User:Seedofsparta/UFC Fan Expo

The UFC Fan Expo is a large, annual Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event where thousands of fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting and PRIDE gather to celebrate their passion and support through experiences such as exhibitions, fan-inspired special events and competitions, Training & Development, Meet and Greets with fighters, autograph sessions, and demos of various fighting techniques. Around 200 companies such as Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition (BSN), TapouT, and Spike TV alo set up booths throughout the 200,000 gross square feet of space of the exhibition hall, featuring apparel, food and beverages, fight gear, electronic gaming, fitness equipment and supplies, lifestyle products, and nutritional supplements.

Tickets for the Expo are $35.00 for the first-day-only pass, $30.00 for the second-day-only pass, or $50.00 for the two-day pass per person. Everyone who wants to enter the Expo must have a ticket, which are printable online and not delivered in the mail. Children 6 and under will receive free admission with a ticketed adult, but strollers are not permitted. Proof of age is also required. UFC Fight Club Members can receive $5.00 off off single-day passes or $10.00 of the two-day pass.

Attendees to the Fan Expo are able to take still photos and video footage while in the exhibition hall, however, some fighters will not be able to have their pictures taken with the fans in certain booths (due to time and other restraints). For the most part, the fans will be able to get their pictures taken with their favorite fighters after getting their autographs.

Another big attraction is a full-sized official UFC Octagon that fans can enter and walk around.

In order to contact the event director, marketing manager, or the sales representative, their emails can be found on the UFC Fan Expo's official home page under the "Contact Us" tab.

The Inaugural Fan Expo
The inaugural UFC Fan Expo took place from July 10-11, 2009 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the historic UFC 100 (which included the free-to-the-public weigh-in event). It also included the first ever Grappling Tournament, seminars, and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Chuck Liddell and Charles Lewis, Jr. (Charles "Mask" Lewis, June 23, 1963 - March 11, 2009) from TapouT.

Fans were able to meet, greet, and get autographs from the following fighters and UFC personnel: Efrain Escudero, Junie Browning, Martin Kampman, Lyoto Machida, Mike Brown, Jens Pulver, Jamie Varner, Royce Gracie, Quinton Jackson, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture, Amir Sadollah, Chuck Liddell, Clay Guida, Nathan Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Gray Maynard, Marcus Davis, Nate Diaz, Miguel Torres, Wanderlei Silva, Kimbo Slice, Gary Goodridge, Forrest Griffin, Sean Sherk, Tyson Griffin, Karo Parisyan, Mike Swick, Dustin Hazelett, Miguel Torres, Urijah Faber, Ben Henderson, Shane Carwin, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Steve Cantwell, Anthony Johnson, Keith Jardine, Mike Brown, Mauricio Rua, Heath Herring, Renzo Gracie, Arianny Celeste, Edith Labelle, and Logan Stanton.

The "Ultimate Fighter" Season 10 Cast was also revealed during the Expo.

Fan Expo 2010
The second UFC Fan Expo has been anounced to take place from May 28-29, 2010, in conjuction with the UFC fighter weigh-ins and the Memorial Day Weekend fight card - UFC 114 on May 29. The 2010 Expo will also be returning to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, contrary to rumors stating it could be in Boston.