I went upstairs to finish my blog before hitting the gym. That makes 2 days this week; trying to go as many days as I can! I ran into Rampage again who was doing cardio and spent the next half hour of him messing with me and talking shit (rampage? talk shit? no!! lol) and then watched him hit the bag. As soon as I was done I hauled my sweaty ass upstairs and jumped in the shower. I wasn't overly rushed that day as I got ready and made my way to the lobby at noon to meet all the fighters and media.

UFC had set up a jet boat tour for the fighters with an opportunity for the media to go on an accompanying boat to shoot photos of it all. When I got to the lobby to meet everyone, I got to meet Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman for the first time. Elvis was extremely outgoing and we talked for quite awhile before we all walked over to the docks from the hotel.

There were a large number of media people waiting there when we arrived and after some photo opportunites, the guys all boarded onto the bright yellow and purple Thunder Jet Boat and the rest of us jumped onto the following boat. We took off into the Harbour where I got fantastic photos of the Sydney Opera House as well as the bridge with the guys speeding past in front of them. At first I was a bit bummed I didn't get to go on the speed boat, but after the tour of the harbour and how wet all the guys were when they got off, I felt fortunate that I hadn't joined them.

I had a little down time when I got back to the hotel and went to hang out in Rampage's room as they played video games; Michael Bisping showed up after 15 minutes and joined in. I excused myself shortly after because I had made plans to go to the gym with a group of the fighters. Seeing as a bunch were Brazilian, when I got to the lobby Krzysztof Soszynski was leaving without them, and only Mayhem was to be found.

We located Parsons and jumped in a cab to Sydney Boxing Works; opting not to wait for the rest instead texting them the address of where we were headed. It was only a few minutes away from the hotel so they showed up not long after. Krzysztof was already there warming up; after a little bit of small talk with friends he hadn't seen in a while, Mayhem also started warming up. This is one of the coolest things about fighting in my opinion; You create great friendships with people from all over the world.

Krzystzof started hitting pads in the ring as Nogueira and Wanderlei walked in the door and made their way downstairs. The gym was a 3 story location and we were on the middle level. There was a ring, an area right next to it for weights, and a large cage area with mats and heavy bags. I noticed a set of stairs going upstairs but never made it up there to check it out. I shot Krzysztof for 3 rounds before joining the rest of the group in the nether regions of the Boxing Works.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim lights, I took in my surroundings. There was a huge square cage that all of the fighters were working out in, with mat areas surrounding it. Many of the gym members and local fighters were looking on as Nogueira and Mayhem rolled together, as well as Wanderlei and his coach. Sydney local kickboxer, Peter Graham called this gym home and was on hand holding pads for Mayhem after he finished working out with Rodrigo.

Former UFC Fighter, Soa Palelei had come to Sydney from Perth where he lives for the UFC and to see his friends. He gave me, Krzystzof and his wife, Genevieve a ride back to the hotel although the weather was so beautiful that walking back had been discussed. But fortunately we did get a ride, because the timing had me back as Joe daddy and Aaron Riley were just walking out the hotel to get food.

I didn't head back into the hotel, instead walked out with the guys in search of food.. We were joined by some friends from the UFC and walked out on the docks towards the Sydney Opera House. It was about 6pm and the moderate temperature was refreshing. Since we were looking for a casual meal, the prices on the docks were a little more than we wanted to spend so we walked the other way along George Street in search of something else.

We found a place called Infusion 333 and sat down to a quick meal. I shared a dim sum basket with Aaron and then we all played a game of Pool. The balls were all one of two colors, a game that I have since found out is called, snookers. We played girls against guys and through a series of sloppy shots (and a bunch of shit talking), Rachel and I won.

I thought when we got back to the hotel that we were calling it a night. But Duke Roufus was heading out in search of food, so a group of us decided to join him. We ended up out on The Rocks at Lowenbrau where they grabbed beers and some german fare. Somehow this seemed to be where everyone was walking by and we spotted a number of people we knew here from UFC. Some of the guys, including Rashad Evans joined us for a little bit before they took off to Kings Cross to try and find more trouble to get into.

I didn't go, instead opting to head back to the hotel with Duke and Tom. I spotted another group hanging out in the lobby so I joined in conversation for about an hour before deciding to call it a night. Another full day.. Who knows what wednesday will bring!!