XKL: Evolution 2 – Great Night of Fights
I know I don’t blog as often as I probably should. But what can you do? Things come up every day and it’s hard to find time. I have decided to write because of the amazing experience I had this past week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I flew to the City of Lakes to do play-by-play for the Xtreme Kombat League’s sophomore effort, Evolution 2: Mayhem in Minneapolis. The event was headlined by two former UFC and Pride veterans as Travis Wiuff met Jeff Monson. As a result of the nature of the card, I was excited to call the show live.
We arrived on Friday and headed to the weigh-ins, held at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, the same venue as the event. I knew all the fighters on the card including Yoko Takahashi, Brock Larson, Dave Menne and Drew Fickett. But when I started to see them step on the scales, it dawned on me. This is going to be a world-class MMA event. Understandably, I was super stoked. Although there were a few issues at the weigh-ins, the commission seemed satisfied and the show got a green light, which was a relief because you often see promotions release their cards on paper and never follow through with the same card.
After spending my night downing some suds and chatting with some of the fighters about Saturday’s card (I think I annoyed Jeff Monson’s wife with my drunken banter), I woke up and went over my notes to get myself ready for the broadcast. My friend Mauro Ranallo has often told me to be myself and have fun calling the fights. And that’s what I’ve tried to do whenever I get in front of the mic. Have fun. It’s live MMA and it’s hard to argue that there are many things more fun than watching live MMA. For me, anyway.
Before the show got started, I had a chance to sit and interview a few of the fighters including C.B. Dollaway (who was cornering Ray Steinbeiss) and former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne. But the real goods came when MMA journeyman Travis Fulton sat in the hot seat. If you don’t know the name, check it up on Sherdog.com. Travis Fulton has fought more MMA fights than anyone, and I mean anyone, in the world. He has competed in a staggering 252 professional bouts, which is more than Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz (too soon?) and Chuck Liddell combined.
I learned that Travis Fulton, despite what people say on the internet, is not a greedy money grubbing selfish fighter who is only out for himself and fights for a paycheck. Instead, I got a real down to earth, friendly guy who saved his pennies and is now a successful entrepreneur (Travis has a really great sense of humour). Fulton now just wants to make the most of his second go-around in MMA. As a matter of fact, he almost made it onto the Ultimate Fighter TV show, according to the “Iron Man” himself. Fulton was scheduled to fight in the second fight of the night against UFC and Rings veteran Brad Kohler.
If the name sounds vaguely familiar, that is because Kohler knocked out Steve Judson at UFC 22 in one of the best KOs in the history of the sport.
A few hours later, it was show time. I was told earlier that we would have a dry run before curtains and a production meeting before that. But that was tossed out the window because of timing and we had to get a move on. Despite a few minor issues such as a lack of monitor and headphones for me and my broadcast team, the show went as smoothly as one quite ever hope. The headphones wouldn’t have mattered if the crowd in the Target Center wasn’t so fu$%ing loud. It blew mind how the fans reacted to their hometown fighters. You would’ve sworn that when Brock Larson came walking out of the back, it was Brock Lesnar. The crowd went bananas.
The most thrilling part of the evening came when undefeated Shana Olsen met Japanese submission fighter Yoko Takahashi, who came all the way from Tokyo, Japan to take out one of Minnesota’s own. In an absolute thrilling battle, these two girls put on a hell of a show, forcing the fans into a screaming frenzy that still has my ears ringing.
I just wanted you all to know (For those of you who care what I say) that the event was such a well-produced show with a lot of great people behind it. Matchmaker Gavin Riddell obviously knows what he’s doing as every fight on the card was filled with explosive fireworks. Execs Shan Hasan and Dennis seem passionate about building the brand and putting on a top notch product that it is hard not to get excited when everyone wants the same goals. It was nice people, a great city and an electric night of fights that left a lasting impression on this MMA fan.
I know I am kind of rambling, but, I wanted to share some of my experiences from this past weekend at the XKL Evolution 2: Mayhem in Minneapolis because it was a blast and I thought someone might enjoy them even a fraction as much as I did. Keep up the good work XKL. Stay tuned to The Fight Network to watch the event in full. I’m sure you will be entertained.
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