Sunday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney was a day for Australian MMA fans to savour.
UFC 312 delivered an electrifying afternoon of action, including the much anticipated re-match between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight title.
However, after the lights had gone down and the crowds had dispersed, the physical toll of the sport could be witnessed as injured fighters left the venue – several on their way to hospital.
Australian cult hero Jimmy Crute was wheeled from the building to a waiting ambulance with an ice pack strapped to his leg and heavy swelling around his eyes.
Demoralised American superstar Tatiana Suarez needed assistance walking as she hobbled out into the daylight following her brutal 25-minute beatdown at the hands of Zhang Weili.
Local favourite Jake Matthews moved gingerly and used a crutch to negotiate the stairs. His battered left leg had an ice pack strapped to it.
Aussie UFC star Jimmy Crute was wheeled from the building to a waiting ambulance
American superstar Tatiana Suarez needed assistance walking down stairs
Aussie fighter Jake Matthews used a crutch on his way out of Qudos Bank Arena
Sean Strickland suffered a broken nose from his bloody encounter with Dricus du Plessis
Strickland headed towards the ambulance while his girlfriend KJ carried his belongings
Outspoken American Sean Strickland played up for his fans as he headed toward medics with a badly broken nose from his bloody encounter with Dricus du Plessis.
Strickland’s glamourous girlfriend, KJ, could be seen trailing behind him holding his shoes and personal possessions.
NSW Premier Chris Minns could also be seen exiting the building – a man who’d copped a lashing last week from Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields for his association with the promotion.
In an opinion piece, Shields said he ‘felt sick’ after listening to the Straight Talk with Mark Bouris podcast, which saw UFC president Dana White and Minns discuss the topic of hosting the UFC in Australia.
Shields questioned the government’s decision to spend taxpayer money on the events after it had been revealed that New South Wales had reached a $16million deal with the fighting championship to host multiple events.
In his piece, he referenced how the deal had previously prompted criticism from women’s safety advocates, Full Stop, who raised concerns over hosting an event that they claimed ‘glorified violence’. Opposition leader Mark Speakman had subsequently called Minns ‘tone deaf’ over the move.
Shields also referenced a 2022 incident where the fight mogul was filmed slapping his wife Anne in a nightclub.
After Sunday’s event, White unleashed at the Aussie media in an explosive press conference where he dubbed them ‘the biggest bunch of p***ies’.
‘I saw a story where the guy was like “I saw Dana do a podcast with the Premier and it physically made me sick” – holy f**king s**t, you guys must have the biggest bunch of p***ies of all time in the media here,’ White said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns could also be seen exiting the building on Sunday afternoon
Those who weren’t leaving the arena by private ambulance looked exhilarated after the show
UFC president Dana White hit out at Australian media outlets on Sunday branding them ‘p******’
Dricus Du Plessis secured a unanimous-decision victory against Sean Strickland on Sunday afternoon in Sydney
‘For a place that is so tough – everything on land, in the water can kill you – you have the biggest p***ies I have seen in the media in my life.
‘That guy has to be the biggest f**king wimp on planet earth.’
It also comes after White hit out at the Daily Telegraph on Instagram earlier this week, after the outlet slammed Strickland for his explosive comments, in which he criticised the Australian government, branding it ‘communist’.
The paper had published a picture of Strickland on its back page with the headline: ‘Will someone, please… knock this guy out.’
White is understood to have reposted the back page on his Instagram story with the caption: ‘Australian news paper lol’.
The UFC boss also read out the official attendance numbers for the event, which was a record for Australia.
‘The attendance was 18,253, sell out, USD$7.7million gate, that’s the record gate for any Australian indoor arena, ever.
‘It’s the continent record – we beat our own record for that one.’
