MARK MCCOY’S UFC 68 REPORT: A FAN’S PERSPECTIVE
Posted on | March 20, 2007 | 2 Comments
Amazing Weekend in Ohio
UFC 68 “The Uprising” breaks MMA attendance record in North America
By: Mark McCoy
The day of the UFC 68 weigh-ins was a very special day in Columbus, Ohio. Being the first UFC to be held in Ohio, the attendance at the Friday weigh-in at Nationwide Arena was a total surprise. There were more people to attend this event than any other previous weigh-in ever in UFC history. The fans were loud, standing on their feet screaming for their favorite fighters. The event got started with Joe Rogan getting the fans pumped up. All the fighters were very friendly and eager to meet their fans. UFC President Dana White was very pleased with the turnout for the weigh-ins. Only the Mid-West could provide this much excitement for a Mixed Martial Arts weigh-in.
First fighter to be announced was Jason “The Gizzard” Gilliam, fighting out of Muncie, IN and weighing in for the 155 pound weight class. His opponent, Jamie “The Worm” Varner, is a UFC veteran with a loss to Hermes Franca in his first UFC fight. During the stare down, Gilliam put a candy gummy worm in his mouth to make a statement that he was going to eat the worm. The crowd seemed to get a laugh out of this.
The weigh-ins continued to the Pay Per View main fight card. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle would take the stage to face former UFC champion Matt Hughes. Lytle, fighting out of Indianapolis, IN was coming off a tough loss to Matt “The Terror” Serra in “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV. Hughes really showed that he was a crowd favorite. The fans were screaming and showing their support for the former champion.
The main event of UFC 68 was Randy “The Natural” Couture, coming out of retirement to fight the current Heavyweight Champion, Tim ” The Maine-iac” Sylvia. Couture, easily the crowd favorite, had the fans screaming and jumping to their feet. Sylvia was announced to come to the stage to weigh-in. During this time, the fans were booing and making it known that they did not support the champion.
After the weigh-ins, the fighters and their corner men went behind the stage. The Octagon was set up and it made the event seem so real. The Arena was ready to make history, becoming the largest venue to host an MMA event in North American history. Everyone seemed like they were ready for fight night, some fighters were already eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to put weight back on for the next day. After cutting weight all week, this was a very important time for the fighters.
The fighters were staying at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus. The hotel was a great place to hang out to meet and greet fighters. Everyone that you could imagine was there. The fans were hanging out in the lounge with Rogan and Eddie Bravo. The two were very patient to have their pictures taken with all the screaming and excited women there. One woman made a comment to Rogan outside the hotel, “Oh my God, you are the person that I came to see. I do not care about anybody else other than getting my picture with you.” It was funny to see these grown women getting so excited to have their picture taken with a celebrity.
The day of the fight started with the fighters hanging out at the hotel. They were visiting with family and friends, having lunch, and enjoying the moment. The fighters were also getting pictures in the lobby with multiple fans. Everyone was very friendly and eager to meet their fans. Right before the fighters headed over to the Arena, everyone was standing in the hotel lobby and waiting to see their favorite fighter walk to the vans parked outside the hotel. It was a very intense moment. You could feel the excitement in the air. Everyone was pumped and ready to see some great fights.
After arriving to the Arena, it was so exciting to see all the fans. Everyone was in line waiting to get out of the cold. Once in the Arena, people were walking and running everywhere. Walking to my seat, I spotted Dustin Hazelett, UFC lightweight contender fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio walking through the crowd. He was very nice to stop and take a few pictures with a few fans. The event began with loud music, lights and non-stop action.
The first fight of the night ended with Varner winning with a submission in the first round over Gilliam. The fight had people on their feet and ready for the next bout. After Varner won, he got up and did the chicken dance and showed the audience that he just put “The Gizzard” to sleep. Entering his UFC debut undefeated, Gilliam never got the chance to showcase his skills that brought him to this level. He showed that he was a true warrior by never tapping out in front of over 19,000 fans.
The fights were all exciting, especially for the main event of the night. This was the return of Couture, coming out of retirement against the champion Sylvia. The fight started out with Couture taking it to Sylvia, landing an overhand right punch that sent Sylvia straight back to the mat. Couture went on to dominate all rounds against the champion. During which the fans booed the champion. Entering the fight, Sylvia was not looked at as an exciting heavyweight fighter. The crowd was in shock of how this fight ended. On paper, you would have to go with Sylvia. He was much younger, had gained a reputation for defending the takedown and had a much longer reach. It did not matter when the bell rang for the final time that evening. Randy “The Natural” Couture was the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.
The crowd was going crazy and Dana White was all smiles when putting the belt around Couture’s waist. This meant big things for the UFC, having the former champ back. During the interview with Rogan, Couture made the statement “Not bad for an old man”, the crowd seemed very happy that he was back and ready to bring great things to the heavyweight division. This will make the decision to bring the UFC back to the Mid-West an easy one. This was the best UFC ever. Great fans, great fights and a great city that all made March 3, 2007 a day to remember!