Notes From UFC 87 Press Conference at Mall of America
by Blackout612 on Aug 8, 2008 10:14 AM EDT
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PrintFronted by Luke Thomas. FANTASTIC work.
I just got back from the UFC 87 Press Conference at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was the UFC's very first public press conference.
The attending fighters were Huerta, Lesnar and GSP, mirrored on the opposite side of the podium by Florian, Herring and Fitch, respectively. A surprise participant was Quinton Rampage Jackson, who climbed up on stage along with Dana White when Dana was introduced.
The fighters were individually introduced and said a few words about how excited they were to fight in Minneapolis and gave some arbitrary fight hype. The biggest pops were for Huerta, Lesnar and GSP, with GSP, perhaps surprisingly, getting the biggest pop. His popularity is undeniable and he may be approaching superstar status in MMA.
Dana then took to the podium for questions and the first journalist asked if Rampage could approach the podium. Dana complied and Rampage received a very nice pop. He more or less spoke on his own without being asked any questions, saying that he was "healthy" and that he's "alright". His whole time at the presser he was smiling and laughing. At various points, he gave GSP bunny ears, gave Herring his sunglasses to borrow and flexed his muscles. He also mentioned that everybody in his life is "over my shoulder, saying 'Are you eating? Are you drinking? Are you sleeping?'". Same old jovial Rampage. Hopefully he is doing as well as he appears to be.
Dana then addressed Rampage's recent breakdown, noting specifically that he was evaluated for 72 hours and that he was found to be mentally stable. His episode was found to be a product of his "fasting for three days", "sitting in the sun out by his pool", "..not eating or drinking water, just drinking energy drinks and not sleeping at all". This is more of what we've heard until now, but it was from Dana's mouth, to the public, with Rampage in attendance (mimicking Dana's fingers counting those reasons just over his shoulder, no less).
The last thing truly of note was that GSP was ice cold. He wasn't smiling, he wasn't laughing, he was all business. One reporter told GSP "You normally aren't so stern" and "Why the serious demeanor?" to which GSP replied "The last time I defended my title, I didn't approach it the right way" (Serra). He also earlier noted that this time he "trained to fight an army" and that "there is no way one man can stop me if many cannot".
[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas - Click here for the video: Part 1 and Part 2.
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Sweet...
great job.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Aug 7, 2008 8:45 PM EDT reply actions
Cool report.
The UFC seems to be addressing the Rampage situation in a forthright manner. I think its a very good move.
Thanks Luke
..and everyone else. I’ll be attending the fights tomorrow night, as well as Roger Huerta’s VIP afterparty (that is being held at my cousin’s club in downtown Minneapolis), for which I will bring my camera to get some candid shots.
That was kind of nice, thinking about GSP doing some Bruce Lee, hollywood type ass-whooping. I sometimes wonder if he would be better if he wasn’t as smart as he is.
I’m up in Minneapolis working. Anyone know the schedule for the next 2 days (other than the PR from Serra and them? I would sure love to get to see these guys.
I’m glad GSP didn’t say somehting like this:
by monkeyfightclub! on Aug 8, 2008 9:16 AM EDT reply actions
PRODUCT IDEAS FOR FANS OF MMA
Hi all
I am a sports product designer. Primarily sports novelty products. I have designed sports for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, hockey, golf, racing – and now I am attempting to design for MMA.
For all products that I design, my intention is to provide affordable, fun, interactive, cool, “sports specific” products for the fans. Baseball caps, foam fingers, rally towels, etc., transcend all sports. I try to design items that represent an element of the sport they represent. The majority of the products I invent are intended for fans in the stands – but I like to create items that have value beyond the game or the event.
I am new to MMA, but have already designed a dozen items. To give you an idea, I have created a Finger Puppet – that hs the face of the specific Fighter “ironed right on”, so that it looks exactly like the fighter. I have made them so that the head “jiggles”, and it would come with a small stand to sit the puppet on when not in use.
If any of you have any thoughts on products that you would like to see out there - especially for MMA - please let me know.Thanks all.
BB
by Bablaze on Aug 8, 2008 11:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Another little tidbit you guys might find interesting.. My brother went to the aforementioned club that will host the Huerta Afterparty (Aqua, downtown Minneapolis) last night and spent some time with Mark Dellagrotte and Lyoto Machida. So Lyoto is also in town for the show and will be in attendance. Hopefully he is on hand for the party on Saturday night as well.
I believe Brock is what this sport needs
The reason I am saying this because being in the business myself all of professional fighting is a “work” or for the people who don’t know what I mean Fixed from Wrestling to Boxing to MMA and the reason why is because it not how talented you are its how many butts you can put in the seats and Dana White see a gold mine with Brock Lesnar look at the venue it was sold out and before to long you will see Brock Lesnar as the Heavyweight Champ mark my words. The fight with Mir : UFC let Brock get a taste of there sport and humble him because he has great potential and Regardless of what happens it will not hurt his drawing power as last night showed you, and Mir was not a household name so give the man some creditability. This is only my opinion and the Heavyweight division really has nobody of any market value “Brock does.” Thats why UFC depends on Light heavyweights to draw money. Now they have a heavyweight to care the division because Tim Silva really was not getting it done that is why he left and I can’t even tell you who the Heavyweight Champion is so that is how significant he is in a nutshell “Transition Champion.” and anybody that disagrees with me does know how the fight game works. One word “MONEY!”
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