'Will die free': MMA fighter refuses to follow Melbourne mask rule
Former UFC fighter Vik Grujic has brazenly claimed he won’t wear a mask after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the safety device will become mandatory in Melbourne this week.
Premier Andrews announced on Sunday, Victoria had been hit with a further 363 new cases of the coronavirus and as of Wednesday masks will be mandatory for those leaving their home.
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“If you are out of your home for one of the four permitted reasons, then you need to be wearing a mask and I stress – or a face covering,” he said at the press conference.
“It need to stress it not be a hospital-grade mask, it not be one of the handmade masks like I was wearing when I came in today. It can be a scarf, it can be a homemade mask.”
But the move did not please Aussie MMA fighter Grujic who said the move was against his views.
The Melbourne-based fighter also tweeted the premier claiming he would not wear a mask, or pay a fine if he were to be handed one.
I will never bow to a dictatorship. I'm a proud Aussie. Born free. Will die free.
— Vik Grujic (@VikGrujic) July 19, 2020
@DanielAndrewsMP
I will not wear a mask. I will not pay a fine. I will not comply. I will not bow down to you.
Whatever you're next set of demands are, I will not comply to either.
I'm a proud Australian. Born free. Nothing will take that away from me.
No virus.
No dictator.— Vik Grujic (@VikGrujic) July 19, 2020
‘I will not comply’: Grujic slams Andrews
“I will not wear a mask. I will not pay a fine. I will not comply,” he tweeted to Premier Andrews.
“I will not bow down to you. Whatever you're next set of demands are, I will not comply to either.
“I'm a proud Australian. Born free. Nothing will take that away from me.
“No virus. No dictator.”
Grujic has 12 professional fights in MMA, which included a 1-3 record in the UFC.
He lost his last three fights in the UFC, the last one back in 2017.
Mandatory masks spark long queues
Long lines outside pharmacies and sewing supply stores have been spotted ahead of a mandatory face mask rule set to be introduced in Victoria.
Images shared on social media show people lining up outside shops like Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight.
My daughter has gone to Spotlight to buy some elastic to make masks. This is the cue. #facemasks #MaskUpMelbourne pic.twitter.com/Baad001JoI
— Ange Recchia (@angesbiz) July 19, 2020
A photo apparently taken inside a Chemist Warehouse in Brunswick, in Melbourne’s north, shows people lining up down the aisle, reportedly to purchase face masks.
The long queues followed Sunday’s announcement that masks are to be worn in public from Thursday in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
