Just ask a weather reporter assigned a live shot during a blizzard or a hurricane: When you’re on camera and tasked with the job of delivering information to the public, you’re going to get your work done no matter what.
Such was the case for UFC play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald in the immediate aftermath of the UFC on ESPN+ 17 main event Saturday night in Mexico City.
The crowd at Mexico City Arena was unhappy after the featherweight fight between Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens ended in a no contest just 15 seconds into the opening round because of a Rodriguez eye poke to Stephens.
In a regrettable scene, fans then threw bottles, cans and pretty much anything that wasn’t nailed down toward cageside, which left anyone in or around its vicinity, including Fitzgerald and color commentator Michael Bisping, as potential target practice.
So Fitzgerald ducked for cover underneath a cageside table. But he never stopped doing his job. As you can see in this video making the rounds on Twitter, Fitzgerald continued his commentary from underneath the table, something which wasn’t readily apparent during the live broadcast.
It seems worth noting that Bisping stayed in his seat at the commentary table and barely seemed perturbed during the entire post-fight scene. We’re guessing he probably saw worse at pubs in his native England during his younger days.
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