A huge brawl broke out during a UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday night, leaving fans appalled and mesmerized on social media.
An event that was supposed to feature MMA talent in the ring instead went viral for fans’ throwing fists outside the ring. The melee, which was captured on video, included multiple individuals engaged in fisticuffs, with one adult man in a white shirt taking a vicious left hook before collapsing to the ground.
The footage of the fight, shared by MMA writer Ariel Helwani on X, formerly Twitter, sparked plenty of reactions from fans.
There’s been fights at fights before but never seen anything like this.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 25, 2024
The part at the end with all of them standing there, clothes ripped makes it seem like a scene from a zombie apocalypse movie. pic.twitter.com/wTXrhKNujC
One observer couldn’t believe the “cheap shot” nature of the punch.
That was a cheap shot punch at the end. Wow.
— Steven Musielski (@StevenMusielski) February 25, 2024
Another wondered what sparked such a violent brawl.
What's the context here, just drunk fans?
— Pyo 5️⃣ (@mrpyo1) February 25, 2024
Perhaps the most surprising part of the video is that there seemed to be no security workers attempting to put a stop to the brawl, something that was noted by UFC president Dana White.
Dana White speaks on the fight in the crowd, 'I've never seen any s**t like that in my life'. 😭
— theScore (@theScore) February 25, 2024
(🎥: @jedigoodman)pic.twitter.com/wFUKS31SLV https://t.co/Z9Av0nzK2a
UFC CEO Dana White said the incident isn’t typical of the organization’s events, and he was surprised by the lack of security to handle the situation.
“That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen,” White told reporters afterward. “I don’t think it’s a bad look for the UFC. It happened, and that was the end of that. I think after everybody saw the end of that s---, nobody else wanted to try that again. No security. The fight just went on until it was over. I’ve never seen any s--- like that in my life.”