U C UFC...in New Mexico

Okay that was a horrible play on words for a title. And this post is long overdue. 


This year I went home to New Mexico to spend time with my family as I missed the Christmas holiday last year. I wasn't going to go two for zero this time. 


That of course left a slight problem. My boyfriend. He recently acquired a new job and he would have to work Christmas Eve AND Christmas morning. His birthday is also on Christmas.


Someone would have to spend Christmas AND their birthday alone....  


But my respite from having to watch UFC was dashed when he showed up at the Plaza in Santa Fe---with my sister who had just come off a three day nursing shift.  :)






My family knows my boyfriend pretty well. They've seen him TWO times in the past two years (now three). Once when we both graduated, he with his master's and me with my bachelor's; and then again for my birthday last year. But they know his interests pretty well and unlike his own parents we don't have to overtly explain to my mom and dad what UFC is or what it stands for. 
They get it. 
My 65 year old parents get UFC.


Well at least when I asked my mom to tell me what she understood it to be, she responded: 
It's martial arts and it's a competition. Right? 


Close enough. I mean, it's not like I am an expert. 


So I chime in, "Yeah, it's mixed martial arts. They also wrestle and stuff."


So as it went, we contemplated finding a place to watch UFC 141 somewhere in New Mexico. Of course the only places that would probably show it were a two hour drive away. Cross that out. 


But my nephew brought his XBOX with him from where he's going to college. He also has a Netflix account. And always the helpful little bugger that he is, suggested that we stream the fight with a UFC app.(????? I don't have Netflix or an XBOX so I'm still a little green on these things.)


Of course on Friday during dinner at La Cocina, in the nearby town, we realize that we forgot about the two hour time difference between the East Coast (where our brains apparently were) and New Mexico.  My nephew kept us abreast of the "traffic jam" with the XBOX UFC app. "First 5,000 users get it free." Damn it! It's still an hour till it starts and the feature is already maxed out. 


I mean it's not like it's the end of the world to get PayPerView but really who prefers that versus "free"? 




Back home, we struggle with the app, just to make sure that we hadn't actually already pushed "yes" the day before and that might have somehow saved our place. Jammed.


Ok, PPV it is then. Searching with the OnDemand feature proves useless since it only demands movies!! I can't remember which service my parents have, it's likely it's the only one available that far out in the boonies but I can safely say that their service is worse than Comcast service here on the East Coast. At least we can switch to FiOS. 


Click, click, click, click. Only missed the first 45 or so minutes. 


Now so far, it's only me, my boyfriend and my nephew in the living room. But after a few minutes I see my dad standing behind the couch, arms crossed, head tilted back slightly to be able to see through his progressive lenses. He seems intently interested. I tell him to come sit down with us and motion to the open seats, as if motioning a guest to sit down on their own couch! But my dad doesn't often watch what other people watch. He usually watches TV in his bedroom or works on the computer. So in a way it was almost unusual for him to be watching TV, not only with us, but UFC!! (While he was in the Navy he trained in Judo so I think that that experience led him to be interested in watching something no one else in our family normally would.)


Meanwhile...where's mom? 
"I'm right here."
I  hear her tiny mom voice from the dining room. It's an open floor plan in their house so she's sitting in one of the high bar chairs at the dining table. Feet dangling off the edge.  Facing the TV so she can see the fights. She's eating a piece of pie. 


So there we were, all of us. Watching UFC 141. Brock's last fight and Overeem's first in the UFC. 


Well except for my Grandma. It's likely she was in her bedroom either watching a Telenovela or quite possibly Lucha libre. 

Break it on down

It's currently 1:23am EDT.  
I should have been in bed when I got home three hours ago.
Then I was sleepy. And now I'm barely hanging on, catching up on all that I missed of full-view internet surfing that I was only able to see in small-view on my Samsung Fascinate while I was out on the boat today. And as I'm catching up on the more important aspects of my life what do you guess is playing in the background?


HGNet. Recaps of MMA fights that my boyfriend DVRd from earlier today. He missed them because, we were on a boat today.


Occasionally I unglue my eyes and fingers from my ancient MacBook Pro and notice the lively commentator explaining what's going on in different fights. Currently he is explaining the fight between Urijah Faber v. Dominick Cruz. 


I can't help but laugh. I think I could watch a lot more MMA (at least as much as my boyfriend does), if all the commentators were as fascinating to watch and listen to as Bas. 


But I can't hold out any longer. I am beyond being tired. The elements zapped my energy and my eyelids will to stay open. You see, today I was on a boat....

Round 1...Or, getting to know all about you

I remember my first "encounter" with the UFC. It was last year. The night before Valentine's Day. I was at Havanna Club with my friend attempting to dance salsa. I was having fun of course. As much as a half Hispanic girl with two left feet can have fun in front of strangers with even less Latin origin and triple the skills. 


Having only met the guy 12 whole days prior, and having spent nearly half of those days with him, I was a little more than expectant to see him--AGAIN--for Valentine's Day, but I also understood that it might be overkill so soon. Regardless, I texted him. 


"I'm done dancing here. Tired. Where are you? Did you want to meet up or...?"


I'm sure it was something to that effect. I can't remember. I know that prior to my texting him what he was doing he briefly mentioned in a phone conversation: working, Applebee's, UFC, MMA, write a story, my Dad. 


Only a few weeks later would I realize the ritual that would become our Saturday nights nearly every other weekend.


That first introduction to MMA, I can't even remember. For some reason looking back though, I feel that I was pretty honored to have a guy who wanted me to join him  in watching something like MMA. 
Some man-rituals, I feel are imposed upon by women and their shrill excitement of cheering, such as baseball or football. It almost looks fake, the jumping up and down on pointed toes and hand clasping and giant smiles as some sweaty muscular dude hurls himself into the end zone. The pink jerseys and hats with a white embroidered four leaf clover and a number "46" (which now has to be changed to a "2"). 
Sitting there in that chair for the first time, picking at my Queso Blanco, staring down the waitress to refill my third Pepsi, I was honored but at the same time I felt like a fake. I was hoping my boyfriend's childhood friend wasn't mentally questioning why or what I was doing there. Least of all all the other male Applebee patrons obviously there for the half price apps and UFC.  I was hoping  that no one thought I had made him take me because it was my right as a girlfriend to be at my boyfriend's side whenever he ventured out for the night.


There were other women staring at the TVs. And to be honest I wondered what they were doing there too. Did they make their significant others bring them. Or were they like me? Curious to see what the fuss was? Seeing grown men, half naked, locked in each other's legs, giant misshapen ears sticking out of sweat soaked heads with blood squirting out of bulging, throbbing "mice" above their eyes must have some hypnotic value. 


It does. Several times after returning to his parent's house to spend the night, too tired to drive back into Boston, they would ask. "So what did you guys do tonight?"


"Applebee's. We watched UFC."


"What's UFC?"


"MMA."


"What's MMA?"


"Mixed martial arts."


"Oh! Why?! Why are you taking her to see that?? Sharon, you don't like that stuff do you? You know you can always just come here to stay with us if you want while he goes to do that."


"Nah, that's ok. Thanks. I enjoy it actually. There was a good fight tonight! This kid with a mohawk from England nearly had his arm broken but he managed to stay in the fight. I had fun."


I still don't know Jon "Bones" Jones from Anderson Silva. I think Bas Rutten and Joe Rogan look kinda like brothers. And GSP I whole-heartedly admit looks like a tall version of Mini-Me, BUT I do know that Dan Hardy is one of my favorites. 
One of these days I'll know who my boyfriend is talking about when he mentions Carlos Condit. A guy who beat another guy. Is from my hometown of New Mexico. And also apparently another one of my favorites.

He Hit 'Im Wicked Hahd

It's officially a new day here on the East Coast. I will be at work in less than 10 hours and up in less than eight. Nevertheless I am finally beginning what I have been wanting to start all day long and have only now begun.

And of course, as the title suggests, I am watching MMA on TV. HDNet.

Two guys locked on the floor. One on his back the other being held by the former's sweat soaked legs. The bell rings. And the guy with the checkerboard-red and green-colored hair is wearily throwing his arms up in the air to indicate: I'm still standing.

I'm slowly beginning to understand a little bit about this sport.

Side-control. Kimoras. Bantamweight. I understand the difference between "tapping out" and TapouT the clothing company. And if you mention the phrase "cauliflower ear" I know what you mean as well.

There are still some things I have yet to figure out.

Like, how on earth do the fighters' shorts NOT fall off? Is there a gorilla strength equivalent of Fashion Tape for MMA fighters' shorts?

But on a more technical note, I honestly haven't quite figured out the difference between Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, and Jujutsu, and Muay Thai...

YES, I know. I'll eventually look at the links I just used to educate you, to educate myself, but at this point I'll continue to play indifferent to what's going on, on the TV in front of me.