UFC Lightweight contender, Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk visits the Diesel Playhouse in downtown Toronto for UFC 79!

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UFC 79 at the Diesel Playhouse
By: Sean McManus

UFC 79 Nemesis is going to be a fight card which fans are going to be reliving for a long, long time – in other words, it was a historic night. The fight card for UFC 79 was stacked from the bottom right through to the Interim Welterweight Championship fight. December 29th, 2007 will be one of those nights we speak of beginning with: “Do you remember where you were watching the fights when Liddell finally fought Silva, or when Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre dominated the most dominant welterweight in the history of the sport?” – it was that big, it was that kind of night. If you weren’t privileged enough to be in Vegas to watch it live, I doubt any other venue could top watching the fights at the Diesel Playhouse in downtown Toronto. Don’t get me wrong, there are other great venues, and I have attended many awesome ones. It also helped that this was one of the most eagerly anticipated fight cards in UFC history – however the Diesel Playhouse carries a phenomenal atmosphere and is an ideal setting.

Allow me a moment to shed some light on why the venue was so good. The Diesel Playhouse is primarily a theater setting. In the Main Room, where the fights were being watched, it is set with theater type seating. There was a giant screen which was visible from anywhere in the room, and everyone had their own tables with service for food and drinks. The place was absolutely rammed – with UFC fans, and as the night progressed – evidently Georges St. Pierre fans were in abundance as well.

The entire event was put together by The Substance Entertainment Group. A big shout out must go out to Neil and Myles who organized another amazing event. The event was sponsored by MMACanada.net (www.mmacanada.net) – your #1 source for everything MMA, also by MMA Fight Gear (www.mmafightgear.ca) – your premier source in Canada for all kinds of MMA clothing and gear and finally Staredown Fight Wear (www.staredownfightwear.com) – Canada’s very own fight wear brand. Staredown gave out some great prize packs throughout the entire evening.

The host for this great night was none other than Sean ‘The Muscle Shark’ Sherk. He took to the stage a few times throughout the night and handed out some ‘Staredown’ prize packs which pumped up the crowd. After the fights were over, Sean set up shop for a quick meet and greet with pictures and he autographed an 8”x10” for every person at the event. He was generous with his time and gracious with his fans. He took some time as well to do a quick interview with MMACanada – check it out on the site.

If you have been a fan of MMA for awhile, you know full well that the fight between ‘The Iceman’ and ‘The Axe Murderer’ was a fight that has been in the works for years and years. This fight lived up to everyone’s expectations. It was amazing to watch two of the world’s greatest stand up fighters finally get into the octagon and face each other. There are really no words to describe how crazy the crowd was going with each landed (and missed) punch that was thrown. The crowd erupted when Chuck surprisingly took Silva down a few times. What can you say about Chuck though – except that he’s back and looks really hungry coming into 2008. This stellar fight set up another: Canadian UFC hero, Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre faced off against Matt Hughes for a rubbermatch to determine the interim Welterweight UFC Champion. If anyone doubted that GSP had enough time to get ready for this war, those doubts were laid to rest immediately. He looked liked a man possessed. He was artistic in the way he set up his takedowns, and I can’t remember being with a group of people who would have gone that nuts over a judo throw – it was unbelievable! Once Matt Hughes verbally tapped out – I swore the roof was going to come off. I don’t think anyone was sitting, and I’m sure more than one pint was spilled at that moment of sheer excitement. The night was capped off with a great meet and greet with Sean Sherk who stuck around to chat with his fans, even after many had gone home. Regardless of what the media has said about Sean and his recent troubles, he was nothing but a gentleman and a class act.

UFC 79 Nemesis was a fantastic way to cap of the year in MMA. This card proved that the UFC is dedicated to showcasing the best talent and is going to continue to serve up some excellent fights into 2008. There are going to be many more fantastic events held at the Diesel Playhouse in 2008. Keep your ears to the ground fight fans and come on out for the next UFC card in January – I promise it will be well worth it!

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