As I sit here in a hotel room with the Sportsnet crew, we are all amazed at how big the UFC and MMA is amongst the general public. We headed over to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Fitness Expo across the street and were blown away by the amount of people surrounding the UFC booth.
The Arnold’s bring in over 150,000 people through the doors with hundreds of retailers showcasing fitness products, martial arts gear and live event competition. But one thing stood out…people were flocking the UFC booth to get autographs from the fighters as well as buy up some UFC swag. We cannot even begin to imagine how much revenue and exposure the UFC got this weekend. It is truly unreal.
The other irony was how many Canadians were in attendance and were pulling me aside to talk MMA, UFC and to get pictures taken with yours truly. I can understand getting recognized in Toronto and various cities in Canada, but it ceases to amaze me how many times the Sportsnet staff and I get stopped whenever we are on the road.
While my producer and cameraman sit back and smile while fans pick my brain about various MMA topics, one thing that stuck out the most. These fans love MMA and want more. Many of them were very glad that The Fan 590 was carrying an MMA show and they are now ‘hooked’ to the station. They love the interviews and complimented the production of ‘The Showdown’ and am grateful for that. I did not know how far the stations reach went until today…WOW.
Tonight’s show is a few hours away and the buzz is electric. I thought I was excited about tonight’s main event but I have to tell you that the anticipation for this historical middleweight unification between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson is breathtaking. Opinions are split down the middle and fans all have their unique point of view of who will win, and how they will win.
To say we are pacing in this room would be an understatement. We are staring at our watches and cannot wait to leave and get to the Nationwide Arena to watch the event. The undercard alone is worth a pay per view event so it will be a night of high quality bouts with some interesting story lines.
If Andrei Arlovski wins in convincing fashion, will the UFC resign their former heavyweight champion or will they let him walk to sign with one of their competitors? If Jon Fitch defeats Chris Wilson, is he next in line for a title shot vs the winner of St.Pierre/Serra that goes down next month in Montreal? If Henderson wins the title via decision (or unconvincingly), does Silva get an immediate rematch?
Here’s a look at the card:
Main Card
The clock is ticking…the start of this event cannot come soon enough.
