#Hollis and the Mighty McGregor

[hollismusic]

Adventures in Home Recording (Part II - Learn from someone great)

During my junior year in college, I lived in Glasgow, Scotland studying abroad at the University of Glasgow.  One of the first things I did after settling in to the neighborhood was finding a local music store and buying an acoustic guitar.  One of the easiest ways to find other musicians and make friends is finding a local open mic to play.  I got lucky in this respect as there were many open mic nights at nearby pubs and student unions and some of the pubs hosting them even offered a free pint for musicians who performed.

One of the open mics I played was a pub called Whistler’s Mother (named after the famous painting from James McNeill Whistler).  The host was a guy named Andrew McGregor who ran the open mic with his friend Lindsey.  They played mostly cover songs to start the open mic and created a very friendly and inviting atmosphere.  Andy’s brother Stuart tended bar and was also a talented musician with his own band.  The first night I played open mic at the Whistler’s I had the notion to let my freak flag fly a little and play some weirder, original songs.  I made some sort of impression on Andy (not necessarily a good one) and he approached me afterward and talked about music and recording.  He invited me to his home studio located in his dad’s print shop in a town about an hour away called Largs.

I met him early on a Saturday morning next to the Whistler's Mother.  I had my guitar, a tuner, and a notepad with ideas for a couple of tunes I wanted to record. He picked me up in his small red hatchback and we headed for his little seaside hometown of Largs.

What a nice, interesting fellow musician! Here he was, getting up early on a Saturday morning.  How cool was this situation I stumbled into simply by playing at an open mic?

On the way out of town, Andy turned to me and asked: "Hollis, did you know I'm a viking?"

Panic immediately set in as I thought how dumb it was to get in a car with a Scottish stranger.  "I'm about to be kidnapped, or murdered, or molested, or all three," I thought.

Andy continued: "Largs has a viking museum as it was the last point of entry when the vikings invaded Scotland.  I give tours and bang a battle axe on a shield and scare the wee kids.  My viking name is 'Ragnor'."

I started breathing again taking comfort in the fact that the worst Andy would do to me is attack me with a medieval weapon (which he later confirmed he possessed).

We drove an hour to his home town of Largs along the coast of the island--a beautiful little sea-side Scottish shire with plenty of gambling machines and places to eat fish and chips.  I expected we would record in Andy's garage at his house or maybe set up a few microphones in a living room, which is why I was so confused when we pulled up to what turned out to be a print shop.

Andy’s home studio just happened to be located in his father’s print shop: a larger warehouse with printing technology ranging from large, laser printers to century-old printing machines with moveable type.  The “studio” was located in a closet.  Inside the closet was a large, custom-built computer running some version of Cubase which required a USB dongle to be inserted into the computer while running (remember the days?), a tall chair, a control surface with the model name of “Houston” (perhaps to launch a rocket, Andy frequently joked), a 88-key midi keyboard, and some cables hanging carefully from nails equidistantly plunged into the shelving unit above the keyboard.

It didn’t look like much, but I knew that great recordings had been done with less, so I was happy to throw my songs in Andy’s hands to see what kind of recording we could get.

Watching Andy work was stunning.  He was an incredible piano player, and knew how to coax all sorts of great sounds from his keyboard.  He also worked quickly and efficiently on the Houston.  It was amazing to watch him work.  When we think of recording engineers working in a studio, we get the image a guy passively moving faders up and down and twisting knobs occasionally—not so with Andy. After every track was recorded, Andy's real work began with editing, mixing, and doing the work of a producer to guide the song idea into a recording which would sound even better than what I could have dreamed.  That is one of the real challenges of a producer.  While an artist may come to the table with the component parts and ideas for a song or album, the monumental technical and artistic task largely resides with the person in charge of running the recording session.  Perhaps an artist may come into the studio with an idea of a song he wants to sound like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but what part of that hit and his or her song does that likeness intertwine?  Is it the killer, memorable guitar riff?  Is it the vocal sound of 90’s teenage angst?  Is it an ineffable mood aspect of the song that inspires him or her to make that comparison?  Such is the challenge and the heroics of a good, competent recording engineer and producer.  In professional settings these roles are usually separate, but for the more budget projects all these roles are relegated to the songwriter who might be recording the album on his own.

I fought a fight internally for a while for Rescue over whether I should complete each stage of the recording process with a professional: going to a professional studio and having an engineer record and mix the tunes; maybe having a figure in the local music scene with a particular and apparent talent for recording and production produce the record—guide the record into something worthy of attention.  In the end I chose to serve these roles by myself not be because I thought I could do them better but because I wanted the time to learn and do it myself.  While I will certainly be calling on professionals to help me finish the record, part of the “artistry” I hope people get from the album is a DIY aesthetic and a sense of artist growth.

I am better for doing this album and I am better for all the different people I have learned from (ahem…a one Andrew Robert McGregor).  It is special for me to do the recording part of this project by myself, but there is no way I could have done it without the experience of learning from talented professionals.

If you want to record. find someone great in the studio and learn everything you can from them.  What does their workflow look like?  What special techniques do they employ on each track recording?  How thorough are they?  Do they make you do lots of takes until a line is clean and performed well?  What can you steal from them (ideas and techniques--not actual property or equipment).

You can stream Miss the Plane and Quick Relief, the two albums Andy recorded and produced for me on Spotify.

To download and stream DANGER and INVITES click here to shop and throw me some love.  RESCUE is due to be released this spring 2017!

[thesportssoundoff]

The 2018 UFC Calendar That Remains And One Man’s Stupid Attempt To Book It

Joey

July 23rd

Before we begin, I began this project the day before the UFC's debut in Boise. I figured all things considered it would take me about a week give or take to flesh this whole thing out. It took me a week JUST to get through October. I got to the Denver show on Friday and that was when the UFC dropped all sorts of news about Edgar/Korean Zombie and Mike Perry/Donald Cerrone co-headlining said show. I haven't edited it. I'm not going to edit it. IF ANYTHING, I think not touching what I did before Friday is an important piece of the puzzle. Nothing really puts this project into perspective like having to look at what you did and then something immediately changing that renders it moot. Everything AFTER the UFC in Denver was done pretty much on Sunday night.

The UFC released their schedule this week for the rest of the year. There's a lot of fights upcoming, perhaps more than you can shake a stick at. You're talking 14 events, 7 in the US, 1 in Russia, 1 in China, 2 in South America (Brazil and probably Argentina), 2 in Canada and 1 in the always cool Australia. If you give the UFC it's usual average of 12 fights a show then you're looking at probably 168 fights across the course of four months. We've got 3 in September, 2 in October, 5 in November and 4 in December which is about close-ish to what we got last year. Of course two of those cards are on Fight Pass, one is on Big Fox, five are on PPV and unless I'm mistaken the remaining 6 are on FS1. I did this in the beginning of the year (foolishly I might add) but now with the year coming to a close, I might as well take one final swing at it am I right? Here's my belief on what we're going to get from the UFC to close out 2018 from show to show and as Brock Lesnar once lovingly said "From sea to shining sea!"

September 8th

Dallas, Texas

UFC 228

Main Event: Tyron Woodley vs Colby Covington

Co-Main Event: Valentina Shevchenko vs Nicco Montano

There's really nothing immediately on the docket to feel comfortable about as a headliner.  A natural-ish fit would be Ortega vs Holloway in a rebooking but Holloway's return to action is unknown. Jeremy Stephens, if he beats Aldo of course, could fight Edgar or Ortega for an interim title fight here if need be. Frankie is apparently a week away from being able to train again so an early July to early September set up is plenty of time for a dude who is  well known for his ability to be ready regardless of the circumstances. Already announced we have Zhabit/Yair and Jon Dodson vs Jimmie Rivera plus it seems pretty likely that Montano vs Shevchenko is getting announced soon-ish. That's not a main event and shouldn't be confused as such BUT it could be a respectable #2 on the bill.

September 15th

Moscow, Russia

UFC Fight Night

Main Event: Mark Hunt vs Aleksei Olynik

Co-Main Event: Shamil Abdurakhimov vs Andrei Arlovski

Consider this a mild, tepid dipping of the toe into the Russian fight market. The UFC's first event in Russia is a Fight Pass card; not even cracking the likes of FS1 or a PPV setting. While China got Anderson Silva and Kelvin Gastelum, Russia was getting Fabricio Werdum and Alexey Oleynik. That's still a fine main event but clearly not on the same level as the perceived GOAT and the top MW prospect in the division. That fight got USADA'd and in its place, we got Hunt vs Oleynik which is totally fine. A co-main event of Curtis Blaydes vs Alexander Volkov fell apart with Blaydes being hurt and Volkov opting to get paid to weigh in as a UFC 226 replacement. The UFC cut prices before the event to, in so many words, allow for poor people to get into the event and seats apparently are going to be at your standard UFC Fight Pass levels where they open up the bowl sections and ground floor only. There's been some rumors of the likes of Islam Makachev, Jorge Masvidal, Jimi Manuwa, Petr Yan, Nikita Krylov and Mairbek Taisumov (!) all getting a chance to fight but I'm betting when all's said and done, we're looking at Arlovski and Abdurakhimov being our co-main event of the evening. Or morning depending on where you are.

September 22nd

Sao Paolo, Brazil

UFC Fight Night

Main Event: John Lineker vs Raphael Assuncao

Co-Main Event: Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira vs Neil Magny

The UFC's brazilian ranks are being casually wiped out be it due to injuries, ineffectiveness, fighters leaving or retiring. The last show of the year from Brazil needs A GUY but finding A GUY who can headline is sort of tough in this market. The one thing I hold steadfast is the possibility that they could actually try giving a female fighter a chance to headline (Gadelha vs Calderwood at 125 lbs was something I thought of). I even figured Demian Maia is always like a phone call away as well but I can't think of a guy I'm excited to see him fight (or just a guy for him to fight at all). Gimme Lineker vs Assuncao in a true #1 contender fight since Marlon Moraes' two amazing highlight reel KOs probably vaults him about Raphael even with the loss. Also keep an eye on Formiga vs Pettis here as well since it's a natural "no shit" #1 contender fight at flyweight.

October 6th

Las Vegas, Nevada

UFC 229

Main Event: Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov

Co-Main Event: Holly Holm vs Ketlein Vieira

We've already got the unofficial official announcements of Sean O'Malley and Frankie Edgar/Korean Zombie for Vegas. One of the rumors going around is that the UFC plans on doing something, likely an interim placeholder title, for Holm vs Vieira. If so, you should absolutely do it on THIS card because the only way you're going to get folks excited about that fight is if it's got a McGregor-esque support attached to it. Conor vs Khabib will probably happen this year, if not in October then I'd bet in MSG. Conor vs Khabib IMO is a serious test of what is or isn't a big buyrate these days. The last BIG fight we had was Gennady-Canelo which did (IMO) a somewhat surprisingly meh 1.2 million----and this should beat that and comfortably. If it doesn't then we've got shit to talk about. Conor/Khabib, Holm/Vieira, Edgar/Zombie, O'Malley plus Darren Till (who apparently is a lock for this card) seems like a damn good top 5 to me.

October 27th

Moncton, Canada

Fight Night on FS1

Main Event: Rafael Dos Anjos vs Kamaru Usman

Co-Main Event: Ilir Latifi vs the winner of Glover Teix/Corey Anderson

I don't know what necessarily is in Moncton but the UFC tries in theory to go to new markets and bring special cards. The problem is they always tend to get picked apart due to injuries. As for this card? Well there were rumors that Usman vs RDA was the next fight to make in the Fall sometime and this seems like a fine enough time for it. Usman could also be a sleeper for the 170 lb title picture if there's an injury or whatever. As for the co-main? By all accounts Ilir is expected to be back in the middle of the Fall and so I'm betting this could be a good enough time. Latifi vs the winner of Glover/Corey Anderson isn't a perfect fight but there are worse fights to be co-main events. If anything it's a relevant fight at a division that's still trying to figure out what relevant is. Throw in PVZ vs Rachael Ostovich (come on now it HAS to happen) and Elias Theodorou for good measure for main card related purposes.

November 3rd

New York, New York

UFC 230

Main Event: Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier

Co-Main Event: Brian Ortega vs the Jeremy Stephens/Jose Aldo winner or Max Holloway Third title fight: Cody Garbrandt/TJ Dillashaw winner vs Marlon Moraes Yoel Romero vs Ovince St. Preux Chris Weidman vs Paolo Costa

I'm betting that we're going to get the Jon Jones news any day now of a one year suspension redacted to July. If so, I'm betting the UFC puts Jones vs DC together with Cormier knowing that win or lose, the Brock fight awaits. DC seems really open to fighting at 205 lbs in the interim while he waits for Brock so I'm guessing/betting that if it's not Jones then it's a Shogun or a Gus here in this spot. The co-main event is a little more....prickly. Until I hear something about Max Holloway, I'm going to continue to believe that the rumors about him suffering something traumatic during his weight cut are true enough for me to not think we see him again this year. That means Ortega's going to have to fight somebody for the belt and if so, the winner of Stephens/Aldo lines up pretty damn well time wise. If Stephens knocks off Aldo then he'll have earned this shot no questions asked. The third title fight (because MSG tradition says three) was a toss up between Mighty Mouse coming back, the rumored Nunes/Cyborg fight or the TJ/Cody winner. Marlon Moraes is coming off of TWO 1st round finishes of the highest order and I think that puts him above Assuncao who has a better overall resume (and the win tie breaker) but no flashy "This is my title shot" moment. Moraes has that. As for the rest of the main card? Yoel Romero vs Gus seems like THE perfect fight to make but Gustafsson is seemingly not up for a Romero clash. That could in turn open the door for Romero vs OSP since they seem to gel up timeline wise (Romero had surgery, OSP has a family matter he's dealing with). Chris Weidman vs Paolo Costa is a rumored fight the UFC wants to put together for MSG and I'd be totally okay with that fight for both guys.  Throw in some "names" on the undercard and this card could/should be the 2nd biggest show of the year. If Jones vs DC III with two title fights doesn't get people excited then I'm not sure what else there is to offer y'all.

November 10th

Denver, Colorado

25th Anniversary Fight Night

Main Event: Tony Ferguson vs Dustin Poirier/Eddie Alvarez loser

Co-Main Event: Donald Cerrone vs Mike Perry (at 170)/Kevin Lee (at 155)

The UFC has built a whole marketing promotion for this one so this show might get a big damn deal. Tony Ferguson vs the loser of Poirier/Alvarez seems like a natural-ish fit for this card given that Ferguson is expected to be back by the end of 2018. Ferguson isn't getting the Khabib/Conor winner and I get the feeling that if Poirier wins, he's getting the title shot. This is a damn important stay busy fight at lightweight for both guys. As for Cerrone vs Perry? Donald Cerrone is a big deal in Colorado and if he stays at WW, this is a damn good fight for him. Otherwise? I like Cerrone vs Kevin Lee as a fight if Cerrone TRULY wants to try 155 lbs again. He shouldn't but if he does? Good fit for me. I like this fight a bunch. Throw in Sage Northcutt (!!!!!!!), Chad Mendes vs Mirsad Bektic, Do Bronz Oliveira vs David Teymur, Cat Zingano vs Rocky Pennington and the Rivera/Dodson winner vs Alejandro Perez and we're off to the races!

November 17th

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fight Night

Main Event: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Leon Edwards

Co-Main EVent: Dominick Reyes vs Jan Blachowicz

Take two! The UFC heads into Argentina (after flirting with a November 2017/Feb 2018 visit) and with Ponz healthy and ready to go, I'd imagine Argentina is about to experience a Ponzi Scheme. Ya like that? I like it. Ponzinnibio vs Edwards feels like a great piece of matchmaking given their respective winning streaks and the fact that Till, Covington and Usman have all leapfrogged them in the division. Good easy work here. The co-main is more about finding out what Dominick Reyes CAN'T do at this point. I've seen him steamroll dudes with enough ease to get a little curious/froggy as to what necessarily else he's got for us. I am, dare I say, intrigued. Jan has proven himself again after an up and down UFC run. The time is now and it'll never be more ready than now for thesetwo. Blachowicz might even be overqualified for the job but who cares? There's plenty of fun developing Latin American talent to find a spot for on this show, like Julio Arce, Moggly Benitez, Vicente Luque (Brazilian with Chilean roots), the eternally underrated Enrique Barzola and some of the other fine Latin American fighters in the UFC and trying to get into the UFC.

November 24th

Shanghai, China

UFC Fight Night (likely on Fight Pass)

Main Event: Francis Ngannou vs Marcin Tybura

Co-Main Event: Walt Harris vs the Arlovski/Shamil Adburahkhimov winner

Would the UFC try to run back Anderson Silva in China? I'm not sure they wouldn't consider it. As more and more decent Chinese fighters start to filter into the UFC, the Chinese market seems to actually be on the verge of finally breaking through.  If there's one thing the UFC is frequently "good" at; it's sending big dudes to foreign markets to try and appeal to casual audiences with size. With the likes of Song Yadong, Li Jingliang, Guan Wang, Kenan Song and some of the Chinese female mixed martial artists at the ready; the undercard should be loaded up with local-ish talent who can be relied upon for undercard support. With that being laid down? Go big at the top. I can't think of a more direct message to send to Francis Ngannou than to put him on a Fight Pass event while still getting max value out of him with a big main event for an international crowd. Ngannou vs Tybura is a fine test for Francis and it trumps a rumored JDS fight which doesn't make a whole bunch of sense given that JDS is coming off his first win in forever while Ngannou has dropped two in a row.  Throw in a Yushin Okami fight as well just to confirm you hate your audience. We all know you do! Also would be totally down for Li Jingliang vs Chad Laprise or someone of that ilk.

November 30th

Las Vegas, Nevada

TUF Finale

Main Event: Derrick Lewis vs Justin Willis

Co-Main Event: One of the TUF Finales (below that though and another TUF finale, Brad Tavares vs Thiago Marreta)

If big dudes throwing punches isn't your thing then November might be a rough month for y'all. I ALMOST went with JDS here but I'll pass on that one to be honest. Lewis vs Justin Willis is a good test for Willis and with a lengthy stretch of time off, the Black Beast can maybe get his back right. Wouldn't be opposed to Mark Hunt vs Lewis II either. This is the last TUF of all time and it features HWs so might as well give them a HW fight too.

December 1st

Adelaide, Australia

Fight Night

Main Event: Israel Adesanya vs Derek Brunson

Co-Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs Josh Emmett

The Australian/Kiwi/NZ fighter's revolution is still off and popping. Right on time too as the UFC is heading to Australia in December with dudes like Tai Tuavasa, Dan Hooker, Alexander Volkanovski, Jessica Rose Clark and Israel Adesanya at the top of the run. RIGHT off the jump we've got a problem as Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold are out of the division, Weidman and Costa are matched up, Jacare and Brunson are matched up and you've got Gastelum waiting on Whittaker. That in turn leads us to Adesanya vs Derek Brunson win or lose vs Shoeface. At this point I feel like Adesanya has been sped up so fast that it's basically a lock that he'll take on a Brunson type next. That brings us to the co-main where it's time for Volkanovski to get a bigger name. Dude's earned this shot. Volkanovski vs Emmett makes sense or even Volkanovski vs Lamas, Bektic or any of THOSE guys would be damn cool. Throw in Tai Tuavasa vs a fun punching bag and you've got one hell of a top three and Tyson Pedro vs Devin Clark too.

December 8th

Toronto, Canada

UFC 231

Main Event: Rose Namajunas vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz/Jessica Andrade winner

Co-Main Event: Junior Dos Santos vs Mark Hunt 2 Anderson Silva vs Uriah Hall Stephen Thompson vs Gunnar Nelson Jordan Mein vs Michael Chiesa

The UFC is going to try and give Toronto something special. This SEEMED on paper like the perfect spot to roll out the Whittaker vs Gaselum title fight but Rob is out into February. An interim fight here doesn't make much sense I guess. The best option is probably the most likely option and that's going to be a 115 lb title fight at the top of the bill. In the mean time and in between time, I'm a big fan of the idea of giving the strawweight division EVERY chance to succeed. Maybe a 115 lb title fight won't draw a major crowd on its own but JDS vs Mark Hunt 2 and Anderson Silva (!) makes for a damn fine balance of options across the board for a main card. Throw in two good WW fights plus every Canadian under the sun in the prelim spots and I think we're good to go here!

December 15th

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

UFC on Fox

Main Event: Alexander Gustafsson vs Luke Rockhold

Co-Main Event: Anthony Pettis vs Al Iaquinta

Outside of just popping a number for old time's sake, the UFC really has no incentive to do anything "big" here. It's a finale for Fox, one last chance for them and the UFC to put on a good show before Fox goes into bed with pro bowling and the UFC moves on to ESPN. The main event is a fine enough rebooking as Rockhold's debut at 205 vs Alexander Gustafsson still SEEMS like a pretty great idea. It's not a Milwaukee showcase without Anthony Pettis as the dude looks to continue his career rebuild at 155 lbs. I'm not entirely all in on yet on his return BUT I'm loving the idea of it. I ALMOST went with Mighty Mouse here vs Sergio Pettis as the main event but I don't know if that fight happens on Fox since there's really no major incentive for it to be on Fox. Throw in Mackenzie Dern vs Jessica Aguilar in a showcase fight/test for Dern and Edson Barboza vs David Teymur and we should be fine enough to go here.

December 29th

Las Vegas, Nevada

UFC 229

Main Event: Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg

Co-Main Event: TJ/Cody loser vs Dominick Cruz

Carlos Condit vs Robbie Lawler Cynthia Calvillo vs Michelle Waterson Khalil Rountree vs Jimi Manuwa

And so we might as well end the year hot. With the final show in Vegas, it sure seems like some form of Nunes vs Cyborg is happening. In truth it's the biggest fight that WMMA can conjure up currently so I have no issue with that. Beyond that though? I think no fight is going to sell like that one will so you might as well support the undercard for thee last remaining WMMA anti-fans. Don't want to see Nunes vs Cyborg? Well how about a rematch of the best WW fight ever @ your mom about it? Lawler should be back by then and Condit has already said he wants one more go of it at 170 lbs. If ANY fight is going to get people up for one last final run, it's that one. TJ or Cody vs Dom Cruz buys us some time for Assuncao and company to maybe get a title fight in the interim. That and TJ vs Cruz 2 still has some high upside appeal to me. Calvillo vs Waterson may not appeal to everybody but Waterson is usually in a fun fight and I'm still high up on Calvillo's upside. Khalil Rountree probably fights four times between now and this show but I really think Rountree vs Manuwa can be a bonkers striking battle. Throw in Zhabit Magomedsharipov, Claudia Gadelha vs Felice Herrig, some combination of DWTCS guys, a HW fight of a high caliber and plenty of fake rumors about a second title fight and we're off to the races!

[johnwcastor]

Thoughts on (the current state of) the UFC

This past week, the departure of top-ranked Middleweight fighter Gegard Mousasi shocked many MMA fans and writers alike. With 5 wins in a row, and in 6 of his last 7 overall, it seemed absurd that an elite 31-year-old who was a win or two away from a title shot would be let go to join up with Bellator, the UFC’s main competitor. 

Some news outlets, such as MMAJunkie, questioned how, exactly, the UFC values its fighters. To me, a bigger question arises about the UFC as a whole, and that is: How do they plan on growing successfully while treating their own fighters as powerless and immaterial? 

Since the $4 billion purchase of the company by WME-IMG group (July, 2016), there has been a noticeable shift in the way the company has run, most specifically in its poor treatment of high caliber fighters. For the first time in the company’s history, fighters and the media are aware that the UFC does not run the MMA game and there’s a lot of red flags to indicate the the top dog in the game might actually be trending downward. Treatment of Champions Since the purchase of the UFC, three champions have remained: Demetrius Johnson (Men’s Flyweight), Joanna Jędrzejczyk (Women Strawweight) and Stipe Miocic (Men’s Heavyweight). Miocic and Jędrzejczyk have been admired by fans and the UFC alike. Demetrius Johnson, however, is a completely differently story than these two, and while he exemplifies the current “fighter treatment” problem, he is only one of a handful of key examples.  Since moving down to flyweight in 2012, all “Mighty Mouse” has done is dominate to a record-setting career. Since a draw with Ian McCall back in 2012, Johnson has remained undefeated in this division, handling others en route to twelve straight wins and a tie with Anderson Silva’s record of 10 straight title defenses. Following his submission victory over Wilson Reis (April 15, 2017), Demetrious Johnson was called the proud-for-pound best (P4P) and potentially the G.O.A.T. by Dana White. However, that perspective quickly shifted once Demetrius Johnson decided to speak up for himself against perceived mistreatment. 

The scenario goes that, following an injury to Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt, top contender T.J. Dillashaw was offered a Flyweight Title Fight against Johnson. Johnson, though, did not feel it fair that Dillashaw could drop a division and cut in line over Ray Borg, the top contender at Flyweight. By stating this, it apparently opened the door to wide-ranging attacks from Dana White. 

White quickly withdrew his support for Johnson as P4P best (instead, claiming that it was Conor McGregor) and went on to point out that he has the “lowest selling pay-per-view in the history of the UFC in the modern era.” He went on to point out that Johnson’s claims of being promoted incorrectly, being bullied into taking this fight, and being threatened that the entire division would be shut down, were all baseless nonsense. In other words, White, in a matter of less than two months, went from directly supporting and defending his record-setting champion to publicly insulting him, questioning his motives and insulting his popularity. 

The issue when White engages in this type is that it undermines a champion who has done nothing but win. When DJ complained that he was not being promoted correctly, the response was to point out that a season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” a show whose ratings have (essentially) declined regularly and then to insult him outwardly. It might be this precise behavior that Johnson is speaking of when he mentions not being properly promoted by his own company. In fact, on July 12, Demetrius Johnson was awarded the 2017 ESPY for “Best Fighter,” beating out Conor McGregor and boxing champion Gennady Golovkin, and to this point, White, specifically, has not said a word to congratulate him for this honor (although the UFC’s official twitter did mention it). 

Unfortunately, the UFC’s treatment of “Mighty Mouse” is not the sole example of coarse treatment of one’s own champions. After Tyron Woodley complained of being discriminated against for being black, proclaiming he was the worst treated champion in the UFC, Dana White replied by calling him “a bit of a drama queen,” and insulting his attitude. 

Most recently, Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes has come under attack by White in what might be the most appalling of all his anti-champion barrages. Prior to the withdrawal in her UFC 213 matchup against  Valentina Shevchenko, both Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone had published articles proclaiming that this fight would usher in a “new era” for the women’s division long reigned over by Ronda Rousey. It was to be the first title match-up devoid of Rousey or her long-term rival Meisha Tate. Both of these women were destroyed by Nunes, and what White now had in his hands was a dominant women’s champ who, had she won that night (or even in the rescheduled matchup), could carry this division and win over both male and female fans with her aggressive, violence-as-beauty style. In short, she could easily become White’s next true superstar.

Instead, after initially being told by doctors that she was cleared to fight, Nunes still pulled out of the headlining fight (She would explain a day later that sinusitis was the cause of the pullout and that a CT scan revealed blockage requiring antibiotics). To White, this was beyond unacceptable. He went on to say that she “didn’t want to fight,”  that her pullout was “90% mental and maybe 10% mental,” and that she won’t headline a UFC ever again. In short, within hours of his champion pulling out of a title fight (the first pullout in her career, it’s worth noting), White was at it again: publicly ripping a fighter and demonstrating a clear company policy of degrading one’s own champions.  

Of importance to mention is that all three of these examples take place after the ownership shift to WME-IMG. Whether that has any influence on White’s behavior cannot be explicitly determined- but it says something about the character of a newly purchased company when its own president is willing to go on record to insult, question and attack his own champions. For a moment, consider any other sport where this happens...can’t think of any, right? If you did come up with an example, consider this: in the scenario you thought of (such as, perhaps, Phil Jackson with Carmelo Anthony), was it deemed as “appropriate” or as one sign of a dysfunctional organization? I rest my case regarding this topic.

Interim Acting Champions

Another issue that has seemingly become the norm under the new ownership is the willingness to let champions call their own shots and to hand out interim belts at every given turn. Consider this: On November 12, 2016, at UFC 205, Conor McGregor became the third man to ever win championships in two divisions and the first man to ever hold two belts simultaneously. EVER.This was huge news! It made for an incredible post-fight interview, was on sports stations worldwide, and led to amazingly unique photo ops which McGregor gladly took advantage of. 

Less than two weeks later, he was stripped of his Featherweight belt so that Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis could fight for an interim title and then compete against Jose Aldo, who also had an interim title after defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. It’s important to mention that the original plan for Conor McGregor was to rematch Nate Diaz at UFC 200- meaning that the interim title would have been fought for on the same card that the current champion was fighting on. Except that he was satisfying a grudge match in another division. Got all that? 

In its entire history, there has been 13 interim titles handed out in the UFC. Five have been awarded since 2015. Until this time frame, none were given out except in the case of a prolonged injury to the current champion. However, dating to shortly before the WME-IMG purchase, handing out the interim title became the new obsession- with very little logic. As stated earlier, Aldo and Edgar, as well as Holloway and Pettis, were all fighting for interim belts while their champion fought up two weight classes simply because he wanted to. At Middleweight, Michael Bisping became champion, spoke out about how none of the top contenders deserved to fight him, fought Dan Henderson, and then sat and recuperated while awaiting Georges St. Pierre’s return. In his (technically injury related) absence, Robert Whittaker became interim champion. Meanwhile, if he could get a fight booked, Tony Ferguson would be fighting for an interim championship in the Lightweight Division. Why is this? Not due to injury, but due to the fact that Conor McGregor is scheduled to make his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather this August. This would bring the number to six interim titles since 2015- with the other 8 coming between 1997 and 2014. Doesn’t this seem imbalanced?

Additionally, in the Women’s Featherweight division, Germaine de Randamie won the belt by defeating Holly Holm only to have it stripped away without a single defense. While this may not seem related, on account of it not being an “interim” title, it goes to the confusing logic of the UFC Championship belts right now. With the arrival of Conor McGregor, it appears that there aren’t set rules for what a champion is supposed to do, how often they are supposed to fight, or why interim belts should come into existence. It’s part of this changing landscape in the UFC that does not seem to have a clear direction or plan for its own championship belts. 

Star Power- or lack thereof. 

In the past, the UFC has heard the, “What will do you do when [Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Georges St. Pierre, Brock Lesnar] leaves?” question and Dana White has always expressed confidence that there will be someone to rise up next and carry the baton. Historically, he has been absolutely on point. Arguably, the main reason for this being that most fighters had the end goal in mind of making it to the UFC. People like Rampage Jackson, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar all had followings and respect, but upon arriving to the UFC, it was a whole new ball game. Jackson went on to movies, Silva, to being considered the GOAT, and Lesnar- well, he was always a superstar, but adding UFC Champion to his resume turned him into a legend. In short, the UFC has never lacked “Star Power,” as, whether by chance or design, the best seemed to always end up here.

However, with the recent trend of top notch FA fighters leaving- starting with Benson Henderson and including Ryan Bader, Ryan Davis, Rory MacDonald, and the aforementioned Gegard Mousasi- it appears that UFC no longer is the only destination for top fighters. Add to this that some of the best ever, such as MMA Legend Fedor Emelianenko and the undefeated, most highly decorated Olympic and collegiate Wrester to transition to MMA, Ben Askren, never found it necessary to join “the best” and you’ve got a narrative that’s beginning to change. Rather than the UFC being the sole destination for people to prove their worth, the paths are now more open than ever before. Money and sponsorship options are, in many cases, better in other organizations, and those who want more of an open door for their career, such as for it to include boxing or wrestling, find that Bellator can offer this while UFC refuses. Combine this with the treatment of champions, as well as many other issues (sponsorship, lack of payment, mistreatment by the organization), and it appears that the UFC no longer owns the golden gates combat fighters all wish to walk through in their careers.

So if some top fighters are leaving the UFC, and others are finding the need to never sign in the first place, at least they can be content with their household name superstars, right? Well, let’s see (Quick note: When speaking of superstars, I mean the ones that “casual fans” would tune in to see. Die hard fans could argue that there is more talent than ever before in the UFC, and it’s hard to disagree - however, the names that carry top selling PPVs are what we’re calling superstars for the purpose of this section).

The biggest moneymakers in UFC history have been Brock Lesnar, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and Georges St. Pierre. Their names typically carried the best selling PPVs. As of this writing, literally none of these names are active in the UFC. McGregor is the currently LW champion, and rumor has it that he will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in Russia, but after pulling in an estimated $100 million for boxing Floyd Mayweather, it seems hard to believe McGregor would ever come back to the UFC, leaving his newborn child at home, to make “only” $20 million a fight (which, itself, isn’t easily guaranteed). 

Jon Jones is returning quite soon (July 29 at UFC 214) and is an absolute star when things align. As we have seen, unfortunately, he is his own worst enemy, and there’s no guarantee what comes about after this fight. He could be back as a full fledged superstar, continuing to rise up the ranks to potential GOAT status, or he could fizzle out, like a misguided Mike Tyson. Time will tell. 

Other than that, Joanna Jędrzejczyk is beloved by fans, but she hasn’t even headlined a PPV by herself so there’s no guarantee the “casual fans” will tune in for her. Michael Bisping is a star, so I should include his name in here. However, most people seem to turn in to see him lose (Bisping v. Henderson 2) and if he falls to Robert Whittaker, it’s hard to predict if the latter has the superstar power. In fact, of all the champions, it’s hard to say any single one is a superstar. Miocic has the city of Cleveland behind him but isn’t really a superstar. Daniel Cormier is supremely talented as both a fighter and announcer, has beaten all the top competition along the way, and still isn’t respect by fans. In fact, he’s recently taken on the “heel” role voluntarily, seeming to accept his fate. We discussed Tyron Woodley and Amanda Nunes earlier, so it’s clear they aren’t industry carrying superstars. Max Holloway has all the tools to be a star- talent, humility, track record, youth- but he isn’t yet.

Perhaps just as important is that in the past few years, the UFC’s attempts to groom their own superstars- most specifically Sage Northcutt and Paige VanZant- turned out terribly so far. Both lost badly early on in their careers. While VanZant still has a following (due to her looks, youth and time on Dancing on the Stars) and both fighters have tremendous raw talent, they could go the way of Uriah Hall in that they are hyped up huge only to turn out to be above average fighters who never capture the casual fan’s attention. 

Another potential star, who might be only weeks away from selling huge PPVs, is Cristina “Cyborg” Justino. However, her path to a UFC championship fight has been unpredictable and controversial. She has failed two drug tests, the second of which she earned a post-failure exemption which, technically, freed her but led to the fans continuing to label her a cheater. On top of that, she has accused the UFC and Ronda Rousey of bullying, proclaimed that the UFC has a culture of bullying, and has been cited for battery after punching fellow women’s fighter Angela Magana on a UFC retreat in Las Vegas. In other words, while Cyborg has all the tools, and the name, to become UFC’s next superstar, it doesn’t promise to be a clear rise to the top with unending support. 

Thus, the obvious question becomes, “Who is the face of the UFC?” There has always been at least one superstar that casual and hardcore fans tuned in for. Right now, that is Conor McGregor, who may or may not return. After that, maybe it’s Jon Jones? Cyborg? Jędrzejczyk? Or, maybe, by cutting their ties with superstars who carry other markets, like Rory MacDonald with with the Canadian market, and putting down their own champions, the UFC has been subconsciously telling the casual fan that many of their fighters aren’t worth tuning into. What do they do, then, when the fans stop tuning in?

Taken Together

Taken together, what I mean to make clear is that, while the UFC itself may not be in danger of sudden failure, the cracks in the facade are beginning to grow. Current fighters of every level are vocal about their dissatisfaction with the UFC on a wide array of issues (pay scales, amount of fights, the Reebok deal, absentee champions, lack of a UNION) and some are feeling liberated by walking away once given the chance. Meanwhile, champions are being bullied and most of them aren’t selling PPV’s anyway. While the biggest name in UFC history- Conor McGregor- is (technically) active, he really stands on the boundary of becoming bigger than the UFC. If he decides to box Mayweather and call it quits, which no one could blame him for, the UFC falls down unlike ever before. All of a sudden, the fighters who you’ve been tearing down become far more important than they’d ever been when you were (virtually) the only game in down. 

Again, I am not trying to paint some bleak image of the future of MMA or even suggest that, two years from now, the UFC will be failing miserably. I suppose my main purpose is to point out that these are obvious red flags that prove things need to change in the UFC. We’re at a crossroads in the MMA game as the sport been mainstream for years and is as popular as ever. Not to mention it has the loudest and brashest spokesperson in its history with Conor McGregor. Fighters are the fight game and it’s time to acknowledge and treat them as such. In the end, the UFC has the opportunity to adjust its overall strategies and treatment of fighters and go back to being clearly the best game in town. It begins with Dana White but should spread throughout the company from the way that all the fighters are viewed- be they champions or those looking to create a name. 

As an avid fan, I truly hope to see this organization (as well as Bellator and others) do what’s right for it’s main product: the fighters. Be real about this, Dana- no one is chiming in to any PPVs for you. No one has tuned into “The Ultimate Fighter” for you. Everything you’ve earned from the purchase of the UFC, the first and second time, is thanks to the fighters who have left their blood, sweat, time, families and youth in the cage for the fans. Don’t lose focus of that. 

Martial Arts has always been about honor, and it’s time to give the respect back to those competing in the sport. I hope the plan for the future includes acknowledging and rebuilding upon this.

[fearsmagazine]

FEARS’ Film Forecast March 2017.

FRIDAY, MARCH 3rd

LOGAN

Studio/Distributor: 20th Century Fox Director: James Mangold Screenplay: Scott Frank, James Mangold, & Michael Green; based on Wolverine by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, & John Romita, Sr. Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, & Dafne Keen Official Site: fox.co/Logan Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheWolverineMovie Twitter: twitter.com/WolverineMovie  |  @WolverineMovie or #Logan Trailer: youtu.be/RH3OxVFvTeg

BEFORE I FALL

Studio/Distributor: Open Road Films Director: Ry Russo-Young Screenplay: Maria Maggenti; based on Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver Stars: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Jennifer Beals, Diego Boneta, & Elena Kampouris. Official Site: www.beforeifallfilm.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeforeIFallFilm Twitter: twitter.com/beforeifallfilm  |  @BeforeIFallFilm Trailer: youtu.be/-vtTvq6e_0U

FRIDAY, MARCH 10th

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Studio/Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts Screenplay: Dan Gilroy & Max Borenstein; based on King Kong by Merian C. Cooper & Edgar Wallace Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, & John C. Reilly. Official Site: kongskullislandmovie.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/KongSkullIsland Twitter: twitter.com/kongskullisland  | @kongskullisland Trailer: youtu.be/44LdLqgOpjo

RAW

Studio/Distributor: Focus World Director: Julia Ducournau Screenplay: Julia Ducournau Stars: Garance Marillier, Ella Rump, Rabah Naït Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, Bouli Lanners, Marion Vernoux, & Jean-Louis Sbille. Official Site: www.focusfeatures.com/raw Facebook: www.facebook.com/Rawmovie Twitter: N.A. Trailer: youtu.be/wKYFH0hRpD0

FRIDAY, MARCH 17th

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Studio/Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Director: Bill Condon Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky & Evan Spiliotopoulos; based on Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, and the Disney film. Stars: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, & Emma Thompson. Official Site: movies.disney.com/beauty-and-the-beast-2017 Facebook: www.facebook.com/DisneyBeautyAndTheBeast Twitter: twitter.com/beourguest  |  @beourguest Trailer: youtu.be/e3Nl_TCQXuw

THE BELKO EXPERIMENT

Studio/Distributor: Orion Pictures Director: Greg McLean Screenplay: James Gunn Stars: John Gallagher, Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Melonie Diaz, Josh Brener, & Michael Rooker. Official Site: N.A. Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBelkoExperiment Twitter: twitter.com/belkoxperiment  |  @BelkoXperiment Trailer: youtu.be/qZNfwayNLL0

ATOMICA

Studio/Distributor: Syfy Films Director: Dagen Merrill Screenplay: Kevin Burke, Fred Fernandez-Armesto, & Adam Gyngell. Stars: Dominic Monaghan, Tom Sizemore, & Sarah Habel. Official Site: www.atomicafilm.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/AtomicaMovie Twitter: twitter.com/Atomica_Movie  |  @Atomica_Movie Trailer: youtu.be/h8X93xGoYD0

FRIDAY, MARCH 24th

POWER RANGERS

Studio/Distributor: Lionsgate Director: Dean Israelite Screenplay: John Gatins; Mighty Based on Morphin Power Rangers by Haim Saban & Shuki Levy, and Zyuranger by Toei Company Stars: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Banks. Official Site: www.powerrangers.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/PowerRangersMovie Twitter: twitter.com/thepowerrangers  |  @ThePowerRangers Trailer: youtu.be/5kIe6UZHSXw

LIFE

Studio/Distributor: Columbia Pictures Director: Daniel Espinosa Screenplay: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, & Olga Dihovichnaya. Official Site: www.lifemovie.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifemovieofficial Twitter: twitter.com/lifemovie  |  @LifeMovie Trailer: youtu.be/VgRwXoR8Mk4

FRIDAY, MARCH 31st

THE BOSS BABY (Animated)

Studio/Distributor: 20th Century Fox Director: Tom McGrath Screenplay: Michael McCullers; based on The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee. Stars (voices): Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, & Lisa Kudrow. Official Site: www.dreamworks.com/thebossbaby Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebossbaby Twitter: twitter.com/DWAnimation  |  #TheBossBaby Trailer: youtu.be/Ud8j5GaqH3c

GHOST IN THE SHELL

Studio/Distributor: Paramount Pictures Director: Rupert Sanders Screenplay: Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, & Ehren Kruger; based on Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow. Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, & Juliette Binoche. Official Site: ghostintheshell.tumblr.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/GhostInTheShellMovie Twitter: twitter.com/GhostInShell  |  @GhostInShell Trailer: youtu.be/tRkb1X9ovI4

THE DISCOVERY

Studio/Distributor: Netflix Director: Charlie McDowell Screenplay: Justin Lader & Charlie McDowell Stars: Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough, & Robert Redford. Official Site: www.netflix.com/title/80115857 Facebook: www.facebook.com/thediscovery Twitter: twitter.com/thediscovery  |  @thediscovery Trailer: youtu.be/z9j6WcdU-ts

THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER

Studio/Distributor: A24 Director: Oz Perkins Screenplay: Oz Perkins Stars: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, Lauren Holly, & James Remar Official Site:  N.A. Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBlackcoatsDaughterMovie Twitter: twitter.com/unbrokenpics  |  #TheBlackcoatsDaughter Trailer: youtu.be/pRc_-iK3RVE

[thesportssoundoff]

Trying to figure out the who and when of the UFC title pictures

Flyweight

Mighty Mouse Up Next: Ray Borg Date: TBA (September?)

Very curious to see what they do to Mighty Mouse. Not just because of the beef they seem to be having but because if any manager is capable of smoothing over rocky relationships, it's a guy like Malki Kawa (who MM just signed with).  They seem convinced he can't sell PPVs without a special fight like Dillashaw....soooo is Borg vs Mighty Mouse on free TV? Would you put him on Fight Pass? I'd imagine that'd be a really startling message to send as well. Depending on how serious they are with this Nunes/Shevchenko thing not being a headliner, do you headline with MM/Borg and do Shevchenko/Nunes as the co-main in September?

Bantamweight Cody Garbrandt Up Next: TJ Dillashaw Date: October? November?

Dana said that Garbrandt is expected to be back around November and Dillashaw is apparently refocused on that. As such, do you assume they do it in October when they go back to Vegas? Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to be honest. In a perfect world, Dillashaw vs Garbrandt headlines on Fox in December but I get the feeling they've got some agita about doing that.

Featherweight Max Holloway Up Next: Frankie Edgar Date: ???

If I were WME-IMG and I had a television product I felt the desire to dangle in front of the collected media, Edgar vs Holloway in Hawaii in prime time would be one of the fights I'd be offering them. Maybe it won't do 5 million viewers or what have you but Holloway's star power stock IS on the rise and Edgar is a made for TV kind of fighter. That said we're still balls deep in the PPV era so I guess Holloway/Edgar will be asked (or tasked) with acting as a headliner. Blessed vs Edgar could be in December (they have two PPVs there) or they could sneak it into 2018.

Lightweight Conor McGregor Up Next: Tony Ferg/Khabib Date: September/October seemingly

Khabib has taken off for Ramadan which normally lends itself to a Fall return if he's healthy. Ferguson has been talking like he's got a fight lined up so you've gotta assume this is a fight that's sooner rather than leter. Khabib/Tony Ferg in September sounds like a TREMENDOUS co-main for Nunes/Shevchenko or a perfect free TV main event.  Then it sounds like Conor will be back in December.

Welterweight Tyron Woodley: Up Next: Demian Maia Date: July

Maia/Woodley winner fights GSP in MSG in November seemingly. All seems easy and solid and like a potential 1 MIL buy PPV if current MMA indicators are of any merit.

Middleweight Michael Bisping Up Next: Robert Whittaker Date: January onward

Sounds like 2018 for this fight. Another fight you could dangle in front of a TV audience if you do a stadium show in Australia with the "hometown Aussie" (he's from New Zealand, no?) against the shit talking Brit in prime time.

Light Heavyweight Daniel Cormier Up Next: Jon Jones Date: July

Perfect world for the UFC; Jones ices Cormier quick and faces the winner of Manuwa/Ivan Oozedimr in November in MSG. December at the latest.

Heavyweight Stipe Miocic Up Next: ??? Date: I 'unno

This one is particularly perplexing I guess.  Stipe Miocic vs Cain Velasquez seemed like a lock for September or so but Dana came out and said Cain may not be back until October or November at the latest. Overeem just fought and I GUESS you can do Overeem vs Stipe in September (if one so wishes to be complicated) but my guess is that Overeem's not on their good guy list currently. Is July to September too quick of a turnaround for Ngannou if he wins? He might be. This division is all kinds of twisted up.

Strawweight Joanna Champion Up Next: Rose Namajunas Date: November onward

Joanna let it slip that she's aiming to come back around the MSG show or a bit later. Rose vs Joanna on Fox could probably do some very tidy numbers.

Flyweight ??? Up Next: ??? Date: TUF Finale in December

Easy enough!

Bantamweight Amanda Nunes Up Next: Valentina Shevchenko Date: September or October

Seems easy enough here.

Women's Featherweight ??? Up Next: Cyborg vs Tonya Evinger Date: July

This division will forever be on a state of life support but Cyborg vs Evinger at least guarantees some progress. GDR probably goes down to 135 and Holly can bounce between the two weight classes depending on where she best fits. One thing of note is that they're discussing Megan Anderson in November in Australia so the winner of this fight PROBABLY isn't fighting her until 2018.