So Long to "The Natural"

It's been a pretty good day here, all things considered. Class was good, lunch at Ruby Tuesdays (my first trip there) was good. Had a nap, kids were pretty good. THEBOY got to attend a birthday party AND eat supper at the Rainforest Cafe with a buddy.

***

Me, I was determined to watch UFC 57. On their website I stumbled across a list of places that are carrying the pay-per-view. Now, most of them were strip joints. But a short drive from here were a couple clothed options.

First I went to Gators. I should have known to just turn around when I had to park in the back of the hotel that's behind the restaurant AND some a**hole cut me off for the crappy spot AND there were goons with flashlights directing traffic in the parking lot. Yeeeeah. Inside it was crowded, smokey, and clearly not a good option for me. They weren't seating anyone; they just told me to do my best to find a seat somewhere.

Hooters here I come...

***

Really, it was a similar scene there. Parking lot was packed, and folks were overflowing out the front door. Yikes. As I went to put my name on the list some guy was really letting the hostess have it. Once I finally got to speak, she pointed me to a stool for the wait. I was fine. I could see the UFC broadcast on TVs all over the place, and I didn't mind waiting to be seated. It took about an hour.

***

Hooters, as I've mentioned, is a place I don't much like. I have been there four times now:

Late '90 I went to one in Austin with some buddies. There I discovered what a bad taste having my libido marketed to left in my mouth.

September 11, 2001. Yep. My commute to work got interrupted, and in my pre-cell phone days I suddenly found myself in need of a pay phone. I just made a call and split.

Late '04, when Hood worked some sort of radio broadcast there. I had iced tea, hung around for a bit and called it a night.

And tonight. Gotta say, the servers were not attractive. I think the row of deep fryers behind the bar is giving them all skin problems.

But they were nice enough, they accommodated me, and no one massaged my shoulders to try to get beer orders and tips out of me.

***

The card was a good one tonight. A few thoughts:

I like Nick Diaz, and probably shouldn't. He's kind of a trash-talking punk, but he usually surprises me at some point during a fight. Tonight he surprised me by getting knocked around for three rounds before losing a decision to a dominating Joe "Diesel" Riggs.

Hated to see Mike Van Arsdale lose like that. Babaloo's a tough cat though. Nothing against him, but Van Arsdale is a family name.

I liked seeing Justin Eilers lose like that though. He acted like a jerk at weigh-in, so I didn't mind seeing him take a face-down nap so early in the fight.

And Frank Mir looked all kinds of bad, even before he got cut and bled all over the place. He looked out of shape, unenthused, and just outmatched by Marcio Cruz.

***

Ah, the big fight of the night, of course, was Couture/Liddell 3. Hoo yeah. Man, the place was electric!

Chuck was the current champ, having defeated Randy last April with a decisive "I'm Batman" knockout (thanks for letting me borrow that phrase, Whit).

Randy's a class act all the way, and at 42 still a more-than-formidable fighter.

Chuck's Chuck. I like him too, actually, but at the end of the day, he's a mohawk-wearing brawler. He doesn't have any warm 'n' fuzzy qualities, and somehow Randy does. That's remarkable for a fighter.

Man I wanted Randy to win this thing, wanted to see him turn Chuck on his head like he did in their first matchup.

In round one they sized each other up just a bit too long, but they did swing some. Randy caught Chuck flush in the face with a punch at one point. I thought Chuck dominated that round slightly anyway, though, and he started Randy's nose to bleeding. Dang.

In round two it didn't take long. Randy slipped, and as he tried to regain his footing an opening was created. Chuck let him have it. Randy went to the canvas and Chuck hit him a few times before they stopped the fight.

***

Damn.

***

It wasn't quite the decisive, "hey where'd those five minutes go?" kinda knockout like last time. But it was a good stoppage, yes.

***

I couldn't hear so well in there, but I heard Randy thank God, tell everyone what an honor it is to face a great champion like Chuck, and announce his retirement effective immediately.

***

Bittersweet.

Randy Couture was the Cal Ripken, Jr. of his sport. If you don't happen to be familiar with Ripken, let me just clarify thusly: He dedicated himself to his sport, he was fair, classy, and knew when it was time to bow out. He lasted much longer in his sport than most, and is one of the greatest to ever set foot in the ring.

Definite Ripken parallels there.

***

I didn't have the heart to stick around and watch Paul Buentello, whom I like, face... somebody. Check, please.

***

It's not long until UFC 58. I had a good time pigging out at Hooters, but I hope I can find someplace better.

Ya'll have a good weekend.