Nearly $500 doesn't buy you much of an experience at an MMA event any more.
From my blog:
Meet “The Ultimate Loser” From UFC 117
Written by: Anthony Brancato
No, it wasn’t Chael Sonnen, who upstaged – or should I say downstaged? – the likes of Ralph Branca and Jean van de Velde.
It wasn’t Rafael Dos Anjos. Breaking Dos Anjos’ jaw? So easy a caveman can do it – and, in fact, did.
Ben Saunders, who was made to serve as an octagon Swiffer by an opponent half his size and twice his age, in the card’s first fight? Nope.
As a matter of fact, it wasn’t even a fighter at all.
Question: When is Row 1 not the front row of its section? Apparent answer: When there is a Row A5 directly in front of it – a situation that became apparent toward the end of the preliminary bouts, when a late-comer complained to one of the ushers that somebody was sitting in “his” seat. You get what you pay for – or do you?
Cameras were not supposed to be allowed at the event – or so a determinedly ominous message was transmitted via e-mail to that effect on Thursday. Yet when the arena went dark as the challenger was being introduced immediately prior to the main-event title fight, igniting flash bulbs made the entire building resemble a valley filled with fireflies. And guess who left his camera at home, taking the draconian warnings of confiscation and even arrest contained in the aforementioned correspondence seriously?
Finally, the entire staff of the place acted as if it was still on orange alert from the immediate post-9/11 days: Anyone who wanted to approach any of the fighters or their entourage found themselves as out of luck as a Satanist at a revival meeting.
It has always been my contention that MMA events were never intended to be staged at facilities large enough to double as host sites for professional basketball and/or hockey games. For being able to meaningfully interact with the fighters is a major part of the enjoyment of this sport, and the logistics at such venues effectively rule that out. And worse yet in this instance, this dynamic was even at work at the weigh-ins – normally the ideal occasion for fans to do this – as they, too, were held at the Oracle Arena, home of the NBA’s chronically-underwhelming Golden State Warriors.
So, after spending nearly $500, including the $400 price of the ticket with a bewildering array of “convenience fees” totaling more than $70 tacked on, all I’ve got to show for it is a wooden sign depicting Clay Guida on one side and the GEICO caveman (how imaginative!) on the other – and even that only because someone left said item in the mezzanine of the nearby BART station.
In the words of Oscar Levant, I shoulda stood in bed.
