Some Personal Stats

• As of today, I have attended 172 MMA shows.  That means that I have sat ringside (or cageside) for roughly 1,600 MMA bouts.
• I have sat ringside for eight kickboxing shows.
• I have been splattered with fighters’ blood six times.  I have been splattered with the sweat of combatants countless times.
• I have attended 19 UFCs.  I bought tickets only for my first two – UFC 17 and UFC 33.  I was credentialed for the rest.
• I have attended 35 “underground shows”.  Of that number, 22 were UCLs.  The only UCL I have missed was the sixth installment, which featured the debut of some kid named Frankie Edgar.  I was in Thailand at the time getting married.
• The farthest distance I’ve traveled for an MMA event is London, England.  The shortest distance is three blocks from my house.
• UFC 17 was the first MMA event I saw live.
• Dan Miragliotta was the referee at the second MMA show I ever saw live.  It was an unsanctioned event in Richmond, Virginia.
• I was there when New Jersey held its first fully-sanctioned amateur event.  Greg Soto fought and won.  Soto competed at the UFC in Las Vegas this past weekend.
• It is 2011.  I have been covering the sport of MMA for ten years.

Observations from My Couch: UFC 125 "Ultimate Frankie the Unkillable"

• Please, Dana, give Phil Baroni an office job too.  The man was every bit the warrior Chuck was, and he’s about one strong wind away from Parkinson’s disease.
• Josh Grispi should be thanking Dustin Poirier profusely for saving his life, because if Grispi had faced Jose Aldo instead he’d be dead now.
• Marcus Davis: proof that having great boxing skills means nothing when you lean into a fist.
• Has no one read the Bible?  Obviously, the secret to defeating Clay Guida is to cut his hair.
• Which do you think bothered Nate Diaz more?  That fact that he lost or the fact that he lost to someone named “Dong”?
• Brandon Vera, Strikeforce awaits!
• It was cool to see Brian Stann notch an impressive win, but his bayoneting of Chris Leben’s cornermen after the bout was a bit excessive.
• Gray Maynard proved that, for all his speed and movement, Frankie Edgar is still hittable.  Frankie Edgar proved that, no matter what kind of damage you deliver, he will still punch you, slam you and outwork you.