Parting shots from Fight Night
My ears have finally stopped ringing.
If you were at the Cox Convention Center for UFC Fight Night, you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who weren’t, let’s put it this way — the bass in the sound system got a workout.
The sights and the sounds were front and center in my column, but here are a few final thoughts on UFC’s triumphant return to Oklahoma:
* Dana White was easily the biggest star in the building. The UFC president was cheered wildly when he entered the arena, then on a couple of occasions where he went near the seats, he was almost mobbed for autographs.
As I said in my column, I don’t agree with everything he’s done. Why he needs to curse all the time is beyond me, too. But he is super fan friendly. Well after the last bout was over and the arena crew was breaking everything down, the houselights came up. White was still signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. There aren’t many folks in the sports world with his cache who would take time to do that.
* The show was good even from the nose-bleed section. I guess, the nose-bleed area was really in the octagon, but in the upper reaches of the arena, the scene was still good.
I ventured into Section 412 and hiked up to Row R to visit some friends. They were about three or four rows from the top. Even there, the view of the fights was good. Sure, I found myself watching the jumbotrons on occasion, but I did that from my octagon-side seat on press row, too.
Truth is, the seats there in Section 412 were about $60. If you bought one of those tickets and were there start to finish, it would’ve averaged out to about $12 an hour. That’s not bad for five hours of entertainment.
* There were a good number of men and women in the stands dressed to the nines. Lots of tight, muscle-hugging shirts on the guys. Even more tight, cleavage-revealing tops on the gals.
Didn’t look that much different than a Thunder game, really.
I know some folks want to believe that the mixed martial arts crowd is a redneck, backwoods bunch. No doubt there are some fans that fit that mold, but there are plenty who aren’t that way. I even saw a guy in a suit and tie.
Mixed martial arts seems to have a diverse following — men and women, young and old, high-brow and low-dollar — and that’s probably one of the reasons it continues to grow.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
How are you still employed by the Oklahoman?