Today’s TUF Finale Weigh-ins were um, weigh-ins. Guys taking their clothes off then facing each other. Most fighters didn’t even pose on the scale, hopping off as soon as their weights were read. Even Kimbo, long-time acquaintance back from our EliteXC days, only looked down in surprise to see he came in three pounds under and marched right off. Not even a 305 hand gesture or fist by golden fist. Bummer.
Luckily, Justin Wren remembered that TUF is a TV show about entertainment and showed up in leopard print underwear. The Octagon Girls, and even opponent Jon Madsen, broke into laughter. Mark Bocek sported fairly fashionable undergarments as well. Oh, and Roy Nelson had a great pose on the scale.
What kept my attention throughout the weigh-ins were Joe Rogan’s endless expressions, my favorite being his reaction to John Howard’s dizzying haircut and his impression of the Mark Hammill and Jon Jones face-off, noting to the crowd, “Weirdest face-off ever.”
I made the rookie mistake (yep, my first show at the Palms) of not just busting into the aisle or jumping across to the fighter seats (that were centered with the ever important face-off shot) we were barred from since well, they’re the fighter seats, so I missed a lot of faces and had a weird angle on the shots.
I think sometimes I let my mind wander too much as well, having staked out the best seat for the situation two hours early. Perhaps all that time switching between my phone’s twitter and New York Times apps was slowly sinking my shooting eyes into a lull. I need to remember to kick it in gear, no matter what my frame of mind coming into each event. Sorry guys, I’ll try not to make that mistake next time. In any case, these are really just photos of the weigh-ins, nothing amazing — except the ones I noted already.