Irene Aldana Disappointed With UFC Fight Night Mexico City Crowd
The crowd who attended UFC Fight Night Mexico City acted in a rowdy fashion that night, which has lead to Aldana publicly apologizing for her country folk.
“It was a behavior that embarrassed me a lot, and I feel ashamed of that,” Aldana told MMA Fighting. “I wasn’t expecting that they were going to act that way, or anything of that level. It was very rude. The fact someone poured beer on Carla is a complete insult. I wouldn’t like to fight somewhere and have beer poured on me. I think this is something that you can’t let slide or tolerate. I think we need to talk to the people. It’s not really anyone’s fault. These things happen, and I understand that people get angry and get upset. But that’s not the way to be heard. I’m very proud of Mexico and the people of Mexico, and I know that it wasn’t everyone –only a few. It’s not fair that for those few people, everyone has to pay the price. It was very disappointing to see that disrespect from the public. My dad had beer thrown at him. I just want to publicly apologize to everyone who was affected at the event and outside of it, because that’s not an image that we want to portray. Maybe they were too passionate – plus, some alcohol (was involved). But either way, it’s not justifiable.”
Aldana and her father weren’t the only ones who were mistreated by the fans on that night, as Carla Esparza and Jeremy Stephens had bad experiences as well.
Things went so bad that night in Aldana’s eyes that she isn’t sure if the UFC is going to return to Mexico City.
“I loved fighting in Mexico, and I would love to fight here again, but I’m not too sure the UFC wants to come back after what happened,” she said. “It be a real shame to see them not come back and lose the opportunity to fight in Mexico again because of the few idiots in the crowd. I think that can happen, and I wouldn’t blame them if they don’t want to return. Maybe they can take certain measures like stop selling alcohol at a certain time. I know it’s nice to be there as a spectator having your beers and all that. But I do think there are strategies worth looking at to make sure crowds don’t get out of control and avoid these type of things.”
There have been no plans announced by the UFC at this time for a return to Mexico or Mexico City.
