My weekend: UFC 119, ND/Stanford, Colts/Broncos...

It's been a busy few days for me, and it's taking its toll now, but I'm not complaining. I had a blast doing all of the UFC 119 stuff and it was great being out, making new friends, and hanging with established buddies. I haven't had this much fun and excitement in awhile, and I'm thankful for the opportunities and the company. I missed blogging for the first time since I started yesterday, but here's how my weekend went:

Saturday
I crashed Friday night around midnight, originally just planning on sleeping a couple hours, getting up, blogging, and catching up on stuff online, etc., before showering and going back to bed at my usual time. The back up plan was to sleep until 4AM, take my medicine, and do a condensed version of my original intentions. I ended up sleeping until after 5AM, apparently having turned off my alarm clock instead of snoozing it. I figured I'd blog, catch up on Facebook and Twitter, shower, then go back to bed for a few hours before the ND/Stanford game. I messed around and missed being able to shower before my parents got up, so I had to wait on that for a couple hours. I was feeling surprisingly refreshed, though, so it wasn't a big deal. I decided to cut my hair once the bathroom was free since I was feeling up to it. In the meantime, I caught up on some TV and chatted a bit, which I also did after I was done with my hair and shower. I should have gone back to bed for a couple of hours, but I had some UFC 119 preview shows that I wanted to make sure I caught before the fights later that night. I was still feeling good, so it wasn't a problem.

Shortly after the Notre Dame game started, though, I could feel myself fading. Even with the 5 hours I got the night before, I'd only slept about 10 hours, total, in 3 days. In the past, that wouldn't be much of a problem, but since I've been woozy, and used to being in bed 10+ hours a day, along with not feeling great, the lack of sleep hit me a little extra hard. It didn't help that it was hard to get excited during the game since we played so badly. Stanford is good. We made way too many mistakes and didn't capitalize on theirs. I think those growing pains I mentioned last time will last awhile longer than I'd hoped and expected. We still have the time and the opportunity to make something of this season, and I have confidence that the coaches and players will do all that they can to get on the right track. We're 1-3, and 2 plays away from being 3-1 after playing a pretty tough schedule. Our last 3 opponents are all undefeated and ranked, with Stanford now in the top 10. I'm disappointed in our record, but not with our effort.

After the game, it was time to get ready to go downtown to watch the UFC at Buffalo Wings and Rings. It's a good place to watch the fights. They have tons of TVs and it's the easiest public place to hear what's going on. The food is good, too. My brother was over and came with us. My friend brought a friend and picked up my brother and me and we got to the restaurant at 8PM. The televised fights didn't start until 9PM, but I anticipated a crowded downtown with UFC-related overflow and wanted to make sure we got a table. It ended up not being so packed that early, but it was still cool to be out of the house and with friends. The fights started, and it was go time. While we waited for my other friends to show, my brother knocked over his drink and made a mess. It took some time to get that all cleaned up and dry, but it wasn't that bad, overall. I was distracted by the action on TV, so I was good. My buddy and his girlfriend made it right after the first fight was over, and our party was rounded out when the last of our group made it just as the PPV started at 10PM.

The fights were pretty good with few exceptions. A couple had less action than I would have anticipated, but I'm not one to boo guys who put so much on the line in the cage. The only real snoozer was the main event, which was just weird. Both guys are usually much more aggressive, but they were both just off. It ended specatcularly, though, which lessened the blow of the lack of excitement before. Three of the four local fighters on the card won and looked good doing so. I did well with my predictions, too.

It was a good time! Once the fights started, the adrenaline started pumping and I was wide awake having fun. The caffiene from all of the tea may have contributed some. If nothing else, having to pee every 5 minutes is a good way to be kept awake ;). And I had to be alert while in the restroom to avoid the splashing in the urinal. That is sooooo nasty and you'd think they'd find a better design. Not only does it get on the person using it, but it gets all over the floor, too. I hate using public restrooms, especially at places where they serve alcohol. But I digress.

Two MMA coaches/trainers, Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, came in to eat. Jackson may be the best trainer out there. He's based in Albuquerque, NM, and has many former, current, and future champions in his stable. I love his philosophy on fighting and admire the way he goes about things. I know less about Winkeljohn, but he's a former champion kickboxer and a great striking coach. He lost an eye not long ago in a freak accident at the gym while training some guys. It's good to see him back at it. Both were super nice. We chatted for a minute about the fights and how good of a time they had in Indy. There was a good little chat about the crowd not always understanding all of the technical aspects of a fight and booing. It was awesome to be called a knowledgeable fight fan by one of the best in the game! I didn't want to bug them for too long since they were there to eat, so I didn't take up too much of their time. They were nice enough to sign for me:

Local firefighter and a winner Saturday night, Chris "Lights Out" Lytle, had his after party at our restaurant. The friends I rode with were staying, but those who met us there left. My brother was tired, so he got a ride with those who didn't stay. Big ups to them for helping me out and giving him a ride! The PPV was over at 1AM, as it always is, so it was just a waiting game until Chris showed up. People kept coming in and it got super packed pretty quickly. John Mellencamp even came, and my friend got her picture with him. I tried to get an autograph, but was told he was going to eat and would be available later. He looked old in person, but was friendly enough, I suppose. Lytle didn't make in until around 2AM. I'd forgotten about the Post Fight Press Conference at first, which is why it took him so long to get there. He was really happy and excited and genuinely grateful for all of the support he got. All of the local fighters got a big pop from the crowd in the arena, but Chris got the biggest cheers of the night. He came into the restaurant smiling and high-fiving everyone as he made his way to the back corner to meet Mellencamp and take some pictures with him and the owner of the establishment. We made it back there to wait for him to come out to get a picture with him.

He was so nice and so gracious with his time. He was more than happy to spend time with his fans and really seemed to enjoy it. He didn't seem to be marked up too badly, either, considering the stand up battle he was in. Before I got his autograph for my brother (not the same bro who came with me), he borrowed my pen to sign a little girl's shirt. He was so sweet with her, which was cute. We talked with him for a minute while he signed for me and then we got the picture. I let the guy behind us, who was nice enough to snap the picture for us, borrow my pen so he could get an autograph, then we made our way out. Mellencamp walked past us and left while we were with Chris, so I missed him.

It was awesome hanging out and getting to meet Chris again. I'd talked to him for a second and gotten his autograph at the Pre Fight Press Conference on Thursday, and he was super nice then, too. I'm still really bummed that I couldn't get tickets, but watching the fights with friends was a great consolation prize :).

Once home, I caught up on Facebook and Twitter. Many of the posts were about the fights. I then checked out post fight interviews and analysis and watched the Post Fight Press Conference. It took me a few hours to get through all of that, and I crashed shortly after. I was pretty loopy by that point, but in a good, happy way :).

Sunday
I slept pretty well Saturday night. I was hoping to make some plans with someone on Sunday, so I got up around 1PM (or else I would have slept until the Colts game at 4PM). I took a shower and ate some cereal, but the longer I was up, the more I realized I wasn't going to be able to do much. I felt pretty good the first 90 minutes or so I was awake, but then it all went downhill. I lay down as I watched the Colts and ended up dozing on and off again. It was more from feeling bad than being tired, though. All of the excitement from the week, the lack of sleep, and the changing weather got to me, I think. The Colts won, so I'll take that.

I wanted to get up for supper, but couldn't. I'd hoped to be able to nap for a couple of hours, then get up and reheat the fod, but that didn't work out, either. I finally got up a bit after 4AM to take my meds after snoozing the alarm for I don't know how long. I've felt OK since then, but still a bit out of it. Since I've been out of bed, I've caught up on some stuff online, eaten, fed the pets, and worked on this. I'll probably mess around online a bit more then head back to bed for a little while. I'll be awake for a bit after an 11 hour or so nap.

I can already tell that I'll be paying for all of the fun I've had recently for awhile, but I'm so happy that I was able to do so much. Even considering how troubling it was after the Pre Fight Press Conference when I almost passed out and needed help to get up and around and home, it was a great, great, great couple of days. Being able to be apart of the UFC hoopla directly and up close and personally, meeting fighters, meeting Dana White, meeting Ariel Helwani, making new friends and just feeling the buzz in the city was such a pleasure. And except for some money spent on food, it was all free, too. I can't wait for them to come back!

Happy Monday,
-B

P.S.
For more on UFC 119, check out: http://navitabjj.blogspot.com/

UFC 119 Weigh Ins...

Friday was really cool. I didn't get much sleep the night before, again, and it took me minute to get up, but I was excited to go to Conseco Fieldhouse for the weigh ins. I called the arena to confirm the schedule, but they had no clue. I decided to trust the UFC's website and figured I'd just wait if I got there too early. Mom dropped me off, then I made my way into the building. At the security checkpoint, I was informed that I couldn't bring my water in with me, but they only saw one of my two bottles in my backpack, so after a couple swigs of the one they saw, I dumped it and made my way inside. I made it up the stairs, which was more difficult than it should have been because I almost tripped and fell a few times, probably from leftover wooziness and fatigue. As soon as I stepped onto the concourse, I saw a guy I met at the Press Conference on Thursday. He was with some buddies in line for autographs from fighters who weren't on the card, and I just stuck with them. The line was hella-long, so I saved myself 90 minutes catching on with them. Aside from just being closer to the front, it was cool talking to them about the fights. They're all good guys. I got some Halo Reach/UFC/Marines dogtags while in line as part of a promotion. I also signed up for a credit card that I know I'm not going to get in order to procure a UFC T-shirt.

We made our way through the line, which took awhile to get going, but moved along quickly enough. I don't mind waiting as long as there's a payoff in the end and that the line progresses at a reasonable pace. I was digging talking with my new friends, too. The fighters who were signing were stationed in Legends. Junior Dos Santos, a Brazilian heavyweight who will fight for the title soon, was up first. He was really nice, and maybe a little shy since he's still learning English. Not that he was small, and he was behind a table, but I thought he'd be a little bigger. He was very personable and seemed happy to be there.

Next up was middleweight (185 lbs.) Alan Belcher. He has the best tattoo in MMA, Johnny Cash's face on his arm. He was a cool dude, too. He detached his retina training not long ago, and is having some issues with that. It's possible he may not fight again, which would be a real shame. He's young, talented, exciting, and a good guy. I told him a bit about my eye troubles and how I could relate to having messed up vision. It was empowering to connect with a world class athlete, a fighter no less, on that level.

Matt Hughes was the last fighter signing. He's a former champion and maybe the best 170 pounder ever, though Georges St. Pierre is nipping at his heals for that title. While I respect his accomplishments, I'm not the biggest Matt Hughes fan, but he was very cordial with me. He's a legend in the sport, and I'm glad I got to meet him.

It was so awesome to meet the fighters, spend a little time with them, and to get their autographs. They all had their pictures at the table, so if you didn't have anything of your own to get signed, you could at least have a nice 8x10 to take home. It was all FREE, too. The UFC knows how to put on a show and treats its fans really well. Big thanks go out to my new buddy for hooking me up with the pictures! That was very gracious of him.

After getting the autographs and talking about how crazy cool it was to be able meet the fighters, we made our way to sit down for the weigh ins. There were a lot of people there, but we had decent seats. There was about an hour to kill before things got started, so we just talked about how great it was that UFC was actually in Indy and how cool it was that they had all of these free events. The weigh ins, themselves, went by quickly. Each fighter made weight and it all went very smoothly. Jeremy Stephens (accidentally?) mooned the crowd as he took his shorts off to get on the scale. Luckily,I missed it since my head was turned talking to the guy next to me ;). His staredown with Melvin Guillard was intense. Most of the other staredowns were rather jovial. Chris Lytle and Matt Serra had fun with theirs. The crowd was great. I didn't think there'd be that many people there, though, but I'm happy Indy showed up. It bodes well for a return from the UFC. There were definitely some boos, but I'm surprised that Serra didn't get more of them since he's fighting the hometown boy in Lytle. Serra's actually a good dude, and he doesn't care about the boos, either. He knows he's in Lytle's backyard. Frank Mir got the most heat from the crowd for some reason, which I didn't understand at all. Maybe they were all just CroCop fans, I don't know. Mir's a good guy who has been very accommodating with his time with the fans, making himself available to sign and chat. You can watch watch the weigh ins here: http://www.ufc.com/media/ufc-119-weigh-in-replay.

It was awesome being able to take part in all of that, especially since I won't be able to go to the fights.The access that the UFC and the fighters give you is a very welcomed surprise. They know who pays their bills and they have a healthy respect for the fans. It's really nice to see and experience. It's very cool how closely knit the fight fan community is, too. Everyone that I've talked to have been very amiable and friendly. I really hope that as the sport gets bigger, that the camaraderie among the fans, fighters, and promoters doesn't change. I fear that it may as more casual fans take notice and as the fighters make more money (which they deserve). I'm enjoying it now, though. It's been really fun taking part in all of the festivities.

There have been tons of UFC related events around town. Radio stations and UFC sponsors have been doing a lot of promotion leading up to the fights. The fighters have been part of many of those, along with just being out in the open in the city. I wish I'd have been able to go to more of those, but not driving or being able to walk around a whole lot put a damper on that. I was able to go to Buffalo Wild Wings downtown Friday night. Bud Light had some trinkets they were giving away, as well as a raffle for 2 tickets to the fights. It was my last hope for tickets, so I made it out. Tequila Cazadores was also there. Both groups were giving away tons of stuff. I got a few shirts, a hat, shot glasses, key chains, magnets, koozies, beads, a mouthpiece and its container, and I got my picture taken with a REAL UFC belt. It sucked a bit that my friends weren't able to meet me, and I didn't win the tickets, but it was still a good time talking to other fight fans and just being in that atmosphere. It's always nice to get out of the house, too, plus, I didn't need a wheelchair today ;). The Tequila Cazadores girls were hot, too, which didn't hurt :P.

The Champ is here!

I can't wait for the fights Saturday night! It's still KILLING me that I can't go, but such is life. Being able to do all of this stuff leading up to fights has helped mitigate my disappointment in not being able to go, but it's also gotten me more excited about it all. I'm still elated that they finally came to my town, that I've had the opportunity to see some of it first hand, and that it's been so well received here. It's great for the city, too, bringing in money and exposure and I can't wait until they come back, hopefully next year. Even though I won't be there live, it will still be a good time watching it at Buffalo Wings and Rings (111 W. Maryland St., 8PM) with friends. :)

GO IRISH! BEAT STANFORD! We have a big test this week with Stanford. I like our chances, but it'll be a tough game. Our offense can play with anyone as long Crist is running the show. The defense just needs to get healthy. The lack of depth because of injury has really hurt us. The biggest problem on D has been tackling, I think, and a lot of that can be contributed to fatigue from lack of substitution. We should really know where we stand after this game. Stanford is legit, so playing well against them and beating them would mean a lot and it would show that we can compete with anyone. If we get dominated, which I don't think will happen, then maybe we have more growing pains to deal with than I thought. It should be a good game. LET'S GO, IRISH!

Extremely excited for a busy Saturday,
-B