The first ever MMA Expo was held at Anaheim Convention Center over the weekend. Went on Saturday. Got at the convention center around 1:30. The expo was smaller than I thought, it was only in one hall. Just to give you how small that is, Anime Expo covers the whole convention center.
First thing we did was walk around and looked for some grappling shorts. Went to Dan Henderson’s booth, Clinch Gear and they had a pair for $40. Me and my brother both bought one. The guy at the booth gave us both a $25 shirt for free. Great deal! Grappling shorts and a shirt for $40. He told us to come back later since Henderson was going to be signing.
Walked around some more and stopped by Couture’s booth. It was pretty big, Couture is going all out with his clothing line, he even had trucker hats. Saw the new MMA figures, they look better in real life. Now I’m contemplating on buying the whole set.
Walked some more and some strippers were dancing in one booth. Everyone gathered and took pictures. After that, we checked out the IFL booth and saw Marco Ruas. Cool dude, no one really knew who he was.
Went back to Henderson’s booth 15 minutes before his scheduled signing and I’d say we were about 40 people in front of us. Then we saw KJ Noons, the guy who beat Nick Diaz, pass by. Everyone in the line started talking how he looked familiar. After that it ballooned to other MMA topics ranging from Fedor fighting cans nowadays and TUF. The guys in line were pretty hardcore fans, I was impressed.
I saw one of the guys in line with Don Frye’s autograph. Asked him about it and he said he was in a booth nearby. Since Henderson was late, I decided to go to Frye’s booth. Frye is a funny dude. I told him he was one of my favorite fighters and he said “You better say it, I’m right next to you”. I told him “he got me and I was just kissing his ass.” He said he wished his wife was there so she can see that fans still love him. Haha. Definitely a character.
Went back to Hendo’s line. He finally arrived. One guy in line approached Tank Abbott and asked him for a picture. Tank said in a minute and just walked away. Damn that jerk, but the fan should have expected it. As we were waiting, I saw my friend who I call the BOSS, doing security. He was just walking around the convention. Talked to him for a bit. Finally got to Hendo, he signed my grappling shorts. Also signed a poster. His whole crew was really cool. Took care of everybody and were very friendly. I asked one of them were Matt Lindland was. He said “nobody knows where the law is at. Knowing him, he’s probably cornering someone right now”.
After that we walked around some more. Saw Ali Sonoma, UFC ring girl and took a pic with her. Checked out Eddie Bravo’s “Twister” demonstration. That guy is crazy on the ground, he was just messing around with his training partners. I wish I can be that good of a grappler, he didn’t even put much strength into his moves. AMAZING! Also saw another friend who trains with Tito Ortiz’s Team Punishment. He was also checking out the demonstration and told me he was there to support his training crew. I’d say the Tapout Crew and Team Punishment had the longest line.
After that we walked around one last time. Saw more fighters, Gilbert Melendez, Tyson Griffin and Gray Maynard. Last but not least, as we were leaving, I noticed GINA CARANO at the Elite XC booth. My friend saw a picture of her and told me “Man, she’s really hot. I saw a clip of her on Youtube”. He didn’t notice that he was next to her. Took a pic with her, she was really sweet. She told us to support her, her next fight is in February. I wonder if Gina heard what my friend said. Good times.
Being an MMA fan, it was a great event thanks to the friendly atmosphere. Met some new and old friends and got some good deals. I’ll definitely go back next year.
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