I was lucky enough to be in Las Vegas during UFC 100 (for a bachelor party) and actually attended the first UFC Fan Expo. If you haven’t gone to a UFC Fan Expo, I truly encourage that you do because there’s nothing like it. You’ll be blown away if you’re an MMA fan. The next one is actually this weekend in Boston during UFC 118, and here are the reasons why you should check it out:

1. Meet MMA Fighters in person!

We’re lucky enough to be living during a time where MMA isn’t crazy big (yet!) where the superstars are hard to find and less approachable. In basketball, football, or baseball, it’s so difficult to even get close to any of the athletes. At these expos, you’ll see fighters just walking around like regular people — ask for pictures, autographs or even just chat about MMA. You’ll meet so many people in the span of just a couple days.

2. Beautiful women lure MMA fans to their booths

I don’t know about you, but it’s always good to see some beautiful women when going to any event. For the lady fans, I’m sure the fighters are already good enough eye candy for you — so don’t worry. Anyways, there’s going to be a ton of apparel companies, nutrition companies, and other stuff there that’ll need women to draw us MMA fans to their booths. Let’s just say they do it successfully.

3. Hundreds of sponsors giving away a ton of free stuff

If you ever wanted free stuff regarding MMA, then the expo would be the best place for you. Think t-shirts, towels, stickers, samples, magazines, hats, etc. — you’ll find it here. You’ll even get a ton of chances to win signed memorabilia or even tickets to an event! I still remember coming back to my hotel with bags filled with stuff I didn’t even know I got.

4. Grappling tournaments and Superfights

Usually during these expos, the UFC puts on Grappling Tournaments and Superfights. The time I went, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson was participating in a Superfight. It’s pretty awesome to watch pure grappling and the maneuvers you never see in the cage. Although, if you’re not a grappling fan and you just like fighters to bang — then maybe this may not be exciting. But you may become hooked after watching a couple of fights or two. Plus, usually MMA fighters are at these events to help support their teammates — Opportunities!

5. Q&A Sessions with Guest Speakers

Dana White. Lorenzo Fertitta. Mike Goldberg. You’ve probably heard of these names before. You’ll get a chance to listen to and even ask some questions to some of the biggest names in MMA. It was awesome to listen to the history of how they started the company and even stories that are not even publicized. It’s a good opportunity to get inside scoops of what’s going to be happening, and thoughts on what has already happened in the past.

BONUS: Training & Development with MMA Superstars

I wasn’t training in MMA or grappling at all, but if I were — I would have taken advantage of it. Think about training and learning from Forrest Griffin or Urijah Faber, you’ll get a chance if you take some of the sessions in Boston.

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QUESTION: Have you taken a photo with an MMA fighter?

If you have, post your photo as a photo reply. The most awesome photo will be chosen for next week’s “Recommend WeHeartMMA” blog post.