What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Like the rest of you, UFC 110 was the big day I’d been waiting for — for a long, long time.
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A couple of years ago it seemed like a pipe-dream, then a year ago it was a possibility, then a few months after that I had my fingers crossed 24-hours a day. But, before I knew it, it was already here and I was sitting in my seat looking up at that cage, shinning in the spotlight like a mirage in a dry, hot desert.
The UFC had really landed here, and it wasn’t in some backwater shed with a few people betting on odds around the fights — which always seemed would be the way in the not so distant past. This was the big time.
Aside from just being stoked the UFC was here in such a big way, it also gave me the ability to stick it to the other Editors here with their ‘mainstream’ magazines that constantly ague how insignificant a sport MMA is.
It made me feel proud of our fighting community to see so many numbers out in force from such a scarcely populated country — most of which travelled from far away.
The last month hasn’t just been a single event for us though. This one show has drawn so many from the MMA business to our shores. Everyone I talk to and every gym I visited seemed to have Royce Gracie or Randy Couture or Rashad Evan or Mayhem Miller dropping by, and none of these guys were even fighting. It was definitely Australia’s day in the sun.
I’m also proud to say that every fighter I talked to made an effort to express how great a time they’d been having here and how well they’d been treated
While the UFC has plenty of misgivings, and they clearly aren't the be-all and end-all of the sport, the positive effects of their organisation can certainly be felt well after they’ve packed up and gone home.
Many made comments that this was the MMA peak in our country — this was our 15 minutes of fame. Obviously, this kind of sentiment doesn’t sit well with me.
I am willing to accept that like any sport, ours will have its peaks and troughs, its times of mass popularity and times when it will peter out, but to assert that the first visit from UFC to our shores was the apex of a long climb to the big leagues is not acceptable. Make no mistake my friends, this is not the end, this is but the beginning…just ask George Sotiroplolous.
Here’s to UFC: Melbourne
