Khabib Nurmagomedev vs Conor McGregor at UFC 229 was the most anticipated fight of the year but the fight after the fight is what wound up grabbing all the headlines.
After winning the bout via submission, Khabib went after McGregor’s teammate in the crowd sparking wild scenes where neither camp covered themselves in glory.
As officials and law enforcement plough over the footage, and social media outrage over the violent scenes that have no place at a fight continues, we wanted to take a look back at some of the other less savoury incidents in sport where the red mist has descended on players and spectators.
Australia v Philippines On Court & Off
UFC 229 wasn’t the first time a brawl had broken out at a sporting event in 2018 with July kicking off, literally and figuratively, with a wild melee in an international basketball match.
With the Boomers up by 31 midway through the third quarter, a hard pick on an Australian player set off a wild couple of minutes where fists, elbows, knees and chairs were flying around the court.
It was really the only way to deal with a game that was already out of hand, so why not engage in a brawl?
After the referees sorted out the infractions and penalties to be assessed, the game continued and apparently Australia won, although most people probably won’t remember the score.
Malice at the Palace
While the fight in the Philippines warrants an honourable mention, the most memorable fracas in basketball (no we are not using the phrase “Basketbrawl”) came in 2004 at the Palace in Auburn Hills.
Late in a random game between Indiana and Detroit, Ben Wallace and Ron Artest squared off with the teams grappling on the side of the court.
With things starting to cool off, a beer was thrown from the stands prompting Ron Artest to go into the stands and start fighting the fans.
Eventually the game was called off with time still on the clock and given the unrest in the stands it is easy to see why.
Reggie Miller, a player who was involved in that infamous game had his say on the incident in Las Vegas over the weekend as well.
Well finally something that surpasses Malice at the Palace.. Khabib vs Connor aftermath is a huge stain for UFC.. Disgusting!!!
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) October 7, 2018
Kung-Fu Cantona
Athletes put up with a lot of stick from fans (both opposition and their own) and generally display a phenomenal amount of restraint to shut a lot of it out.
Sometimes it does boil over though, as was the case with Manchester United midfielder Eric Cantona in 1995.
As Cantona was leaving the pitch after being red carded, one Crystal Palace fan was screaming at him and next thing Cantona was flying over the advertising boards, feet first.
He was pulled away by the United kit man before things got even worse for him however the damage was largely done by then.
After the incident, Cantona never tried to excuse his behaviour and was first banned by the club for four months and fined £20,000 however the FA extended the ban to nine months and added another £10,000 in fines.
The fallout did not stop there however with Cantona facing a charge of common assault, to which he plead guilty.
After initially being sentenced to two weeks in jail, the sentence was reduced to 120 hours of community service.
Mike Tyson Gets Hungry
While this didn’t necessarily spill over into the crowd, Mike Tyson chomping on Evander Holyfield’s ear has to get a run here.
Unconfirmed rumours have hinted that in recent years, Holyfield says the bite was less painful than watching Tyson’s stand up comedy routine.
Wallabies Frustration Boils Over
If you haven’t been fed up with the performance of your team at some point in time, you probably aren’t a sports fan, but there are much more mature ways to express said frustration than to confront a player after an emotional loss.
Wallabies flanker Lukhan Tui got into an altercation with a fan after the side’s upset loss to Argentina on the Gold Coast last month after the fan offered what was probably not the most reasoned and polite opinion regarding the quality of the rugby he had just watched.
Of course now that the Wallabies are winners once again, that fan would love to point out he always had faith in the side and never doubted them for a second… probably.