UFC 101: Random Thoughts and Ramblings

So I had the pleasure of attending UFC 101 in Philly last weekend. This was my first UFC event, and I was beyond excited. We were able to stay at the same hotel as the fighters, and I was pleasently surprised at how accessible they were to the fans. The only fighter I saw who wasn't signing autographs and taking pictures was Anderson Silva, and to be fair, I only saw him the day before the fight. It's nice to see a group of athletes who interact with their fans without requiring $100 per autograph. People wonder why MMA has become so popular, and I can't help but think it has a lot to do with the way these guys treat their fans.

The fights themselves were a little underwhelming. I have to say that the only undercard fight that I really got into was Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer. When Riddle walked out to "Beat It", you kinda knew that this was going to be a fun fight. The boys really seemed to give it their all and the audience showed their appreciation. Ah, the audience. Northeastern fans are notoriously grumpy and quick to turn. I say this as a life-long Mets and Jets fan, who will be the first person to call the latest overpaid, underperforming baseball player a bum. The audience seemed to prefer the fights that they could boo, and boo they did.

I've been a huge fan of Amir Sadollah since TUF 7, and I was eagerly awaiting his first fight. I can truly say that was one of the worst early stoppages I've ever seen. In fact, I thought Miragliotta was pulling Hendricks off because of the 3 or 4 times he hit Sadollah in the back of the head. Its during fights like these that I wish Dana White could call a mulligan. I can't imagine training for all of those months, only to have the fight stopped 30-something seconds in by the ref.

As for the Griffin/Silva fight, I have to admit I was really pulling for Griffin and I thought he would be the one to end Silva's winning streak. The dissappointment in The Wachovia Center was palpable. Not too much to say about the BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian fight. I think it turned out as I expected. Once the fourth round started, I knew that Penn had won the first 3 rounds, so Florian was going to have to pull out a win. In the end, I wasn't at all surprised at the outcome.