WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting)

So most people probably think that I would be the last person to go to a WEC event and actually enjoy it but I did!! Two of our previous asst. men's wrestling coaches have moved onto a new career of cagefighting. The first one, Uriah Faber, who I only knew for a year before he quit his job with UC Davis to pursue this career was the main event last night at Arco Arena. He was fighting to maintain his title as the featherweight champion of the world. The other asst. coach, Mark Munoz, just quit in April to further pursue his career in the cagefighting world and was one of the other fights last night that we went to go see. I have known Mark for over 4 years and so the ladies from work and I that went were really mainly going to support him. Mark promised me he would not get hurt so that is why I decided to go. Now keep in mind I have never seen an ultimate fight in person or on TV so I was in for a shock. This is how the night went:

The actual event started at 3pm but the girls and I had no interest in sitting through 6 hours of ultimate fighting so we got there at 6pm when Mark's fight was suppose to start. 90% of the ultimate fighting fans were there at 3pm so by the time we got there they were already very drunk and the smell of beer as we walked in almost made me throw up with my very sensitive nose these days. The crowd was very interesting to say the least...a totally different world for me and I stuck out like a sore thumb with my khaki shorts and tennis shoes. Apparently as a girl I should have been wearing about 6 inch platform or high heel shoes, a halter top of some sort and either shorts or a skirt that are so short you could get quite a view if I bent over. At least my shirt was black which is what most of the crowd was wearing so I felt a little more hip. We got to our seats and had to kick 3 big guys out of our seats who did not seem happy to move...oh well.
The first fight at 6pm was my very first ultimate fight and it was horrible. The guys danced around each other for all 3 rounds and barely touched each other. The crowd was pissed! They were booing and hissing...it was funny. After the 3 rounds they determined the winner based on what little technique was used and the crowd was still booing. There are breaks in between each fight and the next fight was our friend Mark. While we were waiting for his fight to start a fight broke out in our section only a couple of rows in front of us! We saw the guys shit talking each other and then before you know it one got out of his seat and it started. I don't know what they were mad at...maybe they hadn't gotten their rage out from the fact that the fight we just watched really wasn't much of a fight at all but I grabbed my purse and was ready to run out! In came about 6 police and ended up carrying out one of the guys by his arms, legs and torso...basically dragging him out face down...never seen that before! Then the lights got low and the drama started for Mark's fight. All us girls were screaming and yelling for Mark and I felt like now we were staring to fit in a little more with the crowd. Before each fight they pat each of the fighters down and check behind their ears and other places for I guess concealed weapons...again a different world. I was so nervous for Mark before the fight...I just didn't want him to get hurt and I didn't want the crowd to boo him like they had the previous fight. He had promised me before the fight that he wouldn't get hurt and let me tell you he held true to his promise! 2 minutes into the fight he knocked the guy unconscious!! No one really knew the other guy was unconscious, I just kept wondering why he wouldn't get up and from talking to Mark today he too was wondering that b/c the guy had his legs wrapped around Mark so it looked like his was still with it. The referee had to jump in and stop the fight and the guy went out on a stretcher! Mark basically looked untouched! I never thought I would say this but it was awesome!!! The crowd was going crazy and all was right again in the crazy world of ultimate fighting. So much so that this time during the break before the next fight instead of a fight breaking out in our section a guy got up and decided to do some very entertaining dancing for us on the stairs. Everyone was happy again. :)
The next fight was a little crazy and then the last fight was Urijah Faber and his opponent Jens Pulver which was the main fight of the night. I guess in championship fights there are 5 rounds and this fight lasted all 5 rounds but again our previous asst. wrestling coach Urijah was clearly dominating and even though both competitors were standing at the end it was clear that Urijah won...you could just tell by looking at who's face was more beat up. Urijah was officially declared the winner and the evening was over.
One thing that really surprised me was how nice the fighters are to each other after the fight and how they truly congratulate who ever wins. There is no harshness or hatred they are really good sportsmen. Another thing this is surprising is the crowd goes crazy when they see this good sportsmanship amoung the fighters which made me think differently of all these crazy peeps who watch this on a regular basis. All in all it was a great night and while I am not by any means going to become and ultimate fighting fan I will so go to another fight here in Sacramento if Mark or Urijah are fighting. It was definitely a new experience and a fun one at that. :)