A while ago, we received our first community comment on the blog. At first, we were unsure if the content was appropriate for posting, but after mulling it over we’ve decided that the author made several poignant criticisms - and they deserved a response.

Here’s the original post:

Name: Dan Combs

What the fuck are you guys doing???
whos running this monkey operation.
Why are you showing a video of a speach to the production crew..and fighters.
.. whos this video for.? I honestly just don’t get it. its not sexy nor impressive.
What is your purpose ? of this show.? is it to show how to train to fight?
People don’t need this inside “speaches” to the crew.
only thing so far worth watching is fights and maybe the girls in Bikinis.

-dan

Well said, Dan. Here’s our line-by-line response.

What the fuck are you guys doing???

Uh, we’re making a television show. About mixed martial arts and girls in bikinis.

whos running this monkey operation.

The show is a collaboration between Bodog Entertainment and the Mixed Fighting Championship, a fairly established and progressive mixed martial arts league. I write the blog and take the pictures and video, though I tend to consider myself an ape descendant.

Why are you showing a video of a speach to the production crew..and fighters.
.. whos this video for.? I honestly just don’t get it.

Sorry, I thought this was clear in the post. The video is meant to give those interested in the business end of mixed martial arts an insider’s look into the making of the show. If you want impressive, watch this instead.

its not sexy nor impressive.

Now that’s going too far. Miguel is a very sexy man. Just look at him!

What is your purpose ? of this show.? is it to show how to train to fight?

Well… the purpose of the show… is to show fights and girls in bikinis? I think we’ve already covered this.

People don’t need this inside “speaches” to the crew.

Fine. So what do you want?

only thing so far worth watching is fights and maybe the girls in Bikinis.

Well, you’re in luck! ‘Cause that’s what the show’s all about! I take exception to the “maybe” in that last sentence, however. Have you seen some of these girls?

Hopefully that clears things up a little. I certainly feel better.

Technorati Tags: television show, mixed martial arts, girls in bikinis, Mixed Fighting Championship, Bodog, Bodog Girls

The endless stream of fighter interviews, shadow-boxing, and location scouting came to an end today, finally. Instead, the fighters and the production team traveled to “The Officers’ House” to shoot the weigh-ins. The Officers’ House is another of St. Petersburg’s amazing historical sites, and you’ll simply have to watch the show in order to properly experience the grandeur of the place.

Suffice it to say, all the fighters met their weight (so we don’t have to cancel the show). Meanwhile, a second production unit was in a nearby room shooting more greenscreen material. The above image shows Jeff Ford, a light heavyweight Muay Thai champion, receiving direction from story producer Gabriella Sosa.

Later, I was whisked off to join a special convoy destined for Katerina’s Castle (pictured above) and to meet our very own Bodog Tsar, Calvin Ayre. He and some of the Girls were personally invited for a tour of the castle.

Cort (a camera op) and I were invited to join and shoot the tour – a very special experience since cameras are normally forbidden inside the castle.

Calvin and his entourage approach the castle.

They were served tea in the royal Russian fashion.

Calvin’s bodyguard is awesome at scaring tourists. And photographers.

When all was said and done, we packed up and drove over (via police escort) to a high-class restaurant where Calvin greeted the fighters and married them to the Bodog Girl of their choice.

Middleweight Joseph Baize cuddles with his new sweetheart, Bodog Girl Julia Kabanova. Lucky dog!

As mentioned in the previous post, I managed to take some pictures during the fighters’ evening training session. Check it out.

Middleweight Piotr Jakaczynski and welterweight Jake Ellenberger work on their ground.

Welterweight Derrick Noble hits the mitts.

Jake Ellenberger lands a picture-perfect kick.

Heavyweight Cain Velasquez practices his sparring.

Amanda Buckner and husband Jay Jack work on their wrestling.

Today I intended to hang out in the hotel and get some work done. I’ve got about ten thousand goddamn pictures of fighters and I need to get them organized so I can post them. Just as I was getting down to business, someone called and told me I had free tickets to the Hermitage, today only. As such, I was forced to “fuck work.”

The Hermitage (for you culturally undernourished) is one of the oldest, most important museums in the world. It’s also one of the biggest, composed of five huge buildings including the Winter Palace, historical home to Russian Tsars. Even though I took about a thousand pictures, I barely scratched the surface. I’ll put up a gallery later.

If you’re a pure fight fan and am wondering what the hell I’m doing rambling on about art ‘n stuff, please see below.

Yes, those are punching daggers, a favored weapon of warriors from ancient India. They were on display in the “Relics of the Near and Middle East” section.

Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in taking pictures of weapons and armor that I got separated from my tour group. I realized I was…

LOST IN THE HERMITAGE!

By the time I made it back to the tour meeting spot, the bus had left. It took about two hours to get back to the hotel. When I got there, I was barely in time to catch some of the fighters training in the gym. Please see the other post I made today: Day 6 - Image Gallery.

Today’s shooting schedule ran pretty much the same as yesterday’s – cold in the morning, hot in the evening.

We began by traveling to the magnificent Peter and Paul fortress to shoot more fighter profile material. The gate on the river-side of the fortress is called “The Door of No Return,” partly because the fortress once housed a prison. Here’s a pic of Heavyweight fighter Josh “Buffalohead” Curran charging through the gate.

Later, I was lucky enough to receive a guided tour of the fortress’s cathedral, where the bodies of many Russian Tsars are entombed. Considering that Russian leaders are normally assassinated by their own family, it’s interesting how much they spend on burying them.

Middleweight fighter Petar Jakaczynski, pictured at the top of this post, showed us some of his moves on the cathedral’s doorstep.

In the evening, the spa experience continued. I’ll leave the details once more to your imagination… but I’ll give you a break and reveal one of the girls. Meet Natalya.

Technorati Tags: fighter, Heavyweight, Russian Tsars, Middleweight, Petar Jakaczynski, Bodog, Bodog Girls