This weekend is UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz and Audra and I will be out there rooting for several fighters. Dustin Jacoby, who used to fight out of the HIT Squad is competing; also from Pat’s old gym, Bart Palaszewski; Jeff Curran, a native northern Illinois boy is competing; and, as you all know, I’m going to go out and help BJ cut any weight and help him out in any way I can.

I really feel that if BJ is in shape, he should win this fight. I think BJ’s striking is better, I think BJ’s take-downs are better, and I think BJ’s ground game is better. So the only way I see Diaz winning is if he gasses BJ out. If you’re going out for the fight, hit the forums and let me know.

I’m currently driving home from the airport dictating this blog to Nate (my webmaster) over the phone. I’ve been sitting here debating whether I should tell this story or not and I’ve decided to go ahead and share it. So here we go: I’m in the airport bathroom washing my hands, getting ready to pick up my luggage and get on the shuttle. A man at the sink next to me says, “I’m surprised to see you here.” I do my typical thing where I look at him like I don’t know what he’s talking about. He then says, “UFC right?” and I say “Yes.” I then look him over a little bit and he’s an older gentlemen (he eventually told me he was 62) wearing nice clothes. He asks for a picture and I say sure we’ll step outside and snap a pic. Usually when I do this, we’ll find a third person to actually take the picture, so that way we’re both in the picture. Well he just whipped his camera out and took a picture of me, giving me just enough time to get my hands up into a fighting pose. I then went and grabbed my luggage and found a shuttle to take me to my truck. When I sat down in the shuttle he was sitting across from me. We struck up a conversation and as more people got on the shuttle, space got cramped, so I jumped over and sat next to him. I thought if I’m going to sit next to somebody, I might as well sit next to a good conversation. I would call myself a question-asker, so I quickly started to find out a little more about him. He was returning from a trip down to Dallas for a job interview. A few months back, he was let go from his job. He had mentioned that he was going to send the picture to his kid, so I asked about that. Turns out he’s been married for a long time and has 11 kids, ages 21-31. Then he tells me one of his boys is handicapped and lives in the house with them. He also said that his wife has never asked for anything, except that her father with cerebral palsy live out the rest of his life in their house. I asked a few questions about that and he says it’s tough because people with CP just don’t remember anything. After he tells me this, he keeps talking; but to be honest, I go straight to prayer for him and his family. Especially asking that he gets the job that he travelled so far to interview for. At this moment, I feel God putting something on my heart and when I get that feeling, a lot of times I’ll try and make God prove it to me. So I fired right back, “God if you want me to do this, have him get off the shuttle when I get off.” In a parking lot with a couple hundred cars, there is no chance he’s going to get off the shuttle when I do. So we keep chatting and when we get to the parking lot the driver asks where I was parked and what I was driving. The guy I prayed for said “That’s right next to me,” and he got off the shuttle when I did. So now I know what I need to do, but how am I going to phrase it? That’s what I’m thinking the whole time as I put my luggage in my car as he’s still standing there chatting with me. So I told him, “I’m trying to hurry up and put my kids to bed; but I’ve got to tell you a story.” I tell him “I started praying for you when you told me a little bit about yourself. God put something on my heart – so I told him to prove it and have you get off the shuttle when I did. Well, you did and now I have to do what God has put on my heart.” I gave him a $100 bill out of my wallet and said, “Go take your wife out to eat wherever she wants to go.” Of course, he wanted nothing to do with the money, but how do you say no? I told him I consider myself a greedy man, because I know that if I give him $100, in a short time God going to give me $1000. I could tell he was astonished and speechless, so I jumped in my truck and, at this moment, I am still trying to race home to catch my kids before they fall asleep. One of the funny things is, I never caught the man’s name. I believe what happened tonight is what you might call a “divine appointment.” God knew that this man and I would meet before I parked my truck at the airport. Even before this whole trip was scheduled, God arranged for this meeting. So I’m just humbled and awe-struck at how He works in our lives. I will continue to pray for this man and I would ask that anyone else who feels led to should pray for him as well.

Here are the air times for this week’s episode of Trophy Hunters TV that I’m hosting, on the Outdoor Channel:

Air Dates & Times for 2011
Beginning August 15, 2011
Wednesday, 10:00 AM EST / 9:00 AM CST
Thursdays, 2:30 PM EST / 1:30 PM CST
Thursdays, 12:30 AM EST / 11:30 AM CST
Saturdays, 8:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM CST

The show description for this week:

“Grin & Bear It”
(Airs the week of October 24th, 2011)
On his first archery hunt for bears, Matt Hughes enjoys the scenery of Saskatchewan, Canada. After a long wait, his patience is rewarded with the opportunity to take a cinnamon bear.

The Bible verse for this week:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

-matt

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