UFC 129 Post Fight Week: Behind the Scenes: Penn and Coleman Are Not Barbarians

When the first Ultimate Fighting Championships took place in 1992, I was nineteen years old and I fell in love with the competitive drama and the beautiful jiu-jitsu game that Royce Gracie brought and used to defeat Ken Shamrock, among others, that night.

I had already been following combat sports from an early age and was heavily influenced by Bruce Lee growing up. Being of Japanese heritage, and being intrigued by Lee and the arts, I knew from around 1982 or so that there were professional martial arts fighting tournaments called "shooto", or "shoot fighting", in Japan.

I had two aunts and uncles and some cousins that lived there, and Ken Shamrock was literally in my mind, "The World's Most Dangerous Man" at the time. Not the movies, a real fighter.

He was chiseled and skilled, yet Gracie took care of him with an arm and gi-choke and made me fall in love with the sweet science of jiu-jitsu and what it could do for a smaller, overmatched person like myself. The point being that it was not the barbarian, or the biggest meanest strongest fighter that won that night, and the myth began to dispel in my eyes that fighters were barbaric and super-strong and simple.

Years later now, and mixed martial arts has finally become legal in my home province of Ontario, Canada. With the first UFC in Toronto also being the largest event in history, I had to make sure that I took advantage of this opportunity to meet and see some of the fighters I have been following for years.

I looked on the web and found out who was going to be in town, and as luck would have it, along with the big fighters on the card, one of my all time favorites (and one of the best of all time), B.J. Penn was going to be here, so I sought out how to meet or rub elbows with him. Not literally, of course, as BJ would wipe the Rogers Center floor with me if ever I had the "privilege." 

Fighters are not criminals or barbarians, or the stereotype that is all too often thrown around when the uneducated talk about fighters in mixed martial arts. These guys are tremendously skilled and disciplined in their games. Yes, you get your odd cement head fighter, but you get your odd cement head accountant, lawyer and doctor, too, do you not?

I met Penn and Mark Coleman when they were here in town this past week. One UFC Hall of Famer, and I believe, one future Hall of Famer and I must say they were awesome to be around, if not just for a few minutes. Penn was laughing and smiling and making all around him feel at ease, and Mark Coleman was a riot. He was having a great time, and actually stood a young four- or five-year-old boy on a chair to hold a great pose with him with their dukes up. 

It was hilarious when the youngsters threw a little straight right hand to Coleman's chin, and Coleman hammed it up the whole time. What a great sport. Hey Coleman, the kid held back on ya, I think. I was able to get Penn to sign my two books I have of his: "Why I Fight" and "Mixed Martial Arts The Book Of Knowledge". He was more than gracious as I asked him if we could have a photo squaring off. What a thrill for me. 

He obliged, and then to which Coleman shouted at me, "You want a stare down, square off shot, I'll give it to ya!" and he turned his cap back and stepped up to my face. It was awesome and I stood there as he shifted me the right way for a real face-to-face. The people around me told me I didn't look mean enough! What a surprise.

He was a riot and a pleasure to meet, and I saw him later at the MMA Expo down in the Exhibition grounds signing autographs, and everyone was laughing in his booth again as I walked by. Penn was there later, too, and was absolutely mobbed and surrounded near his booth. In my opinion, Penn and Tapout had the coolest apparel at the show.

I told Penn I was looking forward to his next fight as I turned to take up no more of his time, to which Coleman yelled, "We all are!", and they said thanks to me for coming out to meet them.

Fighters and tough guys they are. Barbarians they aren't.