UFC fan says arena railing was loose before collapse

One of the people who fell when a railing gave way at Saturday’s UFC event at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena says the barrier was loose before it collapsed.

Michael Desmarais was at Vancouver’s UFC event on Saturday night with his wife and step-brother. As Canadian fighter Mike Mallot was walking out for his fight, a railing supporting members of the crowd gave way. Desmarais says he’s the one in the red hat and purple shirt who was seen falling over the edge.

“Next thing you know, there was 15 of us all falling, ’cause there’s a whole bunch of us leaning over,” said Desmarais.

“I couldn’t even comprehend what was happening. I lifted the rail up to get one of the security and the corner men, cause I saw them pinned against the rail, so I lifted that up, helped him out, and yea, was just looking around and I was like ‘well, I guess I’ll get back to my seat.”

Desmarais says he felt the railing would collapse because it felt loose before it came down.

“They definitely probably could have checked the bolts and the tightness cause it was definitely wobbly already. Let alone 15 people pushing on it,” he said. “It was pretty crazy and I got a little lump on my leg and a little lump on my head. No serious injuries.”

BC Emergency Services says one person was taken to hospital.

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Mallott, the fighter walking out when it happened, did end up winning his fight.

“I noticed it for like a quarter of a second. It fell, I kinda like jumped to the side, stepped over gate, I was like 1. That sucks for them, 2.; don’t think about it, stay focused and like immediately forgot about it afterward,” he said.

CityNews contacted Rogers Arena, asking if there’s an investigation into what happened. In response, it sent its statement from Saturday night, which said in part “safety of our fans is our number one priority” … “our arena staff worked quickly to relocate fans in the affected area and no serious injuries were reported.”

“All my friends are sending me pictures and videos of me falling and stuff so it’s pretty cool I guess,” said Desmarais.

While some online have suggested the incident will prompt a lawsuit, Desmarais says he’s doing fine.

“People do say that but it was a minor injury. You could send me a cheque if you want,” he added.