LAS VEGAS — Queen Elizabeth II was honored by the UFC during a live MMA event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The longest-reigning British king, who was 96 years old, passed away on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Her image was flashed on the big screen during UFC 279 at a 20,000-seat arena located minutes from the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, with the caption “In memory of Queen Elizabeth II. 1926 – 2022.”
Instead of observing a moment of quiet, some in the crowd jeered and began chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
The UFC, a market-leading combat sports promotion, also posted a tribute, but Twitter users were unable to respond because the UFC’s social media channel appeared to have disabled the commenting feature.
People instead quoted jokes on Twitter.
—Armand Domalewski (@ArmandDoma) on Twitter
September 11, 2022
Fans also applauded for Kevin Holland during his unsuccessful effort to battle Khamzat Chimaev, who easily destroyed him in the co-main event.
In the main event, MMA legend Nate Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson before stating he will depart the UFC and test free agency, most likely in a boxing match against Jake Paul or maybe Conor McGregor.
Elsewhere on the card, Daniel Rodriguez defeated Li Jingliang by split decision, Johnny Walker submitted Ion Cutelaba before being thrown out of the arena with almost no clothing on, and Chris Barnett clinched one of the most chaotic victories of the summer by rallying from the brink to finish Jake Collier.
Tuesday, the UFC will stage a Contender Series event at the Apex, followed by a UFC Fight Night event at the same venue on Saturday.