Editor’s note: James sent this along today (Thursday); however, it is from his experience on Wednesday … he’s a little busy.
Well, it is day two of my first UFC experience in Las Vegas.
The day started out with me getting up and going to the spa to workout. It was one of those workout where you just want to get in a good sweat. Therefore, I divided my time between the treadmlll, bike and elliptical. I was there for about an hour.
While I was in there several of the greatest basketball players from my childhood were also in there working out. There are summer leagues in Vegas for teams and a lot of the coaches and players naturally stay at the Palms because the Mahoof's also own the Sacramento Kings.
I have never seen so many tall men in my life than I have the past two days.
At noon the UFC took us to a grocery store to get some food. Only three of us went, which was a surprise to me because I know I sure can't eat the food around here and make weight. One thing that I got was a small cooler to keep food cold since there are no fridges like I told you before.
Now I have the food that will help me make weight on friday.
At about 3 p.m. I was starting to get stir crazy just sitting in my room so I had to go walk around for awhile. Most of the fighters were out walking around so they also must have had the same feeling. Kevin [Burns] finally arrived today around that time, but he had to go and do an interview right away, so I stopped in and said a quick "Hi" before he was rushed off.
I went back to the spa this time just to sit in the steam room and hot tub. It was pretty cool ... I was in one hot tub and Anderson Silva was in the other. For people who don't know, spas can be kind of weird because there is usually a lot of old naked guys walking around. I guess everyone has the right to do what they want, ... it is a free country.
At 6 p.m. I finally had to go do some more work for the UFC. The first thing was get my pictures taken that they will use on flyers and posters. When you get there they have a girl, Leslie, who puts this white cream all over you to give you a shine. Then you go into a studio to have your pictures taken.
I was waiting for another fighter to finish, so I got a chance to look through the photographers book. Let me tell you it was amazing. The whole book was action shots from past fights and they were unbelievable.
It was finally my turn and they take like 50 different pictures but it is done really fast. The guy definitely knows what he is doing and does his job well.
After that is was back to Leslie to get oiled up for the video. Shooting the video was pretty cool, it gives you a chance to see how they get all those great shots you always see right before two guys fight. Trust me when I say it isn't as easy as you may think, it is a workout in itself. You have to do a lot of shadow boxing to make sure they get the right shot.
It really gives you an appreciation for the work that they do, knowing that they have to do this stuff all day long for two days to get everyone done.
As soon as I got back to the room I changed my clothes and it was off to the training room to meet Kevin and get in a good workout. We probably spent an hour and half in there just getting in a good sweat working on every part of the game.
I was able to meet Brandon Vera -- he was coming in as we were finishing. He definitely seemed like a very cool cat. Kevin already knew him since they both fought on the UFC 85 card in London last month. We basically sat there and talked about our weight and stuff. This is really the first time Brandon has had to worry about it since he is fighting at 205 pounds this time.
I won't tell you what I weighed but I will tell you that I was able to eat a real meal tonight because it was lower than expected.
Well it is off to bed for this guy -- sleep is just as important as training and I have a hard time getting enough.
James Giboo (11-2) is a professional mixed martial artist and Iowa science teacher who will make his Octagon debut against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He has competed extensively (and successfully) in the Midwest circuit, which has earned him a rare opportunity to now put his skills to the test against the top fighters in the world under the UFC banner. James will frequently detail his journey to the big time right here at MMAmania.com this week, providing our readers and his fans with a behind-the-scenes account of what it’s like to fight for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet for the first time. To check out more from James here at MMAmania.com click here.
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