There is no charge for Awesomeness: The UFC Macau Experience

As most people viewing Balls Channel here in the Philippines know, I was one of the winners selected for the UFC Macau Ultimate Fan Experience. It was an online contest where on just had to answer a simple question and get a chance to fly to Macau and watch a UFC event live. The news itself that I won was overwhelming, but it would not compare to what was in-store for  me and my brother when we finally arrived in Macau.

Balls Channel Ultimate Fan Experience Macau

At the NAIA terminal 2 we met up with the representatives from Balls Channel and Boom Gonzales the host of Game Day. (Side note, hanging out with Boom was awesome, it was really great hanging with a guy who you could talk about any sport with).



Arrived at Cotai Central where the Holiday Inn was located.



Bumped into Chuck "The Iceman" Liddel at the food court. 

Upon arriving at the Macau Airport at around 10 in the morning, we we're greeted by our tour guide and brought to the Holiday Inn at the Cotai Central. We weren't able to do an early check-in so we decided to get some lunch instead. Then, when we were looking for some grub at the foodcourt we bump into the legendary "Iceman" Chuck Lidell.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to check-in and freshen up a bit before attending the autograph signing and the weigh-ins for the fights.



Chuck signing my UFC Encyclopedia

  

With the "California Kid".

Kenny "Kenflo" Florian at the weigh-ins.

Me and my bro with Uriah Faber.

At the weigh-ins, we were treated not only to the entire weigh-in program, but also we were brought backstage to check out the OCTAGON and take more pictures.

  

With Chuck inside the Octagon

It was a great first day in Macau, and even though we were a bit sleepy due to the trip the "MMA High" kept us strong and awake as we really wanted to take the entire experience in and make the most of our time there.



Stuff I got signed the first day

On the second day we went on a tour of Macau. We were brought to the well know tourist spots in Macau, like the Macau tower, the Golden Lotus Square, St. Paul Ruins, and the Ama Temple among other places. It was also, our chance to buy "pasalubong" at our tour guide led us to the place where we could buy such items. We even bumped into Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres during our visit to the St. Paul Ruins.





  

With the group at the Golden Lotus Square



  

Checking out the Macau Tower

  

With Bruce Leeroy



 Me and my bro at the Ama Temple



 After the tour, we once again retreated to our hotel rooms to rest and relax so we can be ready to watch the fight later that evening. Then finally, it was time to catch the fights.

It's Time!!!



Fight time has arrived and all I can say is it was just how I imaged it plus more. From hearing Bruce Buffer live to hearing the roar of the crowd and the thunderous leg kicks, it was overwhelming and at time is still could not believe I was there. My brother and I were both rooting for Rich Franklin as he has been one of our favorite fighters ever since we started watching the UFC and MMA, so you would have seen our behest when he was knocked out by Cung Le in the first round.



With my bro at the fight.



With Game Day host Boom Gonzales





With the Balls channel pips and the other winners.



The winner Jon Tuck, been watching him in the PXC.

After the fights, there was an after party, we went by and checked it out but there wasn't much going on during that time, so instead my brother and I headed to the Cotai Arena entrance where the fights took place and saw if we could by chance meet some of the fighters, which we actually did as we got some pictures with the fighters and I was also able to get Dong Jung Kim, Tiago Silva and Alex Caceres to sign my UFC Encyclopedia. We also saw the ring girls and Bruce Buffer but unfortunately the were in too much of a hurry to indulge us. We waited until 3am in what might be a chance to see Rich Franklin but concluded that he must have been brought to the hospital due to the devistating knock out he suffered in the main event.

The Stun Gun

With Jon Tuck

The next day we had a free day and spent most of the day at the Venecian hoping to still bump into some fighters, (still hoping to bump into Rich Franklin and possbily Jon Fitch as he cornered Riki Fukuda) but to no avail.



Just making the most out of our trip.



The entire experience was amazing and I cannot begin to express how much it means to me that I was one of the ultimate fans that Balls Channel to go to through this journey. I really soaked it all up and wouldn't have traded anything for it. So again, thank you Balls Channel, you've made an impression in me in a very big way, more power to you and you've not only brought the UFC to the Philippines but continue to bring much more.

Kenny Florian tapped as color commentator for UFC broadcasting '2nd team'

Kenny "KenFlo" Florian has officially been tapped the color commentator for the UFC's second broadcast team.

UFC officials have confirmed the news that Florian, a current UFC fighter and three-time title challenger, debuts with play-by-plan man and fellow recent hire Jon Anik at Friday's UFC on FX 1 event.

Anik and Florian will handle all broadcast duties not taken by the primary team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Most of the "B team's" events will air on FX, such as Friday's show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, and FUEL TV. Both are FOX-owned channels that have taken over the smaller UFC events that previously aired on Spike TV and Versus.

Florian, 35, is no stranger to the broadcast booth. He has previously hosted "MMA Live" on ESPN (with Anik) and now anchors "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV (with Todd Harris), previously has filled in for Rogan. For example, when "Fear Factor" taping prevented Rogan from attending this past August's UFC 134 event, Florian filled in as the night's color commentator.

"It's really a vision I had since we started working on 'MMA Live' together – that'd we'd be calling UFC fights together," Anik said. "I just really think he's such a natural at it, and he's got a gift of simplifying things. ... He's going to make my life much easier."

In addition to Florian, fighters such as Frank Mir, Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar were considered for the open broadcaster's slot (and could still be used in the future).

Recently, Florian has hinted at a possible retirement from fighting due to a back injury, but he hasn't ruled out a return.

Florian (14-6 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who first joined the UFC as an undersized middleweight runner-up on "The Ultimate Fighter 1," twice fought for the lightweight title and once for the featherweight belt. Outside of title fights and title eliminators, he owns a 12-1 UFC record, which includes a 9-1 mark from 2005 to 2008.

For more on UFC on FX 1 keep your eyes glued.

Ken-Flo's Career could be Over

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight title challenger Kenny Florian may see his career as a mixed-martial-artist come to an abrupt end after suffering a back injury, according to an interview with the Boston Herald.

The 35-year-old suffered a lumbar herniated disc in his lower back while weight training late last year. An unsuccessful attempt at winning the 145-pound title against reigning champion Jose Aldo in October had Florian considering a move back to lightweight.

“It’s possible, unfortunately,” Florian said. “I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.”

If Florian is unable to continue competing due to the injury, there will always be a career as a commentator for the UFC. It's something he has done before, and many fans like to hear a new voice every once and a while. Events where Florian has commentated include UFC 83, Ultimate Fight Night 19 and UFC 134. He also has done commentator work for the WEC.

“It’s not good,” Florian continued. “That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.”

Florian's record stands at 14-6 with wins over Clay Guida, Takanor Gomi, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout. His attempts at UFC titles came against BJ Penn, Sean Sherk and Aldo.