#dominic di grasso

[itsybitsyromanoffff]

two feminist icons 💕

[mytvjunk]

Lucia was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. She is the IT girl!

[supermo0]

White Lotus has an interesting set of threads going on examining different strains of masculinity, and it’s neat how they’re using a bunch of characters to do it

Albie is a young kid who’s been raised in a household by an absent sex addict and comes from a line of different flavors of misogynists, but he also grew up in a world that is trying to educate him on how not to do that. He clearly makes an effort to Not Be An Asshole, but he only seems to manage to look good in comparison to his father/grandfather. His interactions with women can come across as dweebishly awkward but he gives off a MASSIVE vibe of only needing one visit to r/incel or whatever it’s called these days and he’s a full on shithead. He’s trying, he’s listening, he’s stumbling awkwardly while walking a dangerous tightrope.

Meanwhile, Dominic is a classic mid-life crisis distant rich dad sex addict. He has no earthly idea why he’s even at this resort other than some vague sense of trying to fix a relationship, yet he clearly has no idea what he did wrong. He *wants* to be different, so badly, but he can’t control his impulses and unfortunately by hiring Mia and Lucia set himself up for failure. He’s trying, he’s not listening, he’s already lost before leaving the start line.

Bert is just too old to give a fuck. He knows he’s a relic, he knows everyone hates his womanizing ways, and he just. Does. Not. Care. He’s not trying, he’s not listening, he’s thriving and having a fuckin BLAST.

Cameron is the modern bro. He’s internalized all of the stupid bullshit that Albie’s in danger of falling into (and so has his wife, honestly) and yet he’s also massively insecure. He’s just got a shitload of money and a wife who indulges him, so he doesn’t generally have to confront the emptiness inside of him. He’s not trying, he’s not listening, he *wants* you to think he’s thriving but secretly isn’t.

Ethan is the hardest one to parse. Out of everyone there, he’s the least shitty, but that’s not saying a whole lot. He at least comes by his love for his wife honestly, but his wife seems like a difficult person to love. Cameron has tempted him with the idea of being able to indulge his baser instincts, and he’s clearly conflicted between living up to the decent standards he seems to have held so far, or to succumb to the devil on his shoulder. That said, he is also somehow completely oblivious to his wife being upset with him, over and over again. I’m not sure he’s doing it on purpose, he’s just very bad at picking up what she’s dropping and that’s leading him down a dark road. He’s trying, he’s extremely bad at listening, and it’s eating him up inside and I’m worried he’s gonna just snap.

[emmynominees]

michael imperioli as dominic di grasso in the white lotus: sicily

primetime emmy award nominee for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

[rihosseini]

he can cheat on me

[buscemi-babe]

I just really feel like we're not getting the whole story about Dom. I don't think it was just that he cheated on his wife I think he did some me too shit

that phone call with her was vitriolic

[adria-draca]

Dominic Di Grasso - today I feel like cheating

As a human, i'm entitl'd to polyamory

but i whine about loneliness while sipping on mine own daiquiri

because mine own wife and daught'r left me

to get them backeth, maybe i shouldst useth albie

- Spit It Like Shakespeare (Adria Draca)

[r-osehips]

White Lotus season 2 finale predictions

Daphne is the killer or one of multiple killers. Ideally the drowned body she bumped into in the first scene of ep 1 is Cameron but I’ll settle for Dominic. I really do think Cameron though because all those statues of the the beheaded cheating husband can’t be for nothing and she’s obsessed with true crime and she is intensely unhinged (affectionate).

Lucia doesn’t have a pimp; Alessio is a friend who’s helping her scam three generations of Di Grasso men. #ally

Tanya’s husband is Quentin’s cowboy and they are scamming her. She cheated last ep which I’m betting is gonna come back to bite her via an infidelity clause in the prenup.

Valentina will thrive and it’s what she deserves 🥰 hopefully this will go hand in hand with Mia getting the career she wants but they are not gonna have a long term relationship

Harper and Ethan break up and/or one of them dies. I’m rooting for Harper to help Daphne kill Cameron but if Harper actually did cheat with Cameron then Daphne might kill them both.

Portia dies, I just have a feeling :/

Dominic dies probably (fingers crossed)

Albie carries on the family tradition and is revealed to be a pathetic misogynist instead of an annoying nice guy

Mia lives

One of the guests dies not via murder but via a slapstick accident perhaps involving the rocks that we keep seeing the waves crash against ominously

SOMETHING is up with the fact that Lucia has repeated her full name to various hotel staffers across many episodes. If Mike White does kill her then the name thing is laying the groundwork for a staffer to see her body and go “oh that’s Lucia Greco, I remember her, she’s a guest,” hence the person in ep 1 saying multiple guests were killed, and the plot twist is that Lucia is one of them which we never expected because she’s not a guest… except killing a sex worker is never a twist, it would be awful, Mike White please don’t do it.

anyway we finally got our lesbian sex scene and we know Valentina lives so whatever happens can’t be too terrible! I hope!!!

[boomgers]

La vida no es tan dulce como parece… “The White Lotus · Temporada 2”

La sátira de esta temporada se desarrolla en un resort siciliano y sigue las hazañas de varios huéspedes y empleados a lo largo de una semana.

· Estreno: 30 de octubre de 2022 en HBO y HBO Max.

F. Murray Abraham es Bert Di Grasso · De visita en Sicilia con su hijo, Dominic, y su nieto, Albie, Bert se está volviendo frágil, pero todavía se ve a sí mismo como viril y capaz.

Jennifer Coolidge es Tanya Mcquoid Hunt · Una mujer rica e inestable que viaja con su esposo, Greg, y su asistente, Portia.

Adam DiMarco es Albie Di Grasso · Hijo de Dominic y nieto de Bert, Albie es un graduado universitario, dulce y observador, que a menudo sirve como pacificador de su familia.

Meghann Fahy es Daphne Babcock · Una ama de casa que visita Italia con su esposo, Cameron, y otra pareja, Ethan y Harper.

Jon Gries es Greg · El marido de Tanya, que no está muy contento de que su asistente haya sido invitada a su escapada romántica.

Beatrice Grannò es Mia · Una local siciliana, Mia es una cantante talentosa en busca de su gran oportunidad.

Tom Hollander es Quentin · Un expatriado inglés que está de vacaciones con sus amigos y su sobrino, Jack.

Sabrina Impacciatore es Valentina · La gerente apasionada y dedicada a cargo del resort White Lotus en Taormina, que espera la perfección de su personal.

Michael Imperioli es Dominic Di Grasso · Un productor de Hollywood que visita Sicilia con su anciano padre, Bert y su hijo posuniversitario, Albie para explorar sus raíces ancestrales.

Theo James es Cameron Babcock · Un exitoso hombre de negocios de una familia adinerada, está de vacaciones con su esposa Daphne.

Aubrey Plaza es Harper Spiller · Harper visita Italia con el compañero de cuarto de Ethan, Cameron y Daphne.

Haley Lu Richardson es Portia · Una chica de pueblo y recién graduada de la universidad, Portia viaja con su jefa, Tanya, con la esperanza de vivir aventuras.

Will Sharpe es Ethan Spiller · Después de un éxito profesional reciente, Ethan y Harper, son invitados a unas vacaciones en Italia por parte de Cameron y Daphne.

Simona Tabasco es Lucia · Una local siciliana que frecuenta el resort White Lotus en busca de trabajo y oportunidades entre la clientela adinerada.

Leo Woodall es Jack · Un invitado magnético que se hospeda en The White Lotus con su tío, Quentin.

[oakwookandink]

white lotus s2 finale rundown 

(spoilers ahead)

in case you're wondering, here are the characters that survived the second season: Daphne and Cameron (the supposed scammers, played by Meghann Fahy and Theo James) Harper and Ethan Spiller (the couple on the rocks, played by Aubrey Plaza and Will Sharpe) Albie, Dominic and Bert Di Grasso (all of the men who were on some sort of heritage trip, played by Adam DiMarco, Michael Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham) Portia (Tanya's assistant, who gets whisked away to Sicily, played by Haley Lu Richardson) Jack (the supposed nephew of the head gay, played by Leo Woodall) Valentina, and the rest of the hotel staff (she's the director of this location, who is played by Sabrina Impacciatore) Lucia and Mia, my problematic faves (both of whom use their bodies to get what they want, and the only non guests involved, played by Simona Tabasco and Beatrice Grannó) presumably Greg, Tanya's husband who we met last season in Hawai'i (played by Jon Gries) although we don't have any confirmation of this fact

that means the dead characters are: Tanya McQuoid, Quentin, Didier and Niccoló (played by Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Hollander, Bruno Gouery [from Emily in Paris] and Stefano Gianino), putting the death toll at 4. it is not told whether or not Hugo or the captain of the boat survived, but I would personally doubt it, because they did seem significantly far out from the shore. in the end, I'm sure only mike white knows for sure.

now, let's talk about that season finale.

first off, I'm wondering if greg actually was planning something, or if tanya blew it out of proportion in some way. I guess we'll never know, although there were definitely some red flags, especially with the way that jack was acting.

let's talk about jack for a second. I'm so happy that he redeemed himself in my eyes, and let portia go and even gave her advice that probably saved her life. who knows what might've happened if portia went back to the hotel? I'm a jack fan at the end of this season, because the guy was just doing what he could with the cards he was dealt, but didn't want to actively hurt someone (because if tanya had gotten hurt, he would've been peripherally involved, but wouldn't have played a direct part in her demise)

the digrassos. I feel like they could've used some comeuppance, apart from albie. it sucks that dominic will probably just go back to what he's been doing, and that albie vouched for his dad. I feel like the fact that none of these men have been affected by their experiences is shown in the airport scene, where a young woman walks by and they all turn their heads to ogle her. I think it shows that this gross misogyny kind of runs in their family (because they kind of perpetuate it) and that it would be hard for them to change without serious introspection.

super happy for valentina. did mia use her? sure. but it was definitely mutually beneficial, and mia does say that she wants to help valentina find a lesbian, and even take her out to bars, so I foresee a prosperous future for valentina. also gotta say, small win for the gays because valentina wasn't killed at the end of this season.

isabella and rocco seem fine. I'm happy that Isabella was always so polite to valentina, and I think she genuinely wanted to be friends with her, so a good future for these two and hopefully they have a good life.

ethan nearly chokes cameron, and I am so unhappy that cameron lives at the end of the season. I think it would be cool to have a cameo from daphne next season, where she is ending her stay at a white lotus with her trainer and her sons, and we just assume that she killed cameron or something. I am happy for ethan and harper, but it seems like a bandaid on their situation, so I'm not sure what the future looks like for these couples. I do think their stories could have been wrapped up better, and I wonder if mike white found himself burdened by the inclusion of so many characters this season, because the ending did not seem as closed as season one.

lucia and mia are doing well, lucia has loads of money that she got after scamming albie, and mia has a job at the white lotus as a singer, so good for them. I could care less about albie, and as he says, that amount is a drop in the bucket for his father anyway. I also think it is legitimate karmic payment, that dominic will inadvertently help the lives of these two women after destroying the lives of the women in his family. I'm also happy that lucia and mia live, because I think there is a trend in media where promiscuous women are killed because of their promiscuity, so seeing them live was super endearing. especially since lucia says earlier in the season that she's worried that she will die because she's a prostitute, and prostitutes always die.

I'm kind of happy for portia, but I can't help but compare her to belinda. it feels kind of significant that one of these characters was a guest and the other an employee, and that one was white and the other was black, in terms of where they ended up. I do think the show could've paralleled their arcs better in this finale, and driven home the point that portia was coming from a point of privilege, and that's why she survived and got off relatively easy.

what was the point of including the story of the woman from the moors? who was that supposed to represent after the finale? my guess was tanya, but I don't think we'll get a follow up on her storyline, so the symbolism here doesn't really work. also, if it was tanya, the story is backwards, because she dies and the cheating spouse doesn't. is the point of the statues that this was the path one of the main couples was heading down, and then the statue breaking is a subversion, and their story won't end in tragedy? honestly, I have no idea.

I'm happy that tanya died. I was getting tired of her character, and I was scared that if she survived this season mike white would bring her back for season three, and I think the series will work better without through lines or continuing stories, and instead focuses on the only point of contact being the white lotus resorts.

I'm happy that the piano guy is gone. he wasn't that interesting, and I'm happy for mia.

greg, will we ever see him again? will we get a conclusion to his story?

it's really ironic that tanya ends up killing herself, because if greg was after her money, he's got it now. I would like to see greg get comeuppance, because I think he sucks.

just like greg, I feel like cameron didn't get his comeuppance, but I guess we might have to wait for another season to see if anything bad comes to him.

I feel kind of bad for the group of gays, but I also don't. I have mixed feelings about their group, and my thoughts about their ending are still developing. I do think that it's possible tanya overreacted and killed a bunch of people who didn't have completely nefarious intentions. this is another storyline that could've used a defter hand, because it feels incomplete.

I do think that it's weird that there is a kind of bury your gays going on with the show, considering that armond is the only death in season one (and we're shown that he's gay) and then we have two of the gays dying in this season. I doubt these are white's intentions, but it is kind of weird to look at this together, and I think the next season will cement the trends of the show.

final thoughts:

I would rate this season maybe a 6 or 6.5 out of 10. it was not as good as the first, however it was possibly more entertaining than the first. I think involving so many characters made it harder to have satisfying story beats for all of them, and loads of people online have pointed out that there is not a lot of interaction between the guests, or even that a lot of important plot points aren't taking place at the hotel. the first season seemed a lot more focused in its scope. I do believe that the show was intended to be a limited series, and I think it should have stayed that way, because I think it will only get worse as it goes on, when it could've ended on a high note last season. I'm down to watch the third season and see if mike white can redeem himself, and because there are a lot of technical aspects of the show that I enjoy, but I'm not eagerly anticipating it like I am other good shows like succession.

I do hope that mike white finds a way to tie up all of the loose ends of this season somehow, but I think all of the loose ends and dropped story beats really cheapened this season. it also makes me think that season one was lightning in a bottle that he will never be able to replicate.

anyway, a pretty disappointing follow up.

[reptilia2003]

favorite white lotus theory is that it takes place in an alternate sopranos universe where Chrissy never died, he just went to Hollywood and changed his name to Dominic di Grasso. i will now be interpreting this as canon thank you very much

[newzzwired]

White Lotus Fans Freaking Out Over Adam DiMarco's Disney Past

White Lotus Fans Freaking Out Over Adam DiMarco’s Disney Past

He left Disney and checked into the White Lotus. Adam DiMarco‘s past is making fans of the HBO drama lose their minds. On White Lotus, Adam plays recent Stanford grad Albie Di Grasso who is on a family trip with his father Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli) and grandfather Bert Di Grasso (F. Murray Abraham), but it was only a decade ago that he starred in the Disney movie Radio Rebel with…

[fusdbcom]

„The White Lotus“ gab uns in Episode 1 einen wichtigen Hinweis auf Lucia

„The White Lotus“ gab uns in Episode 1 einen wichtigen Hinweis auf Lucia

Die Charaktere von Der Weiße Lotos Staffel 2 ist in einem Chaos aus Sex und Betrug gefangen, aber es scheint, als ob die sizilianische Sexarbeiterin Lucia Greco (Simona Tabasco) ihr eigenes Netz webt. Lucia beginnt die Saison mit White Lotus-Gast Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli), aber nachdem er ihr sagt, dass er sie nicht mehr sehen kann, verstrickt sie sich mit seinem Sohn Albie (Adam…

[hotelcavedelsolematera]

La partecipazione di Hotel Cave del Sole di Matera a Roots-in

L’Hotel Cave del Sole di Matera ha partecipato alla seconda edizione di “Roots-in”, Borsa Internazionale sul Turismo delle Origini – organizzata nella Città dei Sassi il 20 e 21 novembre 2022. Il boutique hotel di Matera è stato inserito tra i 200 seller di tutta Italia che hanno potuto confrontarsi con i 50 buyers professionali provenienti da tutto il mondo, ed è pronto a rappresentare il nostro territorio con un’offerta specifica, a disposizione di questo importante segmento del mercato turistico.Si stima che nel mondo siano tra i 60 e gli 80 milioni le persone di origine italiana, in pratica una “seconda Italia” che spesso è alla ricerca delle sue radici familiari; questo fenomeno – tutt’altro che transitorio – rappresenta una straordinaria occasione di relazione turistica del nostro Paese con il resto del pianeta. Non a caso la seconda edizione della pluripremiata serie TV “The White Lotus”, ambientata in Italia, ha individuato nel premio Oscar F. Murray Abraham il ruolo di Bert Di Grasso il quale, insieme al figlio Dominic e al nipote Albie, trascorre un periodo di vacanza in Sicilia alla ricerca delle origini della sua famiglia.Anche la nostra regione, la Basilicata, ha vissuto forti flussi migratori in ogni epoca, e pertanto ha pieno titolo per giocare un ruolo di prim’ordine nella ricostruzione dei legami affettivi e culturali. Un testimonial di eccezione è il celeberrimo regista americano Francis Ford Coppola, vincitore di quattro premi Oscar, originario di Bernalda, in provincia di Matera.https://www.hotelcavedelsole.it/roots Read the full article

[sciatu]

Le foto sono di  Ulleo

E’ tempo dell’olio nuovo

C’è qualcosa che unisce tutti i popoli del mediterraneo, da Gibilterra a Istanbul o da Genova a d Alessandria d’Egitto, o Haifa. Questo qualcosa è l’olio. Ora, nella cultura cinese e giapponese, a tavola non si mettono mai coltelli perché il coltello vuol dire guerra, assenza di armonia e quindi pace. Queste due culture esprimono il bisogno di serenità e rispetto l’uno dell’altro, con l’assenza a tavolo di un simbolo di disaccordo: una lama tagliente. Nella cultura mediterranea, l’augurio e il desiderio di armonia e di pace, si riassume nell’olio, negli ulivi che silenziosi guardano il mare e nel silenzio vivono oltre il nostro tempo, privilegiati dal loro vivere in modo parsimonioso e umile. Ti ho già raccontato, più volte, e con molti dettagli, di come da piccolo, vivendo di fronte ad un frantoio, vedevo le olive trasformarsi in olio, all’inizio brusco e vivace, morbido e seducente nel passare del tempo. Ogni cosa che l’olio toccava diventava buonissimo: il pane caldo con lo zucchero, il pomodorino lasciato a maturare appeso al soffitto, i broccoli bolliti, e saltati in padella, il fegato arrostito avvolto nel grasso, le zuppe di lenticchia o di ceci. Tutto quello che la terra, o la fatica degli uomini ci donava, l’olio lo rendeva, magnifico, insuperabile. Ne esaltava il profumo e il gusto senza coprirlo o dominarlo. Era come il cielo che colora il mare o il sole al tramonto che rende rosa le nuvole. Era la natura a cui l’uomo restituiva l’amore che gli mostrava, trasformando l’acre oliva in un tesoro, in un simbolo di pace con cui l’uomo si nutriva per perdere il suo sapore acre, i suoi denti da Caino e credere di non essere un unico, ma parte di una famiglia che va da Gibilterra ad Istanbul, da Genova all’Egitto e capire che sotto lo stesso cielo, di fronte allo stesso mare, nutriti dallo stesso albero, siamo nella stessa casa, uniti dallo stesso amore.

There is something that unites all the peoples of the Mediterranean, from Gibraltar to Istanbul or from Genoa to Alexandria in Egypt, or Haifa. This something is the olive oil. Now, in Chinese and Japanese culture, knives are never placed at the table because the knife means war, absence of harmony and therefore peace. These two cultures express the need for serenity and respect for each other, with the absence of a symbol of disagreement on the table: a sharp blade. In Mediterranean culture, the wish and desire for harmony and peace is summed up in the olive oil, in the olive trees that silently look at the sea and live in silence beyond our time, privileged by their living in a thrifty and humble way. I have already told you, several times, and with many details, of how as a child, living in front of an olive oil mill, I saw the olives turn into oil, at first abrupt and lively, soft and seductive over time. Everything the oil touched became delicious: the warm bread with sugar, the cherry tomatoes left to ripen hanging from the ceiling, the boiled and sautéed broccoli, the roasted liver wrapped in fat, the lentil or chickpea soups. All that the earth, or the effort of men gave us, the olive oil made it magnificent, unsurpassed. He enhanced its aroma and taste without covering or dominating it. It was like the sky that colors the sea or the setting sun that makes the clouds pink. It was nature to which man returned the love he showed him, transforming the acrid olive into a treasure, into a symbol of peace with which man ate in order to lose its acrid taste, his Cain's teeth and believe that you are not one, but part of a family that goes from Gibraltar to Istanbul, from Genoa to Egypt and understand that under the same sky, facing the same sea, fed by the same tree, we are in the same house, united by same love.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Conor McGregor is back! Excitement may vary. Excitement in this card may vary! Excitement is really yours to have and hold, folks” The UFC 246 Fight Preview

Joey

January 13th, 2020 

The UFC kicks off its 2019 schedule after a few long weeks off with a card that will, with very little sarcasm in play, play a hefty part in defining the way 2020 rolls out deep into the year. UFC 246 from Las Vegas, Nevada is a weird card on paper but it's also very significant and significance can sometimes create card quality/card quantity. Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone is a significant fight, one that figures to ask and answer a lot of questions for both men. For better or worse, the future of two divisions could be mapped out in one night depending on the results of one which fight which again parlays to its perceived significance. The PPV main card is "fine" although it clearly lacks a significant co-main event and the televised prelims are actually respectably spiffy as they're essentially four well put together "prospect of note vs proven veteran" fights with some good early ESPN+ prelim action too. Again I don't know if this card is good or bad---just that it's a significant card of fights and by the time Friday comes along, that long term delay in high level MMA is going to be eating at us SO we'll be all in on this one.

2020 Stat-O-Matic:

Debuting Fighters (): Ode Osbourne, Aleksa Camur Main Event Exemption:

Short Notice Fighters (): Main Event Exemption:

Second Fight (): Askar Askarov Main Event Exemption: Vs Debutantes:

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (): Conor McGregor, Brian Kelleher Main Event Exemption: Conor McGregor

Undefeated Fighters (): Aleksa Camur, Maycee Barber Main Event Exemption:

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (): Alexey Oleinik, Justin Ledet Main Event Exemption:

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (): Donald Cerrone, Conor McGregor Main Event Exemption: Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- So what necessarily is the end game here for Conor McGregor? As has been the case since he broke out onto the scene and KO'd Jose Aldo, much of Conor's "plans" feel less like plans and more like thoughts he forces into existence. The good stuff like being a double champ and finagling a big money Floyd fight and the bad stuff like the Khabib lead up or believing he could just beat Nate Diaz up 15 lbs because it seemed like fun all feel like the decisions of a guy who sort of just decides he's going to do something and then does it regardless of the long term impact. Conor had the chance to fight Justin Gaethje and instead pushed for Frankie Edgar fight, ultimately leading us to the here and now where he'll draw Donald Cerrone up a weight class after a year plus layoff. In the time between Conor's LAST fight and this one, he's been arrested, accused of sexual assault, accused of fathering a child out of his marriage and feel free to fill me in on anything I may have missed. What sort of made Conor McGregor a superstar was that he flirted with the concept of being a character completely in control of everything he did and 2019 at the very exposed him as somebody lacking any semblance of control within his life. Either way, it's hard to say what the future holds for McGregor with a win.  We know a loss means it's over as four losses in his last five pro fights (I'm counting Floyd here for completionist sake) would probably kill whatever credibility he had and whatever legitimacy he garnered over the course of three years running through the UFC ranks. A win? It's hard to say with a guy who when he's right has the ability to dictate what he opts to do next. A win? Conor McGregor would fight Jorge Masvidal in a big money fight, a third Diaz fight, a GSP fight where both fighters can cash out or go and chase down Khabib. If one truly wishes to get stupid, I suppose fights with Pacquaio, Floyd or Paulie Malignaggi exist out there as well.  The first step isn't so much winning this fight but winning this fight and getting back to what made this whole act work to begin with.

2- This is historically the sort of fight Cerrone doesn't show up for and gets forced out of his element but there's some things here I think that do tilt the scales slightly in his favor. For starters, I DO believe in ring rust and Conor hasn't fought in over a year and has fought just twice since the end of 2016. You can argue that wear and tear means Cerrone is shop worn but I feel as though he fights better the MORE he fights and the more active he is. For a fighter like Conor who lives or dies based upon how sharp his timing is, I think it's fair to wonder if the long layoff is going to shake him. We saw him struggle with his timing vs Khabib and while Khabib is on a whole different galaxy than Cerrone, I'd argue it's worse to be slightly off vs a dude like Cerrone who does have the starch in his strikes to do more than flash KD you. Also Cerrone is probably the first guy since Jose Aldo that Conor's had to be mindful of walking into smoke with the legs. Also Cerrone's been campaigning at 170 lbs on and off since 2016 and so you have to assume if this is about being comfortable at the weight class, he's got the nod over Conor.

3- Under normal circumstances, I'd say "I think Conor's defensive wrestling is somewhat understated and the idea that anybody can take him down and sub him is a fallacy" but I also have ZERO idea if he's actually done any serious grappling training or if he's just hoping Cerrone's going to play nice and strike with him for a bit.

4- Which fight is more undesirable for Amanda Nunes; a Holly Holm rematch where she can't realistically top what she did in the first fight or a Rocky Pennington rematch where she'll be tasked with trying to sell/expand upon one of her most boring fights ever?

5- I wonder who is more broken in theory between Holm and Pennington. Rocky looked to be on the verge of going from solid WMMA fighter to a damn good top 5-ish woman at 135 lbs after dominating Meisha Tate but she broke her leg, took a lot of time off, followed that up with a dud vs Amanda Nunes and then got stalled out by Germaine de Randamie. She rebounded with a win over Irene Aldana which almost felt more about Aldana being a putz and less about any sort of sign of a rebound for Rocky. It's worth remembering that the fight vs Holm was the one that got sort of signified that Rocky was better than people realized but it required her to pressure for fifteen minutes and that's sort of gone away for her recently. As for Holm? She's fought Rousey, Cyborg, Tate, Shevchenko and Nunes. She's pushing 40. She had an extensive boxing history that suggests she's taken plenty of damage. She just got KO'd for the first time in her UFC run the last time out and at this point it's fair to ask if Holm's durability is going to be shot.  This fight is why Aspen Ladd figuring shit out is really important for this division.

6- Maurice Green and Alexey Olenik being on this main card is curious until you realize that this main card has two WMMA fights and a fight at lightweight on it. Sometimes beef gets called in to "bulk" up the main card.

7- Anthony Pettis sure picked a fine week to announce a UFC lawsuit, am I right?

8- Let's talk about how great these prelims are for a second. Sodiq Yusuff vs Andre Fili is a battle of exciting prospect and proven veteran with a multitude of ways to win. Nasrat Haqparast vs Drew Dober is a battle of exciting prospect vs proven veteran with a multitude of ways to win. Maycee Barber vs Roxanne Modafferi almost feels like the potential crowning of Maycee as a 125 lb contender by taking on a former title contender who STYLISTICALLY will at least give us a reason to double check her ability to do things such as defend takedowns and deal with pressure. Lastly I REALLY do love this fight between Chas Skelly and Grant Dawson as Dawson has slowly gone from somewhat awkward wrestling savant to a more well rounded pressure fighter while Chas Skelly is one of those ultimate gatekeeper types for young fighters. These are all great fights worthy of going out of your way to see on ESPN.

9- We're four years now into the Alexa Grasso project and I still don't know if she has the fight smarts to ever take the next step in her career. A good test vs a declining Claudia Gadelha who still has something to offer.

10- How much ya wanna bet Maurice Green allows Olenik to pull him down on top of him?

11- Justin Ledet's run at 205 lbs has been weird as his lack of athleticism for the weight class plus what feels like an odd lack of strength (How he was burly enough to fight at HW but gets chucked around at 205 lbs is a mystery to me) has made him go 0-2 in the division. After a lengthy lay off, he's back at 205 lbs against Aleksa Camur. Camus is a training partner of Stipe Miocic and he got in here off the Contenders Series where he had a crazy fight that exposed him to be a) wacky as all hell and b) a bit too raw for my liking in the UFC. This feels pretty winnable for Spirit of Truth lookalike Ledet.

12- Ode Osbourne vs Brian Kelleher is an early FOTY candidate to me.