Corona recently had a grand opening for their official UFC Gym. It’s located in a shopping plaza, which is a good thing, meaning a lot of parking.
Hoping to meet Chuck “Iceman” Liddell and the beautiful Arianny Celeste, I made the trip from San Diego to Corona as a last minute decision.
As I arrived, they had a few sections of the parking lot barricaded with booth vendors from such MMA companies as Jaco.
Music was blaring over the speakers and many fans wearing “Affliction” and “Ed Hardy” t-shirts filled the gym from the inside.
There was already a line of about 30 people from the time I entered the massive gym.
Upon entering, I received a complimentary tour of the facility. Everything was top of the line, the locker rooms, the yoga room, and the equipment on the floor. Near the middle of the gym floor was of course the “Octagon”, where people can train in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Through the course of waiting for the main headliners to appear, there were various appearances by MMA stars such as BJ Penn, was frequently mobbed by fans requesting autographs; and Chuck Liddell who was conducting an interview while security barricaded all areas.
But Chuck was definitely fan-friendly as some people were able to get his autograph from time to time.
There were two little kids giving out UFC promo trading cards and they were frequently mobbed by fans.
Instead of passing them out, they just dumped them on the floor as fans gathered, trying to complete their sets and some of them even tipped the kids by giving them cash.
Other UFC celebrities in attendance included Urijah Faber, Phil Davis, Leonard Garcia, and Kenda Perez.