LAS VEGAS — The story at Thursday’s UFC 300 pre-fight press conference was one of nose and ears. That makes sense. What else can you expect when you bring together so many accomplished fighters, all at different phases of their careers, in one place for a special event?
Former featherweight champion Max Holloway, whose nose seems to get bigger and wider every year, marking his time in the sport like tree rings. His opponent, Justin Gaethje, with his own lumpy beak that makes his voice sound like a permanent cold every time he speaks.
Then there were Arman Tsarukyan’s mutilated ears (and nose). And college wrestling star Bo Nickal, whose ears protrude from his head like the handles of a cup, both a warning sign and a strong indicator of what he’d like to do once out the door. cage closed Saturday evening. And Renato Moicano’s nose, which slowly spreads across his face like a conquering army taking over.
Seeing them all on the press conference stage reminded us that no one comes out of this sport unscathed. And yet, with the biggest UFC event of the year on deck, they still did their best to polish the bodies and faces that paid the price of admission time and time again.
Even though the UFC 300 lineup was criticized by disappointed fans and media when it was finalized, seeing the full breadth of fighting skills and experience brought together in one place managed to make understand the magnitude of this event. When former champions fight in the first preliminary bout of the night, you know it’s bound to be a big fight.
Even the main event, which didn’t quite live up to UFC President Dana White’s promise of being a truly “crazy” clash, nonetheless generated a bit of heat once the fighters came together on stage.
Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill showed up with a miniature battered and bloodied Easter Island head that he presented as a promise of things to come for Alex Pereira on Saturday night.
“This is just to familiarize myself with the visual that I plan to see on Saturday night,” Hill said to a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance.
It was the only moment of the day when defending champion Pereira did not need to wait for the Portuguese translation to speak. He didn’t even have to wait to be asked for an answer.
“I’m going to remind him of that moment when I’m on walkout, about to go to the Octagon, and my music is playing,” Pereira said, through an interpreter. “I’ll remind him of that moment.”
And with that, the fuse for the UFC 300 main event was lit. Hill fired back, addressing Pereira for the first time, urging the champion to “write it down, take a picture, I don’t care.”
“You get in there with me, there’s nothing to say,” Hill continued. “There is nothing to say. Everything is fine here, and I’m on your ass.
Nothing excites a crowd at a press conference like two men promising to hurt each other in a memorable way. This is especially true when many people in that crowd also paid large sums of money for tickets to see these men perform that Saturday.
The line to get into this event stretched across the entire MGM Grand casino Thursday afternoon – and that was just to see people talking about the upcoming fights. Waiting for this meant meandering through the parts of the casino that smelled of perfume, then through the parts that reeked of cigarette smoke, past the food court with its mix of fried aromas, and entering an arena that begged for nothing. ‘to you. pour your overpriced margarita into the plastic cups provided. And yet, no one in line seemed to question whether it was all worth it.
What you really enjoy about a fight card like this is how known all the fighters present are. No hikers or lesser known people. Not on UFC 300. Fans of this sport, they know the history and the stakes of each fight on this card. The mere mention of a fighter’s name during the press conference clearly showed what the masses thought of that person. (“Question here for Charles Oliveira…” received big applause each time, while questions for his opponent, Tsarukyan, were almost drowned out by the boos that followed the pronunciation of his name.)
A sense of space was also present in the room with us. Jim Miller, who fought at UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300, has been a living reminder of the long road he has traveled to this point. Moicano couldn’t help but celebrate the fact that he watched those first two Centennial events on the couch and was now going to be a part of UFC 300 history.
Moments like this, where the moment is big enough to make the fighters themselves look like fans, don’t come around that often. But neither do events like this. And everyone who experienced the thrills and anxieties of the first 299 knows that the next century will not come without the price being paid by all those who brought us there.
