Joba Chamberlain in crowd at Mixed Martial Arts fight in Newark, N.J.--Times Herald-Record

The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) event was held in Newark, NJ Saturday night. Side note-this sport isn't legal in New York State.

• (Times Herald-Record): "...More than 14,000 screaming, excited fans packed the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday night for Ultimate Fighting Championship 78, a show that was one part maximum competitive athleticism and one part pop culture experience.

..This would be the closest MMA's top attraction would get to New York, where this type of fighting is banned, and you had fans lined up hundreds deep in brisk temperatures waiting for the doors to open at 7:30.

• Yankees pitching phenom Joba Chamberlain attended his first UFC event and caught the UFC bug.

"It's great to come out here and see these guys compete. Their energy is incredible and the crowd is awesome," Chamberlain said.

• The crowd is likely awesome because UFC follows another successful model where the sport's stars are as close as possible to their fans — NASCAR. After each fight, combatants are interviewed in the Octagon, and the common theme is how they want to please the fans and put on a good show."

From Times Herald-Record (Hudson Valley) article by Scott Rubin, "UFC 78: Nice Guys and Mayhem," 11/19/07

• (Joba reference near end of article).

P.S. Something tells me Goose Gossage would approve. (sm)

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