It seemed like we were traveling in the darkness for hours and hours and hours. Finally, we emerged out of the middle of nothing and saw the lights of Memphis. Once we were in Memphis it felt like every lame driver was trying to slow us down from crossing the big city to reach our destiny. Move, people! It took some searching to find an open lot to park in, but after an hour and a half, the drive was complete at last. Okay, it's nothing like trying to navigate through the chaos of Dallas, but it was agonizing enough in the situation.
Nathan left the tickets for us at the will call window. Since we didn't get there until a couple of hours after the preliminary fights started, we didn't have to deal with wading through a crowd of fools like Nathan did. The walk in the cold and drizzling rain was enough frustration for me. Not to mention I was hauling Brooke's Hannah Montana backpack. It was stuffed with several things to keep her completely content and occupied, except for her Nintendo DS that I left at home charging on the floor. Doh!
Time to grab the priceless tickets at long last and find our seats as quickly as possible. A journey through the halls, up a private stairway, a turn into a private section and...WOW! Are you kidding me?! The seats were amazing! They were on the first deck and smack dab in the middle of the club level (the green section).
Wider, fully cushioned, comfy seats with lots of leg room. Perfect view of the center court jumbo tron. These tickets seriously had to cost a pretty penny for the average spectator. The lobby was very classy with private bathrooms and upscale bars and concession areas. It felt like you were walking though a fancy corporate office. Not the norm for us. We're pretty cool people, but not fancy by any means. The sections below us were the roll in riser style, and the floor seats looked like upgraded folding chairs. Granted, those seats put you closer to the stars and the action, but I think ours were much better than any of those in terms of comfort and visibility of the fights and the screens.
It almost felt unreal to step out and see the whole arena glowing and transformed in true UFC form...
A definite thing of beauty in our eyes.
Everything is lit up so cool until the fight starts. Then the majority of the lights go dark and the spotlights shine down on the ring.
I'm sure that seriously turns up the heat a notch on the pressure cooker for the fighters.
It was strange how quiet the whole place was once the fight was going. I guess everybody was so focused on capturing every moment. No commentators to add to the excitement or possibly increase the annoyance level. No offense Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, but you are reeeally annoying sometimes. Can't blame you for doing your job though.
I would like to take a moment to point out that while Cole has on a One More Round shirt, it is in no way, shape, or form in support of Matt Hughes. Seriously can't stand the guy or his game. It's rare to find an MMA shirt for kids in stores, so I took what I could get.
Plus, it was on sale since it was being weeded out...Kind of like Matt Hughes. :)
Our friends, Rachel and Justin, looove Matt Hughes for some ridiculous reason.
We'll have to agree to disagree on that one in order to keep the peace.
Chuck Liddell and Dana White sitting ring side chatting about Elvis Presley's estate at Graceland...I think.
Nathan was able to see every single prelim fight, but the rest of us managed
to make it there just in time for the Matt Wiman fight. Whew!
She also split her time playing with Barbies. Gotta love those things.
As Mike Goldberg would say...Here's the veteran voice of the octagon, Bruce Buffer!
YES!!!
Alan Belcher will probably never get as much applause as he did tonight being the closest to hometown dude and all.
I wonder if he sent Rampage a thank you note for that one. By the way, did you see his arm tattoo?
It's probably sentimental but it really creeps me out.
Is it just me or does that guy on the left look exactly like Stefan Struve? Weird.
Clay Guida and Kenny Florian
Thanks Clay for getting us all pumped up with your entrance and then just letting it "Flo" all over your face.
My 7 year old son cheered his heart out for you and was almost in tears over the disappointment.
This guy really annoys the piss out of me with his not meant to be sleeveless shirts.
Dude, we can tell if you have guns whether you cut them off or not. It does not help you.
It just makes you look stupid to demean a perfectly good $70 shirt.
Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo
Frank, thank you for backing up everything you said this time.
Cheick should have kept his way too shiny glasses on...Cause he sure didn't see that coming!
After the entrance music for Diego Sanchez and BJ Penn ended, Brooke nestled her sweet face on her jacket
and was fast asleep by the time Bruce Buffer finished his roaring introductions.
Man, Diego, that face really made us believe that you were gonna "bring it" like you promised.
Evidently, it made BJ believe something incredible was about to happen, too. We were all in shock that BJ shut down "Nightmare" so easily like that. It was heart breaking...Especially because about 30 of Diego's family and friends were sitting behind us.
I think Diego's grandmother was sitting directly behind me. When Herb Dean stopped the fight to look at his cut,
she pleaded to the man above to stop it all and not let Diego get hurt any more. Good call.
Despite the upsetting annihilation of Diego Sanchez, the whole UFC 107 experience was absolutely amazing. If nothing else, this night in itself definitely made the sudden move from Texas to Tennessee all worth it. The likelihood of Dana White ever reading this blog is practically nonexistent, but I want to give a shout out to Dana anyway.
Dana, we cannot thank you enough for being so generous to the fans and for giving us the opportunity to experience a mere glimpse of the UFC world that we love so much. We appreciate it so much more than you will never know. Our 7 year old son said that our family made history tonight. He's absolutely right because the memories of UFC 107 will never be forgotten. Thank you for all that you do! Dana White...You most definitely made our night!
