As Dan Magnie, of ColoradoFightEvents and I pulled up in front of the classic historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium for the NME (No Extreme Fighting) mixed martial arts event, we knew that this venue was going to be special.  It was like a neighborhood theater.  The 50's style marquee welcomed us as the only illumination in the dark city block.

Once inside, the cold of the winter night was replaced with the warmth of an arched ceiling and the jalousie cut-out frame of the wooden stage.  There was a ring - rather than a cage - in the middle of the auditorium floor which also enhanced the feeling of this being a display of athletic prowess rather than glitzy entertainment.   Josef Mason, our Colorado Boxing commissioner was relaxed - not tense - smiling, greeting visiting members of the fight community and looking like he too, along with the rest of the fans, were in attendance to enjoy a challenging card of fighters.

On Saturday night January 12^th, Dan Magnie of ColoradoFightEvents.com and I arrived at the Palladium for Keith Schmelzer's Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz MMA fight, Total Domination.  The doors were scheduled to open to the general public at 6:30 although there was already a crowd waiting at the door when we pulled up at 6.

The inside of the Palladium had been transformed from the night before when we attended the weigh-in.  The large cage was centered under the nightclub disco ball and the deco palm trees strobed with multi-colored lights.  There was an energy that silently spoke of the excitement that would transform the environment to a pounding electric fight venue within the hour.

Casper, Wyoming

On Saturday evening January 12, 2008 the Denver, Colorado based "Kick Down" started the year with their 2nd ever 4 man tournament. This time it was the welter weights that would fight twice to see who would become the new champion as the vacated welter weight title was on the line.  In front of a capacity crowd the combatants did not dissapoint although several of the fights on the 11 bout card ended in quick finishes due to submissions and referee stoppages.

January 9, 2008: What a wonderful departure from my day-job when I received a phone call at my office from Dan Magnie, President of ColoradoFightEvents.com extending an invitation from Keith Schmelzer of Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz to interview George St. Pierre the next day at T’sKO Fight Club in Wheat Ridge. WOW! Was it hard to concentrate for the rest of the day? Did I carefully choose what I was going to wear for the interview? George St. Pierre? What brought him to Denver? I couldn’t wait to find out!

After a call to ensure local sports photographer Kathy Framarini was available, we agreed to meet at the gym at 10:30 on that Thursday. Trevor Wittman, the owner, head trainer and striking coach at T’sKO had invited us for 11:00 but who could wait? The day before, not only was George St. Pierre working out at T’sKO but also the ferocious Keith Jardine, Nate “the great” Marquardt, Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Diego Sanchez and Greg Jackson. For an MMA enthusiast, this was the Power Ball!

Living Legend and “Zen-Master” of Mixed Martial Arts

Have any of you Readers seen the recent Spike TV re-run of the August 26, 2006 UFC 62 fight between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin? These competitors had been former contestants in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and at UFC62, they fought each other again.

At least three times during the match, one would smile at the other and extend an open palm in a high-5 acknowledgement of a well delivered punch or kick. This was not in-your-face posturing – this match was a competition between highly skilled and disciplined athletes.

Hot Fights kept Fat City MMA Fans
electrified on cold snowy night

Snow-packed roads and freezing temperatures couldn’t keep the die-hard MMA fans away from Steve Alley’s Kick Down 45 on Saturday night! Some fought traffic for hours to attend “Season’s Beatings II” at Littleton’s Fat City. Eleven fights culminated with three MMA title matches including the first Kick Down Women’s MMA Title.

Sven Bean’s Ring of Fire events are always a treat as they bring Las Vegas style UFC excitement to the local level. Ring of Fire 31: Undisputed held at the Broomfield Events Center on Saturday night December 1^st was no exception. ColoradoFightEvents President, Dan Magnie and I are convinced that they keep getting better with bigger crowds and more universally recognized names.

Starting with the weigh-in that was open to the public at CB and Potts in Broomfield on Friday night, the excitement was palpable. The weigh-in was wedged into a corner of the bar but the compact crush of fans waiting to get a glimpse of the fighters made the event that much more fun. I actually forgot my sniffling head cold as I got a great seat up front with our ColoradoFightEvents.com photographer, Kathy Framarini.

Since becoming such a local fight star Groupie – I couldn’t help but grab Kathy to catch a photograph of me with UFC renowned and local gym owner and coach, Nate Marquardt. I had been told by many that know him what a gracious man he was but he certainly showed it as he warmly greeted everyone who wanted to either shake his hand or have their picture taken with him -- a true gentleman and role model for the sport.

Cory Williams of Who’s Your Daddy Productions, certainly knows how to pack a fight event.

Dan Magnie of ColoradoFightEvents.com and I joined our photographer, Kathy Framarini at the Boulder County Fair Grounds for Cory’s Ultimate X-Plosion II on November 14^th. We knew from the moment we entered the parking lot that there was a special energy. We didn’t expect to have trouble finding a parking place on a Wednesday night in Longmont, but all parking spaces close to the building were packed solid! Not having planned adequately for the traffic and distance to Longmont, we arrived just as the event was supposed to start at 7 p.m. and there were many fans still scurrying for the door. I was grateful that Cory held off starting the event for another 45 minutes so we could find seats. It was a blessing that Bill Chamberlin of themmatimes.com had saved us some chairs on the aisle where the fighters entered the arena.