Fans take center stage during UFC International Fight Week
It is a fan expo after all. So, sometimes the fans steal the show.
Garey Faulkner might have been the star of the entire weekend and he's never fought a day in his life. But his beard. Oh, that beard.
Faulkner is a beard model (yes, that's a thing) in Cincinnati, where he works for the NFL's Bengals, among other companies. On Sunday, Faulkner's beard was curled up -- like Ian McCall's mustache -- and his face was painted red, white and blue with the letters "UFC" in black on his forehead.
"A lot of these guys have little beards, so they have beard envy when they see me," Faulkner told FOX Sports.
Faulkner, 31, is a huge UFC fan and has been since the early '90s. This was his first time at a UFC Fan Expo, yet as many fighters wanted to talk to him as vice versa.
"He's stealing the spotlight from everybody else," Faulkner's friend Kristen Holley joked.
While Faulkner was in all his glory sharing grooming tips with some of his idols, the fighters were happy to be there, too. Russell Doane fought at UFC 175 on Saturday night, beating Marcus Brimage, and a few hours later Doane was at a table signing autographs and taking pictures for a sponsor at the expo Sunday morning. Doane could have easily been relaxing after a hard-fought split decision victory. Instead, he was spending time with fans.
"There's nothing more to enjoy than a good expo and some good fans," Doane said.
It was a successful weekend for the UFC. Thousands of fans attended the expo, producing some long lines. If you wanted to get autographs from Georges St-Pierre or Chuck Liddell, you better have been prepared to wait three hours. The line to meet Cain Velasquez was over two hours, too.
It was a wild scene, but few people were complaining. Noah De La Calzada, a Las Vegas native, took his younger brother Yani, who wrestles for Bishop Gorman. De La Calzada said he ran into UFC featherweight Dustin Poirier, who was on his way out. Poirier was in a hurry, but more than accommodating.
Noah (left) and Yani De La Calzada at the expo.
"He got a photo not just with me, but also with my friend and my little brother," Noah said.
Yani was there for the expo's wrestling tournaments and many others were in attendance to compete in the Grapplers Quest championship. Sean Maghami of Orange County, who organizes Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments himself, explained that the expo has become home for one of the largest organized grappling tournaments in the country.
UFC president Dana White also said Saturday night that he wants the expo to feature high-level tournaments in all of the martial arts. There were also amateur MMA fights set up in regulation Octagon in the middle of all the action.
There was a whole lot going on. And every fan seemed to find something he or she was interested in.
"I like free samples," said Jee Kim of Los Angeles. "You know how many Quest bars we've gotten so far?"
