my ufc 48 experience

[Lefty]

this was my first live mma experience, so i thought i'd share it with you. i've been to vegas to see boxing fights before, but a live ufc was a new thing for me. for any of you who've contemplated going, DO IT! it was blast.

it started early, but i didnt get seated until 6;30. Some drunk idiots were in our seats when we got there, but i got them out. i was curious as to how the ufc fans were. it seemed more classy and calm on the floor compared to my nosebleed area. most the fans sem to be youngin's who were just trying to impress their chicks, and had zero mma knowledge. i met some guy from japan who was sitting next to me. he knew his **** and we traded commentary constantly. the ballon heads in front of me were the type of asshole who boo during the hughes/verrisimo fight. no knowledge of the art , they only cheer for the violence. some idiot tried to convince their was 15 fights on the card. :rolleyes:

considering i bought the second cheapest seats($75), i had a good view. the mandalay bay was'nt as big as the mgm (where you cant see **** from the top).

the crowd did have an unbelievable amount of electricity. in between fights, they play this loud metal music,combined with the alchool, made a pretty intense envioment. besides a fight in the bathroom, the place was in control.

the baroni /tanner fight and the shamrock ko had everyone going nuts. i went nuts when mir got the sub, but half the idiots there started booing.

when i was on my way out, frank mir came out and started greeting fans (he had his belt on). half the fans walked right by him because the didnt know who they were. i shook his hand ,chatted,and got a pic with him. great way to end a great night. if you have patience for stupid fans, i would highly recommend going to check out a ufc live. i'll be back to do it again.

[Iron Maiden]

Sounds like a good time!

Its a shame the American audience does not respect the fighting....it really shows how our society continues to dwindle into a degenerate age. Sad.

Glad you had fun...and post the pic!

[nhbfan8080]

Sounds like a good time!

Its a shame the American audience does not respect the fighting....it really shows how our society continues to dwindle into a degenerate age. Sad.

Glad you had fun...and post the pic!

I'm just thinking that another reason could also be that society now is more effeminate. 'Manly' full contact one-one sports are just not held in high regard nowadays

[ACIDBATHBELFORT]

Thats good to see Mir greeting fans and caring about them. It is a sad thing how ignorant and stupid most fans here are. The guy got his arm broken and they are boing. Ive have been to some FFC fights and its the same thing. Always some idiot screaming something when they go to the ground.

[Ring Girl]

Awesome, Lefty - sounds like you had fun!

I went to Vegas for the event as well and had a great time. I went to the weigh-ins on Friday, which were held in the arena at the Mandalay Bay. I guess, they held them there for 47 as well. Last event I went to was UFC 46 and they were still holding the weigh ins at one of the clubs in the hotel. Holding the weigh-ins in the arena made it easier for everyone to get in, and you didn't get crammed in the way you did at the club - however, it also took away from the atmosphere in my opinion. In the clubs you're jammed in with all kinds of people, in close with the media and the fighters and the energy was very high. With everyone sitting calmly in the arena and the fighters and the media sitting separeted way down in the front, it took a lot of fun out of the weigh-ins for me. Still a great way to meet fighters though and in the lobby of the arena Chuck, Vitor and Randy were signing autographs for hours.

As always, I recommend to anyone attending a UFC in the future - if you want to meet fighters, just hang around the host hotel. At the Mandalay Bay they all eat at the restaurants there and hang out at the hotel all weekend - you'll meet tons of people just cruising around the casino floor. Almost all the fighters and MMA affiliated people I've met were more than happy to stop and talk to fans or have their photos taken.

I enjoyed the fights as well -- Lefty is correct in his assessment that most people are better behaved on the floor, but there's still drunken assholes there, just fewer of them. The people seated directly to the right of me booed through the entire Hughes-Charuto match and were wasted from the first fight. The guy in front of me had never been to an MMA event before and kept turning around to ask questions.

The view from the floor isn't always the best - we were about fifth row, which means sometimes when the fight goes to the ground it's hard to see - but in my opinion, the environment on the floor more than makes up for it. We were on the side where the fighters enter/exit, so they came in on one side of us and left on the other and we were smack dab in the middle. We were seated just a few rows behind the whole Team Quest gang, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and plenty of others.

In regards to people booing Mir - where I was seated, you couldn't tell at all that his arm was broken until they showed the replay later on. Everyone in our section got up and thought that it was an early stop. I've actually met Hearb Dean before, he trains at 10th Planet sometimes, and I thought he was a dead man! Security was immediately all over the octagon. I was glad when the showed the replay and it made it clear to everyone that it was a good stop.

Anyway, that's a brief rundown - it was a fun event and I'm already looking forward to the next one! Haven't been to the MGM before, but it should be good!

[D241]

thanks for the stories ya'll, i enjoyed reading about them.

definatly post pictures, and any commentary between fans and fighters would be nice to read as well

[Lefty]

i guess baroni and tim didnt have their after parties? instead, i bet phil was crying in the dressing room and sylvia went the the hospital. i guess that's what happens when you celebrate in advance.

ringgirl, glad to hear you had a good time also.:p
next time i'm going to get floor tickets also. cant wait for the next one!

[Ring Girl]

As far as I know all the afterparties took place like they were supposed to -- Tim was spotted at the HOB afterparty sporting a cast and a sling on his arm.

I didn't go to any of the parties this time, just went to dinner afterwards - but I saw Matt and Evan, Chuck, and a bunch of the refs while I was at dinner. Vitor and his whole crew were also in the same restaurant. Chris Brennan and Erica Montoya were seated not far from us. Lots of people there.

Doc Hamilton came over to talk with the people I was seated with at one point and explained to us that Tim's arm was broken in two places with a spiral fracture and that he was at the hospital at that time. Herb Dean also came over and we talked with him - he said after he stopped the fight the only thought he had going through his head was "if I stay near the cops I'll be okay, if I stay near the cops I'll be okay" LOL!

[Lefty]

sound's like the restaurant was a better call than the afterparty. i cant believe tim still went to the party with a break like that. talk about guts.out of curiousity, which restaurant was it ? (just so i'll know where to go next time)

[Ring Girl]

Whenever the UFC is at the Mandalay, a restaurant called 'Raffles' is a really good bet on where to eat and meet fighters - it's a little pricey if you eat there a lot, kind of a fancy Denny's kind of thing, but it's good food. I don't know which restaurant they all go to at the MGM, though. The restaurants are always a good bet though - at UFC 43 I met more fighters at the restaurant next door to the afterparty in the Hard Rock than I did at the party. Everybody has to eat! ;)

[jrock21]

I know this is completely off topic but tanner needs a haircut....badly

[Booker M]

uuuummmm....when I read you guys's stories, I feel like going to UFC 49.
Hey RG, you got to show us around Vegas. You will be a tour guide only for mmafighting.net members!;)

[Tony Montana]

Great stories Lefty and Ringgirl. I can't wait 'till the UFC comes back to the east coast so I can go to my first event.

Re: how the floor seats couldn't see the arm break, Dana himself seemed to imply in the post fight press conference that he was about to flip himself until he saw the replay.

[Ring Girl]

I wish you could come to UFC 49, too, Booker! It's going to be so awesome with Randy, Matt and Chuck all on that card. You said that's the most expensive time to travel from Japan, though?

Tony - I think UFC 50 is rumored to be back on the East Coast and is supposedly going to feature the Tito-Shamrock rematch and Lee Murray vs. somebody as well.