“I mean, that never happens,” White said. “Literally never happens. It happened here in Mexico City. The crazy thing about that fight, when that fight broke out, it felt like it kept going forever. So I ran over there and I was watching it, nobody stopped it. I was waiting for security to come in, and they just let them go until it was over.
“That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. I don’t think it’s a bad look for the UFC. It happened and that was the end of that.”
The fight caused such a distraction that UFC lightweight Manuel Torres actually paused his post-fight celebration in the cage to try and calm down the crowd as the ruckus erupted following his stunning first-round finish.
Even former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland didn’t get that much time to throw punches after he launched himself across several rows of seats to go after Dricus du Plessis during a memorable melee at UFC 296 last year.
Ultimately, White wasn’t necessarily upset at everything that unfolded, but he was certainly taken aback by the lack of reaction from the security team in the arena. If there was one positive from the entire ordeal, White believes that seeing the fan get knocked out cold probably prevented anyone else from starting trouble for the rest of the night.
“I think after everybody else saw that s***, nobody else wanted to try that again,” White said. “No security! The fight just went on until it was over. I’ve never seen any s*** like that in my life. Crazy.”
