ufc

Dec 3 2011

UFC 139

Kid: “Daddy, what character do you want to see when we go to Disneyland?”
Daddy: “Godzilla.”
Kid: “That’s not a Disney character.”
Daddy: “Hmmm…Bugs Bunny.”
Kid: “Who’s that?”
Daddy: “The one with the carrot who says ‘What’s up, Doc?’”
Kid: “That’s not a Disney character.”
— the kid knows her Disney properties

The main sport I watch regularly is MMA/UFC. However, I’d never been to a live UFC event until a couple of weeks ago when I went to UFC 139 at the HP Pavilion.

Some Pics I Shot:

I wasn’t disappointed. The show was a blast, twelve fights in all, with the headlining bout having the whole crowd on its feet multiple times throughout the bout. It was great seeing fighters I’d watched for years (Dan Henderson, Maurício Rua, Wanderlei Silva) in action.

I was so geeked for the event that I even went to the weigh-in that happened the day before.

Some Weigh-In Video I Shot:

BTW, I thought I’d post this “behind the scenes” video from a past UFC event. It’s a good example of the sacrifice these athletes go through:

By mike • by Mike, Geeky, Misc • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Apr 17 2010

BJ Penn Book Signing

BJ Penn Book Signing from Mike C on Vimeo.

The main sport I follow these days is MMA and BJ Penn is my favorite fighter, so I thought I’d go down to a book signing he was doing in San Jose Friday night.

I thought there’d be a couple of hundred people there and that I’d be in and out in an hour or so. Boy, was I wrong! The book store was packed. I asked an employee how many people had shown up and he estimated somewhere between 800 – 1000 people. Crazy.

I ended up sticking it out, got an autograph and a handshake. Luckily, everyone in line was friendly, so the few hours we spent together in line weren’t too bad. Penn looked pretty tired and had sunglasses due to a tough loss the previous week in Abu Dhabi.

Music used:

Here are a couple of quick YouTube videos showing off some of his crazy flexibilty and athleticism:

By mike • by Mike, Misc, Video • 7 • Tags: , , ,

Jan 3 2009

Around the Island in a Day

On New Year’s Day, knowing that we wanted to view some volcano/lava action, Gpa Peter, Jill, Lucy, and I set out for a drive around the island. During our trip we made sure to stop off at Tex’s in Honoka’a for food and tried out the malasadas.

I was looking forward to checking out BJ Penn’s gym in Hilo. Alas, the place was closed, so we had to make do with peering through the windows. Lucy would have to show off her BJJ moves next time, I guess.

tex hilo1
lava3 gpa_peter

The actual drive was pretty cool. We saw all sorts of weather, from pristine blue skies to fog-shrouded mountain tops (the kinda stuff that would look at home on a Led Zeppelin album cover) to heavy, “why can’t these windshield wipers go faster?!” rain storms.

The kid showed no fear during our trip, even while spelunking through lava tubes.

3161590926_988b8f2f28_b 3160779717_344389d34f_b

Some of the lava formations were especially intriguing. Away from the ocean and people, their dead silent surroundings gave them an otherworld quality that was way cool. I felt like I was in an old Star Trek episode and that a Gorn could pop out at any moment!

lava4

lava5 lava2

lava1 IMG_1238

By mike • by Mike, Relatives, The Kid • 3 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,