Sean Salmon Update

I am writing this at about 9 p.m. the day after the fight, and despite what some people have said, I do remember everything.

I woke up the day of the fight at about noon. I had lasagna and watched movies all day. We watched Boondock Saints, Without Limits, and Man on Fire. Watching movies like that seems to get me going. It was nice as I had my cousin Kyle and his girlfriend Jenny, my wife, my in-laws, and my friend and former manager Gary Marino hanging out with me that day. At about 5:30 p.m. the camera crew came up to get me. I was kind of on my own time, but they were there to film me walking down. I have to say, I loved having the cameras on me this week.

Anyway, we walked down to the arena and they showed me to my locker room, which I shared with Chris Price and Jake O’Brien. We didn’t have a very big space, but there was a small mat in the middle of it and a TV playing coverage of all the fights. I was disappointed to see Clay Guida lose. I have met him at several fights and get along with him very well. On the other hand, I was very happy for Jake O’Brien. I thought he put on a great performance and stuck to his solid gameplan. He’s going to be a force in the heavyweight division.

I got my warmup going the same way I always do. I do some sprints, jumping rope, and ground work with my brother/trainer Danny. Soon, it was my time to head down to the arena. I was excited but not overwhelmed. They brought me to a staging area just outside the arena. When the guy from the UFC said “one minute till we go out,” I felt a rush of energy run through me. Once we got past the curtain and all the fans were cheering, I couldn’t help but jump around and be excited. Just knowing that many people showed up to watch us do what we love is an amazing feeling. I got into the Octagon and everything felt the same as it always does. I was not even thinking that I was in the UFC and millions of people were watching. I was just happy to be fighting again.

The first round started and we had more of a feeling-out process than I thought. As we were circling, I saw that he was developing some sort of thought process, so I threw that karate kick. I did not plan on doing that and certainly didn’t expect it to land. I just wanted to give him something to think about. The first round went well for me, except I was surprised that I couldn’t keep him in side mount. Rashad was getting his hand through across his chest. I have seen it before, but I was too late reacting to stop it. I give him credit for getting back to his feet.

I felt good going back to my corner after the first. I looked up into the crowd and saw everyone sitting quietly, so I started throwing my hands in the air to get them going. Not normally my style, but the crowd responded.

Anyway, the second round started and Rashad landed a early punch to the left side of my face. I was actually seeing two of him. I made the mistake of circling away instead of forcing a clinch — a small mistake compared to the one I was about to make. I knew I was getting too lazy with my jab, but I never thought Rashad would be able to land a kick like that. The next thing I knew, I was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, very embarrassed.

At the hospital, they ran me through all the tests and cleared me. The UFC had two people there with me all night, which was a sign to me that I’m fighting in the right organization. I was released at around 1:30 a.m. with a pretty good headache and a severely bruised ego. When I got back to the hotel, I checked UFCjunkie.com and was very happy to read all the people wishing me well. It honestly brightened my night.

I woke up this morning with a small headache. We switched hotel rooms to one right on the beach in Fort Lauderdale for a small vacation till Sunday that we planned a long time ago.

Along with the hundreds of calls and text messages wishing me well, which I loved, I got a call from Dana White wishing me well and letting me know that he was impressed with my performance and reassuring me that I’ll be brought back right after my medical suspension (which I’m hoping is only 90 days).

I’ve stayed off of the forums because I don’t feel like reading about people talking bad about me today, but I have been checking UFCjunkie.com… you guys are great. I want to thank UFCjunkie.com and the fans on here for your support. It really had made this easier to deal with. And, don’t worry. I will be back training as soon as possible and get right back in there. I feel that I proved I do belong in the UFC and with a few adjustments and some more training, will be ready to make a push for the top.

Thank you to everyone for standing with me.