Issue 098

February 2013

Rollin’ with the busiest man at any UFC event, who never watches a single fight

Q&A - One 5 minute round

You’re the busiest man in the UFC, especially on fight night as the UFC’s site coordinator, but are there ever days when you get overwhelmed? 

“I got a Burt-ism, which someone shared with me once that I believe in, and it’s this: ‘What you think about you bring about.’ So I don’t think about that s**t. I know that it’s a part of the process and I know what needs to get done and it’s a fun part of what I do. I have been doing this for almost 12 years now. It’s not hard work in as much as it’s something I like doing.”

You must have witnessed some crazy shenanigans backstage at events. Anything you can share?

“It’s amazing what goes through a fighter’s head during all the pre-fight rituals. I had a situation where I walked into a guy’s room once, and I usually check guys, I check their gloves, I check their fingernails, their buckets to see if there is stuff that’s not supposed to be in there. I went to do a cup check on a guy, I didn’t just check, I hit him down there and he didn’t have a damn cup on. I cracked him. I was like, ‘Oh!’ And he looked at me like, what the hell did you just do? So he had to go put a cup on, in pain no less, right before he walked out to the cage.”

What is the most memorable post-fight exchange you ever had with a fighter or camp?

“I wear all UFC gear now, but there was a time when I went to fights in a suit, and I mean a nice suit, something I paid a little bit of money for, all slick daddy. I was walking a guy to the cage and as we were walking, a guy who had just won the previous fight came running up to me, hugging and kissing me and when I got the other fighter to the cage and got in the light I had the other fighter’s body print all over my suit. I had a body on my body! That was the last time I wore a nice suit. It had sweat, man funk, blood and everything on it.”

Since your arrival at UFC 30 what’s been the single most amazing thing you’ve seen as far as the growth of the UFC?

“The most amazing thing is the ability the UFC has to maintain that bond between the athlete and the fan. In any sport right now you can’t touch the superstar athletes. You can’t get close to them. You see them on television, but if you see them walking around the hotel you can’t get close enough to put your hands on them or get a photo with them. We have 5,000 people at the weigh-ins now and that amazes me. To see how the UFC has maintained that camaraderie between the superstar athletes and fans is amazing. Another thing I really like is Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta never once tried to tell me how to do my job. They have always let me do my job. Is it hard work? Hell yeah. Is it a lot of work? Hell, hell, hell to the hell yeah. We do four shows a month.”

Doesn’t it get a little crazy?

“Yeah, sure does, but we do crazy pretty damn well.”