"There was no down time" - Actor Mario Lopez raves about live experience at UFC 298
Mario Lopez recently opened up about his experience attending UFC 298 this past weekend and noted that the promotion does an excellent job with their live event fan experience.
The actor and entertainment personality has been to a number of combat sports events in the past and is clearly a fan. During a recent episode of The 3 Knockdown Rule, he recounted his experience attending the event with his father, who he noted wasn't familiar with the fighters competing. He shared his rave review for how the promotion is able to draw him in as a new fan:
"[My father] He had never been to an MMA event. Dude, he loved it. He loved how the crowd was so into it, how there was no down time in between the fights, all the action. He was like, 'I was really impressed'. I'm like, 'Wow, they did a really good job'. If you can get an old timer like my dad, I'm telling you that's a sign. He loved it. It was a hell of a card."
The UFC has been known for having a quick pace to their events with very little filler time, which has clearly been a successful tactic, as Lopez highlighted, resulting in a very fan-friendly experience when attending the event live.
Ilia Topuria has star-making performance at UFC 298
UFC 298 was an entertaining event that culminated with a new champion being crowned as Ilia Topuria earned a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski to become the new featherweight champion.
With the win, Topuria became the first Georgian fighter to win a UFC championship and dethroned arguably the greatest featherweight of all time. It was a true star-making performance as 'El Matador' received congratulatory messages from a number of celebrities as well as Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid.
It will be interesting to see how soon Topuria's first title defense will be booked, as UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that a pay-per-view at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is a possibility.
Check out Ilia Topuria's post-fight interview below: