Hurrying down the corridor inside Acer Arena, I could hear the deep heavy sounds of AC/DC's Hell's Bells. As I edged closer to my section of seats, my ears began to get used to the deafening sound booming from the giant base speakers that were hoisted far above the cage. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that the great Aussie rockers were actually on stage themselves.

I checked my ticket and made sure I was about to enter the right door when I was hit by another wave of sound that left me clutching my ears. I continued on through giant doors and was immediately overwhelmed by the noise and vibrations that I could feel reverberate through my body.

I quickly found my seat and waited in anticipation for the start of the show. There wasn't an empty seat within sight and as the lights turned into darkness, a shiver ran from the base of my spine right up to the hairs on my head.

The lights simultaneously flashed on as UFC commentator Joe Rogan entered from behind a curtain to "get the proceedings underway."

The thousands in attendance let out a deafening roar as the clapping, stomping and cheering drowned out Rogan's booming voice. After a full minute, the crowd were still on their feet, giving the sort of reception that is now commonplace wherever the UFC show travels.

But this was just the reaction to the weigh-ins on Saturday, an event that would be highlighted by the testosterone-driven stare-down between England's Michael ‘The Count' Bisping and America's own Jorge ‘El Conquistador' Rivera.

Most sports would be happy to serve up the antics that a UFC weigh-in presents as their main event, but that is not how UFC President Dana White and his company operate. The official weigh-in was, of course, the appetiser to what is billed as the "best live sporting experience money can buy" - the main event on Sunday. After watching all the fighters jump on the scales I was left with no doubt that UFC 127: Penn v Fitch, would live up to the hype.

This was my second UFC event; I was fortunate enough to be in Las Vegas for what many critics and fans of the sport recognise as one of the best UFC events ever: UFC 116.

So while I wasn't expecting UFC 127 to top my first event, I was still anticipating a memorable show. And, as a Victorian, I was aware that thousands of Melburnians would be making the short flight from ‘the sporting capital of the world' to the Harbour City, to get their first look at the UFC phenomenon, as well as Australia's greatest mixed martial artist, George Sotiropoulos.

Waiting in line to enter Acer Arena on fight day, a quick glance around revealed how popular this sport has become. Even though this was not my first event I was still surprised at how many female fans were queueing up.

I remember being surprised by seeing women of all ages at UFC 116 in Las Vegas last July, to watch a sport once described by former Presidential candidate John McCain as "human cockfighting." And it seemed the sport held a similar appeal to Australian women.

Upon entering the arena I was greeted with the same deafening noise I had heard the day before. This time, however, it wasn't AC/DC but Jay Z's ode to New York, Empire State of Mind.

It may be a weak comparison but it appeared the choice in music is a direct representation of how the UFC's appeal crosses all races, religions and gender.

Some people might scoff at this remark but  the way in which the UFC has marketed itself since the Fertitta brothers purchased the struggling UFC in 2001 is that of legend. This was a sport that had been banned in all but a handful of states in the United States and was on the verge of collapse when several key business decisions, combined with a drastic change in promotion and marketing, led to the revival of not only the UFC, which is a franchise now valued at well over $1billion, but also the sport of MMA.

Therefore it came as no surprise to learn the 18,000-capacity Acer Arena was sold out within half an hour, breaking not only the arena's record for fastest sell out but also the UFC's record for fastest sell out outside of the MMA mecca, North America.

After negotiating the throng of fans that could easily be mistaken for a passionate crowd at the MCG, I nestled into my seat. Although the main card wasn't due to start for two hours, the majority of seats were filled with only a smattering of chairs empty on the ground level.

Eight fights later and the main card was due to start. Darkness fell over the arena as hundreds of mobile phones gave the appearance of a starry night, silence followed as the 18,500 fans in attendance waited with an almost breathless anticipation. Finally the silence was broken and Acer Arena erupted with fanfare akin to the most passionate English Premier League match.

The enthusiasm that I had witnessed 24 hours earlier at the weigh-in resembled a Wiggles concert in comparison to the atmosphere generated by this Australian crowd.

As with any large sporting crowd, there are the jibes and snide remarks that sometimes give that particular sport a bad name. UFC127 was no different as several times throughout the afternoon insults were hurled at some of the fighters, which were answered with muffled sniggering. The worst of them were directed at Russian-born German Dennis Siver, who was taking on Australia's own George Sotiropoulos, and involved an unpleasant reference to Nazis. 

The highlight of the night however, was the reception that was given to Sotiropoulos as he entered the arena to the sounds of Men at Work's anthem, Down Under. Maybe it was the acoustics underneath the closed roof of Acer Arena or the countless numbers of speakers that littered the ceiling, but the atmosphere generated for the next half hour was electric.

Being an Aussie Rules devotee who has attended several AFL grand finals, I can unequivocally say that the atmosphere generated by the fans for this fight was at least that produced on grand final day. Obviously the arena, and the crowd, were not on the same scale as the MCG but, for pure enthusiasm and noise, the atmosphere was on a par.

Although Sotiropoulos lost the fight and the main event was an unfulfilling draw, it is clear that the weekend was not only a success for the UFC but, in this journalist's eyes, for everyone involved.

If the plane trip back to Melbourne highlighted anything it was that the sport of MMA is growing at a faster rate in Australia than the UFC ever anticipated. As I sat cramped in between two diehard UFC fans as they discussed the day's proceedings, there was little doubt that the UFC is well and truly here to stay - with the next destination possibly, hopefully, being Melbourne.