UnderGround Forum >> Interesting Encounter w/fighter/MMA personality?

GrappleGirl - Waaayy too many to even start lol

Please?

red7 - 

melendez - 

red7 -  I met Ben Henderson at the Infantry conference a couple years ago. He was sponsored by a body armor company, so he spent the day at their booth. No one else seemed to know who he was, so I got to spend about an hour talking with him. Really cool guy, asked about the Army and thanked me for serving. He's the only fighter I met. I missed all the overseas visits, the Army limits those to the big FOBs mostly.

Awesome man! Did you recognize him from the WEC? I'd never heard of him until I finally saw his match with Cerrone.

Also, why is the sky blue?

It's a scientifically proven fact that the sky is blue because God loves the Infantry. (Awaiting UG/OG atheist input...). Forgot to post that when I was in Korea last June I took my platoon to Seoul to work out with Korean Top Team. Those guys were all extremely cool, and awesome to meet. It was amazing at how good those guys were, we had guys that we considered pretty skilled getting balled the fuck up and tapped left and right. That's pretty much what we expected. What we didn't expect was the workout after practice. Here we are, a bunch of Infantrymen walking up and down Korean hills for hours, spending lots of time in the gym, and we got broke the fuck off. I wanted to cry, but instead I drunk myself into a stupor in certain areas of Seoul that the curfew isn't enforced. That made the next day even worse.

MOTHAF*CKIN HOOOAH!  Gachi Kapshida my friend. SECOND TO NONE.

How did you arrange to go and work out with KTT anyways? Its been a good while since Ive been to Korea but if I ever make it back, thats one of the first stops Im going to make over there. Zombie is awesome man as is his manager Brian. The first time I met KZ I think he was still in the WEC and not many people knew him yet. I walked up and started talking to him in Korean and his mouth dropped. As you know, Korean folks can be quite shy and humble so he went right into Odashi mode and it was downright hilarious. He is also one of the nicest guys in MMA by FAR.

Sorry you got balled up haha! I guess the new Army PRT program didn't come in handy! Thanks for showing brother.

DanTheWolfman - Cool stories

Renzo, Chael, yep all been super cool.

Renzo be so cool man, but just like some of the Gracies, don't want to get on their bad side (like don't say bad crap to his wife at your auto place, dont stalk him ask for cigs, and not sure what Japanese guy did to get spat on). Relson went off on me once and I had trained with him many times before.

Fighting in 3rd grade with Hallman is a good story to have, as are the Matt Brown stories....two guys I fully appreciate their support.

Last time I saw Mo Smith was at IFL show in SoCal, he called me out by name from the stands. One of the great old schoolers wish I was still in touch with. UFC 19 I was cage side when he fought Randleman, I was yelling "Striker" the whole fight.

I met Braulio a few months back, he was Super nice, I did some GnP on him.

Only a couple real D#$%@ really, and one of them is a bit up and down moody so just depends which you get on any given day.

Ross Pearson seems cool as hell on The Smashes, but never met him.

Watch Smashes before tomorrow guys, way better than US TUF this year.

Wolfman, I was actually posting yesterday about the same thing you just talked about...wanting to keep touch or meet and greet the fighters from back in the day. Although its cool to meet the new school, I still really haven't met any of the old timers that were in the cage when I still couldn't even piss straight. Royce, Marco Ruas, Don Frye and others like them.

I have a good one about Ross Pearson and yea he is quite a nice and polite guy...However, when he was talking to me i literally could only understand ilke 2 words out of every 20 that he was saying. I was wearing a fancy shmancy watch at the time as was my younger brother. Both Ross and Alex Gustafson (still a relative unknown) were together. Ross points to my wrist and says something like "ay atsa noyce wotchyagother ya sum coinda salesmun erwhat?" I seriously didn't understand shit except for the word watch...so I just smiled and nodded and said "yes, nice watch" Alex Gustafson actually had to clarify what Ross had just said which was f'n hilarious. Apparently, he was asking me if I would sell my watch..

This is a great thread, but I don't understand why some people blur their faces in pics with fighters.

ICantReid - 

This is a great thread, but I don't understand why some people blur their faces in pics with fighters.

maybe don't want to piss off a fighter for telling a personal story or something? Thats just my guess.

melendez - 

ICantReid - 

This is a great thread, but I don't understand why some people blur their faces in pics with fighters.

maybe don't want to piss off a fighter for telling a personal story or something? Thats just my guess.

Just my opinion, but that's kinda a bitch move

ICantReid - 

melendez - 

ICantReid - 

This is a great thread, but I don't understand why some people blur their faces in pics with fighters.

maybe don't want to piss off a fighter for telling a personal story or something? Thats just my guess.

Just my opinion, but that's kinda a bitch move

Hey man to each their own...I dont necessarily a bitch move for people to want to keep their identity to themselves. There are plenty of fighters who dont use their name on here for their own reasons and I woudln't call that a bitch move either. I use my own name but thats just my preference. I was posting pix with my face hidden but it was more of just a joke, nothing more.

melendez -

ICantReid - 

This is a great thread, but I don't understand why some people blur their faces in pics with fighters.

maybe don't want to piss off a fighter for telling a personal story or something? Thats just my guess.

DanTheWolfman - Lol, I am starting to understand more going through the Smashes, I am about to watch the last episode right now preparing for tomorrow.

I was lucky enough to train with old schoolers like Severn and Tank (Tito too I guess), and a few times w Oleg etc.

Like Pre-UFC 13 or 12 is where I put the old old schoolers

Wish I would have gotten to train with Mo Smith, though I have trained with TK and at a couple of his gym locations over the years.

One of these Days I will get all my old pics scanned........

Ya I hope you do finally get those pics up. Id like to check them out. Oleg! How could I forget him man. I remember watching Predators (the latest one) with a friend and Oleg came on. I was like holyyyyy shit thats Oleg Taktarov! My buddy was like Oh umm who the hell is that? I think Oleg was in bad boyz II as well. They chopped him up and put him in a barrel which sucked. We all know Oleg would have kicked all their asses.

I met Don Frye last year. He is from the city that surrounds the military base where I live. He mentioned that he did not like my facial hair...I was ashamed.

melendez - 

UGCTT_LastCall - It's 1983. I'm sitting on the bus in 3rd grade (way up in the front because I'm white...and was a bit of a jackass) when all of the sudden, a snot-nosed little 2nd grader sits down next to me and starts being more annoying than me. So I push him, and he hit me, then I hit him back, then we tussled in the seat a bit, then the bus driver made him sit in another seat and reprimanded me for being the bigger jackass.

20yrs later that little fucker beat Matt Hughes...twice...REALLY FAST.

About 10yrs after that...his scrotum made its debut on a live event broadcast.

We can only be talking about Dennis Hallman :) Thats awesome. I was at the event in Philadelphia like a year and some change ago where he came out in those purple panties. I am pretty sure he fought Ebersole and didn't do very well. I remember people in the crowd shouting mean things and all that at Dennis for coming out with those grape smugglers. I didn't catch a glimpse of his fishing rod, but Im glad that I didn't.

He's definitely one of those guys who have been around for a very long time and doesn't really get due respect as a longer tenured fighter.

That's an awesome story thank you for sharing!

GrappleGirl - Waaayy too many to even start lol

UGCTT_LastCall - 

melendez - 

UGCTT_LastCall - It's 1983. I'm sitting on the bus in 3rd grade (way up in the front because I'm white...and was a bit of a jackass) when all of the sudden, a snot-nosed little 2nd grader sits down next to me and starts being more annoying than me. So I push him, and he hit me, then I hit him back, then we tussled in the seat a bit, then the bus driver made him sit in another seat and reprimanded me for being the bigger jackass.

20yrs later that little fucker beat Matt Hughes...twice...REALLY FAST.

About 10yrs after that...his scrotum made its debut on a live event broadcast.

We can only be talking about Dennis Hallman :) Thats awesome. I was at the event in Philadelphia like a year and some change ago where he came out in those purple panties. I am pretty sure he fought Ebersole and didn't do very well. I remember people in the crowd shouting mean things and all that at Dennis for coming out with those grape smugglers. I didn't catch a glimpse of his fishing rod, but Im glad that I didn't.

He's definitely one of those guys who have been around for a very long time and doesn't really get due respect as a longer tenured fighter.

That's an awesome story thank you for sharing!

I figured I should start with that story, since Dennis is why I got involved in the MMA industry. We were tight like brothers in HS (lived with him and folks for a bit) then started working together in '03 when he asked me to help produce his local events. Working with him I met Couture and Lindland, and I ended up working the first few SportFights.

Got a couple funny Randy stories, a great Lindland story, a sweet little anecdote involving Shonie Carter from WEC 8, and several run ins with Tito and Jenna (she's been with him at 4 different shows I was MCing...and I always thank her for my thick forearms).

Never met Lindland but I've heard some "funky things" from a few folks. Ive only met Randy one time in Vegas. Nothing funny to say except that for whatever reason...people want to "test" a fighter...theres always that one dude who's like "wana roll"? So...its was pretty funny seeing this guy get tossed like a bag of trash during a seminar. Randy used me to demonstate something and I have never felt a grip so tight in my life. Not scary, but it felt as if my wrist was being grabbed by Mega Tron. Also, I remember Randy having the ugliest feet I'd ever seen haha. All of his toes looked like Chicken Tenders.

Congrats on your massive forearms broski...Young men of America are forever in her debt.

Lets hear a Randy story if you can man.

SecretSeraphim -  In 1998, while in Honolulu, Kimo stepped into my elevator. "Hey, you're Kimo," I said. "Yup," he responded. My adding, "You're pretty fucking big," got me another, "yup".

Was he carrying that big old cross with him?

DarceJoke - Been a lurker for a bit and wasn't sure if I wanted to post, but since I read so many it reminded me of some of my encounters, so I will share....
1.) I was at the Fedor Werdum fight in San Jose when Fedor got subbed. My girlfriend and I had floor seats. After watching Fedor's head turn purple and he taps the crowd is completely silent and in shock. My girlfriend and I are screaming and freaking out because we realized that we just witnessed history. (both very drunk) There are some brazilian guys next to us waving their flag proudly and going crazy as well. We end up gravitating to each other and are all jumping around sharing our excitment with each other. They are wrapping the flag over us as we jump around frantically celebrating for like 2-3 minutes. As Werdum is walking down the walkway to exit to the back, the guys we are celebrating with jump the guard rail and begin to celebrate with Werdum and his corner... Turns out the guys were part of his team and train with him. I know it's wasn't a direct interaction with a fighter, but it was pretty awesome and ironic!
2.) I had met Gilbert at the same Strikeforce show and took a pick with him and told him I thought he was the baddest lightweight on the planet. Dude was super cool. But my drunk ass didn't save the picture I just took and it erased. After, Gilbert was swarmed with people and I just took it as a loss.
2.) I'm at a UFC in Aneheim and guys like Demarcus Johnson and Gilbert Melendez are walking around taking pics with people in the lobby. I (drunk again)see Brian Stann walking by. I go "Oh Shit Brian Stann" super loud.. Brian gives me the death stare and says, "Hey man, keep it down." and strolls away. It was hilarious.
3.) At the same Aneheim show I see people all around Gilbert, and I'm waiting patiently as he takes pics with fans. He then says, "all right guys sorry I gotta go." I'm right next to him and I tell him to hold up one sec and told him how I took a pic with him in San Jose and erased it, dude was awesome enough to talk to me for a sec and take a pic! Great experience.
4.) Back at the San Jose show I look up in the stands and see Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez sitting next to each other watching the Fedor fight. As soon a the fight is over, I see both guys break for the exit. I tell my chick, to hurry so we can catch them. They were sitting a lever higher than us, (don't ask why)... so we had to run up the stairs to catch them. Jon was wearing a teal Dethrone shirt, so as I get up to the lobby level he exits, I'm looking for that shirt. All of a sudden I see a camera flash behind a pillar and I spot that teal shirt. I go over and am like, "Jon real quick pic please." I could tell he was trying to escape and he was cool enough to stop and take the pic with us. He even took off his glasses. Simple gesture but I appreciated that... He was beardless lol

Gil is awesome. My little bro and I met him at an expo. My bro had never met anyone before so he was experiencing a sensory overload seeing all these guys walking to and fro. Gilberts line was terribly short as was Dan Cormiers. Gilber was hurt or something at that time-think it was a hand or arm injury. Anyways...prior to my bro going over to GIls line I had run over there when it was very short a few moments prior while my bro was getting a pic with T-Wood. I explained to Gil that I wanted to prank my bro...so I told him when my bro comes over...pretend that he's pissed at him or something. To my shock, Gil totally went along with it.

My bro goes to get an autograph and is basically frozen. Gil stands up out of this chair he had been sitting in and says something like "yo I heard you were talking some mess...here I am...say it to my face" Im pretty sure Gil was the first fighter he had ever met. My bro was frozen, confused, and probably shitting his panties.Gil cracks a smile and says hes kidding. Gil signs his stuff and then hands him the championship bet sayin "here..go ahead and hold it...take a pic.." My brother thought it was a joke...he said no im not allowed to touch that shit...Gil again insisted and handed my little brother the belt again and told him to take a picture.Basically like demanding at this point...The rest of us were all in the line laughing at how scared shitless my little bro looked. But I was happy for him. Im pretty sure my little bro needed a change of undies after that incident...Tru story..

melendez - 

DarceJoke - Been a lurker for a bit and wasn't sure if I wanted to post, but since I read so many it reminded me of some of my encounters, so I will share....
1.) I was at the Fedor Werdum fight in San Jose when Fedor got subbed. My girlfriend and I had floor seats. After watching Fedor's head turn purple and he taps the crowd is completely silent and in shock. My girlfriend and I are screaming and freaking out because we realized that we just witnessed history. (both very drunk) There are some brazilian guys next to us waving their flag proudly and going crazy as well. We end up gravitating to each other and are all jumping around sharing our excitment with each other. They are wrapping the flag over us as we jump around frantically celebrating for like 2-3 minutes. As Werdum is walking down the walkway to exit to the back, the guys we are celebrating with jump the guard rail and begin to celebrate with Werdum and his corner... Turns out the guys were part of his team and train with him. I know it's wasn't a direct interaction with a fighter, but it was pretty awesome and ironic!
2.) I had met Gilbert at the same Strikeforce show and took a pick with him and told him I thought he was the baddest lightweight on the planet. Dude was super cool. But my drunk ass didn't save the picture I just took and it erased. After, Gilbert was swarmed with people and I just took it as a loss.
2.) I'm at a UFC in Aneheim and guys like Demarcus Johnson and Gilbert Melendez are walking around taking pics with people in the lobby. I (drunk again)see Brian Stann walking by. I go "Oh Shit Brian Stann" super loud.. Brian gives me the death stare and says, "Hey man, keep it down." and strolls away. It was hilarious.
3.) At the same Aneheim show I see people all around Gilbert, and I'm waiting patiently as he takes pics with fans. He then says, "all right guys sorry I gotta go." I'm right next to him and I tell him to hold up one sec and told him how I took a pic with him in San Jose and erased it, dude was awesome enough to talk to me for a sec and take a pic! Great experience.
4.) Back at the San Jose show I look up in the stands and see Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez sitting next to each other watching the Fedor fight. As soon a the fight is over, I see both guys break for the exit. I tell my chick, to hurry so we can catch them. They were sitting a lever higher than us, (don't ask why)... so we had to run up the stairs to catch them. Jon was wearing a teal Dethrone shirt, so as I get up to the lobby level he exits, I'm looking for that shirt. All of a sudden I see a camera flash behind a pillar and I spot that teal shirt. I go over and am like, "Jon real quick pic please." I could tell he was trying to escape and he was cool enough to stop and take the pic with us. He even took off his glasses. Simple gesture but I appreciated that... He was beardless lol

Gil is awesome. My little bro and I met him at an expo. My bro had never met anyone before so he was experiencing a sensory overload seeing all these guys walking to and fro. Gilberts line was terribly short as was Dan Cormiers. Gilber was hurt or something at that time-think it was a hand or arm injury. Anyways...prior to my bro going over to GIls line I had run over there when it was very short a few moments prior while my bro was getting a pic with T-Wood. I explained to Gil that I wanted to prank my bro...so I told him when my bro comes over...pretend that he's pissed at him or something. To my shock, Gil totally went along with it.

 

My bro goes to get an autograph and is basically frozen. Gil stands up out of this chair he had been sitting in and says something like "yo I heard you were talking some mess...here I am...say it to my face" Im pretty sure Gil was the first fighter he had ever met. My bro was frozen, confused, and probably shitting his panties.Gil cracks a smile and says hes kidding. Gil signs his stuff and then hands him the championship bet sayin "here..go ahead and hold it...take a pic.." My brother thought it was a joke...he said no im not allowed to touch that shit...Gil again insisted and handed my little brother the belt again and told him to take a picture.Basically like demanding at this point...The rest of us were all in the line laughing at how scared shitless my little bro looked. But I was happy for him. Im pretty sure my little bro needed a change of undies after that incident...Tru story..

DarceJoke - Been a lurker for a bit and wasn't sure if I wanted to post, but since I read so many it reminded me of some of my encounters, so I will share....
1.) I was at the Fedor Werdum fight in San Jose when Fedor got subbed. My girlfriend and I had floor seats. After watching Fedor's head turn purple and he taps the crowd is completely silent and in shock. My girlfriend and I are screaming and freaking out because we realized that we just witnessed history. (both very drunk) There are some brazilian guys next to us waving their flag proudly and going crazy as well. We end up gravitating to each other and are all jumping around sharing our excitment with each other. They are wrapping the flag over us as we jump around frantically celebrating for like 2-3 minutes. As Werdum is walking down the walkway to exit to the back, the guys we are celebrating with jump the guard rail and begin to celebrate with Werdum and his corner... Turns out the guys were part of his team and train with him. I know it's wasn't a direct interaction with a fighter, but it was pretty awesome and ironic!
2.) I had met Gilbert at the same Strikeforce show and took a pick with him and told him I thought he was the baddest lightweight on the planet. Dude was super cool. But my drunk ass didn't save the picture I just took and it erased. After, Gilbert was swarmed with people and I just took it as a loss.
2.) I'm at a UFC in Aneheim and guys like Demarcus Johnson and Gilbert Melendez are walking around taking pics with people in the lobby. I (drunk again)see Brian Stann walking by. I go "Oh Shit Brian Stann" super loud.. Brian gives me the death stare and says, "Hey man, keep it down." and strolls away. It was hilarious.
3.) At the same Aneheim show I see people all around Gilbert, and I'm waiting patiently as he takes pics with fans. He then says, "all right guys sorry I gotta go." I'm right next to him and I tell him to hold up one sec and told him how I took a pic with him in San Jose and erased it, dude was awesome enough to talk to me for a sec and take a pic! Great experience.
4.) Back at the San Jose show I look up in the stands and see Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez sitting next to each other watching the Fedor fight. As soon a the fight is over, I see both guys break for the exit. I tell my chick, to hurry so we can catch them. They were sitting a lever higher than us, (don't ask why)... so we had to run up the stairs to catch them. Jon was wearing a teal Dethrone shirt, so as I get up to the lobby level he exits, I'm looking for that shirt. All of a sudden I see a camera flash behind a pillar and I spot that teal shirt. I go over and am like, "Jon real quick pic please." I could tell he was trying to escape and he was cool enough to stop and take the pic with us. He even took off his glasses. Simple gesture but I appreciated that... He was beardless lol

bro you are like the 3rd person to talk about the Brian Stann stare of death. Seems that you love your alcohol. Im sure being at teh Fedor Werdum fight must have been amazing man. Still can't believe it went down that way but you cant be on top of the mountain forever. Since that time Fab has been on a real tear except for his Reem fight.

Funny you bring up Demarcus Johnson...he kissed my ex girlfriend once in a pic..gota dig that one up. Also, I didn't know this but Demarcus was also a Soldier. He did 4 years and got out before TUF. He was stationed with a Special Forces unit out of Fort Bragg which I thought was funny as hell to hear. He didnt sound like he enjoyed the Army very much. You always hear Goldie talking about the military service of other folks in the octogon but never Demarcus. Always found that odd. He talks about Randy being in the Army all the time.

Johnson was born and raised in West Jordan, Utah, he and his family were poor and lived in a bad part of the town.^[2] Johnson was primarily raised by his Mormon mother, as his father died when he was nine years old.^[2] Johnson attended and graduated from Kearns High School. In 2000, Johnson joined the United States Army and National Guard, an option given to him as a kid to get out of some trouble.^[2] Johnson worked in the S-1 and did paperwork for other Soldiers while assigned to a Special Forces Group.

See???

Johnson worked in the S-1 and did paperwork for other Soldiers while assigned to a Special Forces Group......This part is pretty much positively bullshit..but who knows...