Macau 2012

MACAU, the neighbour city

Since we came all this way, Kadeem and I decided that our trip would not be complete without a visit to Macau – the gambling island located one hour away by ferry from Hong Kong that is home to numerous Casinos. In addition to the exquisite Casino lights, Macau is home to a variety of historical architecture and Portuguese culture that remains from when the country was once occupied by Portuguese residents. It is interesting to see all signage in Macau in both Portuguese and Cantonese. While we were in Hong Kong, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) was hosting the first ever official UFC event held in the Peoples Republic of China – so we got our tickets and headed to the Venetian casino for a night of entertainment in the Cotai Arena.

Ruins of St. Paul

StarWorld Hotel

Macau City Lights

Jellyfish Fishtank, Wynn Casino

MGM Grand, Macau

Ruins of St. Paul

Ruins of St. Paul

UFC, Macau

When we heard that the first ever UFC event in China was to be held at the Venetian in Macau, we bought our tickets and hopped on a ferry as soon as we could! The event had a total of 10 fights but will be remembered only for the final two fights which produced a result that everyone was waiting to see. First, Thiago Silva won the light heavy weight bought by submission. He had the chance to knock his opponent out but showed some true fighting dicipline and used his technique to force his opponent to tap out. The highlight of the night goes to Cung Le, who in the main event defeated Rich Franklin with a stunning knockout punch in the first round. This was my first UFC experience, and it was one that I will never forget. Other than being stuck in the Macau ferry terminal for a couple hours on the way back to Hong Kong after the fights were done – the whole trip to Macau was a great experience!

Check out Cung Le’s knockout on Rich Franklin here:

Also see Thiago Silva put his opponent to bed: