The Thrilla in Manila

Our version of the Thrilla in Manila didn't exactly include Ali and Frazier going toe to toe to find out who is the best heavyweight champion in the world, but we did go to an ultimate fighting match in Manila. I know this doesn't sound like an activity that Jen and I would usually attend but we had free tickets from my customer who sponsored the event. There were 10 fights total during the night. The quickest lasted 15 seconds while others lasted 15 minutes or so. The last four fights were the big fights that everyone came to see. The final fight of the night was a different story though. It was the premier event and lived up to the hype. The match was between the Philipino champion, Kevin Belingon, and the Guam USA champion, Justin "the shocker" Cruz.

Little did I know that this fight would bring out a whole other side of Jen that I didn't know existed. I thought I was dreaming when all of a sudden I start hearing things like, "C'mon, hit him harder! kick him! get him!" I couldn't believe my ears when I kept hearing my sweet little Jen yell out to hit someone harder... The whole crowd was cheering for the Philipino champion but that didn't stop Jen from cheering loudly for "the shocker". The match lasted the full two rounds and the Philipino won by two points in a judges decision. Jen is still convinced that her man, Justin Cruz, won the fight.

She quickly became an ultimate fighting groupy as she waited for 20 minutes after the fight to try to meet Cruz and get his autograph or a picture with him. She was able to get a poster but didn't get the autograph. Her fighter is the one on the right. I'm not sure if it was all the tattoos or the bad boy attitude but Jen thought Cruz was the greatest thing ever (besides me of course!)

I never expected to see this side of her, but if anyone is looking for a friend to go to ultimate fighting with, Jen would go in a heartbeat. I would still prefer a track meet.