Skip to main content

As real as it gets

As luck would have it, I got to see my first UFC pay-per-view on Saturday night. I've seen the UFC many times before on Spike and have spent many hours playing UFC Unleashed 2009 on my PlayStation 3. I even downloaded the 2010 edition on Friday.

While at a get-together at a sports bar with work friends, it just so happened that the Machida-Rua 2 bout was scheduled. And it looked like I was going to be there most of the night since our table had a whopping 22 people. In turn, I saw it all: from Kimbo Slice's slams to Paul Daley's suckerpunch to the thrilling victory by Shogun Rua.

So I think it's now to safe to say out in public that I am a fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Just admitting to this kinda comes with a bit of defensiveness. I know it's a violent sport. I know it's a very masculine sport. I'm aware of the unintended homoeroticism. And I'm aware of how popular the sport is with nerds who could never be in shape for fight. I'm quite aware, but it's still quite an exciting thing to watch.

As I watched the main event, I was reminded of how good things can be. The league is run by people wanting to put on an exciting, unscripted kind of entertainment. The play-by-play and color commentary is done by people who are clearly into the passion of the sport. In other words, this isn't like watching an NFL game or even a WWE match.

On top of that, there is a great deal of sportsmanship. Even though Rua and Machida intended to beat the crap out of the other, they approached everything with class and respect.

Now it's out in the open, I guess I am "a man" or a nerd or maybe both.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Go Where You Wanna Go

It's been a year since I moved away from Lakewood, and even though I could relocate to a new place as a newly-single guy, I've chosen to stay where I am. I enjoy living in North Dallas/Richardson given its central location, being not too far away from places I have enjoyed going to in my fourteen-plus years living in Dallas County. Living in Lakewood for nine years was critical for me, but I am glad I don't have homeless people going through my garbage, my street getting shut down like it's Mardi Gras on Halloween night, and I don't have to answer to the not-so-friendly landlords who bought my old place. I have a new housemate moving in at the end of the month and I have many reasons to be excited as he's been a friend for many years. Couple that with a humongous  new record store opening in nearby Farmers Branch , shows to see, and a quick trip to Los Angeles for something very cool (for which I reveal at a later date) and I'm happy to say fall is sha...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air...

Socials

 Hey, everyone! You can find me on several other platforms: http:/ http:// themeparkexperience.substack.com http:// Instagram.com/ericjgrubbs http:// TikTok.com/@ericjgrubbs http:// threads.net/ericjgrubbs http:// ericjgrubbs.bsky.social Thanks!