A few unlucky fight fans fell over a collapsed railing during Mike Malott’s walk to the Octagon earlier tonight (Sat., June 10, 2023) at UFC 289 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
It’s unknown at this time exactly what happened, but it appears that the barricade for the stands gave way and a collection of fans fell over onto the ground. The UFC commentary team initially thought the fans had tried to jump down to join Malott’s walkout, but that wasn’t the case.
Midway through the first round of Malott ‘s fight with Adam Fugitt UFC play-by-play announcer, Jon Anik, announced that the fans didn’t suffer any injuries in the fall. It was still a wild scene and something that rarely happens during a UFC PPV event, or any event for that matter.
Check out the video footage below:
Video of the barricade collapsing at #UFC289pic.twitter.com/41u8MN6qsV
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) June 11, 2023
Jon Anik has confirmed that everyone is fine after fans appeared to fall from the stands after the barricade collapsed and narrowly missed Mike Malott walking to the octagon.
That could’ve been very bad. Phew. #UFC289 #UFC #MMA
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) June 11, 2023
Jesus they almost fell right on Mike Malott #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/Zm0CHIVJ10
— Jessica Knapik ? (@JessicaKnapik) June 11, 2023
This could have been disastrous pic.twitter.com/Z4oZsVvIXZ
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 11, 2023
UFC 289 is still ongoing and will be headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between reigning UFC champion Amanda Nunes and top contender Irene Aldana. The co-main event of the evening will showcase a lightweight matchup between former UFC champion Charles Oliveira and streaking veteran Beneil Dariush.
For complete UFC 289 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.