UFC 65 - Bad Intentions @ Arco Arena

 

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David L.

Sacramento, CA

If you've heard some of the advertising for the failed Q & R propositions, you'd think nothing ever happens here in sac due to the fact we don't have a billion dollar, state of the art arena.  Well, I'm here to tell you that's some serious BS.  Last Saturday night (11/19), Arco Arena played host to the first ever UFC in norcal.  And was it a blast.  9 fights on the card, with two title belts on the line ensured that we were entertained throughout the night.  

I've been to my fair share of Kings games @ Arco, and one thing i don't really remember ever seeing are people tailgating before the game.  So it was a surprise to see groups of people all over the parking lot getting their pre-drink on.  I think this probably contributed to the many, many people who were trashed come 8 o'clock (heavy emphasis on trashed).  

As far as the fights go, both local guys, Nick Diaz and James "The Sandman" Irvin, won their fights in a violent, convincing manner.  Most of the other fights on the card were entertaining as well.  The co-main-event (the main event imo) was the defending welterweight champ Matt Hughes vs. Canadian George St. Pierre.  This was a highly anticipated match by both me and every other fight fan at Arco, and GSP did not disappoint as he pretty much dismantled Hughes inside of two rounds.  One round if Hughes hadn't been saved by the bell.  The other main event, and only boring fight of the night was the HW title fight.  Tim Sylvia played it safe and won a very boring JD against Jeff "The Snowman" Monson.  The crowd was not amused, and neither was I as I almost passed out several times.  Thank god the booing kept me awake.  

The cool thing about a live UFC is that the fighters are all over the place, before, during, and after the fights.  I can guarantee you that you'll never see Mike Bibby getting a beer after the game in the lobby of Arco, Ron Artest grabbing a hot dog during halftime, or Brad Miller hanging out after the game meeting some fans.  But if so inclined we could of met many of the fighters on the card, and many other fighters not fighting that night as they were constantly around.  To me, as a fan, that makes the event that much more fun.  Also, the energy was just unreal.  The crowd was so into the it.  They say Arco is the loudest arena in the NBA, I think we can say thats also true for the UFC.  And it was truly sold out, as there was a butt in every seat come main event time.  

In conclusion, if the UFC comes back to Arco in the future, and I'm sure they will after the response they got, my advice is to GO!  I know I'll be there again.  Even if you're not into the fights, the people watching is still entertainment enough.  And if that's not enough, there are the ring card girls as well.  I'm not even going to start in on that.

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