UFC 73: A Fan's Perspective

The following is a write up from UFCmania reader Sean McManus, who had the privilege to watch the UFC 73 event this weekend at Philthy McNasty's in Ontario, Canada, alongside UFC stars such as Georges St. Pierre, Joe Stevenson, Brandon Vera and more. The meet-and-greet was sponsored by The Fight Network.

I am by no means a casual fan of the UFC and of MMA. I've spent countless dollars on pay-per-views and beer -- even if it meant watching it by myself because friends were doing something else. However, I've never been to a live event nor have I ever even as much spoken to a professional fighter.

That all changed this weekend with UFC 73: "Stacked."

Allow me to shed some quick perspective on myself as a fan. I've been watching the UFC since I was 15. I watched in amazement as Royce Gracie defeated Gordeau and how Patrick Smith crushed Scott Morris, as well as how Keith Hackney took on Goliath in the form of Yarborough. All of this excitement has followed me throughout the years and has made me the fan I am today.

UFC 73 represented a different experience altogether.

Philthy McNasty's in Burlington, Ontario, Canada held an event that was sponsored by The Fight Network and it made me drool. The promise of being able to watch the fights with actual fighters, to have a meet and greet, to actually be able to speak to some of these guys and get autographs and pictures was almost too much to handle and made me reel in anticipation for Saturday night.

Put simply, the prospect of meeting Kendall Grove, Gray Maynard, Joe Stevenson and a special guest list of George St. Pierre and David Loiseau was a dream come true.

I attended the event with my wife and a friend of ours who was rooting for Mark Bocek because he's an instructor at her academy. I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived and, Kendall Grove, who apparently had a family emergency, was replaced by Brandon ‘The Truth' Vera!

At this point I was trying to stay as calm as possible while my wife kept telling me -- as I fidgeted in my seat -- to relax. We ordered a few beers and waited for the fighters who were coming in around 8 p.m.

The train of fighters made their way upstairs with their VIP status as a few hoots and cheers came from the dining room. There were, of course, a few middle-aged families who looked around in confusion because they had no idea with whose presence they had just been graced.

Now, I'm a 28-year-old father and husband with an office job and I was acting like a 12-year-old girl if she was in a restaurant and ‘Sexy Back' himself came strolling in.
We lined up and I was standing in line directly in front of them while they ate their dinner. Trying to be cool – I did not take too many pictures of them eating and waited patiently for them to finish.

Joe, Gray and Brandon made their way to the autograph table and the line began to move.

On a side note, my wife for some reason or another couldn't take her eyes off of GSP, and oddly enough she now insists that I speak with a French accent with broken English – the pieces are now fitting together.

Just as we were getting to the table Joe stepped out to use the washroom so there I was face-to-face with "The Bully" and "The Truth" with a few minutes to spare as we waited for Joe. I kindly asked Gray to sign my picture "To Sean: ‘I WASN'T OUT!!' – Gray ‘The Bully' Maynard" – to which he chuckled and obliged. I asked him if the UFC turned around to get him another fight quickly and he said yes, most likely September sometime. He would not comment on an opponent, but a quick rematch with Rob Emerson was out of the question, as Rob was still "quite messed up," according to Maynard.

Next was my chance to speak to one of my favorite fighters in recent memory – Brandon Vera. He kindly signed my picture and I asked him briefly about his contract issues. He said that they were all ironed out with the UFC, but he had to now focus on getting his management's contract issues out of the way, which should all be cleaned up by the end of this month.

I asked him, because I know everyone wants it, when he would be back in the UFC and he said September. Of course, I then asked him where – England or California -- and he wouldn't comment, neither would he rouse any rumors in regard to an opponent. So I gained my composure and hesitantly asked him, "Brandon, there are lots of people out there who say you've got a padded unbeaten record, that the only real name you've beaten is a post-accident Frank Mir, what do you say to those people?"

Brandon replied, "I say ‘Keep hatin' – keep hatin' – everyone will see, everyone will know." To which, I sounding like a dork said, "Everyone will see 'The Truth,' and everyone will know 'The Truth?'"

He laughed and said, "Yeah, I like that."

Once Joe got back, he signed our pictures and I asked him who he sees himself fighting when he gets past Pellegrino, and he said that he will fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him.

We mingled with a few of the other fans at that point and watched an interview being done with GSP. We made our way back to the dining hall and had some dinner anxiously waiting for the fights to start. As much as it was amazing to meet these guys, I was just as excited to watch this card.

We made our way back upstairs to watch the fights. I was standing along the path that the fighters would have to take to get to the washroom and I only asked them for a picture on their way back to their seats and if it wasn't in the middle of a round or a fight. Everyone obliged and Gray stood around for a bit and chatted again. Vera watched the Big Nog and Herring fight intently and GSP chuckled when Rogan made mention of Hughes' comment about not being a real champion until you've successfully defended the belt.

Some people also jokingly ribbed Gray when Sherk slammed Hermes and hit his own head on the mat.

I'm not writing this as a breakdown of the fights, because we're all armchair champions, and there is already some really good analysis on UFCmania. I will say this though, I've been a fan of Tito's since he "won" that first fight with Metzger and when he later flipped off the entire Lion's Den. So I had to root for him, but he's got to do more to keep on top of his game with the new level of fighters.

I brought my own 8"x10" pictures of George St. Pierre for him to sign and as the fights were over, he was trying to get out quickly and I asked if he would sign some, he said yes and to follow him downstairs. So I did, I followed him right outside and around the corner of the building, like a rock star groupie. Unfortunately, he got into a waiting truck with David Loiseau and Gray Maynard and they sped away.

In all fairness, George was the special guest and was not signing for anyone really.
I met up with one of the reps from The Fight Network, Chad, who sees these guys all the time and he told me to give him the photos and he would try and get George to sign them for me.

As a Canadian fight fan, there really has never been anything bigger than ‘Rush' and all I wanted was a moment, but that moment seemed to speed away ... literally.

The night was amazing – full of some great fights, great fighters, along with pictures and autographs, and a few scoops – a real UFC fan's dream come true.

I've written the guys who put on the event just to express my sincere thanks and, of course, to see if I'll be getting any autographs in the mail. Coming from a Canadian fan and seeing as these events are too few and too far between, this night was definitely one for the memory books, as well as for the ever popular ‘stories over beers with friends' category.

It was equally great that I was able to enjoy the night with my wife, who is also a big fan. Now if only I could work on my French accent.