Thursday, 29 January 2009
Inside:
Josh Koscheck
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Neil Grove
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Greg Jackson
Yuki Nakai
Brandon Vera
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12 Things You Love About MMA
A Day in the Life of King Mo
The Sport's Top Referees
Previews
Fight reports
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...and more!
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Thursday, 22 January 2009
UFC 93 Dublin Blog
This guest blog was written by James Lees. Photos by Pamela Graham
FRIDAY
The weekend began with a 3am rise, as we were flying with Ryanair at 6am. Whoever is in charge of the flight schedules at Ryanair really needs to revise their work. The only two flight options out of Glasgow were 6am or 8.30pm, and since both the weigh-ins and Joe Rogan's stand up show were both taking place that day, our only option was to catch the 6am flight.
After a short 30-minute flight we arrived in Dublin. We hopped in a taxi and made our way to the hotel. I have no idea how people from Dublin can use taxis as often as they do. We were charged 25 Euros from the airport to the hotel, which included extra charges for having more than one person in the car. Extra charges also apply for calling for a taxi in advance. When using taxis in the city, be sure to check the list of extra charges in the front passenger seat to be sure you aren't getting ripped off.
We arrived at the hotel just before 7am. Check-in time wasn't until 4pm, but the woman at the reception saw how tired we were and let us in early. After sleeping for a while, we set off for the weigh-ins. I must have spotted at least 30 people wearing UFC hoodies and t-shirts. It's still amazing to see cities like London, Manchester and Dublin swamped with UFC clothing. 10 years ago I never thought I'd see the UFC filling arenas like the O2 and the MEN. The crowd at the weigh-ins were lively and Michael Bisping made sure everyone enjoyed the Q&A set up for the fight club members. Things like the weigh-ins and the Q&A always make the fight weekends that little bit better for the fans.
After the weigh-ins we got in a taxi and 18 Euros later we arrived at the Sugar Club where Joe Rogan was doing his stand up gig. The place was empty when we arrived but 10 minutes later and the queue of people was stretching along the street. The club was absolutely packed and the crowd were chanting for Joe before he even came on stage. Joe walked on stage and for two hours had the crowd eating out of his hands with a razor-sharp set. I have no idea how the crowd at the show managed to get drunk with prices of 6.50 per drink. I guess people in Dublin are getting paid a lot more than everyone else! Regardless, the crowd were fantastic and made the show that little bit more enjoyable. After the gig, the fans swamped the stage to have their photos taken with Joe, who was more than happy to stay and meet every single person there.
SATURDAY
After a much-needed sleep, we woke up to rain and gale force winds. We braved the weather and headed out. After some food, We checked out 'Half moon crepes' at Temple Bar, which we had heard good things about. Unfortunately, we made a mistake. Poor food, poor service, and packed to the brim with emo kids. After the food, we quickly paid and left. We made our way to a nearby bar for some drinks before the fights. One thing that has to be said for Dublin is that they pull a fantastic pint!
Afterwards we made our way to the O2 arena. By the time we arrived we were completely soaked and the idea of sitting through five hours of fights with wet feet didn't seem very appealing, so before the fights we used the hand dryers in the bathroom to dry off our socks and T-shirts.
The first thing we noticed upon entering the arena was how nice the venue was. It's nowhere near as big as the O2 in London, however the layout, the lighting, the sound... it was all first class. The arena was filling up fast and we got the chance to meet Mike Goldberg and Dana White, who couldn't have been nicer. Like Joe Rogan, they took time to meet every fan there and between fights, Dana would go back over to the crowd for more pictures.
The fights themselves were solid. The Davis / Lytle fight and the main event between Franklin and Henderson were the fights of the night in my opinion. The crowd was explosive the entire night and hearing them sing along in support of Marcus Davis was excellent.
I also felt that Franklin won the main event and would have rather seen him on the next season of The Ultimate fighter against Bisping, but Henderson should prove to be a tough opponent. I felt a little disappointed in the Shogun / Coleman fight. Both guys looked exhausted shortly into the fight. The crowd made the fight enjoyable however with their back and forth chants of "Coleman!" and "Shogun!" After the fights we made our way back to the hotel and after a few drinks at the bar it was time for sleep.
SUNDAY
Thankfully the weather had cleared up on Sunday so we went out to grab some food. We went to 'Eddie Rocket's 50's diner' on O'Connell Street, which was strange. Every booth has a jukebox and if you want to hear a particular song, you simply insert 20 cents and select your track. The food was pretty good and it was a decent way to kill a couple of hours before going to the airport. After a bumpy flight, we arrived back in Glasgow.
Next stop: London, Feb 21st.
posted by Fighters Only Mag Editor at
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Inside:
The fights themselves were solid. The Davis / Lytle fight and the main event between Franklin and Henderson were the fights of the night in my opinion. The crowd was explosive the entire night and hearing them sing along in support of Marcus Davis was excellent.
I also felt that Franklin won the main event and would have rather seen him on the next season of The Ultimate fighter against Bisping, but Henderson should prove to be a tough opponent. I felt a little disappointed in the Shogun / Coleman fight. Both guys looked exhausted shortly into the fight. The crowd made the fight enjoyable however with their back and forth chants of "Coleman!" and "Shogun!" After the fights we made our way back to the hotel and after a few drinks at the bar it was time for sleep.