Best of UFC 88

Atlanta fans have a reputation for being indifferent, but those are the mainstream sports fans. The MMA fans that descended on the city for UFC 88 were downright rabid. Sporting UFC gear and averaging 13 tattoos, the fans took over downtown Atlanta for three solid nights. There was no mistaking the UFC fans when you walked the streets. The huge necks and Affliction t-shirts gave them away.

The fighters and their entourages walked the streets before the show and mingled with fans. At the Hard Rock Café, Matt Hamill graciously took pictures with anyone who asked and Chuck Liddell's trainer John Hackleman had fun with a wedding party celebrating their nuptials underneath Prince's guitar.

The fans were hardcore and all seemed to have one thing in common. They were there to see Chuck Liddell. Every time Chuck appeared on a video screen or in person, the room would explode in cheers. His opponent was booed at the weigh-ins. Hard.

"I didn't really mind it that much, because that's what I expected," Rashad said. "If I hadn't expected it, I might have gotten my feelings hurt. But I knew they would all be rooting for Chuck. I like Chuck, too. I was clapping and dancing to his music when he came out. I was going to have fun with it. I wasn't going to be like 'Oh no! This is my death.' Being relaxed allowed me to fight the way I'm capable of fighting."

A huge crowd of nearly 15,000 guarantees a return engagement. And the UFC has something to prove. The company has set gate records almost everywhere they've traveled. But in Atlanta, the UFC had to settle for second. "You know who beat us here? Barbra Streisand," White said, sending the room into hysterics. "And you've got to ask me that tonight. Barbra Streisand beat us. And that sucks. We want a rematch with Barbra."