UFC fans boo tribute to the Queen and chant ‘USA!’ during show in Las Vegas

MMA fans booed a tribute for Queen Elizabeth II at UFC 279 on Saturday night before chanting ‘USA’ at the event in Las Vegas.

The American promotion paid tribute to the late head of state by displaying her image on the big screen above the cage at the 20,000 capacity T-Mobile Arena, alongside the message: ‘In memory of Queen Elizabeth 1926-2022.’

A moment of silence however was quickly interrupted by sections of fans who jeered and sparked chants of ‘USA! USA! USA!’.

The UFC also shared its tribute on Twitter but removed the reply function from the tweet.

Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 96 on Thursday and has been succeeded by her son Charles III as Britain’s monarch.

There were similar incidents of booing during football matches on Thursday, including Arsenal’s Europa League tie away to FC Zurich in the Swiss city.

With her passing confirmed while the teams were in first-half action, a tribute was planned for the start of the second period with a black and white photo of Her Majesty displayed on the big screen, with the referee’s whistle beginning the moment of silence.

<p lang=«zxx» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«zxx»>pic.twitter.com/JMFGmkkmIi

While the silence was largely well observed, around 40 seconds into it the home supporters appeared to become restless and started booing, jeering and whistling.

It prompted the silence to end prematurely, with the players breaking apart and taking up their positions on the pitch before the full minute had passed.

Another incident took place in Edinburgh, where Scottish side Hearts were taking on Başakşehir at Tyncecastle in a Europa Conference League match.

Fans in attendance were informed that a minute’s silence would be held ‘beginning and ending with the referee’s whistle’.

Anthony Joshua