Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In the short time allotted to me, I'd like to make a contribution to talk about a fantastically brilliant event that happened on the weekend in Western Australia, and that is the Ultimate Fighting Championship—UFC—221. What a magnificent weekend. What a magnificent event for Western Australia. There were 12,500 people crammed into the Perth Arena. It was just as good as the Robbie Williams concert. The vibe was unbelievable. It started off at 7 am. That's when I was there at the arena, and there were thousands streaming in. It even shocked the UFC, because normally they wait for the main card to start and, in the Perth UFC 221, the main card started at 11 am. The place was nearly chock-a-block by 9 am. By all reports, 4,000 people flew in from interstate—not that us West Aussies, or the UFC fans, couldn't fill the Perth Arena but it was a total sellout.

The main event was the Aussie champion, Robbie Whittaker from New South Wales. Robbie, unfortunately, had a staph infection so he couldn't front up for UFC 221. Yoel Romero, the Cuban, took his place. He took on Luke Rockhold. What a magnificent battle that was. The crowd was on its toes all day. There was massive representation from Australian fighters.

Madam Deputy President, I know that you're as excited about the UFC 221 as I am, and I don't blame you. There were four champion Aussies who won, and I'll mention them later should I have the time.

I've got to take a step back in time. Four years ago, I had the ability to contact the UFC, because the previous government, for whatever reason, would not support the closed enclosure—