UFC on Fuel TV: What It Really Feels Like to Sit Cageside

OK, where do I begin?

Do I start by explaining the feeling you get when you walk past an intimidating structure like the Octagon, or do I begin by stressing my love for the beautiful Brittney Palmer, who's even more jaw-dropping in person?

Quite honestly, I could go either route. 

UFC's recent mainstream exposure on Fuel TV was not only a success in the eyes of MMA enthusiasts, but the overall five-hour spectacle pulled and squeezed every emotion out of this first-time onlooker.

Live, the UFC is borderline unbeatable.  Most sports simply can't equate to sitting 12 feet from a spotlighted cage, in front of over 10,000 ready-to-erupt fans and watching two professionals go toe-to-toe for as long as it takes.

Now, I've never had the fortune of attending the Super Bowl, or a big-time professional championship such as that, but I'm assuming those are the only type of outlets capable of matching the ferocity and damn-near gall of sitting cageside while trying to sneak a peek at fighters you usually pay $44.99 to watch.

An event so full of rage, compassion, perseverance and an overall beauty, is only explainable under the umbrella of mixed martial arts. It has become one of the fastest-growing entities around the world, and for me, it has seemingly manifested itself to become the most satisfying sport to view live, journalist or not.

As a first-time UFC reporter, having already grown accustomed to the journalistic mindset through years of covering University of Tennessee sports, nothing could prepare me for the night-long battle that ensued on Tuesday night.

Quite frankly, I often found myself too awestruck to maintain the professional facade that writers and reporters are required to put forth. It was hard to think like a journalist when I was looking on as a fan.

Camera-phone snapshots? I don't think so. Cheering for one specific fighter? Can't do that either, though one can't help but entertain the thoughts.

I know it goes against everything media personnel stands for in terms of maintaining objectivity and professionalism, but it's hard not to open presents on Christmas morning. That's exactly how it felt.

Whether it was seeing sweat and blood catapult off fighter's faces after absorbing a flying knee to the cranium, or trying not to smile every time Bruce Buffer introduced a fighter, Tuesday night was an unstoppable force. Like a race horse jolting out of the gate, the action was flawless from start to finish.

Sure some fights didn't go the way they should have, attributed to nights put forth by an out-matched Jeremy Stephens and an uncharacteristic Amir Sadollah (albeit in a win), but for the hoards of people that piled into the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA, nothing was put to waste.

From bell to bell, fans stampeded in their seats to gauge the action as it swiftly shifted from one side of the Octagon to the other. Jockeying for position, I had the great opportunity of starring at a cameraman's backside for far too long. But who am I to complain? 

A simple turn of the head and all takedowns and uppercuts were visible.

But even when fans were unable to properly set their half-boozy eyes on some of the UFC's prime talents, they still showed their gusto. At times, it seemed as if the loud cheering, quaint boos and sometimes obnoxious heckling were each whistling through the arena so much that it could have torn down George Mason University's Final Four banner from the rafters.

Luckily, that didn't happen. Instead, Chan Sung Jung fans were barbarically chanting "Korean Zombie" as they showcased their love by waving Korean flags and aggressively flaunting flashy zombie T-shirts.

For the rest of us, the ones who were so lucky in catching a glimpse of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as he unexpectedly walked by, the action cageside was just as good. 

Whether it was hearing the thud that leather gloves make when they strike skin, the sound a leg kick bellows out when it meets rib or the close-up facial expressions that a fighter compiles when he's gasping for air, the night was perfect.

And while that may sound barbaric, I feel it's necessary to depict considering these things are often taken for granted when watching the UFC on your television.

Some things just don't prepare you for what you're actually seeing. Rehashing old childhood memories of watching your friend fist fight a fellow 12-year-old after school doesn't quite train your mind for a live professional brawl. 

Maybe that's what I experienced. A culture shock, per se.

I've been watching MMA for nearly 10 years now, including some of the best PPV events of all time. Fights that featured some of the most barbaric and successful athletes of the last 20 years. Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones—all of those guys. 

But for some reason, chalk it up to the lack of live exposure, neither one of those fights or fighters prepared me for what Tuesday had in store.

And to my own luck, maybe beginner's if I'm being bashful, the No. 1 contender bout between "The Korean Zombie" and Dustin Poirier turned out to be one of the best fights of 2012 thus far. Each guy fought his heart out, pouring every emotion, physical capability and mental strength into one fight to see who would face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title.

Jung ended the fight and Poirier's championship hopes early, as he caught the young prospect with a fourth-round D'arce choke. 

But beyond the physical battle that each fighter endured, more importantly the elbows that Poirier took to his forehead, it was somewhat astonishing and heartfelt to see how emotionally charged each and every MMA fighter was.

Following his bout, Poirier was apologizing to fans as he walked back to the locker room. With watery eyes, a bloody face and bruised confidence, he seemed human. 

Now, I know every fighter is human—don't take me literally. 

But for fighters who are paid to shut their competitor's lights off, it's often refreshing to know that, win or lose, emotions are played just like game plans.

With that said, including all the fights you watch on PPV and all the UFC Undisputed 3 matches you play, nothing can quite prepare you for a live UFC event cageside. 

It's as simple as that. You have to see it to believe it.

My only complaint is having to take my eyes off my laptop, which is where all journalists these days keep their notes (so much for a good, old-fashioned pen and pad), in order to visually take in the experience.

Kudos, Bleacher Report. Awesome opportunity.

For more UFC news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell