MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

As some of you know, long-time MMA HQ reader Amir recently attended UFC 71 in Las Vegas. Well, Amir was kind enough to write up a few thoughts on his UFC experience and send me a few photos. So, here is Amir’s recap and some of the great photos he was able to take.

How can anyone put into words the experiences of a lifetime? I made it into the MGM Grand in Vegas
at around 3pm after a long, 5+ hour drive through the desert from San Diego.

There was an incredible buzz in the air the moment we got into town. It was as if the desert sands knew that this would be a magical day for many people. Maybe it was the heat outdoors, or the air conditioning indoors, or maybe it was just the excitment of the holiday. An endless sea of people everywhere from everywhere. There were probably many “Joes” from Kansas, a “Hanks” from Tennesee, a “Johns” from Utah, and of course, a named Amir from NY, along with many other strangers who would unite for a common love of the UFC and the world of MMA. They were all there to see what was considered the most anticipated fight in UFC history. I, for one, was certainly not dissapointed. I don’t see much sense in summarizing what everyone has already seen on PPV
or heard or read about. I will just say that I was one of very few people cheering for Rampage…lol.

The most striking exhibition of all though, aside from Rampage’s, was the diversity of the crowd. It seemed as if a rich man and a pauper were separated by merely two or three rows. Of course, at the $200 minimum ticket price-tag, I use the term “pauper” very loosley. From those I spoke to near my seat, they were fans of the UFC and TUF show, but seemed much less knowledegable of any other MMA information, organization, fighters, or news. It was somewhat bittersweet. After all, these tickets were probably much pricier for a farmer from Nebraska than they were for me. I would think a true love for the sport needed to exist for anyone to cough up that kind of dough. I could not get a a solid impression of whether many were there for the true events of the night, or for the current “hottest ticket in town”. I will say that it was without doubt one the greatest moments of my life.

Unfortunatley, we missed out on many of the weigh-in events of the day before, but apparently our hotel room was located in the same section of the hotel where many of the fighters and UFC personnel were staying. I did manage to grab a few pics of some people you guys might know. Hope you all enjoy and get to see an event as monumental as this in your lifetimes.

Here are links to Amir’s Photos. (The photos were good high res shots, so I’m just linking to each photo to save space).

UFC Ticket
Big John McCarthy
Brandon Melendez
Leben vs Starnes
Karo vs Burkman
Rampage vs Liddell
Chaos
Former champ
Former champ 2