Between the cheesesteaks and the calls for Jamie Moyer to retire, there’s no mistaking where UFC 101 is going to unfold on Saturday night. Philadelphia is a fight town full of fans who like to fight for their teams but are also quick to turn on them. So when the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission, Greg Sirb addressed the media and fighters on Thursday he made one thing clear, the combatants had better put on a good show or else (0:14 mark):
"Bring your ‘A’ game, and they’ll bring their ‘A’ game," Sirb, said of Philadelphia fans. "You bring your ‘B’ game, and they’ll bring their ‘B’ game. The ‘B’ game is you know what — they’ll boo you no matter what here if you bring your ‘B’ game."
Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal wasn’t exactly complimentary of the little guy:
As he addressed the assembled fighters and media, Sirb could not have filled the role of stereotypical Philadelphian more closely if he had a cheesesteak hanging out of one side of his mouth and a Tastykake in the other side.
"I want to tell these fighters, you know, this ain’t Vegas. This ain’t Jersey. This is Philly," Sirb said.
Sirb got a laugh from three of the four fighters (B.J. Penn, Forrest Griffin, Kenny Florian, Anderson Silva) on stage. This is the first major MMA event hosted by Pennsylvania and it was clear Sirb is a big backer of the sport.
