Railing collapses
#UFC289 pic.twitter.com/ffFaHdomfY— Taner (@TanerFrank)
June 11, 2023
Disaster was narrowly averted during the UFC
289 main card.
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As Mike
Malott was walking to the arena for his bout with Adam
Fugitt, fans fell to the floor near the Canadian fighter in a
potentially scary moment. Video of the railing collapsing was
captured at a number of angles, but it was revealed during the
broadcast that no one was hurt during the accident. Rogers Arena,
the venue for the card, released a statement on the incident
shortly thereafter.
“The safety of our fans is our No. 1 priority at Rogers Arena. At
tonight’s UFC event, as fans leaned over to greet the fighters, a
railing fell down,” the statement read. “Our arena staff worked
quickly to relocate fans in the affected area and no serious
injuries were reported. Venue security and staff remained on-site
throughout the rest of the evening to ensure everyone’s
safety.”
Jesus they almost fell right on Mike Malott
#UFC289 pic.twitter.com/Zm0CHIVJ10— Jessica Knapik ✨ (@JessicaKnapik)
June 11, 2023
UFC president Dana White echoed that sentiment when addressing the
situation at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“The arena handled it immediately, roped it off, got security up
there, moved people to better seats, and handled it like a bunch of
pros,” White said.
Meanwhile, Malott didn’t seem to be adversely affected by the near
miss. The Halifax native delighted the home crowd with a
second-round submission of Fugitt to extended his professional
winning streak to six.
“I noticed it for like a quarter of a second,” Malott told media
afterward. “It fell. I kind of like jumped to the side, stepped
over the gate. I was like, ‘One, that sucks for them. Two, don’t
think about it, stay focused,’ and immediately forgot about it
afterward.
“I had bigger fish to fry. I had the biggest fight of my life in
front of me,” he added. “I was focused on that. But like f—k, man,
that would’ve been a s—y way for that fight not to happen – have it
all on your knee and then you’re on your way to the hospital or
something. That would’ve sucked.”
— Rogers Arena (@RogersArena)
June 11, 2023