I arrived on site at 5:15 pm (CST) and the main entrance was already packed with "fans" because the doors hadn't been opened yet. There was a Rock Star Energy tent set up by the main entrance giving away posters (more on the free posters later), stickers & samples of their energy drinks. I stood in line behind a group of what I believed to be Russian fans (couldn't understand what they were saying) that came to cheer on their hometown hero. I scanned the crowd a few times just to see what kind of MMA related shirts people were wearing. There was Affliction, Tapout & Dethrone along with the local favorite SubCulture. I didn't see many RVCA shirts outside but that would all change once the doors opened. I myself was wearing my Warrior Wear Team Carwin shirt that was hand signed by Shane Carwin himself. I didn't see another person at the event with Warrior Wear on which leads me to believe I should be their rep in the Mid West but that's a story for a different day.
It took a while to get in but my ticket was scanned & I was ready to go. I went straight to section 109 to see the view. I was directly across from the stage where the fighters walked down to the ring. I searched for the media section to see where I could have been sitting if StrikeForce didn't turn me down. I took a walk over there to find Kevin Iole because I still owed him a beer. I was able to say "Hi" to Kevin but he had work to do so the beer had to wait. I also saw Josh Gross & who I believed to be Maggie Hendricks although they didn't see me. Kevin said Ariel Helwani was down there but I didn't see him. I headed back up the stairs of section 105 and ran into Frank Trigg. I asked Frank if he would take a pic with me & he said "sure". No one recognized him (hat on) until we took the pic then a group of guys started chanting "Trigg" so he got mobbed by people. I told him my name & mentioned we had talked on Twitter. He acted as if he knew what I was talking about which was fine with me!
I started making my way back to section 109 & ran into Big Ben Rothwell by the main entrance. He was a cool guy & he spent at least an hour taking pics with fans & signing autographs. That guy is huge. I then updated Twitter on my Blackberry & to my surprise Andrei Arlovski said he was near the box office by the main entrance. He walked right passed everyone unrecognized by the "fans" but not by yours truly. I walked up behind Arlovski who was walking alone and I asked him if he would take a picture. He nodded his head but wouldn't smile or acknowledge anyone. It seemed as if he was forced to be there. I handed my phone (only camera I had) to the closest person to me. He snapped the pic which came out horrible. Arlovski was then attacked by fans & cameras by the "Loop" tent for quite a while. I was the first one to see him & probably got the worst picture!
On my way to my seat there was a stand where Daniel Cormier & Scott Shields were taking pics & signing autographs. To my surprise no one was standing in line for Cormier because they didn't know who he was...yet. He gave me an autograph. I asked him for a pic & he gave me a genuine smile & said "absolutely". I thought that was really cool compared to Arlovski. Dan came off as a real down to earth guy. I then got a chance to take a pic with "Hands of Steel". I shook his hand first at it felt like a catchers mit. He was a lot bigger than I had thought he would be but like Cormier he was a really nice guy.
I headed over for a pretzel & a bottle of water because I wasn't consuming alcohol that night (crazy...I know). I happened to look up & see Affliction owner Tom Atencio walking with a group of guys. I walked up next to him & asked to take a picture with him. He stopped & said "sure" with a smile. My hands were full so I had to set a few things down. He walked over to the table with me & took a pic. Really cool guy...again..day & night compared to Arlovski.
Below are the pictures I was able to get with the fighters.
By this time the under card fights were over. It was the first event I ever went to where I missed the entire UC but I was able to meet a bunch of guys.
I stopped a few "fans" with RVCA Fedor shirts on to ask them their opinion of Fedor. The following statements are 100% true:
I asked the first guy who his favorite fighter was & he replied with an accent "Fedor is the man & Ben Robinson is going down".
I asked a friend of his what Fedor's record was because I wasn't sure & he replied "25-10 but he is undefeated here in the US".
I had no idea Brett Rogers was off the card & Ben Robinson took his place. I also spent the rest of the night trying to find out more about the 10 fights Fedor had lost with no luck.
I found an entire group of gentlemen wearing RVCA shirts carrying Russian flags & asked one of them his thought on Fedor. He replied "The guy is the StrikeForce Heavyweight champion for a reason". Again I was dumbfounded by all the knowledge these "fans" possessed. I definitely need to brush up on my Fedor facts!
It was 7:55pm & I finally made it to my seat. I had room to stretch both my legs & arms but that would soon change.
8:00pm & we are live from Chicago! Werdum makes his way out to a generic song that I don't believe was hand picked but I could be wrong. I'm not sure why his entrance wasn't televised when he is one of the best fighters StrikeForce has to offer. He was in the cage for a while which in my opinion sucked for him. Silva came out to a song I hope he picked. His entrance was cut off as most of you know if you watched on CBS. I have to say the StrikeForce sound system doesn't compare to the UFC's. I was at UFC 90 & it was like being at a night club with the bass turned all the way up.
I picked Silva by TKO in the 2nd which all of you know by now didn't happen. Werdum won by unanimous decision as he should. I was surprised by Big Foots ground game & his ability to stay out of submissions by Werdum. After the fight Werdum walked throught the crowd & took several pics with the "fans".
The next fight was Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Sokoudjou. I picked Mousasi to submit Sokoudjou in the 1st round. I was extremely surprised by Sokoudjou's ability to use Mousasi's momentum against him. He did a lot better than I thought he would but in the end Mous won by TKO in the 2nd. It was a lot more competitive than I expected.
During the commercial break prior to the 3rd fight between Jake Shields & Jason Miller I tweeted about the "girls with umbrellas" as they made their way out to the stage for Miller's entrance. The crowd loved it. Here it is if you missed it.
Jake Shields did what he always does. He out wrestled Miller the whole fight. Miller had Shields in a RNC but Shields' chin was tucked when the bell rang. I was extremely impressed by Shields with his take downs & ability to stay on top. Miller did better than I thought but I truly don't believe he is in the same class as Shields. Shields won the StrikeForce Middleweight championship by UD. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch although I think we would see similar results. Shields was booed after the fight by the "fans" that truly had no idea what they just watched. It pissed me off that the majority of the "fans" booed but I'm happy Shields won the fight.
The main event was up next & I have to admit I can't remember a time where the hometown fighter was booed like Brett Rogers aka "Ben Robinson" was. The pro Fedor crowd again had no idea Rogers was even from Chicago and before I go any further I have to comment on Mauro Ranallo's commentary at the beginning of the telecast (which I'm glad I couldn't hear while at the fight). He said Rogers thinks of Fedor as "just another guy in Cabrini Green". What?...Let me just say you won't find any bald, fat, Russian white guys roaming the streets of Cabrini Green in Chicago anytime soon nor would you when Rogers was growing up there when it was a bad neighborhood.
Back to the fight..Fedor the "25-10 StrikeForce HW champ" made his way to the cage with a song that would have put you to sleep if it weren't for the thousands of Fedor "fans" screaming as loud as they could. I will admit it was extremely loud & was pretty cool to see one of the best HW's of all time make his way to a cage for the first time in his career even though I think his best years are behind him (as Rogers would soon show in my opinion). I was extremely surprised by Rogers. I really thought the only chance he had was a freak KO and I was wrong. Rogers fared extremely well against the man that most people consider the "best". I think that has a lot to do with Rogers' training but I also believe it has a lot to do with Fedor vs Father time. I know Fedor has come from behind to win before but I think those fighter were more well rounded than Rogers. I agree with Rogers' comments on his own performance when he said he held back more than he should have although I can't blame him because being on the ground with Fedor isn't fun for anyone. Fedor did what I thought he would and landed a big right that dazed Rogers. The arm bar I called for wasn't necessary because Rogers was all but out even though he was still somewhat trying to cover up which in my mind constitutes "intelligently defending himself". I'm not saying Rogers makes it up or wins the fight but he was still covering up with one hand. I wasn't impressed by the TKO nor do I think it changed anything or shook up the rankings. It was a Fedor "fanboys" dream come true. As I said before "what does it prove"? Werdum called out Fedor after the fight. I think Fedor wins that fight in similar fashion if it ever happens. My guess is it will because there isn't anyone left for Fedor to fight in StrikeForce. Based on what I saw from Rogers I think big HW's like Lesnar & Carwin would have a field day with Fedor. I don't think Fedor would be able to pull an arm bar off on either of them. I also think Cain Velasquez would wear Fedor out & would finish the fight violently. In my honest opinion I don't think we will ever see any of those fights. I think Fedor finishes his career in StrikeForce and we as fans are left guessing. The UFC gave him more than enough coverage when they tried singing him. Fedor took the easy way as he has done late in his career. I think Fedor beats Werdum & has a rematch with Rogers before saying goodbye. Fedor beats Rogers again. Rogers fights Overeem. The reason for that is I think if Overeem fights Fedor he beats him which isn't a good money maker for Fedor or M-1.
In the end I thought the fights were good. The venue was decent even though 1/4 of it was closed off & it was still considered a "sell out". I'm glad we had a big MMA promotion here in Illinois. I'm hoping the UFC makes their way here in 2010. I also hope StrikeForce can keep improving their stable of fighters to keep putting on competitive fights.
Posts
Post a Comment