The following is a first-person account of the sights, sounds, and other observations from the UFC’s first event on Fox, which took place on Nov. 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
As I approached the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the UFC on Fox weigh-ins, I stopped to catch up with a few acquaintances that were also in town for the event. Shortly thereafter, I decided to walk to the nearby convenience store, and the magnitude of the event was quickly put into perspective for me.
The line to enter the venue, which had consisted of only a few people when I arrived, had lengthened to the point that it wrapped around the entire outside of the venue. Furthermore, the stranglehold that champion Cain Velasquez has over the Southern California fight fans was more than obvious, as Dethrone shirts and Mexican flags were adorned by nearly every fan in line.
With the potential for inclement weather, the venue may not have had the same luster as the famed Santa Monica pier, but the packed house did not seem to mind the switch. Although the venue was set up for a standing audience, the crowd filled in the lower bowl and the theater style seating at the back of the auditorium.
Prior to the fighters hitting the scales, the UFC 141 press conference added to the excitement in the building. Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem (who will battle Dec. 30 to determine the next heavyweight title challenger) thrilled the crowd with their predictions of Velasquez retaining his title over Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.
A chorus of boos greeted Dos Santos as he stepped onto the stage for weigh-ins. The always-smiling slugger took it in stride and took his place on the side of the stage, awaiting the staredown. As the champion was introduced, the crowd erupted, an early preview of the electricity the actual fight would generate. The traditional face-to-face confrontation was tame, but Dos Santos made his mark by telling the crowd to “be ready for war tomorrow.”
Having traveled far and wide covering this sport, I have witnessed my fair share of venues, crowds and circumstances surrounding events. The promotion’s network debut was certainly a different situation. In order to accommodate the various time zones and to avoid interfering with a star-studded boxing pay-per-view, the event was tabbed with a 1:45 PM local start time (even earlier than a typical event on the West Coast).
Unfortunately, the selected venue was less than accommodating for the crowd that had arrived early to catch the undercard. Lengthy security lines prevented a large number of fans from finding their seats before the first fight was over. As such, the venue had a similar feel of a Las Vegas event for the first few bouts.
“Tito! Tito! Tito!” echoed through the mostly empty arena during the night’s second fight. The former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and his famous spouse, Jenna Jameson, had arrived before the fights began and had taken their front row seat. This marked the crowd’s first, but certainly not last, instance of paying more attention to who was in the crowd rather than the action inside the cage.
As the action continued, a stretch of decisions, coupled with a head butt and what some may have felt was a phantom tap, seemed to put the crowd into a bit of a dull haze. But when the former heavyweight champ Lesnar made his way to his seat, deafening boos rained down from the crowd of Velasquez supporters.
And when the ever-controversial middleweight Michael Bisping attempted to find his seat during the Dustin Poirier-Pablo Garza bout, you would have never known there was a fight happening. The British fighter acknowledged their reaction by giving them the universal sign for “number one.” Sadly, I think a large portion of the crowd missed the slick submission Poirier applied as a result.
By the time the final streamed fight (between Clay Guida and Benson Henderson) was set to begin, the Honda Center was completely full. Numerous celebrities and fighters littered the crowd on all sides of the Octagon. The anticipation for the main event was building before the two lightweights stepped into the cage for war. Finally, the Southern California crowd remembered that it had paid to attend a mixed martial arts event, not just a celebrity extravaganza.
The war between Guida and Henderson took the night’s action to another level. Chants of “Guida! Guida!” bellowed throughout the bout, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Chicago-based fighter to victory. Everyone in the crowd expressed their appreciation for the hard-fought battle. Despite a lengthy interval between the Guida-Henderson fight and the main event, the eager crowd worked itself into a frenzy before the walkouts of the two heavyweight combatants.
When the lights dropped and the entrance music of Junior Dos Santos began, a thundering roar was released by the crowd. And as champion Cain Velasquez made his way to the Octagon, the atmosphere was something that I have only witnessed a handful of times while covering this sport. The previous instances involved fights ending, so I was full of anticipation to see the reaction when this fight ended.
Bruce Buffer’s trademarked introductions set the stage for the biggest fight in UFC history (thus far) and the fervor inside the Honda Center is an experience that I will never forget. In just 64 seconds, the Brazilian Dos Santos stunned the packed house by finishing off the champion and claiming the belt.
Unlike when Velasquez won the belt in the same venue at UFC 121, the life was nearly gone from the crowd, sans the minority of Brazilian fans in attendance. As the new champion openly wept in joy inside the cage, the crowd made their way toward the exits. While most of those in attendance were shocked that their favorite fighter had been dethroned, they can take solace in the fact that they had witnessed a major milestone in the history of the UFC.
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.
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