Has anyone here sat ringside?

[chinarice]

.

No bs. The atmosphere alone of Wrestlemanua was amazing.

We actually got free tickets to Mania from Chris Nowinski as my sister did his official fan page way back in the day. We got to go out and have supper with his family as well.

It was a great time.

 

[Reptile_Bong_Hit]

I've been to a live event, and I think the best seats in the entire building are actually about 10 feet above the octagon, center stadium. If that makes any sense.

Of course, this depends on the facility. The stadium I attended was in a smallish city.

 

[Kwic]

Paying thousands of dollars to then see the base of the octagon and the camera men sounds like steal. The ringside chairs should be higher or something. Or the ring should be lowered down like a pit lol.

 

[eiyuu]

I think that mayor knew it was going to get legalized eventually and just held out for a bigger pay day.

Wasn't the mayor holding MMA up.

It was a NY state congressman who was in the pocket of the foodworkers' union who kept holding it up since they had a beef with the Fertittas and Station Casinos.

It wasn't until that congressman was arrested for corruption that the vote on legalizing MMA in NY happened:

The Culinary Workers Union 226 of Las Vegas has done anything it can to harass UFC co-owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta because their gaming company, Stations Casinos, is non-union. The union has actively worked against the UFC, which is 90 percent owned by the Fertitta brothers, as retaliation.

 

[Joshuaace]

Sat behind Felder and Punk at Cejudo/Moraes. I prefer the bottom half of the 100 level for viewing as a fan.

I saw a Sherbro propose that the 3 judges should be cageside in elevated chairs looking over the top of the cage.(think Umpire chair in Tennis.
I really like the idea. Put them with an unobstructed view of the action, while giving the fans a good view of the judges. Give the Judges a better view, and hope that their faces being on camera more leads to greater accountability.

 

[Ace70 V2]

I photographed fights for IFL and Bodog. These were rings so I leaned on the apron to take the photos.

I was so spoiled by doing that for free,that I didnt really want to go to events as a regular schmuck and sit in the nosebleeds. I still go to local smaller events though.

IFL was awesome. Sounds like you've had some really cool mma experiences.

 

[fedorthegoat777]

Its a cool view, specially if ur right behind Dana w/ a big boxing event happening on the same night...2 for the price of 1

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Should have tossed things at his bald head

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

How good a view do the judges actually have?

There's an article approving 7 inch lcd monitors in Nevada but that's still small af.

Are you able to see things clearly or is there a ton of obstruction in the form of pillars, cameras and camera men, fencing, etc.?

I remember one of the judges from Shogun Machida I saying, after rewatching the fight, that he would have scored a round differently and would have given the round, and therefore the fight, to Shogun. Unfortunately, he said he couldn't see some stuff that was happening because of a "pillar" (I'm guessing he meant the post that the fencing is attached to).

This is an extension of the judging thread. I wonder how much of an impact visual blockage can happen.

I sit on the floor, usually the first 10 rows. I still spend a lot of time looking at the monitors. The ref can get in the way quite a bit.

 

[VinceArch]

If only they could let PPV buyers vote electronically on the score cards whenever it goes to a split decision. 1 last chance for the general paying audience to set the record straight. But then Republican fight fans would start crying about rigged votes.

The democrats would cry about the voting system itself. Cry about electoral college and show their racism somehow.

Christ on a cross, keep the politic bullshit out.

 

[ChimRichalds]

I photographed fights for IFL and Bodog. These were rings so I leaned on the apron to take the photos.

I was so spoiled by doing that for free,that I didnt really want to go to events as a regular schmuck and sit in the nosebleeds. I still go to local smaller events though.

That's a cool fucking gig, sherbro. Must have been a great experience.

 

[m249viking]

If only they could let PPV buyers vote electronically on the score cards whenever it goes to a split decision. 1 last chance for the general paying audience to set the record straight. But then Republican fight fans would start crying about rigged votes.

Yeah, because USA government has proved itself as honest and trustworthy sooooo many times.

 

[CasualBot]

Judges should be watching on multi-cams, large HD screens, running at .75 - .8 speed, a crew ready with real time replay,
and ultimately more time between rounds.

The idea that hockey, golf, all sports make better usage of replays/judging/reffing/scoring. They stop action and take the time.

In fighting, a stop is bad... but they still get one every few minutes, on dick kicks, etc...

Judging in MMA seems easily rigged, based on the glaring holes (addressed above).

 

[RemyR]

I sat 3rd row from front for Halloway vs Aldo. It was I n the same level as ringside. Like others said it's kind of hard to follow if they hit the ground in some areas but overall it's a cool experience. Gaethje vs Alveraz was fucking bonkers to witness ringside. The tickets were a gift though not sure how much they charge for seats that close but I'm sure they're expensive now so not sure I'd do that again.

As a side note Joe Rogan's bald head is distractingly shiny.

 

[smart.feller]

I haven't been ringside at a UFC event, but I have been for smaller orgs. The view sucks. The elevated cage makes it extremely difficult to see what is going on if things hit the ground on the far side of the cage. I totally understand why judges can screw it up with a restricted view. As for sitting cageside, feeling/hearing the 360 degree roar of the crowd is pretty cool, though. Best view I ever had was probably sitting mid-level at the Blaisdell Arena in Hawaii...small place, about 8,000 seats and the Hawaiians are passionate about their MMA. Fights took place in a ring, and being slightly elevated allowed an unobstructed view of the whole thing. Best experience was having regular box seats to WEC events at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento when I was dating a politically connected woman. I'd get to share beers with Sacramento Kings players while we took in the fights, and had Jake Shields pop his head in a few times. Last time I went to some fights was Anthony Smith vs. Josh Neer in Omaha, Nebraska for VFC 47, another smaller place, Houston Alexander was sitting in the row behind me.

 

[Lawrence]

I photographed fights for IFL and Bodog. These were rings so I leaned on the apron to take the photos.

I was so spoiled by doing that for free,that I didnt really want to go to events as a regular schmuck and sit in the nosebleeds. I still go to local smaller events though.

I used to attend really obscure regional events in Beloit Wisconsin in an abandoned mall. We had fold up chairs and tables and were very close to the cage. No Jumbotron, and we missed some stuff, but it was very fun and we went every time they had an event.

I went to a Fight Night in Austin a couple years ago because Cowboy and Black Beast were both on the card. We were not close to the cage and the Jumbotron was necessary for most of it. I don't think I'll go to another UFC event live unless there is something very compelling and affordable nearby.

 

[HHJ]

That's a cool fucking gig, sherbro. Must have been a great experience.

Yes indeed,im always grateful for those times. Met and interviewed alot of fighters.

 

[Luthien]

I saw @BoxerMaurits in France I still think

 

[ChimRichalds]

Yes indeed,im always grateful for those times. Met and interviewed alot of fighters.

Nice, man. Any big names, or names we would know? Either way, that's cool as fuck.

 

[mahavishnunj]

I've gone to 2 ufc events

I much prefer watching from home, to be honest

Pro wrestling is much more fun to watch live than MMA is IMO

This is why I will never go to a live MMA event. Every friend of mine that has gone to one says they would way rather have watched it at home.

 

[HHJ]

Nice, man. Any big names, or names we would know? Either way, that's cool as fuck.

I met too many to count,but off the top of my head I actually interviewed:
Fedor
Randy Couture
Frank Shamrock
Bill Goldberg
Don Frye
Pat Miletich
Mauro Ranallo
Frank Trigg