UFC, Part 1

On Thursday morning, Mac and I joined Jimmy and some other folks from the Consulate on a trip back to the Providencia favela that I wrote about a few weeks ago.  The purpose of this trip was to accompany two UFC fighters to the favela so they could meet members of the community and inspire them with their stories of how valuable hard work and education are.

Before I go further, let me share with you my exposure to UFC.  Jimmy LOVES watching UFC.  He watches it, discusses the moves, the fighters, the broken noses, etc.  In Arlington we had a tv in our bedroom, which we've never had before, and I cannot count how many nights I fell asleep to the sounds of UFC fights in the background.  The noise of the fight alone is not conducive to a good night's sleep, but add Jimmy's commentary, like "he's getting ready to break that guy's leg", and you can have full-on nightmares.

If you're not familiar with UFC, it's mixed martial arts fighting that mixes disciplines of judo, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, karate, Muay Thai, etc.  I think it looks terribly violent and is definitely not the staged wrestling matches of my youth.  Jimmy points out to me constantly that nobody has ever received a life-threatening or life-ending injury from UFC, whereas people have died from boxing. So there's that.

Brazilians love UFC.  The current heavyweight champion - who happened to be one of the two people who went to Providencia - is a Brazilian guy.  People know this guy.  People love this guy.

So we went to the favela in a convoy, part of which was a big van that contained the fighters, the Octagon girls, the UFC VP of Athlete Development (from the US) and various members of the UFC Brazil office.  There were also members of the press everywhere.  Television cameras, reporters, photographers, etc.  It was really a much bigger deal than I expected.

The current heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum, also known as Vai Cavalho (Go Horse), got out of the van and everyone sprang into action.  The cameras start humming and clicking and people got some peps in their steps.  Mac and I had met the UFC VP back at the consulate, so he came over with Fabricio to introduce Mac and me to him.

This guy is huge.  He's about Jimmy's height and weighs right now around 260 pounds (which is +/- 20 pounds more than his fighting weight).  His arms and chest are so muscular and remember that I've fallen asleep listening to these people beating up on each other, so in my mind, I expect him to have bad breath and to eat the organ meat out of sweet puppy dogs and cute babies.

But he was the nicest guy in the world.  Seriously.

I had done some research on him and knew he now lives in Los Angeles, so when Mac and I shook hands with him, I said that I understood he lived in LA now.  He said that he lives in Redondo Beach, and they love it.  It's so idyllic and his kid can walk to school from their house.

I'm sorry, what?

Aren't you supposed to eat livers and kidneys out of babies and puppies?  But you're telling me about your sweet daughter walking to school?

I couldn't have imagined anything more unexpected.

I became a fan for life.

Mac being introduced to Fabricio Werdum

Jimmy and Fabricio discussing their similar heights

Fabricio helping Mac get the heavyweight champion belt fixed "just right"

Ready to fight

Then we entered the community center, specifically the sports room, and I gained even more respect.  This guy, who is larger than life to these kids, spent hours (along with another Brazilian, Thomas Almeida, who is an up-and-comer in UFC, and three Octagon girls) talking with the kids, demonstrating different moves, watching them practice judo, taking photos, doing interviews, etc.  It was so impressive.

Blurry photo but Fabricio "fighting" with a young boy from the favela

 

 

 

 Fabricio demonstrating some moves with the Providencia judo school sensei

Because in my mind, I am the heavyweight champion of the world

Mac and up-and-comer UFC Fighter Thomas Almeida

I discussed with the UFC VP about how powerful it was to see these people, these stars, who are so in demand and who could be doing a million other things, taking this sort of time with these folks in the favela.  He said that they love doing this sort of engagement.  We also talked about their behavior "outside the ring".  As we know, there's no end to bad press about professional sports stars in the US.  They beat their wives, get DUIs, murder people, flaunt their money and fame, etc.  He said that UFC really stresses to these fighters that they are representatives of the UFC brand, which means something to the people behind UFC.  They teach them that off the clock, people are watching and even if they're not fighting a UFC fight, they're still associated with the UFC and the UFC doesn't want their image tarnished by stories of misconduct.

I became a bigger fan for life.

We were there for over two hours and these people did not stop once.  They didn't hesitate to take the millionth photo, they shared the heavyweight champion belt around, they smiled the entire time.

HUGE FAN OF THE UFC!

Still smiling after all those hours

The UFC VP gave Mac the gift of a lifetime: a pair of UFC fighting gloves that are signed by Royce Gracie, who was one of the first UFC fighters and who is a Brazilian jiu jitsu legend.  Mac had the other glove signed by Fabricio Werdum.  Possibly the coolest day ever to a 12 year-old boy.

Mac and the US UFC VP of Athlete Development

Stay tuned for part 2!