Philadelphia is home to the Rocky stairs, statue, and a long history of ‘no steps backward’ boxing culture. It was a little unusual to be taking such a short flight and fighting so close to home. In cornering Jorge, we’ve made some flights that Amelia Earhart would probably look at and say, “F**k that.” I’m just waiting for the day the UFC has its first show on the moon. Think about the after party!
We arrived after the usual debacles that anyone traveling a US airline faces. Late boarding, no plane, late plane, no wings, drunk captain, missing co-pilot, stale peanuts, flat soda, overcrowding, and babies. Everyone loves babies until they’re on a plane with them. Given a choice, Samuel L. Jackson would choose snakes. We arrive in Philly to Panda waiting for us at the hotel. If you don’t know Panda, “Tim” is a Machado jiu- jitsu black belt and an actual Panda. His power comes from the fact that he has his own small gravitational pull. That and everyone thinks Pandas are cute… until they reminded that Pandas are still bears. He got his nickname because he looks like a bear when he rolls.
At the very start of the trip we started running into problems. The scan of Jorge’s brain had come back sighting an abnormality. My immediate thought was, “What else is new.” But in all seriousness, fighting can be extremely damaging on the human brain and has been known to have seriously debilitating effects in some cases. We were instructed to get a second opinion at the local hospital which we were told was only 15 minutes away from the hotel. Jorge, Panda, and I hop in a cab for what we thought was a short trip to
the doctors. Prepare to drive within a few miles of New Jersey…
