Lil Warren
Saturday, August 2, 2009. First ever New York Mixed Martial Arts Expo. Uniondale (Long Island), NY. Pouring rain…on and off. As I await the arrival of my friends, one of the most famous rappers in the world passes by me. I say, “What’s up Wayne?” He looks a bit confused, then nods. I had a camera and an iPhone on me, but couldn’t get a picture off. I wonder if I could have sold that picture. I wonder what it might be like to be that famous. My boys arrive. We enter the expo. Jens Pulver (pictured above with AMG) is in the cage in the middle of the room taking shots with fans. He’s energetic and a bit goofy. He refuses to take a picture with a straight face, which is the shit. There’s a sign in the cage that reads, “HELP LEGALIZE MMA IN NEW YORK”. It’s the only indicator of the day that this event has something expressly to do with assisting in the legalization of the sport here. I take a pic of Chuck Zito. I am informed by event organizers that Clay Guida will not be attending the expo as planned because his management, MMA Stop, would not allow it…which allegedly pisses off Silver Star. Sidebar: I believe Silver Star (who’s booth was dead throughout the event) could actually be the next big thing if they would go with their more innovative designs (I dig the Rich Franklin and Urijah Faber’s Tees) and scrap all that played-out skull shit and Affliction-rip-off crap. Jamie Varner hops from booth to booth, signing stuff and taking photos with fans. I take a pic of Tim Kennedy. My friends and I speak with Dan Ostrower of Manumission Fightceuticals. He sends us away with a big bag full of soap and other products. Dear Dan: If I end up beating someone to death with said bag of soaps, I believe you to be an accomplice. There. Fair warning. Big line to take pix with the great Andrei Arlovski. Huge line to take pix with Sean Sherk who was the last fighter to arrive (12:30-ish?). Then we bounced. I hear no demos were performed in the cage as advertised. Not sure why. Perhaps someone could shed some light on that subject. Thx to the organizers for holding this event. I believe the fans in attendance really appreciated the opportunity.
Check out my few pix from the event here. Oh, and here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Andrei Arlovski, carl kern, Chuck Zito, Clay Guida, Dan Ostrower, Jamie Varner, jens pulver, lil wayne, Manumission Fightceuticals, mma stop, New York MMA, new york mma expo, ny mma expo, pics, Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, silver star, Tim Kennedy, urijah faber | Leave a comment »
New York Fight Scene 