Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NevadaBack in July of 2009, I went to Las Vegas, Nevada to take part of the very first UFC Fan Expo. The picture above was taken by myself when I was up there. It was a complete and total blast, and I was able to meet the following fighters:
Wanderlei Silva
Frank Trigg
Forrest Griffin
Josh Burkman
Keith Jardine
"Rampage" Jackson
Patrick Côté
Gabriel Gonzaga
Efrain Escudero
Marcus Davis
Kimbo Slice
... as well as Anne Rivera (former UFC Octagon Girl) and Arianny Celeste (UFC Octagon Girl). On top of all that, I was able to see in person:
Lyoto Machida
Martin Kampmann
Chuck Liddell
Randy Couture
Josh Koscheck
Gray Maynard
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Rashad Evans
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Frank Mir*
Georges St-Pierre*
Edith Labelle (former UFC Octagon Girl)
and many others...
(*Not a part of the UFC Fan Expo, but rather I walked past them in the Mandalay Bay hotel two days before UFC 100)
Now the second UFC Fan Expo has been anounced to take place from May 28-29, 2010, with UFC 114 taking place on May 29 afte the Expo's second day. President Dana White promised in a release announcing the event that the upcoming Fan Expo will take the concept "to the next level". More than 200 companies are expected to exhibit and will feature "apparel, electronic gaming, food and beverages, fight gear, fitness equipment and supplies, nutritional supplements, and lifestyle products."
If you missed the first Expo in 2009, or even if you were able to attend, the second will no doubt be just as great, if not better. Tickets are on sale now, so if you are a MMA and UFC fan, do yourself a favor and fly up to Vegas in May, 2010. You will not regret it.
Below is a short video of the first UFC Fan Expo, and what is expected of the second one in 2010, plus more.
video credits to mmafaze.com
