30 for UFC 200: Post 30

30 for UFC 200 Countdown

I have been slacking on my blog posts so I’m going to be ranting and making a post each day till UFC 200. 

When did I become a Fanatic?

I started in college, I and my roommate lived off campus and we had a black box.  So we got all of the UFC PPVers, The fighter that stands out in my memory is Matt Hughes I don’t know what got me into this sport. I used to be hardcore boxing fan.  I grew up in the time where the Heavyweight Championship was the most watched division.  Back when there were 3 major titles and the undisputed champion was a true statement.  But now that I was in college those things didn’t really exist.  Champions didn’t want to be ‘Undisputed’, that meant they had to make mandatory titles defense.  They idea of king of the hill and taking on all comers, was an idea of the past.  Instead you had Riddick Bowie throwing the belt in the trash because he didn’t want to defend it.

Turning to a sport where there was one premier promotion.  Despite the sport still considered in its infancy, Undisputed champion still rang true. When you watched the sport  you knew that the champion was ducking anyone and he was going to fight the best. I was hooked after watching Matt Hughes fight a couple of times. Especially after his two battles with Frank Trigg.  The second one still has to be the best fight.  Being a newbie to the sport, I was very impressed with Matt Hughes’s power and wrestling

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I became a fan when I saw Matt Hughes carry Frank Trigg casually over his shoulder, walk a few paces and just slammed him on the canvas.  He did it both fights and in both he could hear the impact of the slam over the roar of the crowd.  Matt Hughes finished both fights with a Rear-Naked choke and a fanatic was born.