by Ken Gozalez/Between Rounds Radio Show

People sometimes ask: what’s it like at the UFC events? In February, we made the trek to Las Vegas, home of XYIENCE, Xenergy and the UFC, for UFC 109. Admittedly, I’m a radio show host, not a fighter, but still, UFC weekends can be exhausting --packed with parties, special events, time (never enough!) spent with old friends, interviewing guests for our show and of course taking in the main event. So my answer is: UFC events are high energy – you have to be ready to go 24/7, especially when the events are in Vegas! So for Dave and I, UFC 109 was a ton of fun – and another good reminder of why during a UFC weekend, it’s important to keep a can of Xenergy CranRazz within reach. Normally, we swoop into the UFC city on a Friday and are on a plane by Sunday morning around 6 a.m. Yeah, that means being at the airport by 4:45 a.m. and waiting at the hotel for the car service at around 4:00 a.m. Obviously, there is no use even going to bed on Saturday night, and this time around was no exception.

My co-host Dave Hiza and I arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon checked into Hooters Hotel and Casino, where we spent one night. Although Hooters Casino is a great place to hang your head, for the remainder of the weekend we were at Mandalay Bay — UFC 109 fight central, where all the action was happening. We had so much fun, it felt like we were politicians, going from one event to the next, shaking hands and saying hellos. Yeah, we needed to be on our game and on the go, so my stash of CranRazz came in handy.

Friday Night: THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 Launch Party
We headed up to MIX on top of the Mandalay Bay where THQ (a sponsor of Between Rounds) hosted the official launch party for the 2010 version of UFC Undisputed. Dave and I had a great time chilling and eating with about 200 people that attended the event, including our friends from MMA Authority Magazine (hi Stacey, Dan and Aurelio!) We also were able to throw back a few glasses of cola with the MMA editor of Heavy.com, Matt Brown and his crew. We can’t forget spending time of course with the lovable Ryan Loco and Dave and I really enjoyed taking the last of the lamb tenderloins off the plate before MMA renowned photographer Tracey Lee could get her hands on them. (We love you Tracey!) The UFC was kind enough to send some peeps over for the event including Dana White, Mike Swick, Amir Sadollah, Martin Kampman, and Gabriel Gonzaga to name just a few. Having a radio show can be fun. The party ended about 9:30 p.m. but for some, including your favorite radio hosts, the night had just begun. (time for another Xenergy!). We headed over to Tao at the Venetian where we had VIP treatment to the TAPOUT party, with our co-host Shawn Tompkins. I could go on and on about which fighters and media types had a few too many but I will leave that to your imagination. When your having fun, 3:00 a.m. seems to come way too soon! As we headed to our rooms, the sun was about to come up and we had another full day in store for us on Saturday. (Note to self, put Xenergy on ice for the morning.)

Saturday Afternoon: Hawaiian Tropic Zone, Between Rounds
Between Rounds had an event at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone, which is on the Las Vegas Strip, from Noon – 2:00 p.m. We had a lot of fun taping the show and luckily, there was an abundance of Xenergy from XYIENCE to be had. (Did I mention that 3:00 a.m. comes really quickly?) Thanks to HTZ for allowing us to give out a ton of the drinks to a packed house.

Saturday Night: UFC 109
Before you knew it, it was time to head over to the arena at Mandalay Bay for UFC 109. I couldn’t resist heading to the concourse before the main card and searching for the old reliable Xyience table to grab a few cans of Xenergy Cran Razz. I had to pry a can away from Amber Nicole, as she knows I can get a little crazy with too much Xenergy! Our boy Shawn Tompkins was cornering Mark Coleman in the fight against Randy Couture. Although the fight didn’t go as planned (or did it?!?!) we still had a great time.

Dave and I had planned on watching the Super Bowl in Vegas on Sunday but since our teams choked in the playoffs, we weren’t that interested and changed our flights. I was home and cracking open a can of Cran Razz in time to watch the kickoff! See you in a few weeks with some more behind the scenes in the life of an MMA radio host!