Earlier today I went to the Honda Center with my brother and a couple of friends for the UFC Weigh In. My goal was to get my Wanderlei Silva figure signed but was not sure he was going to be at the event. Arrived at the arena around 2:30 and there were more people than I thought. There were huge lines just to get the best seats. As we were walking around the arena, I saw Frank Trigg mingling with the fans and a long line for autographs. Three fighters were signing: Josh Koscheck, Joe Stevenson and WANDERLEI SILVA!

I knew we weren’t going to make it if we stood in line since the line was so long and the signing ended at 3. We decided, we’d wait by the side and catch Silva as he is leaving the area. 3 o’clock came and Silva went over to his fans and shook their hands. I immediately went, reached out the figure so he could see it and waited. He saw the figure and was about to sign my figure when suddenly a guard stepped in front of him and told everyone to move back. Silva walked away and went the other direction. I was so damn mad. One of my favorite fighters about to sign one of my favorite figure only to be punked by a security guard. Don’t worry, it wasn’t the only time I got punked at the event.

After he left, we went to get our seats for the weigh ins. Fighters were getting great reactions: whether it was cheering or booing. I was surprised Shogun got the biggest pop even though he’s facing one of the most popular UFC fighters, Forrest Griffin. I was more surprised Griffin was being booed. I guess Pride FC fans were representing.

The event only lasted 20 minutes. I thought it’d be longer but I was wrong. After the weigh ins, we walked outside the arena, hoping we’d meet some of the fighters. We saw about 10 people waiting in one area. We waited with them and saw Babalu walk out. My bro took a pic with him.

We were going to walk some more when I saw Silva inside the arena. He waves to us and seemed lost. I showed him the figure and he just waves his hand. Another security guard stops him from going out and shows him to the elevator. Punked #2.

So we wait for him outside, hoping he’d come out when Roger Huerta came out. Fans were mobbing him. I asked him for a pic but he said he had to leave. He was cool but his coordinators told him to move on. Punked #3.

Next, Randy Couture comes out and I take a picture with him! He looked pretty banged up with bruises on his face and a cast on his left hand from his fight against Gonzaga. Couture looked tired but took a pic with everyone and signed signatures. Now, that’s how a champ should act.

Then I see Murillo Bustamante, former UFC champ at the parking lot. Of course, we took pics with him. He’s only one of the most technical bjj fighter in MMA.

We wait some more and see Juanito, Rampage’s coach with the UFC belt. My bro asked him if he could hold the belt and he obliged. The belt looked heavy but my bro said it wasn’t as heavy as it looked. Juanito asked him if “He’s going to put the pic on myspace”. Pretty funny. The belt looked damn nice though. My favorite shot from the event:

We walk some more and see Joe Rogan. At first no one was taking a pic with him so I thought he was being a jerk to the fans. It turned out he was on his Iphone. After talking on the phone, he took pic with the fans and thanked everybody. Here I am with my Lee Hotti look:

We were still waiting for Silva when 2 girls said they saw him leave through the underground parking. With that said, we called it a day and headed home.

I decided to take surface on the way home because the 5 freeway was slow to a crawl. I was passing by the convention center when I remembered that the fighters were staying at the Marriott (thanks to Anaheimfan from Sherdog for the tip!).

We walk around the hotel and see Lyoto Machida. I’m pretty sure I saw Fabricio Werdrum in the pizza shop but I wasn’t sure so I didn’t approach. We wait some more and see who I thought was Shogun. As I walk towards him, I noticed I was wrong and it was none other than Wanderlei Silva. I finally get my figure signed and my bro takes a pic with him. What a crazy adventure, I get punked 3 times but in the end I got what I wanted.

The signed figure!!!

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