Brandon "The Truth" Vera clearly does not want to be called lethargic or not aggressive again, as he came out swinging in the first round with a zealous gameplan that called for low kicks, and high power combinations. Mike Patt was visibly hurt by the bevy of low kicks. The fight ended early in the second round, as Vera first knocked Patt down with a kick, but then let him stand back up again. Vera then threw the same leg kicks and took Patt out at 1:27 in the second. Patt never figured out a defense to Vera's kicks. After the fight, Vera said that he is back to his Muay Thai roots, and is finally more comfortable at the light heavyweight division.

You don't want to miss Cage Writer's coverage of UFC 96 tonight. We will have a live blog, bout-by-bout results, a very special cage side chat, and a live radio show starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. The fights are starting now, so stick with us!

My dirty little secret of covering MMA is that I have never been to a UFC event before, but I am lucky enough to attend UFC 96. This weekend, I will give you updates on what it's like to go through the UFC experience for the first time.

To make sure I could report to you the full UFC experience, I headed out to some UFC parties on Friday night, and as my camera decided not to work, my only proof is my two bar wristbands, at right. Two things to remember as you're reading this post:

1. I generally am a shot and a beer kind of gal. I go to clubs ... pretty much never.
2. Before I was a writer, I was a fan, and therefore, I still get a little starstruck.

The other thing to remember is that my friend from Ohio who was supposed to go to the parties with me bailed, so I was a gal out on the town by myself, which was not at all awkward. My first stop was at the Cage Potato/Fight Magazine party at Sugar Bar. The fine folks at Cage Potato put me on the VIP list, so I was lucky enough to slip in

My dirty little secret of covering MMA is that I have never been to a UFC event before, but I am lucky enough to attend UFC 96. This weekend, I will give you updates on what it's like to go through the UFC experience for the first time.

The UFC often claims that they have the greatest fans in the world, and as you can see above, they just may be right. UFC fans are dedicated. They spend hours waiting in line just to see fighters step on a scale, they buy the shirts, they know their fighters, and they are excited just to be there. Every fight fan I've met has been passionate about their favorite fighters, and vocal in their support.

The weigh-ins and Q and A with Matt Hughes were well attended, and after each event, fans clamored for autographs. One man begged Hughes to be allowed to take a picture inside the Octagon, and Hughes was nice enough to help the guy out.

Fans clamored around anything UFC, including this truck that must get good gas mileage. You can see why the UFC wants

The UFC held their weigh-ins at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio today, and the results are below. All fighters made weight, and the event was relatively drama-free, save an intense staredown between Keith Jardine and Rampage Jackson, who was wearing Lucky Charms boxer shorts.

MAIN CARD

Quinton Jackson 205 lbs. vs. Keith Jardine 204 lbs.
Matt Hamill 205 lbs. vs. Mark Munoz 204.5 lbs.
Matt Brown 170.5 lbs. vs. Pete Sell 170 lbs.
Shane Carwin 259.5 lbs. vs. Gabriel Gonzaga 257.5 lbs.
Gray Maynard 155 lbs. vs. Jim Miller 154.5 lbs

PRELIMINARY CARD

Ryan Madigan 169 lbs. vs. Tamdan McCrory 170 lbs.
Jason Day 184.5 lbs. vs. Kendall Grove 185 lbs
Tim Boetsch 205 lbs. vs. Jason Brilz 204 lbs.
Mike Patt 204.5 lbs. vs. Brandon Vera 205 lbs.
Shane Nelson 155 lbs. vs. Aaron Riley 155 lbs.

At today's Ultimate Fight Club question and answer period, a fan asked Matt Hughes to take a picture of a Hughes putting the fan in a rear naked choke. Hughes explained that he took a picture with a fan in Las Vegas, choking the fan. Later, the fan took the picture to authorities and asked them to prosecute Hughes. When the authorities laughed at the fan, the fan went found a lawyer to take the case, and Hughes had to settle out of court with the fan.

Joe Warren was on top of the world -- literally. The American Greco-Roman wrestler won the world championships in 2006, and was looking like a favorite to win gold in Beijing. That was until his Olympic dreams went up in smoke, again, quite literally.

Warren tested positive for THC, the chemical produced by marijuana, after the U.S. World Team Trials in 2007. As this was Warren's second offense, he was given a two-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, causing him to miss the 2007 Worlds and the Olympics. The suspension will be over in July of this year.

This weekend, Warren will try to put the suspension behind him as he makes his MMA debut at DREAM 7's featherweight Grand Prix in Japan. His wrestling abilities will help him with some big throws, but he is facing a tough test in his first match in former WEC champ, Chase Beebe. Like Warren, Beebe started out in wrestling, and actually still has a brother wrestling at Central Michigan University. However, Beebe has had a

My dirty little secret of covering MMA is that I have never been to a UFC event before, but I am lucky enough to attend UFC 96. This weekend, I will give you updates on what it's like to go through the UFC experience for the first time.

My first trip for a UFC event got off to a bad start, as my alarm didn't go off. I had to break landspeed records to get from Chicago to Columbus in time for the press conference, but I did it. (By the way, Indiana and Ohio, thank you for not pulling me over. I will drive more carefully on the way back, I promise.)

When I first arrived at the arena, I expected to be intimidated by the presence of Keith Jardine and Rampage Jackson. I've watched both of them knock out people much stronger than me, not to mention that they are both quite talented at scowling. At the very least, I expected a dirty look or two, but no such luck. They both just smiled as I walked by them towards the press conference.

At the press conference, Dana White ran the show, and it