After spectators at the MGM Grand Garden Arena booed during a homage to Queen Elizabeth II, the UFC banned social media comments.
Before the UFC 279 pay-per-view part of the show, a memorial to the late queen was shown by the promotion. On the jumbotron, a picture of the Queen was shown along with the dates of her birth and death.
But instead of observing a moment of silence for Her Majesty as suggested, the 18,000-person audience booed and chanted, “USA, USA.”
But UFC audiences were outdone last night at Bellator. Bellator held the 285 card in Dublin, Ireland.
During the event the audience would go on to happily chant ‘Lizzy’s in the box’ mocking the passing of Elizabeth II.
Ireland has had a contentious relationship with the monarchy. And unlike the US, Ireland had conflicts with the United Kingdom in the latter part of the 20th century. As per wikipedia, a key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.
This tension escalated through a number of incidents described as ‘low key war’ from the 1960s until 1998 when Good Friday Agreement was signed.