MMAmania.com readers storm Philadelphia for UFC 101
by Jesse Holland on Aug 10, 2009 9:45 AM EDT
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UFC 101: 'Declaration' held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia was Zuffa's first ever trip to "The Keystone State" since Pennsylvania regulated mixed martial arts earlier this year.
However, the historical significance of the event wasn't just the debut of the UFC, but also the much ballyhooed conglomeration of MMAmania.com readers who managed to assemble like some bastardized version of Voltron to witness all the live action on Aug. 8.
They say "You've got a friend in Pennsylvania," and now it can be said "You've got a friend on MMAmania" as evidenced by the efforts of our regulars who made the trek to Philly for some caged combat in the comfort of a private suite.
To help us shed some light on the experience, site veteran and trip organizer "Kevin" has dropped a few lines about the brouhaha in Philly and all that debauchery that followed.
Take a look:
Hey fellow maniacs, MMAmania was nice enough to allow me my own thread to do a write up for 101! He really deserves a big thank you from not only myself, but everyone that went to 101. If not for MMAmania, this trip couldn't have taken place, new friends couldn't have been made and some guys woulda been stuck in the cheap seats. Also, he over nighted T-shirts to everyone in the suite and they were a big hit.
As far as the night of fights goes, it wasn't the best overall event. When a fight in the stands between two skanks gets more play than the fight in the octagon does, something is wrong. If I were a betting man, I'd bet we'll be seeing Thales Leites/Nick Diaz in Strikeforce pretty soon, and will be seeing a one sided beat down at that.
For all the complaining that I could do on the event as a whole, the two "main fights" more than made up for it all. I was eager to see the reception that Anderson Silva received in the "City of brotherly love." It was anything but love and the look of surprise on the spider's face showed that he wasn't expecting that. OJR and myself were the only two guys in the arena standing and clapping for Silva...wow how a few minutes changes everything. He made arguably one of the top 5 LHWs look foolish, and won over the crowd all in under 5 minutes. If anyone wants to debate the pound for pound king or even mention GSP in the same paragraph as Anderson Silva, I'll tell you right now, you are not only crazy but have no clue what you are talking about (or you're from Canada).
I was assuming that the reception for the main event would be very pro Kenny since they were fighting just a hop skip and a jump from Boston, boy could I have been more wrong! For all the hate that I read on all the forums about BJ Penn, where are those people in "real life?" It's very easy to make fun and hate on someone behind the anonymity of a computer, but come on, back it up in person! The ovation BJ got was incredible, and his entrance to the ring wasn't even close to the entrance we saw for the GSP fight. I guess Kenny's plan was to attempt take downs (I'm not sure why) and push BJ against the cage (again, why?). In the long run, I really think Kenny was exerting so much more energy than BJ was, and BJ proved it with the ease and power he slammed Kenny down with. I knew at that point it was over, but wow, Kenny claims a BJJ black belt, who gave it to him, Cap n Crunch? The mount was smooth, the choke was easy and the king of 155 prevailed.
I'm not the type to brag (yes I am), but I picked the way both those fights would end, picked the Sakara upset as well as the Hendricks upset, not too shabby if I do say so myself! As far as what's next for Silva and BJ? I would love Silva to face the winner of Rashad and Rampage, although it won't happen, I think he'd beat them both (maybe in the same night). We all know what's next for BJ, Diego Sanchez. I've always been a big Sanchez fan, but the one thing he lacks, will be his downfall... a brain. He will attempt to stand toe to toe with BJ (who isn't Clay Guida), and will get knocked out in round 1.
Check out the rest of the UFC 101 photo gallery over at Kevin's Facebook page by clicking here.
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Nice job Kev! I hope to make the next east coast trip. It sounds more and more like it will be Fenway Park.
by ViolentMike on Aug 10, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Sweet write up Kev! Still pissed I never made it, but I will next year. And thanks again for selling my ticket!!! For those that don’t know: Kevin had me overnight my ticket to the hotel on Friday. He sold it that night for $250. I told him that we could split it, but he wasn’t interested in that. You’re good guy
B.J. and Silva did exactly what I thought, but DAMN was it nice to watch! It looked like forrest’s first fight ever! I think he sucks anyway, but Silva is just that fn good! IF he stays at 205 does Franklin drop back down?
by BOW on Aug 10, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Great write up Kev! Again, thank you for selling my ticket! For those of you that don’t know; Kevin had me overnight my ticket to his hotel on Friday and sold it that night for $250! I told him we could just split it, but he wasn’t interested in that. Your a good man
With that said, I can’t fn wait for the next trip!!!!!! I missed an amazing performance by the Spider. I think Forrest sucks anyway, but he is just on a totally different level! It was like Forrest was fighting for the first time. I really feel that his only competition would be his friend Machida. I bet $300 on him that won me $80. It was a lock! B.J fight went as expected too.
by BOW on Aug 10, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I think that Anderson Silvas next opponent at 205 should be Rashad whether he loses to Rampage or not. If he beats Rampage, the fight against Lyoto wouldn’t be immediatly marketable. However, if he were to beat Rampage and then move on to beat Anderson Silva, that would certainly warrant a title shot. And even if he lost to Rampage, that would be a great fight to get him back into title contention. It would also be a great match up for him if he were to use his wrestling.
by RyanHobbs on Aug 10, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions
If I had known Mania would dedicate a thread to this I would not have hijacked 2 other threads. Sorry, maniacs!
UFC 101 LIVE RECAP
First of all, let me thank Kevin for arranging this and putting forth alot of effort.
Let me tell you something : Kevin is a cool guy and most importantly : He keeps his word!
Nick from Philly, Dustin from MA, Rob from NY and Deuce from NC made it a great time.
I saw Coleman, Goldy and Arianny on Market St.
Coleman looked ancient in person. Father time is cruel.
Goldy literally had his hands all over Arianny. Discretion is not a part of his vocabulary. Can’t say that I blame him, though.
Glad to see that BJ rebounded from his last loss and DOMINATED Ken.
Now all of you BJ haters can STFU!
It felt nice to be one of the few people cheering for A. Silva while he was being bombarded by boos and insults.
It made the silence that much sweeter after he clowned Griffin. I loved it.
Bow down to greatness, b1tches.
Amir’s stoppage was justified. He was out on all fours and was lucky that Hendricks missed his follow up punches or he would have suffered alot more damage. Good stop.
Pellegrino impressed me with his control. Neer impressed me with his jits.
Leites and Sakara stunk out the joint.
McCrory took a step back. He should have kept it standing.
Philly was a nice time. Looking FWD to the next trip!
by OJR on Aug 10, 2009 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Why did you guys have to “storm” the city??? No roads to drive on in Philly?
by McArthur on Aug 10, 2009 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Looks like you guys had a blast. The suite looks fantastic.
Well done for picking those upsets Kevin. Even more so for betting on Sakara.
by RobH86 on Aug 10, 2009 2:07 PM EDT reply actions
aw, come on everybody had Alessio “the man” Sakara winning! :)
kevin is fresh like uh btw! =)
by RoBerto on Aug 10, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
I was going to bet on Anderson, BJ and Leites but forgot and got home around 1.30 looking to bet that parlay online. The Sakara Leites line was suspended so it worked out ok.
by RobH86 on Aug 10, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn’t but in this case I’m glad to be wrong, I can’t stand Leites and I hope that the UFC sees sense and cuts him, he’s a waste of space.
by David W-S on Aug 10, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Sounds like Thales was at it again. Won’t be looking it up.
by RobH86 on Aug 10, 2009 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions
mmmmmmmmmmmm pizza! Glad you guys had a good time.
by attakdog on Aug 10, 2009 2:19 PM EDT reply actions
Nice job guys.. way to take the lead Kev.
It’s always good to see these things actually materialize.
When MMA comes to Ontario the Canadian brews are on me.
by Big Zino on Aug 10, 2009 2:22 PM EDT reply actions
Haha. Im 19 and jobless.. I fight to make money. And when your only fighting local shows. You dont make enough money to go to a ufc event.
by belfort_fan on Aug 10, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL “crazy” to mention gsp in the same sentence as anderson silva? LMAO, well gsp is still in the top 3 p4p fighters out there easily and forrest simply lost his head and fought an incredibly stupid fight falling right into silva’s strengths. I look at a fighters over all career not just one fight, well silva reaked in his last two fights and did really well this time he fought someone who’s a perfect match up style wise for him, which I knew and was very surprised so many people thought other wise. If you only saw serra/gsp 1 you’d think serra was the man but I’m smarter than that and anyone with any common sense knew gsp had a very bad night and serra the best of his carreer, just look at there stats. I remember silva chasing chonan around not being able to tko him and finally losing in the end with a shocking heal hook. Crazy stuff happens in this sport, and people are so fickle, lyoto’s was once the most boring fighter out there and scores a couple of ko’s and now he’s the man, he’s the same guy, just things play’ed out just right for him recently. There’s no doubt in my mind that silva is the best striker out there in MMA which is why it’s just stupid to exchange with him which everyone does, he needs to fight someone with a brain, forrest isn’t the answer. Gsp and fedor are IMO p4p just as good as silva maybe better,and I can guarantee gsp wouldn’t stand and trade with silva, and fedor would fight against silva’s weakness not his strengths that being on the ground. I don’t think there is one fighter out there that would win standing with silva, and only machida would give him a good fight standing but silva already said they wouldn’t fight. Seriously they should have fighters pass IQ test’s who fight silva from now on.
by nathan on Aug 10, 2009 2:54 PM EDT reply actions
i wouldn’t have any problem putting gsp ahead of silva, gsp has fought the best and won including another top p4p fighter, i am not saying anderson may not be the best pfp but beating a medicore fighter like forest does not say alot to me. if he beats a few top lhw than i will say it’s him. gsp’s only downfall was the serra fight.
by roy on Aug 10, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
excellent posts… anderson silva has been fighting bums for a long time now and lets not blow this whole forrest victory out of proportion, forrest had lost this fight before he even stepped into the octagon… like nathan said he basically put his face into silva’s fists, and had what looked like no game plan whatsoever… henderson is gonna give anderson a real fight, you can count on that
by brendan(formerly a bunch of names that no one cares about) on Aug 10, 2009 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Anderson has better skills standing and is a better fighter he inflicts more damage on his opponents, GSP is a better wrestler and that is the only thing he’s better at than Anderson! and as we all know wrestling ain’t fighting!
by RoBerto on Aug 10, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
are you serious about silva fighting bums? after leben, he has fought in 9 consecutive title fights!!!!!!! (other than lutter not making weight)
by ---Caesar--- on Aug 10, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
(Also other than his bouts with James Irvin and Forrest Griffin)
by RyanHobbs on Aug 10, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
silva beating rich and dan where the only ones that impressed me. gsp beat hughes 2, bj 2,alves,fitch,josh those impressed me and i don’t even like gsp.
by roy on Aug 10, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m not putting down GSP, he’s top 3 p4p no doubt, but he’d get beat by a bigger, stronger, qyicker and more skilled silva who is beating legit 205 ers like it’s nothing! Not at all a knock on GSP, he would beat 90% of MW’s, just not silva!
by kevin on Aug 10, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Brendan, you are constantly bashing Anderson Silva and it’s getting ridiculous, say what you want about Forrest but he is a former LHW champion and is huge for his weight class, Andy simply outclassed him. Silva outboxed him and made him look like an amateur, he had him hurt from the first punch, this wasn’t about Forrest being mentally unprepared or coming in with a poor gameplan, he was beaten by the better fighter, the only time he rushed in was when he had already been knocked down twice and was on the verge of losing. Give the man his due, Andy is 10-0 in the UFC, that sort of record is unheard of.
Other than Serra and Hughes, GSP seems to be completely reliant on his wrestling to win fights and BJ aside isn’t finishing his opponents, the fight with Penn was on it’s way to a decision anyway until BJ quit in the corner. Through size, strength and cardio, GSP is bullying his opponents who all look undersized, even Alves was taken down at will. GSP is a world class wrestler but that is his only advantage over Silva and in a superfight he won’t be the bigger man.
On the other hand, Leites aside, Andy is always finishing fights, only one of his 10 wins have gone the distance and 8 of those didn’t go past the second round. He is also looking for greater competition by moving up in weight to fight bigger fighters and is still crushing them, that makes him a p4p great, only him and BJ are looking to test themselves in the higher weight class.
GSP needs to move up to MW if he wants to be considered the best fighter in the world and there he will need more than wrestling because he won’t be able to throw his larger opponents around and since the Serra loss we have seen very little of his striking.
Silva has already beaten Dan decisively, so I have no clue how you or anyone else can possibly think that this fight will end differently, it’s as pointless as the Rich Franklin rematch. Looks like another comfortable win over Dan is what it’s going to take to get you to accept that Andy is the best, though you’ll probabaly have more excuses and complaints about Silva.
by David W-S on Aug 10, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Most of the top 205 fighters like a good stand up fight. This is why it will be tough for anyone to beat Lyoto or Silva. This is also why Tito Ortiz is a name that should be in the mix because he has a different style that he likes to use and thats his wrestling. Now if Rashad and Rampage try to use their wrestling, they could be a potential threat as well.
Silva should probably try to fight at middleweight one more time being as most 205ers are scheduled to fight at this point in time.
Rich Franklin will probably make another run at the middleweight title if Anderson moves up to 205. Then again, maybe he will test the waters at 205? Who knows.
by RyanHobbs on Aug 10, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m sure plenty would disagree with me, but if GSP and Silva are matched in the Octagon, i’m betting on GSP. I really do believe he can beat Silva. There’s only 1 way to beat Silva, and that’s to put him on his back. GSP will be able to take Silva down….If Lutter can do it, GSP can certainly do it. Hell, i think GSP can probably take Lesnar down if he wants to. Mark my words…..if Silva ever loses another fight, and that’s a big if……it’ll be on his back.
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with this. And we are definitely in the minority. Most people seem to thing that Forrest standing and getting blasted is indicative of something. Anyone who thought Forrest stood a chance knew it was if he tried to grapple… he didn’t and got wrecked quick. It’s no surprise, but it sure was fun to watch.
by ballhawkdawk on Aug 10, 2009 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions
If GSP and Silva ever do get matched up, i’m betting a boatload on GSP, and i’d probably get a pretty good price…..at least as good of a price as you’ll ever get on GSP. Hell, if he wants to, he can pull a Clay Guida and dry hump his ass for 5 rounds. That’s a win in the sports books…..
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions
hey sorry i never was able to meet up with you guys, Kevin. turns out i was stuck typing the entire fight card. hope you guys enjoyed it!
by wagnerav on Aug 10, 2009 3:13 PM EDT reply actions
no worries bro, was looking forward to meeting you, jesse and john. hopefully next time!
by kevin on Aug 10, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions
thats cool what you guys did!! If i ever manage to save up enough cash id love to do that with you guys?? Dont get me wrong you would probably struggle to understand my scottish accent lol but very cool, well done Kev!!!
by mo on Aug 10, 2009 4:09 PM EDT reply actions
Can anyone tell me if it’s even possible for the “common fan” to get seats in the first couple of rows? I always see other UFC fighters and Hollywood celeb’s sitting in those seats….do any of those seats actually go up for sale, and if so, about how much do they run? Thanks in advance for the 411……
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 5:06 PM EDT reply actions
approximately how much per ticket? I realize the price probably varies depending on the venue….i’m just looking for a ballpark figure. Thanks!
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
is it that tough to go to stub hub, click ufc and look for ringside?
1k+
by kevin on Aug 10, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
2 paychecks??? Kev you’ll need to drop at least 10-15 paychecks if you want the rest of us to come
by McArthur on Aug 10, 2009 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah…i guess that works.
Jesus Christ, i figured they would be pricey, but i didn’t realize they were that much!! For UFC 104, you can get a pair of seats on the floor, in the 3rd row for $100K PER TICKET!!! I really had no clue they were that expensive. I would also imagine that they don’t offer those seats for purchase thru the UFC when the tickets go on sale.
I was thinking of treating myself, and i’d be willing to pay anywhere from $1k to $1,500 per seat, but based on the prices on Stub Hub, they’d probably be in the rafters. I guess you have to look at the staudium and make a decision to what level it’s worth it to see the fight live, versus just watching it on TV.
I figure a luxury box would also be cool….you get all the atmosphere of being at the fight, along with the birds-eye view of the television camera’s that are in the suite.
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
UFC 102 Tickets (Randy Couture vs. Antonio Nogueira) 8/29 8-29-2009
Saturday
7:00 PM Rose Garden in Portland, OR $107 – $3699 Buy Sell
UFC Fight Night Tickets 9/16 9-16-2009
Wednesday
8:00 PM Cox Convention Center Arena in Oklahoma City, OK $48 – $871 Buy Sell
UFC 103 Tickets 9/19 9-19-2009
Saturday
6:30 PM American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX $80 – $20000 Buy Sell
UFC 104 Tickets 10/24 10-24-2009
Saturday
1:00 PM STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA $139 – $100000
by McArthur on Aug 10, 2009 8:36 PM EDT reply actions
If your familiar with a venue and can recognize the floor plan I would say Kev’s idea of the box seats or suite would def be the way to go for both line of site, comfort, and affordability…you only need 10 or so guys to make it worth it
by McArthur on Aug 10, 2009 8:39 PM EDT reply actions
If anyone is interested in getting a luxury box for whatever event has BJ vs Diego, i’m in!!
by kg on Aug 10, 2009 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions
“I knew at that point it was over, but wow, Kenny claims a BJJ black belt, who gave it to him, Cap n Crunch?”
Ah Kev, come on man! BJ isn’t called “The Prodigy” for no reason… He makes high level black belts look like amateurs.
Kenny has his black belt under Roberto Maia, the highest ranking BJJ professor in New England under Carlos/Renzo Gracie. As we all know, getting a black belt under the Gracie system is not an easy task.
People are hating on Kenny for getting beat by a guy who is virtually unstoppable in this weight class. BJ is on a whole other level than everyone else in the division.
I just wish people would respect him more instead of trashing him. Is everyone forgetting he made it to the 4th round? Even if he didn’t show much offense, he still did enough to not get taken out early.
by Dustin on Aug 10, 2009 9:24 PM EDT reply actions
bro, I was just trying to add a little humor to my write up, kinda like Jesse does! sorry if I insulted you, or canadians for still thinking gsp can beat silva!
by kevin on Aug 10, 2009 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I know you’re joking. That’s mainly geared towards people who truly think that… but yeah, I had to play along with the joke. =)
by Dustin on Aug 11, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Dud I need to know who wins the kimbo v nelson fight i’ll be away an will miss it!!!! please email me at www.wong-dog@hotmail.com!
ps Im pretty sure nelson will win, good fighter, faced great opponents and has V good skills alround.. either way im excited!! lol
by steven on Sep 30, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m not sure gsp could beat silva and think he would get smashed standing with him…..but, give him a couple years of fine tuning his bjj and striking, gain 10-20 lbs and then we’ll talk. He has great reach for a welter weight but here’s the thing, I know gsp could take silva down, but to set up the shots effectively he would IMO need to improve his striking and to sub silva improve his bjj which he is doing constantly. I don’t think gsp is ready yet but in a year or two think he would have a good shot, better than anyone else at 185. The thing about gsp is he’s a very savy fighter and really studies and fights against his opponents weakness’s and basically already admitted he’s not ready for silva yet, he knows he’s too small. I also think he know’s he lacks the striking and bjj skill right now, like he said he doesn’t want to fight just to try but to fight to win.
by nathan on Aug 11, 2009 12:24 AM EDT reply actions
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