Meant to write something about this earlier, but, better late than never ...
So, I got to Hooters really late. I'd been following the event's play-by-play on sherdog while I was at work, but it's just not the same as seeing it. Lesnar was finishing the first round pummeling Frank Mir when I walked in the door.
I saw Jerod Phillips, owner of Hanover-based MMA clothing company Tap or Sleep, who was with York County pro Biff Walizer and amateur fighter Casey Bush. Biff was his usual smiling self, despite enduring a recent operation on his face, following his last fight. Casey, a bit frustrated by his debut fight(s) getting cancelled, was looking ahead to future prospects of getting in the cage.
I also ran into Jimmy "Shrapnel" Chappell, who trains with Daniel Beleza at Academy of Combative Arts in York. Jimmy won at the first Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge, pulling the fastest submission of the night. At WKU Warrior Challenge in the Poconos, he won with another armbar, this one also in the first round. Next, he takes on Logan Estep this Saturday at the CPWC II at Wisehaven.
So, once again, it was great to see the MMA community coming together for some fights. The place was packed, probably the tightest I've ever seen it, most likely because of the draw that is Brock Lesnar.
A word on Lesnar - I was rooting for him and really didn't take offense to anything he did or said after the fight - the double middle fingers, etc. Matter of fact, I thought it was funny. You gotta remeber this guy came from pro wrestling, so he knows how to work a crowd up. He's got half the crowd loving him, the other half hating him. Everybody's got some kind of opinion on him, and that's the way they work it in pro wrestling. It's called heat, whether it's postive or negative, it doesn't matter. And as we all know, heat puts asses in the seats, and ultimately, makes the sport grow.
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