I checked out the MMA Expo at the International Centre on Sunday. I figured I’d probably spend a couple of hours in there – I ended up spending four.It was a decent event, though it wasn’t exactly huge. The highlight, of course, was meeting some of MMA’s big stars in person, getting an autograph and a photo. It was nice to see guys making the effort to meet the fans and spread some love.
While I was there, I met:
Denis Kang
Jason MacDonald
Matt Hamill
James Irvin
Sean Sherk
Patrick Cote
Shonie Carter
Sam Stout
Arianny Celeste
Some were more personable than others (props to Shonie, Denis and Jason especially) but everyone was accommodating. I got them to sign my “Fighter” book – which now features a decent number of fighters’ autographs thanks to previous meetings with GSP, BJ Penn and Dana White.
Thiago Silva was supposed to be there, too, but I saw no sign of him (too bad because he’s featured in the book). Ditto Bill Mahood, Chris Horodecki, Carlos Newton and Frank Trigg.
Other than the celebs, there were vendors of all sorts, pushing things like supplements, gym memberships, equipment, apparel, vibrating “exercise” machines and videos.
There was also a jiu jitsu tourney taking place which was interesting to watch. Watching it live, you could really appreciate the difference between tournaments that use a gi compared to non-gi MMA.
Let’s hope MMA gets sanctioned in Ontario soon so that next year’s event can include some actual MMA action.
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