blue artichoke

Continued from yesterday:

We saw all of the fighters taking part in UFC 79 at the weigh-ins, but we also saw them (and others) just walking around the casino. I know this probably isn’t very exciting to most of you, but to see the people I pay good money to see on pay-per-view just wandering around like ordinary people was quite thrilling. And, this leads me to another New Thing…

They may be only niche celebrities, known only to those who are into mixed martial arts, but I think I was probably more excited to meet them than I would be to meet any NFL football player, NBA basketball player, or other sports celebrity. These are the people I met: Manvel Gamburyan, Dan Henderson (PRIDE heavyweight and light heavyweight champion), Jason “Mayhem” Miller, John Hackleman (Chuck Liddell's trainer), Tim Sylvia (former UFC heavyweight champion), Eddie Bravo, Jason Lambert (who knocked out my fighter crush), Dean Lister, Joe Lauzon, Josh Burkman, Mac Danzig and Roger Huerta. I saw Clay Guida at the weigh-ins, and spotted these fighters just wandering around Mandalay Bay: Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell (former UFC light heavyweight champion), Wanderlei Silva, Melvin Guillard, current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Rampage Jackson, James Irvin, Roan Carneiro, Keith Jardine, Scott Smith, trainers Greg Jackson and Sol Solis, and referee Herb Dean. And, the one most of you will recognize, Joe Rogan (UFC commentator, comedian and host of Fear Factor).

I was pretty shy at first, but as I saw more fighters wander past, I got bolder and started approaching them. Most, I just shook hands with, but a few I grabbed for pictures. In a rather awkward encounter, I ended up holding hands with Tim Sylvia. I first spotted him at the weigh-ins, looking rather awkward and lonely as he hunkered down in an empty row of seats and ate a sandwich. There were lots of people around, but no one paid him any attention. He balled up the plastic wrap from his sandwich and threw it at Mike Goldberg (commentator). It fell short, so he tried it again with greater success, but Goldberg ignored him. He’s a good fighter, but has had rather lackluster performances in his last few fights. He’s socially awkward and difficult for the UFC to market, so he doesn’t have a lot of fans. In fact, he gets booed a lot. I felt sorry for the guy. In my post-weigh-in nap, I dreamt that I ran into him, took his hand and went shopping. After that we were BFF and he came to visit me in Missouri. I wanted to take him to my Muay Thai class, but was afraid he would cause a riot if he walked in the front door of the gym, so I was trying to arrange an entrance through the emergency-exit door by my classroom. Then I woke up. Later that afternoon, I spotted him walking purposefully through the casino. He’s huge and had on his mean face. I was intimidated, but we were BFF, right?, so I walked right up, stuck out my hand and said, “Hey!” He was holding a drink, so stuck out his left hand. I grabbed it and was so flustered that I forgot to let go. He never slowed down, so I walked alongside him for a few steps holding his hand. When I realized what I was doing, I let go and fell back in his wake. Weird and awkward.

Most of the other fighters I met were very nice. The most personable was Eddie Bravo. The funniest was Mayhem Miller, who told GC that he was his favorite pro wrestler after GC told him that he was his favorite slap boxer. I was only dissed twice, first by Chuck Liddell, which was understandable because he was heading to the gym and trying to cut weight for his fight, and then Rampage Jackson, who was there to do publicity and watch the show. Rampage saw us approaching, turned and walked away. Dismissed. I like the guy, but I have to admit that he’s gone down a bit in my estimation.

The only "celebrity" there I wanted to meet, but didn't even see, was Michael Malice, author, editor of Overheard in New York and self-proclaimed supervillain.

Getting to Know All About You: What celebrities have you seen and/or met?