A large-scale brawl involving more than 100 individuals erupted Saturday night at the Visalia Convention Center during a 559 Fights Next Gen 4 mixed martial arts event, according to the Visalia Police Department.
Footage from the venue shows large groups of people engaging in fights as security attempted to intervene. The scale of the disturbance prompted officers, who were already present at the event, to request backup. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and police departments from Farmersville and Exeter also responded to assist.
Visalia Police deployed 26 units to the scene to regain control and disperse the crowd. In the aftermath, 15 people were arrested and booked into the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Detention Facility on various charges. Three Visalia police officers sustained minor injuries while attempting to break up the fights.
Police reported that while approximately 100 people were involved in the initial melee, several other smaller fights broke out simultaneously in different areas of the convention center.