Fans at UFC 279 chanted “USA” as the fight card kicked off in Las Vegas after booing in honor of Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday.
The UFC pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena began with a short tribute to the late Queen on Thursday.
A moment of remembrance has also begun, but many fans in the 18,000-capacity venue are booing and shouting “USA,” as reported by Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and noted by numerous UFC 279 viewers on Twitter. I responded with a chant.
“UFC PPV will begin with a moment of silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth, with boos and American chants,” Hill tweeted.
The Queen died Thursday at the age of 96 and was succeeded as British monarch by her son Charles III.
Many sporting events in the UK have been canceled for the weekend of September 10th and 11th, including Premier League football matches.
Nate Diaz left the UFC with a submission win, defeating fellow fan favorite Tony Ferguson in the final fight of his UFC contract.
Diaz was scheduled to face UFC’s rising star Kamzat Chimayev in the main event of UFC 279, but the card was heavily reworked after Chimayev’s weight exceeded the welterweight limit by 7.5 pounds. .
American Diaz eventually faced compatriot Ferguson, who was originally scheduled to face Li Jingliang. The Chinese fought Daniel Rodriguez instead. Kevin Holland, Daniel Rodriguez’s first opponent, faced Chimaev.
Diaz and Chimayev both emerged as submission winners from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Diaz, 37, tapping into a guillotine choke in the fourth round to Ferguson, 38, after Chimayev submitted Holland on a D. forced out. ‘Arcechok at the co-main event.
The battle between Diaz and Ferguson was a sloppy one, contested between two aging icons. He has long expressed his desire to leave the UFC. Former interim lightweight champion Ferguson, meanwhile, is on a five-game losing streak, three of which come from finishes.
Most of the main event was contested on the foot, with Diaz outplaying an exchange of strikes and Ferguson suffering a severe cut to his left shin after seeing his foot kick checked. In the fourth round, Ferguson attempted a double-leg takedown while under pressure from his opponent, and was quickly guillotined by Diaz when the pair hit the canvas. Although extended, Diaz was back on the winning line 15 months after his last outing. It was a decisive loss to the current welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
“I was ahead of everyone in salary, I was ahead of everyone in survival,” Diaz reflected on his UFC career in a post-fight interview.
“I wanna go out [of] Watch the UFC for a minute and show all the other fighters how to own another sport. ”
Chimayev, meanwhile, easily beat Holland within seconds of the catchweight match starting. The latter saw the American caught in a dozen chokes, allowing Chimayev to finally secure his victory.
The Russian-born Swede clashed with the Dutch backstage on Thursday, kicking the American and inciting a string of incidents that led to the abandonment of his pre-match press conference. He also faced middleweight contender Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute.
But after being heavily booed at T-Mobile Arena, Chimaev’s victory allowed him to refocus his attention on his in-ring skills. He remained undefeated with a 12-0 record, 11 of which were finishes. The 28-year-old is already ranked his No. 3 in the UFC’s welterweight division and looks to be on the verge of winning his title despite this week’s weight loss blunders and actions outside the ring.
Earlier that night, Rodriguez defeated Lee via split decision.
