It was a month before the event and all systems were go. Brian led the teleconference (not sure if he was drunk or naked and don’t care) going through all the salient points one at a time. The fight card was locked in and some guys even had to be turned away. The UWC had established themselves enough that Foran’s inbox was jammed with requests from fighters and managers who wanted to get on the card. It was a marketing dream, but the big name camps weren’t why he started this shindig. He wanted to stay true to mid-Atlantic region gyms, so he compromised and pitted a local guy-Mike Easton-against a national name-Chase Beebe-as the main event.

     Getting the word out was still the main priority and the good idea fairy was bludgeoning the group with her Billy club. The Washington Capitals were on board to hype the show at a hockey game. The USO was on board to sell tickets to troops. Even a local bar offered to hype the UWC during their fastest bartender competition. It wasn’t a space shuttle launch, but the multitude of “what if’s” made it feel like NFL draft day. Then the wheels screeched.       “I want to wait another week or so before releasing the women’s fight,” Neil said. “We need to build the hype incrementally, not all at once.” I cringed as I listened in the driver’s seat of my car. Neil was right in the sense that building hype little by little to an orgasmic crescendo got people to buy tickets. It also gave the organizers more time to put together higher quality promotional videos for the event. But it also introduced a new variable-the possibility of missing fans who didn’t get the word because you waited too long to get it out. It was a gamble, but if it was timed right, it was one that could pay off big. The group agreed to wait until three weeks before the fight to release the news, which was right around the time of UFC 94 when MMA fans would be out in force and easy to reach. The group decided to host viewing parties with their athletes so fans could come out and touch one. Brilliant. I hoped one would be held at Hooters. 

T-minus two days

     “Man, I can’t believe he’s doing this,” Marcello says. Something is severely amiss.       “Chase Beebe didn’t make the plane,” he tells me.
     “What do you mean he didn’t make the plane?”
     “He just didn’t get on it,” Foran continues. “He missed the flight completely and isn’t answering his phone.” Over the next two minutes and several well-placed F bombs, the situation became clear. Beebe, who’s headlining the show, has taken it upon himself to blow it off completely…just 24 hours prior to the weigh in. He claims his knee is hurt and fears he can’t make weight, but skipping out on a major MMA promotion isn’t like Ferris Bueller’s day off. Beebe signed a contract, and hurt knee or not, he has a moral responsibility to show up.
     “Our Doctor has to clear him,” Foran laments. “He can’t make a self-diagnosis and think he’s...