Two people have been arrested and one person was hospitalized after a riot erupted at an influencer boxing show in Kilkenny, Ireland, where the presence and inflammatory comments of UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson sparked violent scenes in front of a massive online audience.
The disorder broke out around midnight on Saturday at The Hub events venue in Kilkenny, a city with a population of 27,000. The show was organized by the Unhinged events company, run by internet personalities Harrison Sullivan, known online as HSTikkyTokky, and Ed Matthews. The pair, who were featured in a Netflix documentary about manosphere influencers earlier this year, broadcast the event live on the Kick streaming platform to approximately 1.8 million viewers. On Friday, Sullivan had disclosed that Robinson would be attending the event as a ringside guest.
Tensions had escalated during a chaotic press conference on Friday evening, where competitors—including streamers, fitness personalities, drill rappers, OnlyFans models, and convicted sex offender turned YouTuber Paul Flaherty—repeatedly attacked one another. Although the main event began without incident on Saturday, the mood shifted when Sullivan and Matthews invited Robinson to the commentator's desk prior to a bout involving Muslim social media personality Mo Deen, whose real name is Mohammad Kubba.
Robinson, 43, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was holding a copy of his book, The Grooming Gang Cover-Up. During the broadcast, he claimed to Matthews that "Muslims have been raping our country for 100 years" and cited false statistics regarding Muslim men and sexual offenses, offending many in the racially diverse crowd. After winning his fight, Kubba climbed out of the ring and jumped onto Robinson, throwing punches. Security personnel temporarily brought the scuffle under control, with plans to resume the remaining matches.
Violence escalated rapidly after Kubba left the venue and Sullivan demanded that he return to face Robinson in the ring. Security escorted a reluctant Kubba back inside, while Sullivan repeatedly urged the crowd, saying "let Tommy fight him," in an apparent attempt to stage an unscheduled bareknuckle fight. Sullivan also permitted Robinson's entourage, whom he referred to as "Tommy's boys," into the ring.
Once Kubba entered the ring, which was filled with Robinson's supporters, Robinson threw his book, featuring Arabic-style lettering, directly at Kubba, sparking a physical brawl. The violence quickly spread to the crowd, with attendees throwing chairs and barricades, punching one another, and screaming as others fled for safety.
Event security, venue staff, and the Gardaí—who had already been called to the building earlier in the night following minor disturbances—spent over 20 minutes breaking up the riot as Sullivan pleaded unsuccessfully with attendees to remain calm. Live footage of the incident spread quickly across social media, with crowd members heard chanting "Oh Tommy Robinson" before the stream cut to black. After police cleared the crowd, Sullivan attempted to restart the fights exclusively for the online stream, but was stopped by a visibly upset venue representative.
A spokesperson for Garda Síochána confirmed that a male in his 30s was assaulted during the disorder and taken to St Luke's hospital in Kilkenny for treatment. A male in his 20s was arrested and held at a local police station, while a teenage boy was arrested and subsequently charged with violent disorder, scheduled for a court appearance on Sunday. Outside the venue in the early hours of Sunday, crowds composed mostly of teenage boys and young men recorded the aftermath on their mobile phones.
In an interview following the riot, Kubba stated that he had been told to initiate a fight with Robinson, though he declined to name who gave the instruction. Prior to the bout, Robinson had stated he liked Kubba and bore no ill will toward him, though he added he would be willing to "batter" him if Kubba initiated violence. Authorities have noted there is no indication the riot was pre-planned.
Robinson is currently on bail after being found guilty in October of harassing two journalists to the point of causing fear of violence. He is scheduled for sentencing on 16 December and faces the possibility of a substantial custodial sentence. Neither the UK Ministry of Justice nor the Metropolitan Police could confirm whether Robinson's bail conditions prohibited international travel.
Following the event, Sullivan posted statements to social media on Sunday acknowledging that he made a mistake by failing to hire adequate security personnel, noting that "everyone makes mistakes when you are trying to grow something." However, he praised the event's online traction, stating, "One thing I can say is it was a great night of entertainment and it's gone super viral." The official Instagram account for Unhinged promotions, @unhinged_promotions, also published footage of the melee with the caption: "The Area started a RIOT."
