UFC 203: A First-Hand Account of Cleveland's UFC Debut
UFC 203 was an incredible event for Cleveland, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance on Saturday night.
After Cleveland, Ohio native Stipe Miocic claimed the UFC heavyweight championship this past May, the then titleless city final had something to cheer about. Their first champion since 1964, and you would be hard pressed to tell Clevelanders it didn’t count.
Then came the city’s minor league hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters, claiming their own championship in a four game sweep, and Cleveland was on the up-and-up. Yet still no championships in the three major sports (Ohio’s NHL team is in Columbus). Until one team did the impossible and came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA championship – I need not explain that one any further.
Before that happened though, the clamor grew louder and louder that Cleveland should host Miocic’s first title defense, being his hometown and all. Just weeks after Stipe emerged victorious, the news broke that Cleveland would host UFC 203, with Miocic defending his heavyweight title against Alistair Overeem.
The buzz surrounding it was incredible, and tickets to the event sold out less than a week after going on sale.
Just days before the fights were scheduled to take place, I was presented with an opportunity to buy an extra ticket and actually be in attendance for this historic event. A chance I could not pass up, and was lucky enough to take part in Cleveland’s first UFC experience. It was one I can truly say I will never forget.
While the UFC always does a good job of putting on a show for the PPV audience, there is no substitute for being in attendance. This is my account of what that night was really like, and some things that may not have come through on camera.
With a delayed start to the night after CB Dolloway lost his bout with an elevator, leaving only one early prelim fight, the Q managed to get relatively full for an early fight. As the crowd began filing in more and more, the excitement in the area was palpable, and building with every fight leading up to Stipe’s main event.
The first fight wrapped up, and Joe Rogan came out to do his usual post-fight interview. When Rogan appeared on the jumbo-tron, the entire place erupted and you could barely hear what Rogan was asking, or what Yancy Medeiros’ response was. It was clear from that moment on that this was going to be a special night.
As the prelims started, it was practically a full house already, and it seemed for the first three fights, everyone was just looking for a good fight, with no strong rooting interests. Then came the first Clevelander of the night: Jessica “Evil” Eye.
Even while riding a three-fight losing streak, the crowd was no less behind the hometown fighter as she came out, surprise surprise, Machine Gun Kelly and his song “Skate Cans.” The crowd was absolutely deafening, and elicited a loud cheer for every strike Eye landed.
When all was said and done, Bethe Correia walked out with a split decision, and unsurprisingly, boos rained down as the Brazilian was celebrating her win riding around on her coach’s shoulders and shaking her hips. I’m not lying when I say did not hear a word of her post fight interview, because the crowd was so loud.
In the main card, which at least in person, seemed to under-deliver as a whole, not taking into account Jessica Andrade’s and Stipe’s victory, the crowd was not shy about letting the fighters know when a fight was getting boring. Seeming to boo almost too quickly when there was a lull in action – take it easy on them though, it was first time UFC’s ever come to Cleveland and who can blame them for wanting exciting fights?
Perhaps the fight that caught the most flak, and deservedly so, was Urijah Faber’s fight against Jimmie Rivera, which left Rivera blind in one eye and with a sore nether-region.
In what might have been the second most anticipated fight of the night, CM Punk making his UFC debut against Mickey Gall, there was almost an even split of support between the two.
As Mickey came out to “Hey Mickey,” some around me booed, and some cheered, with the cheers still overtaking the hecklers. The same went for Punk, coming out to his WWE staple, “Cult of Personality.” One guy in front of me seemed to take exception to Punk’s presence though, silently flipping the bird toward the cage anytime CM Punk was introduced or in trouble, which was pretty much the whole fight.
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When Punk talked about his performance, saying, “Go hard or go home,” that same guy seemed to favor the latter, shouting something along the lines of “Go home then! Go back to WWE!” Others were more forgiving, and even seemed slightly disappointed that Punk didn’t make more of a fight out of it.
The Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne co-main event saw another split crowd, until the fight got started. After Werdum went after Browne when he was asking for a stoppage because of his broken finger, the crowd seemed to side with Browne the rest of the fight.
After the first round though, more than anything the crowd wanted more action, booing throughout most of the remainder of the fight. Werdum likely made a city’s worth of enemies though, after his post-fight actions of kicking trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, and needing to be restrained. Another situation where I could not hear a single word of his post-fight interview because of the boo-birds.
Finally, after hours of waiting, it was time for the fight everyone had come to see. As “Till I Die,” Stipe’s walkout song, hit, many were screaming with cheers, others were singing/shouting along; I happened to be a part of the latter group. When Bruce Buffer made his famous announcement of the fight, everyone called it out along with him.
Similar to the Eye/Correia fight, Cleveland left no question who the entirety of the house was pulling for that night, nearly drowning out Overeem’s introduction with boos, and Stipe’s with cheers. Chants of “Stipe, Stipe, Stipe,” or “Let’s go Stipe,” echoed throughout the building.
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When Stipe went on the offensive early, the crowd blew up, and in their mind already saw him with the belt still around his waist. After he was knocked down however, you could feel the fear and shock as they saw their champion tumble to the ground. Perhaps the second biggest cheer of the night though came after Miocic scrambled his way off the mat, and began swinging at Overeem again.
The cheering did not stop after that, with the crowd just waiting for him to put Overeem away. When that moment finally came – let me put it this way – I’ve been to every type of major sporting event in Cleveland, and I can honestly say I have never heard an area or stadium get as loud as it did then.
Stipe capped it off in the best way he could have, leading the crowd in three hearty “O-H-I-O” chants.
Cleveland showed that night that they can hold their own in terms of UFC fan bases, and hopefully that will not be the last time the Octagon makes an appearance in Quicken Loans Area.
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