WATCH: UFC 301 fans leave arena abruptly while ‘queen of pop’ Madonna has Brazilians crowding streets

UFC 301 in Rio had exciting fights despite lower attendance.

WATCH: UFC 301 fans leave arena abruptly while ‘queen of pop’ Madonna has Brazilians crowding streets

UFC 301 a success for the UFC despite Madonna concert in Rio (Image via: IMAGO, Instagram)

UFC 301 did not have the stars on the fight card like the previous UFC PPVs – UFC 300 and UFC 299. Nonetheless, the PPV in Rio de Janeiro had some exciting fights. Moreover, some fighters caught the attention and praise from Dana White. However, the event ended similar to the promotion’s previous PPV event in Brazil, UFC 283. One reason might be the presence of Madonna, the queen of pop, in the city.

UFC 283, headlined by Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill, saw the latter claim the vacant light heavyweight title. Even though Teixeira fought tooth and nail, the fans left the arena before the fight ended. Similarly, at UFC 301, the arena was half empty when Bruce Buffer announced Alexandre Pantoja defended the title. Pantoja had to urge fans not to leave in his octagon interview. Nevertheless, the UFC brass seem happy with the event, evidenced by Sportsnet journalist Aaron Bronsteter‘s tweets.

[Dave] Shaw [UFC Senior Vice President of Content and International] says that the Madonna concert in Rio tonight did not impact the event. Felt like Rio was the centre of the universe this week and was glad that the card delivered.
Aaron Bronsteter via X
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Bronsteter added that fans’ abrupt leave might’ve been due to Madonna’s concert being free. Nonetheless, Shaw stated Jose Aldo‘s victory in the co-main event was the highlight of the night. He also revealed that UFC 301 was the promotion’s 40th event in Brazil, and they were happy that Aldo was on it. As for their future in Brazil, two more events are being planned for 2024.

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Furthermore, the UFC has no plans to host events outside of Brazil in South America in 2024. However, that would change in 2024. Nonetheless, Shaw stated that Brazil is a priority market for promotions. After all, they have superstars like Charles Oliveira and Alex Pereira from Brazil.

Fight fans react to audiences abruptly leaving UFC 301

When the fans left the arena before Glover Teixeira’s octagon interview at UFC 282, fight fans across the world were upset. As a legend of the sport, especially in Brazil, Teixeira did not deserve it. Now, UFC 301 had the same fate and has again aroused fight fans on social media.

Free Madonna concert might've caused fans to leave UFC 301
Free Madonna concert might’ve caused fans to leave UFC 301 (Image via: X)

There are also questions about the quality of the fight card, especially as UFC 299 and UFC 300 had superstars stacked top to bottom. Nonetheless, the PPV did deliver some exciting fights. Nevertheless, see how fight fans reacted to the audience’s abrupt leaving on social media.

https://twitter.com/MacMallyMMA/status/1786983033285017704

Since the event was in Brazil, superstars like Charles Oliveira, Alex Pereira, Gilbert Burns, Jessica Andrade, and others were front-row at the event. Nonetheless, that was not enough, as fans left the arena abruptly. The free Madonna concert in the city did not make matters easy either.

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