Thursday night, I had the honour and pleasure of visiting some Canadian Troops at the Fort York Armoury in Toronto. I was lucky enough to have been joined by UFC veterans Sean Pierson, Mark Bocek and Sam Stout.
All three guys should be commended for making it out on very short notice, but especially Stout, who travelled two hours from London, Ont., just to be there, only to turn around and head home once our visit concluded in the wee hours of the morning.
The purpose of our visit was to film various segments for Rogers Sportsnet's upcoming broadcast of UFC: Fight for the Troops II show, slated to air live on the network on Saturday, January 22, at 9 p.m. ET. The purpose was to sit down some of the troops, to get their thoughts on their recent time in Afghanistan, while sharing stories over the ups and downs of representing our country.
The ultimate goal of our visit was to raise awareness for The Canadian Hero Fund, which is "a charitable organization dedicated to supporting Canadian military personnel and their families."
It was an eye opening experience for all parties involved, as we opened the evening off with a Q& A session between the soldiers, the fighters and yours truly. This was followed up by an educational piece where we were shown some of the equipment used to build, house and survive the various elements they encounter, no matter what corner of the globe they are stationed at.
This portion was concluded with an educational, and demonstration experience with a fully automatic fire arm. The four of us each had our own theories about how amazing that was. My assumption was that Stout was hoping the next time will be for real, Pierson wants to feel the true power of gun, while it looked as if Bocek was quietly picturing all the MMA haters out there, as we all chuckled at the lightweights precise technique. For yours truly, and according to Pierson, I was just hoping not to injure myself as the firearm retracted into my shoulder.
We then headed upstairs to the officers' mess hall, to conduct the interviews with some of the returning soldiers, to which many of us were left dumbfounded by the realness of their tales.
Heroism is one thing, but to hear the fearlessness in their voices was awe inspiring. Wounded or not, it was amazing how, without batting an eye, they would return to the scenes of their pain overseas, if they got the call to return. Representing the Country is in their DNA and it is what they are made to do.
My hope is that you will tune in on January 22, as the MMA Connected team will endeavour to showcase as best we can, the invaluable, life changing experience with the men and women, who day in and day out, afford us the luxuries we often take for granted. As I type, and as you read, thousands of brave men and women are overseas, allowing us the freedom to do so. To them, I say "thank you" and to you, I say please consider donating to the The Canadian Hero Fund.
Misc news and notes:
* If you missed the broadcast of "The Showdown", fear not - you can listen or download it here
* Zuffa held its press conference at Madison Square Garden yesterday, to raise awareness about why MMA should be sanctioned in New York State, and their plans to hold two events a year in NYC
* Sorry Toronto based MMA fans, but the lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will not take place at UFC 129, but instead, at UFC 130 in Las Vegas
* TUF 13 coach Junior dos Santos talks about opposing Brock Lesnar, as well as who will potentially join him as assistant coaches on the show
* Brian Stann vs Wanderlei Silva is being targeted for sometime this spring
* Pat Barry is sick and tired of you talking about his loss to Mirko Cro Cop
* Many are puzzled by the rules surrounding the upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Rules, but here's Scott Coker explaining the reasoning behind them, with some of the top MMA media questioning his explanations
* Nate Diaz offers his take on what and why he isn't happy with the current scoring system in Mixed Martial Arts
