Monday Morning Takedown: Sept. 21, 2009

Columns

DALLAS – I’m standing just outside the lobby of the Hilton Anatole hotel, enjoying the cool night air and talking with several fans who are asking me about writing for mixed martial arts for a living. It’s two in the morning, and I’ve just returned to the hotel from the American Airlines Center, where I covered nearly nine hours of UFC bouts, press conferences and interviews for Fox Sports.

A large van pulls up to the curb. The fans, knowing what’s about to happen, quickly lose interest in my story and flock to the van. The van side door slides open, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Junior dos Santos spill out of an area much to small to contain their massive frames.

Only hours earlier, dos Santos destroyed Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic for the biggest win of his fledgling career, but you would never know it from looking at him. His face is covered in cuts, bruises and swelling. He looks like he’s been in a car wreck. But he’s happily enjoying the moment.

Nogueira and dos Santos are quickly engulfed by fans seeking an autograph, a handshake or even a photo. From the driver’s side of the van comes Ed Soares, the manager for dos Santos and many other top Brazilian fighters. He’s smiling, even on the outskirts of a throng of fans that couldn’t possibly recognize him as one of the most powerful men in the sport.

I shake Ed’s hand. “You look like you’re having a great night,” I say.

He is most certainly having a great night.

“It’s always a great night when you win,” says Soares. “Junior looked great out there, and we’re happy. Tired, but happy.”

Junior did, indeed, look great out there.

I tell Ed that he probably needs to get some sleep, and he agrees. He trudges inside the lobby and towards the hotel elevators. Nogueira and dos Santos oblige every last fan request before doing the same.

The scene pictured above was the story of the weekend. Staying with the UFC media contingent at the fighter hotel gives you a real sense of how great these fighters are with fans and how little stardom has affected them. By and large, they are normal, everyday people who just happen to be world-famous fighters.

During our entire stay in Dallas, there was never a single moment when fans weren’t camped out in the lobby waiting for fighters to pass through. And there was never a moment where fighters refused to stop and talk to fans, to sign autographs or pose for pictures. Even fighters coming off tough losses, like Martin Kampmann, took the time to stop for anyone that approached them. Dana White was undoubtedly one of the busiest men in the world this weekend, but he would stop for twenty minutes at a time to talk with fans.

It’s one of the major appeals to the sport. Unlike the NFL or NBA, fans can watch mixed martial arts and believe they could actually be in the cage. It’s an everyman sport where the fighters don’t act like they’re above you.

It’s the little things that count, but these little things are what helps the sport grow organically. There are lots of Dallas fans who have fantastic stories to tell from this weekend, and those stories will translate into new fans. Count on it.

*****

In the depths of the American Airlines Center, Nik Lentz is sitting in the fighter lounge. He’s watching a replay of his fight, a unanimous-decision victory over Rafaello Oliveira on the undercard.

Strangely, though, Lentz does not look happy. In fact, he looks downright miserable.

“Great fight tonight,” I tell Lentz. He does not agree. He shrugs his shoulders and gives me a half-hearted “thanks,” but I can sense the underlying disappointment in his voice. Lentz is an up and coming fighter trying to make headway in the UFC, and up and coming fighters need dramatic entrances, not unanimous decisions.

Still, Lentz must be somewhat satisfied. Frank Trigg returned to the UFC after a four-year hiatus and immediately lost to Josh Koscheck. Trigg started begging UFC matchmaker Joe Silva after the bout for another chance in the octagon, but it looks like those wishes will fall on deaf ears — Trigg’s contract will be allegedly terminated this week, and he’ll likely retire.

Nik Lentz didn’t get the dramatic and emphatic victory he was looking for. But he got a victory, and that’s enough to earn him another fight in the biggest organization in the world.

Others, like Trigg, aren’t so lucky. It’s a tough sport.

*****

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Maybe I should have quit after the (PRIDE) Open Weight Grand Prix.”

– Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic after his loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 103

*****

TEN THINGS I THINK

1. Rich Franklin‘s days as a headliner are far from over. The former middleweight champion will continue to be used as a go-to guy when the company needs a non-title main event, which may be early and often in 2010. Franklin may never see another title match in his career, but he’ll be in plenty of headline fights. He’s still one of the most popular and respect assets the company has.

2. A battle between Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes would be great for both fighters. It would certainly have plenty of hype behind it, as Hughes and Koscheck are both polarizing fighters. A win over Matt Hughes still counts for something, which could mean everything when it comes to setting up a potential Koscheck vs. St. Pierre rematch.

3. A Machida Karate-infused Vitor Belfort is a very scary prospect for the rest of the middleweight division.

4. That being said, I’m hoping Vitor can get his weight issue straightened out. Repeatedly missing weight is not a good habit to get into.

5. Todd Duffee is one of the most incredible physical specimens I’ve ever seen. I stood in an elevator with Duffee on Saturday morning and couldn’t believe a human being could be so gigantic. Todd is a physical freak and has the same genetic assets as Brock Lesnar.

6. The dislocated shoulder Steve Lopez suffered during the Jim Miller bout was one of the nastiest injuries I’ve seen in person. Lopez has repeatedly suffered the same injury, even being removed from the Ultimate Fighter cast a few seasons ago because of it.

7. There’s a very good chance you’ll see Tyson Griffin and Gray Maynard lock horns, either at the end of this year or early next year. Both are in contention, but BJ Penn is tied up with the Diego Sanchez bout. Dana White also wants to send a statement to other camps: if these two guys are from the same camp and they are willing to fight each other, why can’t you?

8. I think it’s pretty dumb for a ground specialist to try and wage a boxing war with a world muay thai champion, but that’s exactly what Martin Kampmann did. Kampmann had an easy route to victory in taking Paul Daley to the ground and submitting him; instead, Kampmann made a conscious decision to stand and box with Daley. Bad decision.

9. I think Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is just about the nicest person you’ll ever meet.

10. I think the Dallas crowd was the worst I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve never seen anyone so quick to boo when a fight goes to the ground.