UFC 100 Thoughts

What a great weekend it was. The UFC fan EXPO had like 35,000 amazing fans who knew their favorite fighters and personality were in the hall. My trip to the EXPO seemed like a whirlwind. I was picked up by the owner of Warrior Wear, Nathan, at the airport and ushered to the Warrior Wear booth. The expo hall was full of brands you see on fighters and brands that I had never seen before. The hall was packed and I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Then looking down I notice my amazing wife is with me and realized I will be fine.

The first hour or so the line just kept growing. I could not really tell how long it was but Nathan said he thought the line for autographs at our booth was 1/4 mile long. Lani told me the lines would make Walt Disney smile they were that long. Every fan I met was so awesome, they were as pleased to meet me as I was them. No one complained about the wait.

After a long day of meet and greets i headed to my room for a quick change and refresh. We headed to dinner with Nathan and his crew and it must have been midnight before we were done with dinner. In Colorado we would have never found a steak house open till midnight, but this place was just starting to get busy. Vegas is very surreal.

After dinner I tried to track down this Sirrius reporter my manager had asked me to do an interview with, it was too late and he was not answering his phone. We decided to call it a night and get ready for a long Saturday.

Saturday we woke up and I can't even remember the order of the booths I went too. I think I started at Nightrider Jewelry. Nightrider has made a line of Jewelry inspired by me so I went over to lend my hand and help them introduce the line to the fans. Nightriderjewelry.com if you want to check it out.

I then went over to the Demented Customs booth for MTX Audio. Those guys were showing of Keith Jardine and Rashads vehicles that they had restored. I have a 66SS El Camino I may have them do, but I want to be sure to keep it classic.

From their it was back to the Warrior Wear booth. I know I was their till at least 2:30 because the UFC started calling my cell about me being late to the booth. My manager told them I might be late and if I was it was because I was servicing fans at the Warrior Wear booth. At around 2:45 I was able to make it to the UFC booth and I signed there up until the prelims began.

The fight card was great. Tom Lawlor's walkout was hillarious. He backed that goofyness up too which will endure him tot he fans. CB did not TAP and that is one way to go about changing what people say about you. Mark Coleman showed that no matter the age you can always out workk the young wippersnappers. Sexyamya won the hearts of Italian fans world wide.

The main card did not let us down. Each match was put together perfectly and in the end the fans got to see a great display of technique, talent and heart. I cannot say I was surprised by anything that night other then Brock's reaction to beating a very tough Frank Mir. Frank is a legend and a great guy who got out powered not out classed. The sponsor issue, you need to talk to your manager not the fans or Dana.

The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion. The fans are why we do this Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama it is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did last night. It doesn't matter how much money you make if you can't earn your peers respect and the respect and love of the greatest sporting fans in the world. We have no scripts in this sport, no pre-determined earning amount and no pre-determined outcomes. It doesn't matter if you win or loose it matters how you win or loose.

Every autograph I give, every hand I shake I am thankful that you give me the opportunity to be a part of your world. This is the greatest sport int he world and most of the athletes in it deserve the love and respect they get and some just dont get it.

From leaving the venue all the way to the Airport I have had fans of the sport ask me to take out Brock Lesnar for them. The thing is I have a very tough fight ahead of me that IMO is every bit as tough and talented as Brock. Cain is no joke and he may have had a tough fight against Kongo but I got rocked against Gonzaga. Fact is we are at the top of the HWT division and anyone we fight moving forward is going to be a real test. Cain is nothing short of a super athlete with amazing wrestling and he trains with one of the best camps in the country. I am sure Joe Silva told Cain the same thing he told us, winner gets the title shot. Cain is not looking past me he is looking right at me as the person that is in his way from potentially one of the greatest opportunities of his life and mine.

I have said what I have to say about Brock. He will make sure the world knows who he is and what he is all about. I ask that you my fans and the fans of Cain give this fight its due. You would never see two rising undefeated stars put together in Boxing so enjoy this fight. Two warriors with wills to win and the skills to do so are going to show those watching UFC 104 what the future of the sport will look like. Tune in and support Cain and I.

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Comment by Seth on July 19, 2009 at 7:41pm: And to Joe and whoever else, i guess your jus another example of someone who has no clue about fighting and knows nothing about shane either. Who cares if he was a wrestling champ or possible nfl star, Shane had a chance at the nfl from what i understand before an injury and was a fully decorated collegiate wrestler jus like Brock...Shane trains in high altitude of denver so what does he need to know about athleticism? lol And guess what Brock did get beat quite a few times in college wrestling so he is not invinsible. He has no standup ability as we have seen, and brock even admitted that he saw birds for a second when mir landed that knee, He is not invisible and i guess you all will see that when the better fighter in shane carwin takes him out. Dont come on this site to put down shane cuz he is a real champion and the future....And do me a favor joe and all others, WATCH MORE FIGHTS before you talk.

Comment by Seth on July 19, 2009 at 7:29pm: Love watching you fight man, you're really a great, respectful and humble person and definitely deserve to hold that belt up more than the current jerk, i mean champ, some time in 2010. I totally agree with you on the lesnar issue. Too many fighters work their butt off sacrificing, living out of their cars and going through many tough times to get where they are...And then some idiot that is already loaded jus walk's right into a career and gets the title after jus 3 fights and THEN acts disrespectful to the fans and all the fighters before him who made the sport what it is and GAVE him the chance to even get that belt in the first place. Makes me sick and can't wait for you to bash him. Cain is a tough guy but i do believe you got this one having a good standup like you do and intense power as you do....But good luck, just counting the days until 104! You've made me a fan and i will watch every fight you compete in. Peace and good luck man. -Seth

Comment by Vince mendoza on July 17, 2009 at 1:22pm: I support everything you do for the sport and the fans Shane.Your right Cain is not looking past you,but right at you as you should him,he is the one standing in our way to see you get the opportunity of becoming a HW Champion.A champion you are,it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to see in training again and thank you for the advise you gave me when we met.Good luck against Cain I will be praying for you and your family.Hope to see you at Easton BJJ training again.

Comment by Joe Smithslaggle on July 17, 2009 at 11:00am: Good luck beating Brock. He is a freak of nature. He not only has the athleticism to be a D-1 national championship collegiate wrestler, but also play in the NFL. He is a showman and I applaud him for putting on a show. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and you have made yours known. I would be more worried about Brock breaking bones in your face, than I would about his comments or his showmanship. Train hard, you will need it. If you focus too much on his words and not his abilities, you will probably get seriously hurt.

Comment by Helen Petras on July 16, 2009 at 2:34pm: I look forward to all the ufc fights. Each and everyone. As I have since their inception. I think it makes lots of sense to take each fight in stride. Cain is a really solid fighter but that doesn't mean that your fans aren't looking ahead to seeing you teach Brock what training and mma skills are all about. I'm old school martial arts and his attitude makes him unworthy to be a role model to so many up and coming fighters. His mother forgot to teach the poor boy some manners. We hope you can!

Comment by Helen Petras on July 16, 2009 at 8:59am: I agree with Bronzehip. Respect is to be earned. I've been watched the UFC since it's infancy and a good fighter is a good fighter but every so often someone behaves in a manner that shows they need a lesson in humility. Lesnar needs that message in a big way. Perhaps it's because he's never been a martial artist. Perhaps it's because he's just an oversized bully. Either way round he doesn't represent the sport well and I look forward to seeing Lesnar face someone his own size who has skill. It might cause some serious shrinkage! Train hard, Shane!!

Comment by Kay Lee Ahnemann on July 15, 2009 at 11:16pm: Shane, I hope that you get the chance to beat Lesnar and show him how to win with class. BTW, I was born in Greeley at General Hospital! Good luck, Kay Lee.

Comment by adam mclean on July 15, 2009 at 8:28pm: hey Shane
Immediately after Lesner started his post Mir K.O ranting, I thought of you showing him a bit of humility via your fist to his big dumb chin

Comment by Thomas Leonard on July 15, 2009 at 5:54pm: Well said by my wife, Bronzehip. Brock said it all in the pre-fight interview. He doesn't respect any opponent or have anything good to say about any of them. He's been back and forth on this respect issue since day one. He respects, he doesn't respect. BS! How can you not respect a class act like Randy Couture or someone as brave as Frank Mir who was on an awesome comeback trail from a horrible motorcycle accident before UFC 100. The respect these fighters give each other is genuine and Brock's just sounds fake and scripted. There would be no cage fighting without opponents, duh. The other competitors are what make any fighters career. It takes courage, hard work, time and dedication to get into and be successful at cagefighting. Fighters fight to win, to test themselves, they fight for the fans and their families and to one day be a champion or leave a legacy. They DO NOT fight to hurt, cripple, or humiliate each other. This is the kind of respect I am talking about and the respect Lesnar lacks. Carwin matches up well with Brock and will hopefully teach him a little about respect after he beats Valesquez.