On Saturday night North American fans watched UFC 221 live from Perth in Western Australia. The event, which was headlined by Luke Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero, began at around 6:30am local time (Sunday).
Western Australia Today reports that some fans exiting Perth Arena, at around 3:00pm, allegedly attacked public transport authority officers on their rides home. According to a police spokesperson, there was an incident involving a large group of people on a train on the Mandurah line between Perth and Wellard.
The group were allegedly “intoxicated and becoming loud and abusive.” Public transport authority officers asked the group to calm down and requested that they leave the train at the next available station, which in this case was Bull Creek Station.
When the group got off at Bull Creek, it’s alleged that the group engaged in an altercation with transit officers. During this scene, it is claimed that a 32-year-old officer was kicked in the head, causing him to lose consciousness.
That officer was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital suffering a severe concussion and swelling and bruising to the back and side of his head. A second officer present had swelling and bruising on the side of his face. An assailant reportedly spat in that officer’s face multiple times.
In connection to the attacks, one 20-year-old man has been charged with two counts of acts or omission likely to endanger life, health or safety of any person and one count of assault on a public officer.
A 25-year-old man has been charged with obstructing a public officer, assault on a public officer, escape from lawful custody and possessing heroin.
UFC 221 was the UFC’s first ever visit to Perth; Australia’s fourth-most populated city. Over 12,000 fans attended the event with a reported gate total of close to $3 million. The card included popular Australian/New Zealand talents such as Mark Hunt, Tai Tuivasa, Jake Matthews, Tyson Pedro, Israel Adesanya, and Alexander Volkanovski. The main event saw Yoel Romero knock out Luke Rockhold for a shot at the UFC middleweight championship; currently held by Sydney’s Robert Whittaker.
Prior to the event, according to WAToday, there were concerns regarding the early morning start time and the sale of alcohol. That outlet states that, “fans could purchase full-strength beer for the duration of the seven-hour spectacle.”
Despite the availability of alcohol, police said that the crowd was mostly well behaved.
Both men arrested for the attack on the PTA officers are considered innocent until proven guilty.
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