A crowd at Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 279 booed a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away Thursday.
The UFC pay-per-view began with a tribute to the queen on the large screen at the T-Mobile Arena. Footage showed members of the audience booing the tribute while others began chanting, “USA! USA!”
“RIP to The Queen”
UFC fans: BOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/tdC3XYoCfv
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 11, 2022
Adam Hill, a reporter at the Los Angeles Review, and more social media users reported the audience’s reaction to the tribute.
“UFC PPV starts off with a moment of silence in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth, which is met with boos and then a USA chant,” Hill tweeted late Saturday. (RELATED: REPORT: Hecklers Arrested While Protesting King Charles III In Edinburgh)
UFC presented a photograph of the queen with the words, “In Memory, Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022” on the arena’s big screens as a tribute to the late monarch.
— UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2022
A moment of silence for the queen also reportedly resulted in boos and whistling during the halftime period of a Europa League match in Switzerland between Arsenal and FC Zurich, Outkick reported.
The queen died at her country home in Balmoral, Scotland, at the age of 96 after reigning for more than 70 years. She passed after royal medical staff placed her on medical supervision following a medical evaluation early Thursday.
A crowd of mourners witnessed the queen’s coffin Monday as it journeyed from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. The coffin will be placed in Westminster Abbey in London where the funeral is set to be held Sept. 13.
Her son, King Charles III, was proclaimed as the head of the state during the procession. Police intervened when a group of hecklers were reportedly heard shouting “God Save the King” during Lord Lyon King of Arms’ speech.