#i hope their 3 other prelim matches go just as well if not better!

[thestarmaker]

YAYYY BLACK DRAGON

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 26

Warnings: I no longer know

Rating: SFW

You and the group entered Olympus Coliseum and came to the Coliseum gates. Donald saw a nearby notice board and ran over to it.

“Look, an announcement!” he said. You, Sora, and Goofy joined him. Jiminy jumped out and jumped up and down to read the board.

“Hmmm... It's for some sort of contest. They're calling it the ‘Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup.’ Contenders have to run an obstacle course, battling each other along the way. And listen to this: ‘The great hero Hercules will also compete for the Cup.’ It says here he's never been beaten,” he said. 

“Sounds like fun. Why don't we enter, too?” Sora said. 

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” you said. 

“I thought you two would say that. Whenever there's a contest, you're rarin' to join up,” Goofy said.

“You're going to compete even if we don't, right?” Donald said. 

“Uh-huh!” You and Sora said.

“Guess we'd better tag along, then.” Jiminy jumped.

“Hold it, everyone. There's more...” he jumped again.

“’Only contenders who finish the preliminary course may enter the main competition.’” he jumped again. 

“It says the preliminary course is just ahead.” 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!” you said. You and the gang then left. Hades appeared and read the announcement board.

“‘Hercules is a model of true strength and gallantry---the perfect hero’?!” he said. Hades turned red, overcome with anger.

“Oh, he's perfect, all right. PERFECTLY INFURIATING!! Just thinking about that little sunspot makes me boil! HOO, I'd like to drag him into the Underworld!” he yelled. 

“Which is why you hired me,” someone said. Cloud entered and walked up to Hades.

“That's right. You're my man... Cloud, is it? Your job is to beat Hercules in the games. And once you've got him cornered... ...finish the job. Do that for me, and---” Hades said. 

“You restore my lost memories. As we agreed,” Cloud said. 

“You have my word.” Cloud then left. Meanwhile, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered the Coliseum lobby and met Phil.

“Huh? Where did you come from? Don't tell me you guys finished the prelims!” Phil said.

“We sure did. And now we want to go for the Cup!” you said. 

“Well, you came to the right place. Not that you stand a chance against Herc.” 

“Why not?” Donald asked. 

“Two words. You ain't heroes!” Phil said. 

“You’re wrong!” Sora said. 

“Yeah, he said three words,” Goofy said. 

“Exactly...but that's not the point! How can we prove we're heroes unless you give us a chance?” Hercules suddenly walked in.. 

“He's right, Phil. They cleared the prelims. I think they deserve a shot,” he said.

“Hmm...you got a point there, Herc. But still---” Phil said.

“Of course, we could always cancel the games.” 

“Cancel them? What for?” you asked.

“Old Phil's prelim course was so hard, no one else could finish it.” 

“Is that right? Well, if you let us compete, you won't have to cancel the games! How about it, Phil?” Sora said.

“... Okay, you got me over a barrel, so fine. Here's how it works, kiddos---” Phil said. 

“It's Sora and (Y/N)---not ‘kiddos.’” Sora said. 

“Sure, sure, kiddos. Since your team and Hercules are the only contenders---”

“No, they're not.” Clouds suddenly walked in through the doors.

“The games have a new challenger. Name's Cloud,” he said. 

“The more the merrier! Now the games will really be something to see!” Phil said. 

“I'm looking forward to this. Don't expect me to pull any punches!” Hercules said. 

“Hey, as long as you don't expect me to take them!” Sora said. 

“Let's give it our best,” you said to Cloud.

“Hmph,” he said.

“Okay, let's get this show going! But first I gotta explain a few rules. Rule #1! First one through the obstacle course wins! Rule #2! In the event of a tie, a battle will determine the winner! Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents on the course! And finally... Rule #4! All challengers have to give it everything they got!” Phil said. All the challengers lined up, ready to run out of the room.

“All right, enough with the spiel. On your marks... Get set... GO!!” Phil said and you all headed out. Somewhere in the Coliseum, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy met Cloud, who was holding his buster sword.

“Gawrsh, that was nice of him to wait for us to catch up!” Goofy said. 

“He's not waiting! Remember Rule #3? ‘You can interfere with your opponents on the course’!” Donald said. You all readied your weapons.

“He's looking to narrow the field!” you said. Sora, Donald and Goofy prepared for battle.

“You can put that away. I'm not looking for a fight with you, so keep moving,” Cloud said. 

“Huh?” Sora asked. 

“See? He was waitin' for us to catch up,” Goofy said.

“Well, we've caught up. Let's take him up on his offer and keep going!” Donald said. 

“I don't see a downside...” you said. The four of you walked past Cloud, but you and Sora turned around.

“Listen, are you sure?” Sora asked Cloud.

“I'm not here for the Cup. Just Hercules. Today he loses more than the competition,” Cloud said. The four of you were surprised. 

“You don't mean... But why?!” you asked.

“This is business. Stay out of it. Go win your Cup.” Sora summons his Keyblade and you grabbed your dagger. Cloud turned around to look at you two.

“Do you realize what you two are doing?” he asked. 

“Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents. Right? You're not the only one who wants to fight Hercules,” you said. The four of you prepared for battle.

“Big mistake,” Cloud said. The four of you fought Cloud and won. After the fight, Cloud was gone.

“Cloud! Where'd you go?” Sora said. Jiminy popped out.

“He headed for the finish line! We'd better go after him!” he said.

“Right!” you and Sora said. The five of you left to go find Cloud. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reached the arena of the Coliseum and encountered Hercules and Cloud, the latter being on his knees.

“You lost! Give it up, Cloud!” Herc said. Cloud got up.

“We're not done yet...” he said. 

“I can't guarantee your safety if we keep going like this!” Herc said. 

“Better worry about yourself. Looks to me like you're slowing down a bit.” 

“Ungh...” You and Sora ran to Hercules and readies his Keyblade and you with your dagger.

“Don't worry! We'll back you up!” Sora said. 

“Sora? (Y/N)?” Herc asked. 

“Get all the backup you want. I'm going to finish you and get back my memories!” Cloud said. 

“Huh?! Your memories?!” Sora asked. 

“Now, now, Cloud, we don't want to spill the beans.” Hades appeared and walked to the center of the ring.

“Hades! You!” Herc said as he turned to face Cloud.

“Looks like you oversold yourself. All you did was wear him down. This doesn't look good for your performance rating... Let me put it this way: You, my spiky-haired friend, are fired,” Hades said. 

“Huh?! But...my memories! We had a deal!” Cloud said.

“Did you really think you could get back your lost memories just like that? Get a grip!”

“Why, you---”

“Out of the way! I'll take care of Irk-ules myself!” The scenery turned red, and the sky became dark. Hades charged himself with fire and unleashed it, knocking everyone besides Hercules away and bringing Hercules to his knees.

“Hey!” you and Sora said. 

“Rule #5! It's never too late to enter the games,” Hades said. 

“Hades, you were behind this from the start!” Herc said. 

“Cloud may have failed to take you out, but he did break you down. Time for Plan B. Pack your pita, Herc, 'cause you've just won a free trip to the Underworld---paid by me!” You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran to Hercules's side, your weapons ready.

“Hold it!” you said.

“(Y/N), no!” Herc said. 

“Come on, Herc---how can we go one-on-one if you're in the Underworld?” Sora asked. 

“Good point, kid. I guess you'll just have to go with him! Rule #6! There are no rules! Ha ha!” Hades said. The four of you fought and defeated Hades. Later at the arena, you, Sora's group, and Hercules met with Phil.

“What?! The games are cancelled? How come?” Sora asked. 

“Two words! Everyone is pooped!” Phil said. 

“Wait, that was more than two---” Goofy said. 

“You gotta be kidding! What about our match with Hercules?” you said. 

“I'm sorry, you two. But you wouldn't want me to compete in this condition. Let's have a match when I've rested up a bit. Can you wait?” Herc said. 

“Okay. We'll hold you to that,” Sora said. 

“Then it's settled!” 

“Sora, (Y/N), over here! He's coming around.” Jiminy said. Cloud was lying on the ground on one knee outside of the ring, with Jiminy watching him. You, Sora and the gang walked over to them.

“You okay?” Sora asked. 

“Yeah,” Cloud said. 

“Here,” you said as you performed a healing spell. He got up and thanked you.

“Sorry I messed up your games,” he said. He started to leave but stopped when Sora started to speak.

“Hey! Hope you get your memories back! Forget about what Hades said. Sometimes the tiniest thing can make you remember stuff you forgot years ago,” he said. You nodded in agreement. 

“If it's an important memory, there's no way it could ever be gone forever. That's what I think, anyway,” you said. 

“Me too,” Sora said. Cloud created a card of himself in his hand and tossed it to you and Sora, who put it in your pockets.

“That's for you. For helping me out,” Cloud said. 

“Sure you don't want to just come with us instead?” Sora asked. Cloud looked back and flipped one of his hairs.

“Not interested,” he said and left. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy soon left the Olympus Coliseum. You and trio entered the Second Floor Exit Hall. Goofy stopped and thought for a minute.

“Hmm...” he said. 

“Huh? What's the matter?” Donald asked. 

“It's that creepy castle that I was talking about earlier... I know I didn't imagine it.” Donald, you,  and Sora exchanged looks.

“'Cause that was the castle where Sora had to use the Keyblade to free Kairi's heart,” Goofy said. Flashbacks of that event appear in you and Sora’s head.

“Then he just disappeared! And I was so worried. How could I ever forget that?” Goofy said. 

“Oh! It was when I turned into a Heartless! Wait. That happened...in a castle?” Sora said. 

“Aww... You forgot that? 'Cause I remember perfectly,” you said. 

“Me too,” Donald said. 

“Then what's it called?” Sora asked. 

“That's easy! It was...” Donald said but he didn’t remember. 

“(Y/N), do you remember?” he asked. You tried to remember but like Donald, you could remember a thing. 

“Jiminy, help me... Is it in your journal?” you asked. Jiminy popped out.

“Every word! I finished the first volume right before we got to this castle,” he said. Jiminy looked around for his journal.

“Now then, if I can just find it... Oh, here we go!” he said. Jiminy took out his journal and jumped onto the floor.

“Let's have a look... Oh! How could it be?!” he said as he opened his journal. 

“What's the matter?” Goofy asked. 

“All my entries--- They're gone! Every page is blank!”

“What'll we do?!” Donald asked, surprised. You, Donald, and Sora exchanged looks.

“How could this have happened? I'm so careful with the journals!” Jiminy weeped. 

“All of my hard work is gone!” he said. 

“The journal's blank... What's going on?” you asked. They leave the Exit Hall. Meanwhile the girl in the white room was still drawing on her sketchbook. Back in the castle, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered  the Third Floor.

“Something's screwy. Journal pages don't just vanish!” Donald said. You and Sora stopped walking. 

“What if...it's more things?” Sora asked. 

“Huh?” Donald asked. 

“Goofy was telling us about another castle we'd been to... But none of us really remembers it. Do ya think... Could it be that we don't remember because we're losing our memories?” you said. 

“Losing? Our memories?” Donald asked. 

“Hold on! Remember what that mystery fella said? ‘In this place to find is to lose, and to lose is to find.’ It musta been our memories he was talking about losing!” Jiminy said. 

“So if we keep going, we'll lose more... Guess it really is Castle Oblivion,” Sora said. 

“So the higher we go, the more we'll forget? Does that mean everything and everybody will be forgotten?” Donald asked. 

“Riku and Kairi too...” you said. 

“Do you two want to go back?” Donald asked.

“Don't worry, fellahs! We might forget about where we've been or what things we've seen, but we won't forget who are friends are,” Goofy said. 

“I don't know...” Donald said. 

“C'mon, Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget about me, (Y/N), and Donald?” Goofy asked. 

“Of course I didn't!” 

“There ya go! No matter what happens, you won't forget your friends.” 

“Huh...” He looked at you, Donald and Goofy. Donald looked worried and Goofy nodded while you had a reassuring smile on your face.

“You're right. Thank you, Goofy,” Sora said. 

“So, if there's nothing here that can make you forget about your friends...then we have nothing to be scared of! Let's go!” Donald said as he walked to the door. 

“But when I turned into a Heartless...who was the one who took forever to notice and kept clobbering me?” Sora teased. Donald stopped and you giggled.

“How come you didn't forget about that?!” Donald asked. Donald jumped up and down and babbled angrily. You, Sora and Goofy laughed. You and Sora held up the next card at the Third Floor world entrance, and entered to the next world.

~~~~

I’m so proud of you sis. I know that I can’t tell you where I am right now but just know that I’ll be with you in your heart and I hope that we find each other soon. You have no idea how much I miss you. Living without you has sucked and your father is more ruthless than ever. Please continue to get stronger and find me soon. I know that together we can defeat him together. 

To be continued...

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 7th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima. Spoilers beware 

Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 & 5 | Ep. 6

Can we get an MTC ep for Samatoki’s birthday please?

nope its MTR

ah man i always get really down whenever i see Doppo’s workplace environment. it suckssss

EYYYYY BUSTER BROS SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i forgot the name of the song in the moment but is Ikebukuro West Gate Park which is funny since thats where the ikebukuro prelims are held)

OOO IRIS ON A MOTERBIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! thats so hot oh my god, the CGI was good too! she had no right making to popping a wheelie over speedbumps look cool

Tom mentioned last episode that he had picked these three up from bad places and I have a feeling that Iris was once either an adrenaline junkie, thrill seeker, or involved in something that had her on the run

I don’t know about Rex. I think society just took one look at him and pushed him away because his personality is weird. He’s honest and kind, almost too kind. It don’t help that he doesn’t look traditionally Japanese which will garner him a lot of unpleasant experiences

MTCCCCCCCCCCC HELL YEAH

love that theyre one of the few units shown actually going out and doing intel searching on their own

god the TDD flashbacks harken to the manga and thats so cool

There’s a lot of underline threads going on in here and its going to be hard keeping track of them. I hope that the anime doesn’t choke itself on all the threads

T.REX is hilarious i think i might actually grow to like him. he’s a dumb himbo

ah even more threads and previous connections. i really really really hope that everything is ties up nicely by the end of the season though that doesn’t seem plausible, not with only 5 episodes remaining

OH GOD WHY WAS YOTOSUJUJI BROUGHT UP NOW IM TEARING UP

ah of course robberies are going to happen on the day of the rap battle

That ruikawa guy is suspicious. it might be my INFP speaking but his kindness seems a bit weird

ah yeah red flags right there. he’s definitely one of the robbers or in cahoots with them

ah yeah hes a robber. theres no doubt about that. “ive found a place to release what builds up inside me”. thats crime isn’t it. the fact that he won’t talk about it just raises more red flags

ahahaha see i was right

hey at least it was doppo’s hardass boss. could be someone more innocent and less asshole-y

YOU JUST GAVE YOUR INDEITY AWAY ASSHOLE wow even doppo caught on

EYYYY SHINJIKU STYLE!!!!! HELL YEAH

Those stills are absolutely mesmerizing though. 

i love the sense of trust and mentorship between matenro with Jakurai as Hifumi and Doppo’s mentors. At least that’s the feeling I get with them ahaha

Doppo’s english is a bit harsh but also weirdly fits his style. im a bit mixed on it but with the whole song being more melancholic with english sprinkled in, it matches the theme

The song itself is such a mellow and soothing song though. Its different than Maternro’s usual work and its a good different. I love the subway and old timey imagery that came with the song and the image of a subway train lighting up the way to a new path is such a great way of showing that there are different paths and different destinations that one can take. Even if you take the same train, you can end up in a different place. The light imagery in particular is just so good since Ruikawa’s original line of the city being a beacon of light for him is mirrored in the song.

The lyrics especially are so soft and powerful with the imagery within the words being simultaneously rough and tumble but also soft and reassuring. It seems more like a lament or a elegy to a life that could have been if they had gotten on a different train. I love the lyrics, especially the chorus since it speaks of mundane things but things that everyone can understand and relate to

it also carries mad Spirited Away vibes. It’s also called Falling which I think is pretty fitting

the only thing that I don’t like about the song Jakurai’s vocal beats within his verse. Usually it works since there’s a big beatboxing feel to those beats but with Jakurai his lyrical rap doesn’t mesh well with the harsh guttural sounds beatboxing

The pain of having one of your few friends betray you hurts and wow this episode is out to make me feel a lot of sympathy for Doppo

SMILING DOPPO!!!

Hell yeah they actually had a plan and followed through with it

Did they just set up the MTC episode lmao. thats sneaky

OOh that beat change for FP ending is so nice!!

--

I think I’m only noticing this just now but the episode titles are all famous quotes from people/proverbs. 

Ep. 1) “As Soon as Man is Born, He Begins to Die“ This is an old proverb. Who said it I don’t know and a quick internet search gave me nothing, but its commonly said to convey the meaning that nothing lasts forever. IDK why this proverb was chosen since there’s no indication of any of the teams disbanding any time soon except for TDD era teams which have already happened

Ep. 2) “Speak of the Devil and He Will Appear“ Again, another old idiom which dates back to the 16th century. This one is probably about Ichiro and how he appears whenever he is called or whenever he is needed. Though it could be a overall commentary on how the brothers are reliable no matter the situation

Ep. 3) “Two Heads Are Better Than One” - John Heywood This quote describes DoHifu pretty well. Its because these two work and rely on each other that they’re able to not only make it through each day but also make each day worth living. Because they help each other, but they’re not the same, they’re better for it. This could also apply to MTR as a whole being a team where each member thinks outside the box and their ideas collectively make such an interesting team

Ep. 4) “A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed” This one is an 11th century proverb which explains that in times of need, true friends will show their colors. That's the main mentality behind MTC though I believe that it applies to Rio in particular for this episode. While the entirety of MTC are willing to help each other in times of need, in this episode it mainly focused on Samatoki and Rio’s plights and how the members as a whole show that they are all true friends to each other

Ep. 5) “Seeing is Believing” The origins of this quote is blurry but there the bible seems to be the origin of this statement believe it or not. While it does fit the episode’s theme of ghosts and how rumor's can harm people and businesses, it doesn’t really describe FP like the other quotes do the other teams. I find it odd, but I hope that FP are redeemed in their next feature episode. FP deserves better and are being done dirty in the anime.

Ep. 6) “He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best” - The Christmas Prince. I think this one is pretty nice in describing not only the episode but the series as a whole. It doesn’t matter who’s winning in the begging, or the middle. The final outcome is what really matters. It’s pretty apt for the series since even though The Party of Words are winning currently, its who wins by the end of the series that matters. The episode encompasses this pretty well too with the whole plotline.

Ep. 7) “The Darkest Hour is Just Before the Dawn” Dating back to 1950 ish, this one carries the simple There is hope in the worst circumstances message. Again, its pretty suitable for the series as a whole since the Party of Words might be making life harsh, but there’s still hope to be found in the world.

Ep. 8) “Dead men tell no tales” - Thomas Becon. NGL, this one scares me because it can either apply to MTC, or the universe as a whole. We’ll just have to wait till next week to know for sure but i think we’ll get some Jyuto angst with his parents

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax B Block final preview

This is the final round of B Block matches in this year’s G1 Climax tournament.  Whoever finishes with the most points at the end of this show will win the block.  (If there’s a tie for first place, the man with the best record against the other leaders wins.)  The B Block winner goes on to face the A Block winner on October 18.

In each block match, a win is worth 2 points, and a loss is worth 0.  In a 30-minute time-limit draw, the participants get 1 point apiece.  No championships are at stake, but as always in New Japan, a non-title victory over a champion gives you the right to demand a title shot.

EVIL (6-2, 12 points) vs. SANADA (5-3, 10 points) - Evil can win B Block by winning this match.  Sanada can only win the block if he wins this match and Tetsuya Naito loses to KENTA.

From 2016 to 2020, Evil and Sanada were a top heavyweight tag team representing Los Ingobernables de Japon.  But then they met in the New Japan Cup this year and Evil was particularly heartless.  Little did we know then that Evil would go on to defect from LIJ to Bullet Club.  Obviously LIJ was heartbroken and betrayed, but we never really heard from the member who was closest to Evil.  I’ve been waiting for this one-on-one encounter.

Curiously, though, Evil’s story has shifted away from his betrayal of Naito to trouble brewing within Bullet Club.  Jay White and Evil aren’t even in the same block, and we now know they can’t possibly meet in the finals, but they’ve been snipping at each other in post-match interviews for a couple of weeks.  It’s a point of pride for Evil to reach the finals where Jay could not.  But win or lose, something’s up with Evil and Jay, and I don’t know when it’s going to explode.

Could Jay screw Evil in this match?  That’d be the play in WWE, but it’s not a very New Japan sort of thing to do.  Then again, the Ospreay vs. Okada finish last night has me second-guessing what New Japan would or would not do.

Bullet Club intrigue aside, the bottom line for me is that Evil’s run as top heel has run its course and everybody would be better off with a Sanada push.  I don’t know if Sanada can or should win the G1.  But I’m a lot more interested in him reaching the finals than seeing Evil do it.  All Evil can do is win and chase Naito again, and we’ve seen that.  We’ll probably see it again no matter what.  So as long as that’s happening either way, we might as well get a Sanada push too while we’re at it.

Tetsuya Naito (6-2, 12 points) vs. KENTA (4-4, 8 points) - Naito is the IWGP heavyweight champion and IWGP intercontinental champion.  Kenta holds a contract to be the next challenger for the erstwhile IWGP United States championship.  Kenta is mathematically eliminated, but Naito can still win B Block if he scores more points than Evil or Sanada.

Kenta famously did a run-in on Naito’s victory celebration in the Tokyo Dome back in January, and got a title shot out of it in February.  But he didn’t really feel like he belonged at that level, and I never bought him as a serious threat to Naito.  I still don’t, frankly.  It would make sense for Kenta to win to set up a rematch for the title down the line, but I’m not terribly excited about that prospect.  I’m more interested in seeing Kenta pursue the US title, which I think he could actually win.

I feel like Naito has to lose to ensure that Evil vs. Sanada is for all the marbles.  But I also think it’s telling that most of Naito’s block matches have been very long, getting up near the 30-minute time limit to tease a draw.  A draw for Naito would have the same impact on Evil vs. Sanada as a Naito win, though, so I don’t know if there’s any point to that except to fill time.  This match is kinda hard to read, so I’ll just go with my gut and pick Kenta to win.

Zack Sabre. Jr (5-3, 10 points) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (3-5, 6 points) - Sabre is one of the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions.  Like I said yesterday, Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi have feuded with Sabre and Taichi for the tag title all summer.  Ibushi’s win over Taichi last night could mean a renewal of that program, and if Tana can win beat the other tag champion that would all but clinch it.

If Sabre wins, his 12 points might be enough to match the top score, but none of the potential tiebreaker scenarios work in his favor, so he’s as mathematically elimianted as Tanahashi.  So this is really just about Tana trying to get back into title contention, and Sabre trying to put Tana out to pasture once and for all.  Honestly, as much as I like Tanahashi, I’d prefer to see Zack just win here to get it over with, so he can move on to new business.

Hirooki Goto (4-4, 8 points) vs. Juice Robinson (3-5, 6 points) - Goto is one of the NEVER trios champions, but I think Juice may be less interested in that prize than chasing Kenta’s US title contract.  Neither of these guys can win the block, so it’s all about trying to finish with as many points as possible.  Goto will want to get to a winning record, while Juice would at least like to tie his personal best score of 8 points.  Either of these guys could get the win, but I think it’ll end up going to whomever has the bigger role to play over the next few months.  I have a feeling that’s Juice.

Toru Yano (3-5, 6 points) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (1-7, 2 points) - Yano is the provisional KOPW 2020 champion or whatever that is.  I’m real curious when and how he’s going to defend that thing.  Yoshi is one of the NEVER trios champions, and I bet he’s real glad the KOPW trophy exists to prove the trios belts are no longer the most pointless title in the company.

Yoshi has had a rough run in this year’s G1, which really shouldn’t surprise any of us.  But he is a champion now, so his fans would at least hope for him to get up to 4 points.  It should be feasible for him to pull it off against Yano.  But Yano is the x-factor of B Block and you can never assume he’ll be an easy win. 

I’m less concerned with who wins this thing than with Yano coming up with something genuinely creative.  I’ve been loving his shtick this year, but he’s already gone through most of his bag of tricks, and I don’t want to see him tape a guy to the barricade again just because it’d work.  He should do Yoshi the honor of pulling out something new.

Yuya Uemura vs. Gabriel Kidd - This isn’t a G1 Climax block match--it’s just a prelim match featuring the young boys.  As of last night’s show, Yota Tsuji is leading this informal series, with a 6-4-2 record against the Uemura (5-5-1) and Kidd (4-6-1).  So to you or me it doesn’t seem like it matters who wins this last match.  But among the Young Lions, everything is a competition, so you can beat Kidd and Uemura want to go tooth and nail for second place.  I’m thinking Kidd wins this one.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Listen you wake up at 6 AM Eastern for pro MMA? You get what you pay for.” UFC in China preview

Joey

August 27th, 2019

Maaaaaan zoowiemama.  The UFC's return to China on paper seemed like a great idea! A few good fights and a bunch of Chinese prospects on the undercard with a big time title fight headliner pitting China's greatest fighter against a fun yet flawed champion? What could possibly go wrong! Well for starters,  the climate in China is probably not conducive to a fight card where the focus would be on the first ever Chinese born title challenger. Even if we ascribe to the concept presented by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco that "fights go where they're needed", there's no doubt that this entire situation with Hong Kong protests happening daily cast a shadow over the card. Beyond that? this card has been besieged by injuries. We'll get to it but needless to say, there's pretty much an injury replacement in a bunch of these fights. Following THAT up? The UFC has arguably three of the best Chinese born fighters absent on this show. Wang Guan is still missing, having not fought since beating Alex Caceres in a really impressive debut. Xao Xiaonan beat Angela Hill in June and that's not a great turnaround time and while putting Song Yadong on the PPV prelims of a major show was probably the right idea, it DOES take away from the card when he's not here in China. I suppose that's either or neither nor at this point. What remains are some intriguing fights IF you're the sort of person curious about the growth of Chinese MMA or you're the kind of guy who likes to be able to say you saw so and so before they became a big star. Also the top three fights are pretty damn good and worth your time to see them.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Mizuki Inoue, Zhenhong Lu, Jun Yong Park, Khadis Ibragimov,  Karol Rosa, Laura Propico, Batgerel Danaa, Heili Atateng

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Mike Grundy OUT, Zhenhong Lu IN vs Movsar Evloev/Saparbek Sarafov OUT, Jamahal Hill IN vs Da Un Jung/Jamahal Hill OUT, Khadis Ibragimov IN vs Da Un Jung/Luana Carolina OUT, Mizuki Inoue IN vs Wu Yanan)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 3 (Li Jingliang, Elizeu Zaleski, Jessica Andrade)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Da Un Jung)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Jessica Andrade, Weilli Zhang, Elizeu Zaleski, Kai Kara France, Li Jingliang, Damir Ismagulov)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC):  24-5

Weilli Zhang- 3-0 Jessica Andrade- 5-1 Li Jingliang- 5-1 Elizeu Zaleski- 5-0 Mark De La Rosa- 2-2 Kai Kara-France- 2-0 Movsar Evloev- 1-0 Zhenhong Lu- 0-0 Yanan Wu- 1-1 Mizuki Inoue- 0-0

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here): Welterweight-  2 (49) Bantamweight- 2 (45) Women’s Flyweight- 1 (28) Women’s Strawweight- 1 (22) Women’s Bantamweight- 1 (14) Flyweight-  1 (12) Light Heavyweight- 1 (32) Middleweight-  1 (29) Lightweight- 1 (52) Featherweight-  1 (41)

Heavyweight- (24) Women’s Featherweight- (7)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (23-46)- Mizuki Inoue, Zhenhong Lu, Jun Yong Park, Khadis Ibragimov,  Karol Rosa, Laura Propico, Batgerel Danaa, Heili Atateng

Short Notice Fighters (23-30)- Khadis Ibragimov, Mizuki Inoue, Zhenglong Lu

Second Fight (46-22)- Movsar Evloev, Derrick Krantz, Anthony Hernandez, Su Mudaerji

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (19-31)-  

Undefeated Fighters (29-31)- Laura Procopio, Khadis Ibrabimov, Movsar Evloev

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (10-8)-

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”) (25-17)-

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Where can Weili Zhang match up against Jessica Andrade? On paper, Zhang's probably a tier below Rose Namajunas and Joanna in terms of Andrade's opponents at 115 lbs. What she does have I think that those two don't is a tremendous amount of physical strength and a bit of a bully mentality. Zhang's very strong and I think she's one of the rare people who can maybe in brief glimpses give Andrade trouble just on her physicality alone. Zhang doesn't quite have the same handiwork that Joanna had where she kept Andrade at bay with basically two punches but I think Zhang has the ability to be somewhat of a force in the clinch. She's probably the strongest opponent that Andrade has faced since Rocky Pennington or maybe even Liz Carmouche.

2- Has the overall political climate soured the fact that China could get its first ever UFC champion? Primarily IN China where you'd hope that this would be a big deal.

3- Is Zhang's cardio vs Andrade's power something to watch in the latter rounds? It's totally unfair to point this out given how she has KO'd two fighters in a row but Andrade's pop tends to wane the deeper into a fight she goes. On the other hand, can Zhang keep her wind about her for five insane rounds with Andrade should it go to that point?

4- Elizeu Zaleski has been pretty much unstoppable since entering the UFC. He has one loss that to me was really not a loss (a split decision to recent UFC re-signee Nicolas Dalby) and most of his wins have been either violent finishes to the likes of Sean Strickland and Omari Akhmedov or they've been brutal back and forth fights like the Max Griffin and Lyman Good fights. He's pretty much picked off the underbelly of the WW scene and it getting a pseudo step up although he's probably due a much bigger name at this point. I'm not sure what the UFC doesn't see the King of Caiopera but hopefully another big fight and they will. Li Jingliang is not the super patient multi dimensional fighter who tends to give Zaleski some problems but he's also one of the wilder brawlers with pop in both hands who can catch Zaleski if he gets sloppy on offense.  We have seen Zaleski get hurt in the past so the Leech has a shot here.

5- What's the point of Kai Kara-France facing a guy coming off a loss at 2-0? Feel like at this point, they've trying to build him up as a potential #1 contender if they need one at 125 lbs. Either that or they don't have a great deal of faith in him as a title contender.

6- It's yet another injury marred fight but Wu Yanan vs Mizuki Inoue is a really intriguing fight. It feels like Mizuki Inoue has been on a path to the UFC for about five years now with injuries and close losses marring the entire road there. She's finally made it as a short notice alternative and faces Wu Yanan who of the chinese signed fighters is probably a slight step behind her peers like Weili Zhang and Xao Xionan. That said she's athletic and looked worlds better between her debut where she lost to Kailin Curran and her shocking sub win over Lauren Meuller. Because she's not super active, it's hard to know just how much she's improved or how much the Meuller fight was a fluke. This is a stern test really for both ladies.

7- There was a lot of hype on Russia's Movsar Evloev coming into his UFC debut but he took the path of least resistance in his debut en route to an easy decision win. On paper the UFC had put together a damn good prospect vs prospect fight with he vs Mike Grundy but Grundy got hurt and now Evloev actually gets a pretty blegh rematch. It'll be Movsar vs Zhenhong Lu again, a rematch of their 2015 fight that I have no exist about. Lu is 0-3 vs UFC quality competition (losses to Azamat Gashimov, Movsar and Shane Young) and seems like the sort of guy who best represents the scraping of the bottom of the MMA barrel. This SHOULD be a showcase for Evloev.

8- So how does Andre Soukhamtath give THIS fight away?

9- Song Kenan vs Derrick Krantz  is going to be a WILD fight well worthy of your time. Except if you're on the pacific or west coast, you guys need your sleep.

10- There are people, and I don't want to shame them of course so I won't name them but know they exist, who would probably rather watch the WBW fight on this card over the LHW fight on this card. Remember them for they walk among us. They eat and breathe in the same restaurants we do!

11- LFA middleweight champions have had some success in the UFC so it was a bit of a surprise to see former champ Anthony Hernandez blasted out in his debut. Of all the guys signed off of DWCS Season Two, I would've bet hard on Hernandez finding a home and success pretty much out the gate. Instead Hernandez was ran over by (ironically enough) FELLOW LFA middleweight champ alumni Markus Perez. Hernandez gets debuting Korean fighter Jun Yoon Park on the prelims.

12- Realistically speaking, what would justify getting up for this card at 6 AM other than a crippling MMA meth addiciton?

[whisky--tango--foxtrot]

Hello, again

Alternately, this could be called My Match Hell

Wow, it’s been a while tumblr--probably almost a year. Well, I guess a lot has happened in that year and not all of it went according to plan. I have a lot of emotions and thoughts that I’m still unpacking. 

One thing I have learned though is that things all work out. That’s not some endorsement for pre-determined fate; things work out because you choose to be optimistic and choose to see the benefits of what life has presented you with. That’s of course not true for actual tragedies that are completely random but y’all get where I’m going with this, right? 

So here’s what’s been going on in my life since I last posted anything personal:

A little under a year ago, I SOAPed into a preliminary surgery position so that I could continue pursuing my dream of being a surgeon. This past year, I worked my ass off and I had more interviews than I did the previous cycle. I was hopeful and optimistic but I knew I didn’t want to stay at my current institution but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and learn in a new environment. 

Despite all of that, this year’s match felt like another slap in the face when, once again, I failed to match into a categorical surgery position. I am, however, fortunate enough to have a position in a categorical pediatrics program in California, which I am very excited about.

But of course, I still have mixed feelings that I don’t think will ever be resolved. Here’s the thing: I love surgery with every fiber of my being and until I actually start my pediatrics program, and probably even well into it, I’ll be questioning if I made the right decision to stop pursuing surgery. Of course I’m always going to wonder what I could or should have done differently.

My decision was borne out of a realistic understanding that while there certainly are people who match into surgery after two preliminary years, it is exceedingly difficult and it is the exception, rather than the rule. Additionally, let’s face it, the application process is grueling and the thought of going through it again is, quite frankly, soul-crushing. Match is something no one really tells you very much about until you’re about to go through it and it is a process that sucks ass.

So why peds when I originally wanted to do surgery? Honestly, the decision was kind of made for me. During the SOAP process, I applied to a lot of things, all of which were categorical, even if not in my desired specialty. Why? Because the biggest mind-fuck about being a non-designated prelim (ie: someone who doesn’t already have a designated radiology/urology/anesthesia program to go to the following year) is the uncertainty and instability. You don’t know where you’re going to be the next year, you have no idea what’s going to happen. I applied to peds programs completely based on location (California and Chicago-area) and due to the desirable locations, they were kind of hail Marys.

So now I’m totally changing career paths and it’s not necessarily where I thought I’d be a year ago, but it’s probably where I thought I’d be five years ago, when I first started medical school. So in a way, things have come full-circle. My absolute ideal career was pediatric surgery but that’s a subspecialty that also requires about a decade of training. Anyway, I’m choosing to focus more on the positive things about all of the changes going on but it’s only natural to fixate on the bad things too. The truth is, though, that general surgery residency is fucking difficult. That’s not to say other things are easy but as a surgical resident at my institution, you do work more way hours than other residents. Because of that, I have had a lot less time to do things for me and I kind of lost sight of who I was outside of a physician.

Things I am super grateful and excited about for the future: 1) I get to work with my favorite patient population 2) I’m going back to California, where my family is and where most of my friends are 3) Overall, pediatric residencies (and every other specialty, really) treat their residents waaaay better than general surgery residencies do 4) The program I’m joining has a ton of awesome opportunities (rotations abroad, flying in helicopters  5) I’ll be done with residency in THREE years and can pursue a more procedure-oriented subspecialty 6) Hopefully, a chance to have a more well-rounded life

Things I am grateful about from the past year: 1) I learned a fuckton that will make me a better clinician than my colleagues without one year of surgical training and education 2) I did a lot of really cool things 3) Met some really amazing folks and got to get to know others even better

Things that I’m still bummed about: 1) I won’t be a surgeon 2) I have to move away from the aforementioned amazing people after only getting to spend one year with them

Goals for myself moving forward: 1) Exercise daily and get to the point I can do a half-marathon without wishing for death to take me 2) Cook for myself regularly, eat healthier 3) Bake for erryone 4) Take up art again--which I haven’t done in literally a year even though it defined so much of who I was growing up

So folks, I got pretty shafted by the match and of course I’m disappointed but at the end of the day, I’m still a physician. I’m moving closer to most of my friends and family, and I’m being given the opportunity to re-learn who I am outside of my job. Ultimately, I am thankful that I have a secure position and will be able to take care my very favorite patient population.

I had a really rough go at this whole Match business not once but twice. If you’re in a similar situation, know that you are not alone. My co-residents are all very supportive and excited for me. Residents in other specialties shared stories with me about how they didn’t match into their initially-desired specialty and wound up doing something else.

If you don’t match, or match into a second choice, just know that it isn’t the end of the road--sometimes, you’re just given another path to travel. Sometimes it’s not what you wanted or expected and sometimes it’s not pretty but you’ll get a good place. Remember, you’re a physician and through your hard work and perseverance, you’ve earned the privilege of seeing people, sometimes on their worst days, and helping them heal. 

[shannonparis29]

Missouri USofA Diva 2017

Missouri Diva 2017

Hi, everyone! I am back! I finally posted up the Nationals post and now I am going to discuss the 2017-2018. My prelim I did for that season. As I mentioned, this is the only story I have for this season-spoiler, I qualified but was unable to attend due to personal reasons. Anyhow, I hope whoever reads these, will help them understand me, as a performer, a diva, and more importantly, a human being. Please understand that some things are not in as detail because it was a few years ago (already). Trust me, once I am caught up to current times, there will be more to reveal. And more to see. I am also outlining a frozen fanfiction as well. I will be posting on here and on Wattpad.  Let’s begin now, shall we?

After Nationals, I started preparing for the new season. I read my critiques and started my next plan of attack.  I had not decided on what I was going to do for talent (yet). In fact, this season I wasn’t going to wait till November to compete for Texas. Texas is typically mid-season for Diva. I wanted to compete earlier than November, so when Missouri announced their prelim in early October, I knew I was competing at Missouri. Also, if something happened where I did not qualify at Missouri-I could always do Texas as a backup. My ex Levi also was going to do MI Classic and I would support him, when it came time do so.

Presentation for Missouri was “Spice Up Your Life” for Diva.  From what I was told, you were to create your own Spice Girl.  Which I did. I wore big red hair and a black dress, fully stoned-that I did myself. Jackie told me that I was a mix of Posh and Ginger.  Sara De La Hoya made my presentation hair, evening gown and jewelry, and evening gown and talent hair. For my evening gown, I finally did my “fire” themed gown and I bought shoes that I stoned myself to match. I typically buy one, two inch heels, because 1) I want to be able to walk comfortably 2)During Crowning you will be standing a while, so may as well my comfy 3)You’re not judged on how high your heels are.

For talent, I did Listen for talent by Beyoncé. Originally, I was going, to do a I am changing/I am telling you mix that my drag sister had, but I realized it didn’t suit my emotions at ALL. But when I did Listen, something happened when I performed it. It became magic. I related to the song and found something in that song. Sometimes you find what you shine in by accident, and it was a good thing. You never know when you’re next inspiration or talent would be. I wore a black and gold dress, and I added gold stones to the front of it.  And huge brown hair.

For interview, I bought a pink dress (yes pink) and pink flats and wore my hair down. It was short at the time (bob length) so I didn’t have in a bun or ponytail.

As far as travel goes, it takes about 14-15 hours to drive to Missouri. We got there in reasonable time. We left Thursday morning and got there late that night. Levi had his pageant Friday and Saturday I’d be on stage. We made a huge stop in Tulsa to pick my gown, hair, and jewelry for the pageant. The plan was to hire her for Missouri, but due to last minute bills, I was unable to have her as my makeup artist. My drag sister, Jackie (and dresser) stepped in, as she always has done.  Now, whether she can admit that she can do it or not, that’s on her, but trust me, she CAN do it. I say it all the time.

Friday Levi competed, and I didn’t attend his pageant because I wasn’t feeling well, and I had a nasty migraine. I wanted to focus on resting for my own pageant. He didn’t qualify but it’d be my turn and I knew I had a good chance to win. I had a great experience the year before, and wanted to come back.

I woke up about 10-11 am to get ready for interview. I slipped on my pink dress, flats and necklace. I was feeling good, excited, ready to win.

Even Jackie said to me,

“You seem a lot more confident and comfortable. Let’s hope that it translates to the judges.”

I had a feeling I was going to qualify. As I said before, you just know when it’s going to happen. You feel it. And when you feel it, it happens. I was ready for this and the contestants were,

Karma Marie Lee (last year’s runner up), Eva Nichole Destruction Gladiatior  (she competed last year),  Kymber Koi, and me. I drew contestant number two out of four. Karma and I were leading off the pageant. I have never liked being the “first up” but I’d deal with it. I’ve consistently drawn the end of the middle of the pageant. I’ve only be contestant number one once, and that is much later on.

After interview started, I was pleasantly surprised that I knew pretty much my entire panel, except for two local entertainers. I was very friendly and energetic and said,

Literally the dorkiest thing I’ve ever done in a pageant. In fact, I don’t think anyone deducted me for that AT all. But I shook everyone’s hand and greeted almost everyone by name.

Where in the Texas pageant hell did that come from?

Another thing I noticed was I was the only who wore a brighter color. I wore pink-everyone else wore black or darker colors. I’ve learned that while yes, you need to wear professional clothing, it’s not all about what you wear, but how you wear it. So, wearing pink or wearing a dress (and flats) was far more comfortable and natural for me.  One of the questions they asked me, was “Why Missouri? When Texas is next month?”

I answered honestly and sincerely,

“Because last year I had a great experience competing here and everyone made me feel welcome, being from another state. And Tawny is a great promoter.”

And yes, none of that was ass-kissing by the way. I actually did think that because I had no negative about Missouri. Period. I liked it there.

Another question they asked me was,

“How have you changed since last year?”

“Well, first of all, I feel like I am a bit more together than last year. More things have fallen into place for me. Second, last year, I think, I was trying to too hard to be what I thought a pageant girl was supposed to be. And that was not right. I needed to be more myself.”

Shocker. Huh. Me being sincere in a interview without it sounding fake or forced? I wasn’t giving the “proper answers” I was giving my own.

Another question that was asked, was,

“You used to be famous on Youtube and you performed at show and it got shut down. Why do pageants, then?”

Dear God…that again. I honestly didn’t want to talk about it. But I knew how I’d respond.

“Well,” I began, “When I did all that, I didn’t know how to do drag, do makeup, and dress appropriately. While yes, it was brave, etc, I was younger, in college and didn’t know any better. Now I know how to dress, do makeup, and perform other things. And that is not who I am on stage anymore. I can do other things, too.”

I don’t remember much else of the interview, but that’s most of it. Before I knew it, my seven minutes were up and Seduction whispered to me,

“That was awesome. Really amazing for you.”

I walked out of that interview, jumping up for joy. Like I never thought I’d nail interview.

Jackie seemed surprised. And she asked,

“How’d you do?”

“I think I won Interview.”

After interview, they had food for us. Southern cooking…. yum yum. I ate a bit then we headed back to the hotel where I had to get ready.

We packed up and dressed for the pageant. I had to be there at 8 pm and Levi made sure we were on time.  He is the time police when it comes to that. But I hate being late, too.

My first category was presentation and I looked good. Or I least thought I did. I said to myself,

“Let’s get this show on the road!”

I walked out there, smiled, did my pose and went backstage to get into evening wear. Gown was pretty uneventful, and everyone seemed to have some creative elements on their gowns. It was going to be tight in this category.

Finally, it was talent time. Karma did her talent from last year-her “I wanna be a rockette/look at my body/get on up” talent. It’s extremely funny when she does it. There’s a reason she made top 12 in 2017. I came out and did Listen and it was emotionally charged, my hair was huge and I felt like a Texas drag queen. I came to win. A few people said, I’ve should have done Adele dressed the way I did, but I truthfully do not like performing Adele. I honestly don’t relate to her music that much. Why would I perform something that I’m not into? Come on now. Just because I look like someone or have that look, does not mean I HAVE to do it the WAY they did it. All performers interpret music differently. One person could do Listen completely different than the way I did it. I don’t limit myself based on appearance. Nope. I do what I want to do and feel.  That’s the difference and probably why I perform well when I am completely emoting what I performing.

Then it was time for the results. They did categories first.

“Winner of Interview….Shannon Paris.”

I won interview? I was shocked, but I knew deep down that I had.  I won a category at state level. I won the category I struggled in all season last year. Wow.”

Karma won Evening Wear and Talent. And then they announced the placements,

“Our first alternate, Shannon Paris from Texas!”

I placed. I got first alternate. I qualified on my first try…..yessss…so much emotion.

Karma ended up being the winner and I, of course congratulated her.

It was a pretty quiet trip home and I started to get ready for Nationals.

 Scores 56 Interview (out of 60), Gown 51 (out of 60) , Talent 104 (out of 120)

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: And then there were Eight

WELCOME to September.

Any by that, I do hope you enjoy the Legends game tomorrow evening, and the AFLW State of Origin Saturday, because the Crows-Giants Qualifying Final is still seven days away sadly.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves in the pre-finals bye, the chasm of over-self-consciousness, a space in your year where time slows down, it doesn’t’ feel right nor feels comfortable.

The end to a rather exciting year was even more exciting, the fact Melbourne was out of the eight, in the eight and then ultimately out of the eight, all in during time on in the very last quarter of the very final game of the season was mesmerising.

But now, yep, we’ve got a bit of mickey mouse filler really until this time next week.

Talk amongst yourselves...

 1.     Ten teams have gone by the wayside, so who’s who in the Finals Zoo? Always easier from the top four as history teaches us but gee, the 2017 Sydney are probably a better team than the 2016 Bulldogs, and the Swans finish in sixth, with a home final, the Dogs were seventh and had a trip to Perth in Week One. From there, the Dogs had to go via the cape last year and to their eternal credit did it with aplomb, taking out all the key players. This year, three of the top four are either untrustworthy, grossly overrated or properly unproven. Sydney, these finals are on your terms gentlemen.

 2.     Here’s the theory I can’t believe this column has ended up with after all the thousands of words dedicated to these two teams – the winner of Geelong vs. Richmond will be incredibly hard to stop hoisting the cup. Here’s why. If Geelong wins, it hosts a prelim final, probably against the GWS, down at Simmonds, and if the Cats can overcome the Tigers juggernaut up the highway next Friday, whose to stop them getting through the Giants on their own turf. Then, as a Victorian side at the MCG on the last Saturday in September, two finals wins under their belt, their skipper back, good luck stopping them.

 3.     On the other hand, and here’s the one that gets the hair on the back of your neck standing up – imagine, bloody imagine would you, that Friday next week, about 10:30pm, Richmond is in front when the final siren goes. First finals win in forever. Not just a finals win, but it’s a qualifying final win, which earns them a home preliminary final. The monkey is off the back, they will be the darling of Melbourne come a fortnight’s time, the utter momentum this city would generate for them alone will be almost impossible to stop. For those under 40 really, watch what happens when Richmond is top of the tree, it’s incredible. It’ll almost win them the cup almost in itself.

 4.     Adelaide and the GWS are the other fancies, get the double chance and damn, one was minor premier, the other has the best team on paper, so plenty of credentials between them. For the Crows, get the first win out of the way, prepare well to take care of whoever they confront in the Prelim, take their chances and back their form in come Grand Final Day. Super plausible. For the Giants, if they don’t win Thursday, they need to take out Geelong or Richmond in Victoria at some point, and not beyond them, but their form line doesn’t arouse enough to make you feel confident. Maybe 2018?

 5.     How about those bloody Demons hey? On one hand, they were bloody stiff. Had a great record against top eight sides, finished with 12 wins and a percentage over 105, most years that gets you in comfortably. But when the finals spot was on their racquet, and they chose to double fault big time against the Pies, especially in that first quarter when by the time they had racked up their sixth tackle, they were six goals down, it’s all on them. Really super list, but no pressure on them making the finals next year is there?...

 6.     West Coast, how lucky? They are an average side at best (watch them do well now I’ve chucked the jinx on). Look, the actual player roster is fine and it’s why I scoff at suggestions they were staring down some serious list management decisions at years’ end because I don’t fault the on-field capabilities at their disposal. Sure, their best player was out all year with a knee, but with him they should be top four minimum. So they’ll bundle out, avoid too much heat, and Adam Simpson can feel a bit better next year should they not start so well, than otherwise we suppose.

 7.     Essendon, now there’s a good news story. Shame they end up facing the best team in the comp first week otherwise we’d actually back them to sneak a finals win way ahead of schedule. Sure, they flirted with danger letting Freo get far too close last weekend but say what you like about their crime and their time, this is a footy side that can do some things in the years to come. Thoroughly deserving of a finals spot and will disgrace no-one no matter how they go against the Swans.

 8.     And can we point out, further to the success story of the Bombers, that to have Paddy Ryder for Port in the finals after the year out too, that’s a great news story in itself. Traded out because of the drugs saga, sitting out the 2016 season at his new club and then to do so well this year, earning AA honours to boot, awesome result for the Western Australian ruckman.

 9.     Onto the All-Australian team, not too bad a year for the selectors other than missing Clayton Oliver. The only other real note is an extension of the previous thought, that for Ryder but also Michael Hurley and Michael Hibberd, to miss all of last year and then to come back and earn a spot in the AA team is such a magnificent achievement, cop that to WADA et. al.

 10.  We must at this point offer an apology. This column found excellent value in Josh Kennedy for the Coleman, and then at worst suggested the hedge bet on Joe Daniher late was excellent logic. We didn’t allow, sadly, for the ten-goal Buddy Franklin show to come in over the top. What is it they always say – the house always wins?

 11.  Alright, alright, let’s address it. Nathan Buckley. Three things here clearly. One, they did in fact look around at who was gettable, poachable, and must have gotten donuts. Two, if there’s no-one out there who they think would be that ‘ significant upgrade’ over what’s already waiting at home, then they’ve chosen to stay faithful. Three, Eddie McGuire, even though he say he would have if he had to, is really glad he didn’t have to sack his great mate, immensely glad.

 12.  So now Collingwood is all in on the Damien Hardwick precedent. We will see assistant coaches turned over, and Scott Burns, Anthony Rocca are two already to move on, we will see further changes in the football department, the fitness guy has already gone, the list management team will reshuffle big time too. We will see who comes in, if it can make any sort of difference, the jury remains unconvinced.

 13.  Last one on the Pies – they are hard to read. Overall, and rightly so, a disappointing year, no question. Technically though this is the first season for Buckley to perform better than previous, yes, the ladder position is lower, but the points tally is higher. Collingwood were the only side to not lose by more than 40 points, they were largely one of the unluckier sides in close games, and had a harder draw than Richmond or Essendon. They get the soft draw next year the Pies which helps -  they played the bottom 8 teams 8 times in 2017, Richmond and Essendon 12 times, Geelong 11.

 14.  Just some numbers on those close games, for matches decided by three goals or less, St Kilda won four of five, yet North Melbourne won four of ten. Yes the Saints missed the finals, just, but we don’t really see these two teams together, but the Kangaroos left plenty of wins out on the park, inexperience, a bit of bad luck, either way there’s some optimism for the North fans next year. Further, games a goal or under, Giants 1 loss from 6, North 1 win from 6, Geelong unbeaten from 5, Dogs 3 wins from 4, Pies one win from 4.

 15.  So apparently Dusty will make a decision soon. He might end up staying after all that, but can we make a case for North? Yes, it’s about a million dollars extra after tax to move to Arden Street, but if we flesh out the previous thought a bit more, they had three close losses by Easter. Win all those, they are 5-2 after Round Seven and the season looks way different. They played like a 10, 11 win team this year, and with Dusty on board, with further games into their kids, they are not far off top four. It’s a stretch, but the comp is so even you can’t rule anything out these days.

 16.  The Crouch brothers have become a column favourite and we will continue to push their cause, and this week particularly Matt’s. The second youngest named on Wednesday night (Zach Merrett is only five months younger). But whilst the Bomber winger is heralded as one of the very best young players in the game, and someone who had a huge 2017, he ranked 4th for disposals per game yet Crouch was ranked 2nd. Crouch too was 7th in the league for effective disposals per game and 9th for score involvements. He was as instrumental to Adelaide taking home the minor premiership as any Crow and whilst most outlets have awarded their player of the year to a Dangerfield or a Martin, The Age actually had Matt Crouch on top. He is only 22, that’s all, but a megastar in the making.

 17.  As this will be the last column for the footy season, let’s finish off with some predictions of the weeks to come. Firstly the Brownlow, and well, theory has it the ineligible Patrick Dangerfield, who wins the count, hangs the medal over the second place getter in Dustin Martin. Oh, what theatre! But we think one of two things will happen – either Martin smashes it in anyway on his own merit, well over 30 votes, well ahead of Dangerfield. Or, someone pops up from nowhere and goes super close to winning it. Watch out for Tom Mitchell, Josh Kennedy or even my man Crouch. Matt Priddis won his Brownlow as a $41 chance, for what it’s worth that’s Marcus Bontempelli’s odds this year.

 18.  Then we have the Grand Final. I tell you, I am beyond compelled by the winner of this Geelong-Richmond game. The path that opens up for the winner is so advantageous and as the Dogs proved last year, getting on a roll is beyond powerful. I have massive respect for the Crows’ season, I think Sydney is the best team in the competition and its shattering they missed top four, but right now, I am tipping the Tigers to win next Friday, and I don’t know who beats them after if they do.

 19.  We have the free agency/trade period next month and we expect a bit to happen. We wonder if someone pays the price to get Tom Lynch down from Gold Coast a year early (Collingwood or Carlton), we wonder if Jake Lever does indeed up a Demon and too whether Gary Ablett plays on but down at Geelong. It appears Josh Kelly will stay or become a Saint, that North Melbourne despite all their cash may fail to land a big fish, and that it will be the pursuit of Jacob Hopper, Devon Smith and Steven Motlop that may cause the biggest news. We do expect that Bryce Gibbs does get home this year though, write that one down.

 20.  And we sign off the year with another retirement during the week, although if we’re honest we knew a little earlier but kept it in camera – Leigh Montagna finishes up after 287 games with St. Kilda. A terribly underrated midfielder, a key component of the more successful periods for the Saints in the early part of last decade and then again in those Grand Final years. He played 21 games or more ten of the last 12 years, so he was incredibly durable and reliable yet a hamstring on its last legs went at the SCG and that was that. He will end up in the media, a proper talent in front of the camera or equally behind the mic, and deserves all the success he has upcoming. A terrific competitor, a highly-skilled midfielder turned backman and an even better bloke. Well done to him.

(originally published August 31)

[bryanllamado]

Feb-ibig

Okay. So before you start reading this blog entry, here’s a quick story. After celebrating Valentine’s the entire week (yes, I made it happen), I had chicken pox. *frowns* As of writing, I’m taking some time off of school to recuperate from this illness–perfect timing, the prelim has just begun (and so as this chicken pox). Disclaimer: I have zero idea on how I got this–no one from the fam or the squad had this skin disease recently. I’m starting to hate February for this apparent reason (getting sick); it never fails to ruin things. But looking on the brighter side of things, I got to spend this year’s V-Day with the one[s] I love!

I have planned this–my dream V-Day celeb–for a long time already and though some things didn’t turn out as planned, I’m glad with the way everything drove out in general. Damang dama ko ang simoy ng pag-ibig, mga bes! I enjoyed every single moment of the week and I feel privileged to have spent the Hearts Day sharing love with the best people in town. Plus, this year saw the light for my first ever (legit but not so legal) valentine date–though it wasn’t exactly a date. Tamis! Let’s just say that I celebrated love the way it is supposed to be rejoiced. But for now, it’s time for me to do a recap of how the previous week went. #HappyHeartsDay

Valentine Week 2017

Sunday

As soon as I reached the dorm, I prepared a little surprise for my girl: a special valentine greeting poem and a banner. I spent the rest of the night finishing the poem (though I finished it swiftly) and cutting out letters for me and my friend’s ‘HAPPY HEARTS DAY’ banner surprise to our two lovely girls. The good thing is that I have the materials that I need at the dorm–glue, colored papers, bond papers and a pair of scissors. I prepared the letter cuts and Gian inflated the heart shaped balloons. We have everything laid out that night and the only thing left to do is to execute the plan. #loverbois

Monday

It’s been a while since we (me and my girl) last visited Starbucks so we planned to grab coffee to start the week. We both came from our respective schools–the 2 Lasallian universities in Dasmariñas–and headed straight to meet each other and get our favorite flavors of frappe. I guess we both needed a breather from a long hard day in school. I enjoyed the night (even though we weren’t able to talk much and catch up). I was preparing for a report and a major exam for the following day as she was scanning through her notes. Handouts before hangouts as people say but why choose when you can have the best of both worlds?

Tuesday

Prior to this week, she already informed me that she and her (single girl) friends will be going out on V-Day. I gave it a nod since I don’t want her to wait too long for me as she’ll be dismissed earlier than I’ll be. The plan is that we’ll meet at exactly 6PM at Walter Mart with no particular place to eat at. It is also the day when we are supposed to hand our valentine gifts to each other but a few days before, the Instagram account (from which I ordered my gift for her–a blue cap and a matching blue watch) informed me that they couldn’t ship/send the items to me yet because they don’t have them yet.

Since she’s out with her friends, I decided to join my friends to try Bittersweet–a café that some of our fellow COEd students manage. I wasn’t supposed to join them (as I’ll be having a dinner date with my girl) but I wouldn’t want to miss a food adventure. After class, we grabbed a jeepney ride and headed straight to Area G–where the café is located. Too bad, Rica, Jane, MJ and Rjhay weren’t able to make it. For the meriendate, majority of us had Tuna Pasta and Choco Kisses milk shake and we all shared a plate of nachos and a barkada serving of fries.

Everybody enjoyed the food and (believe it or not) none of us spent more than a hundred bucks. The food is great and the menu offers variety–though the serving size is a little reduced but my taste buds are still satisfied. The sizes of their drinks are named single, taken, complicated and barkada (from the smallest serving to the largest). The place is not that spacious but we managed to arrange ourselves on a long table. I am satisfied with my Bittersweet experience in general. *thumbs up* After we finished our meals, we had isaw and betamax on a nearby streetfood spot.

I went back to the dorm to fix myself for my first ever (could­-have­-been) valentine dinner. She texted me around quarter to 7PM and told me that she’s on her way already. I rushed to reach Walter Mart and arrived 13 minutes late–not that punctual for an actual date. We decided to dine at Bon Chon (our common fave food place) but to our surprise, the place is too crowded–with people waiting both inside and outside. We were supposed to try the new seafood flavor Bibimbowl but apparently, there’s no vacant table left for us to dine in. It is unwise to have our orders taken out but we did in hopes of saving time.

Instead of having Bibimbowls (which we would appreciate more if we eat in the actual serving), we opted for 2 servings of Calamari. The crew told us that we will be waiting for 20 minutes to get our orders but we ended up waiting for almost an hour–partida, standing ovation pa kami n’yan. The waiting game is on and we took the time to catch up on each other’s ganaps. Instead of getting bored, I enjoyed waiting since I’m with my favorite person. I can still recall her saying, “Sana pala dito na lang tayo kumain kung ganto katagal din naman tayo maghihintay.” I bet she would laugh in case she’s reading this.

Since I’m chasing a curfew time, we went home with our take outs (told you, it wasn’t a date). I’m absolutely disappointed with how the night turned out–the gifts were delayed, waited for an hour to get our orders and ended up not eating together. I actually insisted that we eat instead given that it’s a special day (and I wouldn’t mind going back to the dorm past the curfew time) but she insisted that we should go home–since we’ve spent enough time together. We left the place not with satisfied tummies but with memories and good laughter. Tip: If you’re going on a date, make sure you set up an early one or have a table reservation. By the way, the banner and balloons surprise for our lovely girls was a success! Thanks a lot Gi! I owe you so much man.

Wednesday

We were supposed to see My Ex and Why’s (but she dislikes mainstream Filipino films) or Fifty Shades Darker (but she has already seen it) so planned to have a movie marathon on their place instead. Our friends Gian and Yna–our fellow Lasallian couple–set up the marathon and we all chipped in to have popcorn and nachos to complete the movie experience. We watched Holding the Man and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (the former is LGBT romance themed, the latter is a fantasy). My bad, I slept in between the 2 films so I didn’t understand any of the storyline. It always feels authentic when I’m with the 3 of them; plus, nachos and popcorn. *drools*

Thursday

Y’all know what it is: my friends and I planned to see Fifty Shades Darker on that day and as if fate is on our side, everything went according to plans. Praise the heavens! Apparently, my friends are sort of obsessed with the franchise and I feel their strong will (judging on their reactions when they saw the trailer) to see the film. Well, I’m a fan of film adaptations of novels in general and what could have been a naughtier way to celebrate love month than to hit the movie house with this flick? In short, we have anticipated Darker from the very beginning.

The hype is so real that to some extent, some of my friends even fabricated birth certificates to prove that everyone’s in the legal age–since Darker is R-18. Babala: Ang programang ito ay Rated SPG. There are a lot of ‘great things’ I supposed that happened during the day. 1. I recovered my ID from SWAFO. I lost my school ID (the jacket is already broken so it’s no wonder it got lost) that day when we attended a seminar at the Alumni Building. Good thing I was able to retrieve it from SWAFO right before we leave for Robinsons Dasmariñas.

2. The full show was moved to 3:50PM instead of half past 3PM (which gave us more time to fake birth certificates and get food). We grabbed snacks from 7Eleven; I had a butter flavored popcorn and a huge cup of Gulp–which I finished by myself. #nosharing 3. There is no traffic and the jeepney driver changed routes to shorten the ride. We left 30 minutes before the showing and we crossed our fingers for no traffic. Good thing the driver of the jeepney changed routes to get to the mall faster. After that, we ran–far beyond the stoplight to enter the mall to the last floor to reach the movie house.

4. The guard from the mall simply asked us about our ages and college level (he simply looked at our IDs without even asking for legal documents or proofs). Honestly, there are 3 of us who are not yet 18–Alpha, MJ and Faith.  Rica and Rjhay were not able to join us; T. Annie (Dairen’s best friend) and Leslie (MJ’s special someone) joined the pool. 5. We got inside the movie house just in time. When we entered the cinema, the film has just began and so we quickly looked for seats and placed in the 3rd row. I sat beside Nica and Tin. Our acquaintances Clarisse and Errol were also inside the cinema.

I’m satisfied with the film in general–the story lines and the cinematography. Although I haven’t read the novel yet, it would have been a better experience to know what to expect (aside from what we saw in the trailer). FYI: The plot of the entire trilogy focuses on romance; not on the BDSM thing or the sexual encounters (though the love scenes are really noticeable). One thing I love about the film is that it featured a cohesive shift from the ‘sexual’ to ‘intimate’ relationship between Anastasia and Christian. I highly recommend this flick for lovers out there; perfect for the love month.

After seeing Darker, majority of us headed home straight but Nica, MJ, Leslie and I hopped to SM Dasmariñas which is just a few blocks away. The lovebirds (MJ and Leslie) will be dining there while Nica and I went to Imagine. I personally wanted to go to Imagine because I want to belt out my favorite songs on the karaoke (which I barely do; thank you to my blockmates–Ayah, MJ and Cyra–who went to Imagine that Monday for making me envy). Nica and I had an equal share of songs and this is my set list for that night:

·        Chandelier

·        You are My Song

·        Someday We’ll Know

·        Home

·        Alone

·        Baliw

·        If I Were a Boy

·        The Gift (duet with Nica)

·        Forever’s Not Enough

·        If We Fall in Love (duet with Nica)

I’m not even kidding with the set list though most of the songs are very unlikely for me to sing–Chandelier, If I Were a Boy and Forever’s Not Enough). *laughs* I just want to know if I can still sing those songs. Nica sang Counting Stars, I’ll Be There, Somebody that I Used to Know, Born This Way, A Whole New World, etc. Next time, I’ll be doing more of band music and alternatives like Maroon 5, Coldplay and Paramore–medyo rock para mapaos–or maybe some throwback Chris Brown or Ne-Yo. #nexttime Unfortunately, they don’t have Secret Love Song yet–would’ve been a great jam if the song is there.

Before we went home, I dropped by Tokyo Tokyo to take out Ramen (insane cravings for Ramen; had two steaming bowls that day–one for brunch and another for dinner). That day is indeed tiring but I have seen a great film (Darker), I have great food (Ramen) and I’m with a great company–my college squad. I have 3 homeworks and a quiz the following day but fret not–Carpe Diem. I’m really glad that I was able to carry out everything I have planned that day–felt extremely blessed. Guess what, I’m starting to love Thursdays more than ever… again! #thankyouLord

Friday

Another (tough and long) week at school has passed and the best way to end it is a street food fix: had calamares and my fave buko juice after class. After 2 weeks of indulging in calamares after class, I (think I) should stop this habit–for a.) it is not that healthy; b.) it’s about time to stop cheap thrills; c.) I’m bringing back the thrifty habits. Before I catch the bus ride home, I dropped by my girl’s place and shared a few bites off our favorite doughs. She did it again–she bought a box (a dozen) of our favorite donuts from Krispy Kreme.

In fact, we had KK donuts twice that week because Gian and Yna also purchased a dozen of assorted doughs that Tuesday (which they shared with us). This time though, we had the box all by ourselves–though we have only consumed 4 of which. I helped her fix her things; she helped me sort mine. #dormergoals #rgoals As we packed our bags together, I asked her if we could meet the following day–I’ll finally received my valentine gift for her–so we can give our gifts to each other. Delightedly, she said yes without asking about details or whatevers.

Saturday

The Instagram account (from where I ordered my gifts for her) messaged me that Friday that they already handed the items to my friend Bea–a friend who resides in Manila and the one who picked up the gifts. I personally tapped Bea to contact the account and help me purchase the items since she’s in Manila (most of the time). She went home that Friday so we managed to meet the following day to give me the gift. So there, if you’re reading this, you’ll know where I bought my gifts for you and who conspired with me to get the items. *winks*

We met at SM Trece Martires–our new hide away as the mall is not crowded–and she arrived late (very unlikely of her to). Well, I was late when we met that Tuesday and it is just fair that she came late that time–quits lang. Oh girl, please don’t make me wait. When she arrived, she immediately handed me her gift and to my surprise (nasarprays ako literal), her gifts were the items next on my bucket list–the items that I would care to have but can’t at the moment. Thank you boo! I love your gifts! I handed her my gifts as well–quite nervous if she would like them or not.

She has been eyeing the blue cap–which is from a merch store–and the blue watch on Instagram for some time now. Since she doesn’t have time to purchase them yet, I did the deeds and surprisingly, she liked my gifts. I won’t give a hint on the price of the items (shh lang muna; she gave me a pricey gift as well so secret na lang) because she also bought a quite expensive gift for me. She’s really eager to have the cap–which I would also love to have–and I made sure it comes with a watch (because she’s a big lover of watches; bought a blue one to match the color of the cap).

And all of a sudden, I had chicken pox­–just the mere thought that I have this makes me want to throw up instead. *note sarcasm* So it goes a little like this, Cupid and Aphrodite made me feel all the love the entire week then sends me crashing back down to earth (after putting me on a cloud 9). But kidding aside, I don’t know what I did to contact and/or deserve this kind of sickness. The good thing is that this came after Valentine’s–I got to spend the Hearts Day the way it is supposed to. #atleast

The bad thing is that this came right at the beginning of the Prelim week so I had to take 5 special exams. Not to mention, I’ll be staying at home for the rest of the week and (sighs) no allowance. Sayang baon, mga beshy! I could have felt that Valentine hangover if not for this. *frowns* Di bale na. Looking on the positive side of things: I get to rest for some days; I have been enormously blessed the entire week; I have the love of my life with me–there’s nothing more that I could ask for. #blessed

How about you, my dear readers? How did you spend the Hearts Day? By whatever means, I hope you all had an incredibly romantic and intimate celebration with the one[s] you love! Just a friendly reminder: You deserve to be loved. ❤

Till the next blog entry! Bry. x 022317

P.S. To the one who made this year’s Valentine’s extra special, thank you! I’m blessed to have you.

P.P.S. I didn’t publish this whole entry to brag; it is just my pleasure to share with you how it is to be me.

[swimmersdaily]

Russia enjoyed a fine afternoon, claiming both titles on offer on the fifth day of the European Diving Championships. Evgeny Kuznetsov was superior in the 3m final and clinched gold for the second time after 2016, ahead of Patrick Hausding who stood on the podium for the third time in Kyiv. The mixed 10m synchro also saw a Russian triumph, Ekaterina Beliaeva and Viktor Minibaev dominated the whole final from the beginning.

(L to R) WILLIAMS NOAH, CHENG EDEN GBR Great Britain Silver medal, MINIBAEV Viktor, BELIAEVA Ekaterina Russia RUS Gold medal, WASSEN Christina, FANDLER Florian GER Germany bronze medal Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving 10 meters platform synchro mixed Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

MINIBAEV Viktor, BELIAEVA Ekaterina Russia RUS Gold medal Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving 10 meters platform synchro mixed Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

(L to R) KUZNETSOV Evgenii Russia RUS Gold medal Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving 3 meters springboard men podium Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

(L to R) KUZNETSOV Evgenii Russia RUS Gold medal, HAUSDING Patrick GER Germany Silver medal, HEATLY James GBR Great Britain bronze medal Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving 3 meters springboard men podium Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

(L to R) KUZNETSOV Evgenii Russia RUS Gold medal Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving 3 meters springboard men podium Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

KUZNETSOV EVGENII RUS Russia Men – 3m Springboard – Preliminary Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

HAUSDING PATRICK GER Germany Men – 3m Springboard – Preliminary Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

HEATLY JAMES GBR Great Britain Men – 3m Springboard – Preliminary Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

FANDLER FLORIAN GER Germany, WASSEN CHRISTINA GER Germany Mixed – 10m Platform Synchro – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

BELIAEVA EKATERINA RUS Russia, MINIBAEV VIKTOR RUS Russia Mixed – 10m Platform Synchro – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

CHENG EDEN GBR Great Britain, WILLIAMS NOAH GBR Great Britain Mixed – 10m Platform Synchro – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

KUZNETSOV EVGENII RUS Russia Men – 3m Springboard – Final – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

HAUSDING PATRICK GER Germany Men – 3m Springboard – Final – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

HEATLY JAMES GBR Great Britain Men – 3m Springboard – Final – Final Kyiv, Ukraine UKR 09/08/2019 Diving Len European Diving Championships 2019 Sport Arena Liko Kyiv, Ukraine Photo © Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Medallists, Day 5

Men’s 3m springboard: 1. Evgeny Kuznetsov (RUS) 499.45, 2. Patrick Hausding (GER) 456.85, 3. Patrick Heatly (GBR) 439.90

Mixed 10m synchro: 1. Ekaterina Beliaeva, Viktor Minibaev (RUS) 320.70, 2. Eden Cheng, Noah Williams (GBR) 303.60, 3. Florian Fandler, Christina Wassen (GER) 287.76

Whenever Evgeny Kuznetsov gets into the ‘zone’, there is hardly anyone who can match him – perhaps the Chinese, Jack Laugher, or Patrick Hausding at his best. But the first three were not present, while the German legend was a bit off his peak, so there was no one who could prevent the Russian ace from claiming the title again after 2016.

Three weeks ago it was a bit different, at the Worlds he missed his second dive, then a bit fell apart and slipped back to the 10th place, finishing with 434.55 points. Today it was a different story, no mistake, only 7.5s and higher, five balanced attempts (all around 80 points) – those gave him a massive lead before the last round where he came up with the best dive of the entire meet so far, 4 and half somersaults for 100.70 points. He was just 0.55p shy of the 500-point barrier at the end, to highlight the difference between his current form and the one at the Worlds.

The others could barely keep him under pressure. In fact experience was the key for succeeding: Patrick Hausding started climbing up the ranks after the opening dive had put him to the 11th place. He regrouped himself quickly and produced five fine jumps, all around 80 and with each of his young rivals missing the dives here and there, he ended up with a silver around his neck. It was his third podium here after two golds in the team and the 1m events (updating his all-time count: it’s medal No. 32 at the Europeans).

The bronze went to James Heatly who proved that there was life for the Brits in this event even if Laugher was away. His 4.5 somersaults were also a beauty to watch in the fourth round, the second best effort of the evening (91.20), which brought him as close as 8 points to Kuznetsov, but he lost his edge for the last two rounds and had to settle for the third place.

The mixed platform event brought less excitements this time: all five pairs performed the same programmes, only the order of the dives were different – and of course their qualities too. Ekaterina Beliaeva and Viktor Minibaev were a cut above the rest, led from the beginning with no marks below 7.5. They received the highest scores in each round, including two 70+ pointers at the end, the two best efforts in the afternoon.

Britain’s newly formed duo of Eden Cheng and Noah Williams also came up with a solid performance, their fourth dive was just below their level but their silver was never in danger. In the race for the bronze the Germans edged out the Italians by 1.32 points – while Florian Fandler and Christina Wassen had one relatively big mistake but offered four good dives, Noemi Batki and Maicol Verzotto’s three more difficult attempts were all a bit shaky and that made that tiny difference at the end.

Quotes

Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russia, gold, 3m springboard:

“I was worrying a lot before this final but I made it at the end. Some of the favourites were missing from the final, as the Brits so obviously I had better chances to get the gold. I was concentrating pretty much and I’m really happy now to get this gold medal.”

Patrick Hausding, Germany, silver, 3m springboard:

“My first jump was not optimal and that happens more often in recent years, that’s something I have to work on. Still, after that I jumped very constantly, on average, I’ve always been at nearly 80 points per dive. Being judged by my seasonal workload, what I’ve already achieved, also through reaching the level I was able to do now, I can be really happy. I wasn’t close to Kuznetsov today, he made a super series and deserved to win. That should not bother me, I am also very satisfied with silver.

There is one more event to go, I hope that we end up on the podium in the 3m synchro, the colour of the medal is not really important to me. That would be a great end to this European Championship and this season for Lars (Rudiger) and me. After the fourth place at the World Championships, I would like to see him with a medal around his neck tomorrow. Then it’s finally three weeks on vacation!”

James Heatly, Great Britain, bronze, 3m springboard:

“It was good though I felt it was a long event. I was a bit nervous before the final as the World Championships were a big disappointment for me (finished 46th in the prelims). So to come here and get this medal, it’s a very good thing and it makes me very happy. I didn’t watch the results during the competition, I had no idea how close it was at any stage of the final. I knew I dived very well, so I’m quite glad, this is my first medal in this event at the Europeans.”

Viktor Minibaev, Russia, gold, 10m mixed synchro:

“Personally, I’ve made some mistakes, a couple of my dives were not so good. But at least we got the gold medal, so I should be satisfied.”

Noah Williams, Great Britain, silver, 10m mixed synchro:

“It was a very enjoyable event. Because the mixed synchro it neither mine, nor Eden’s main event so we just dived here for fun. It was quick, enjoyable and I liked it. We are very satisfied with this silver since it was the first time we dived together. Before that, both of us worked with different partners, so it was a bit strange at first but it turned out great and we won a medal at the end of the day.”

Florian Fandler, Germany, bronze, 10m mixed synchro:

“Two of my dives were not so good. Had they been better we would have got the silver but we are still happy with the bronze. Our competition is over now, so we are happy to finish these European Championships with a medal.”

For detailed results please visit:

http://divingkyiv2019.microplustiming.com/index_web.php

Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Deepbluemedia / Giorgio Scala

European Diving Championships, Kyiv (UKR) – Day 5: Russian double, Kuznetsov performs first 100-pointer of the meet Russia enjoyed a fine afternoon, claiming both titles on offer on the fifth day of the European Diving Championships.

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax night 5 preview

Hiroshi Tanahashi (0-1, 0pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (0-1, 0pts) - Both guys are looking to claim their first two points in C Block. The winner will have a chance to get back on track and reach the finals. The loser will be in real danger of getting mathematically eliminated.

As I wrote before, it's technically possible to win a seven-man block with two losses, but it won't be easy. The loser of this match will have to win the rest of his block matches just to finish 4-2, and hope nobody else does better than 4-2, and hope any ties that occur work out in your favor. It's not impossible, especially in a fake pro wrestling tournament. They love booking improbable comebacks in the G1, which is why you get a match like this with two top guys on the bubble. But the format of this year's tournament greatly reduces the margin of error, which heightens the drama.

Normally I'd expect Tanahashi to be the top guy having a rough time in the G1, because that's often his role in these things. But this year there's a better story putting Naito in that spot, because of his knee injury in last year's G1 and the tremendous pressure he's put on himself to headline the Tokyo Dome in January. So I'm cautiously picking Tana to win here.

Jeff Cobb (0-1, 0pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (1-0, 2pts) - Two points in A Block are on the line. I don't believe these two have ever met one-on-one before. The key to A Block is that Kazuchika Okada is in it, and he's on track to do very, very well, so no one else in the block can afford any mistakes. Cobb has already lost to Okada and therefore needs every win he can still get. If Fale loses here, he'll be under a lot more pressure to beat Okada on July 31, which probably won't happen. I don't expect either of these two to win A Block, but only the winner of this match has a chance to play spoiler in the end. I'm going with Cobb to beat Fale.

Taichi (1-0, 2pts) vs. SANADA (0-1, 0pts) - This is for 2 points in B Block. In singles matches, Sanada is 2-1 against Taichi, although Taichi did win their last encounter. The match should be fine, but I can't too invested because I don't see either of them getting pushed with a hot run in this tournament. I expect both to finish around 3-3. With that in mind, I guess I'll pick Sanada to win to bring them both to 1-1.

El Phantasmo (0-1, 0pts) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (1-0, 2pts) - It's a D Block match with another 2 points at stake. Typically when two Bullet Club guys meet in the G1, they act like they've agreed for one guy to lay down for the other, which leads to some comedy spots where they fight over who lays down for who. The added wrinkle in this case is that Yujiro isn't just in Bullet Club, he's part of EVIL's subgroup, the House of Torture.

At this point, House of Torture barely feels like a part of Bullet Club anymore. Jay White has his team and Evil has his, and aside from a few prelim tags they never intermix. I think it's clear that a schism is being set up, but New Japan is taking their sweet time with it. I doubt the first shot is going to be fired in 2022, and I highly doubt it will be fired over this match, of all things. We might see SHO and Chase Owens do some run-ins, but in the end they'll patch things up and make nice. ELP should probably get the win to put him on the board.

Jay White & Juice Robinson & Gedo vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tama Tonga & David Finlay - This previews two big grudge matches: Finlay vs. Juice on July 27, and White vs. Tonga on August 16. Of course, Okada and Gedo have a history, since Gedo was Okada's hype man for years before turning on him to align with White. Gedo is the weak link here, and Okada's team should dismantle him without any trouble.

Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare vs. Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. & TAKA Michinoku - Ospreay's United Empire finally got enough of the House of Torture so now they're fighting Suzuki-gun. We've already seen Henare vs. Zack, so this match doesn't really preview anything. Taka is here to get beat.

Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. JONAH & Bad Dude Tito - Nothing to preview here, as Shingo and Jonah aren't in the same block. Should be fun seeing the two of them tussle, though. Either Bushi or Tito can afford to lose, so this can go either way.

KENTA & Chase Owens vs. Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs - Lawlor, Kenta, and Owens are all in different blocks, so they could only meet in the tournament if they reach the semifinals, and I doubt that'll happen. Isaacs is here to do the job for the Bullet Club team.

[thesportssoundoff]

“The UFC Heads To Charlotte! Please Read? A little?” UFC on Fox: Jacare vs Brunson 2 Preview

Joey

Jan 23rd, 2018

The UFC returns to Fox with.....

I mean.....

Okay so this card isn't all that great. The UFC went all out to end the year and made November and December some big months. This Fox card is sort of a victim of that as well as the usual fact that Jan tends to be a thin month PLUS fighters tend to get hurt when it's cold and they tend to not wanna do a training camp around the holidays and etc etc etc. This show is a rather thin show but hey! I'll convince ya to care it because there are some fights worth keeping an eye on. Y'all ready?

Fights: 11

Debuts: 2 (Cory Sandhagen and Austin Arnett)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 ( Ilir Latifi vs OSP Cancelled)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC):  4 (Ronaldo Souza, Derek Brunson, Dennis Bermudez, Randa Markos)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Bobby Green*, Dennis Bermudez)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  4 (Gregor Gillespie, Derek Brunson, Joaquim Silva, Vinc Pichel)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 18-10 Jacare Souza- 2-1 Derek Brunson- 4-2 Dennis Bermudez- 2-2 Andre Fili- 2-2 Gregor Gillespie- 3-0 Jordan Rinaldi- 1-1 Drew Dober- 3-1 Frank Camacho- 1-1

Too High Up- Drew Dober vs Frank Camacho

Okay so I feel bad about this because Dober/Camacho might be a fantastic fight. At 170 lbs, Camacho/Dober is one of those needed "THROW HANDS AND DO COOL SHIT!" type fights that you put on a card to guarantee an exciting fight where one dude is down to get finished. The problem is that both guys are sort of just there to be action fighters. Nothing is going to change for the winner or the loser, they'll always exist as mauler brawler types who have fun fights. This is a pretty good fight for action purposes but I just don't see main card on Fox. Sorry fellas.

Too Low- Kaitlyn Chookagian vs Mara Romero Borella

This to me would be a fine main card opener. No, it's not going to be a super action fight but Kaitlyn Chookagian vs Mara Romero Borella would be a solid fight with some divisional relevance. Give me this fight over two dudes swangin' on a main card filled already with dudes swangin'

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 0-3): Austin Arnett, Cory Sandhagen

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 1-1): 0

Second Fight (Current number: 1-3): Mara Romero Borella, Yi Jeon Kim

Cage Corrosion (2-4): George Sullivan

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- 185 lbs is sort of undergoing a bit of an under the radar renaissance of sorts. Robert Whittaker's emergence as a serious dude to know coincides with a heap of new talents being brought in at the weight class, namely guys like Eryk Anders, Oskar Piechota, Karl Roberson, Julian Marquez as well as the emergence of good fighters hitting their stride like Kelvin Gastelum, Anthony Smith, Gerald Meerschaert, Thiago Santos, Antonio Carlos Junior and Paulo Costa. Even with all of that being said, this is still a division that relies on about 6-10 guys to be headliners. Brunson and Jacare are two of those guys who will always be put into positions like this almost entirely due to what they bring to the table. They're known and in the UFC 185 lb class, they're almost always contenders to some various degree. The point I'm going for is that this could be the last chance for both of these guys because there's a heap of fighters under 30 who seem to be knocking on the door to the top of the division.

2- This is a weird sort of event where one of the guys is the hometown guy but you get the feeling that the other guy is the one they really want to build up. The UFC and Jacare reached an agreement on a new contract the day BEFORE he fought Robert Whittaker and so Jacare probably is earning more money now than he ever has before. He's a popular guy who has headlined in Brazil and could in theory be a continuous headliner in Brazil. He's reputable, fans like him and he's the sort of fighter who always seems to be one fight away from the title picture. It's easy to point out that he's lost to the guys in the interim title fight and got smoked by Whittaker but I wonder how much that matters at this point. It's in Brunson's backyard but I wonder if this is all about getting Jacare back into the title picture.

3- Brunson on paper is a pretty intriguing stylistic matchup for Jacare. It's grappler vs wrestler but Brunson hits hard enough to give Jacare reason to pause and avoid getting reckless. If it stays on the feet, I feel like Jacare is the guy with the more versatile offense compared to Brunson but the power is on Brunson's side. Jacare has been dropped and stunned in fights that extend beyond the first round recently and while he's still pretty quick for 185 lbs, I wonder if he's beginning to morph into one of those "Tough Dads" that makes middleweight such a wacky division.

4- Once upon a time not too long ago, Mirsad Bektic was expected to be in that mix at 145 lbs as a serious title contender. He had earned high praise as a prospect and did little in the UFC to disappoint from that regard even if you had concerns about how little he seemed to strike comfortably on the feet. Bektic's journey to the top was halted by Darren Elkins and if you're a prospect who loses at 135 to 155 lbs, you might as well fall off the face of the Earth. Since the loss to Elkins, Bektic has disappeared and might as well be redebuting at this point. There's so much to like about Mirsad Bektic that you're left to hope that he can recover from that loss even better. He got caught wrestling too much vs Elkins, gassed and then got finished when his wrestling abandoned him so it's not like it's a talent related issue I don't believe. Godofredo Pepey is the opponent and he's the right guy to test Bektic; active off of his back, more flash than substance on the feet, holes in the game that can be exploited and a real lack of wrestling savvy to not get taken down.

5- Speaking of "Once upon a time not too long ago", Dennis Bermudez once racked up a winning streak that featured Clay Guida, Max Holloway and Steven Siler. Since then? Well it hasn't quite been as pretty. Bermudez has always been hittable but he's always recovered well and been able to keep himself in the fight. Ricardo Lamas took advantage of Bermudez's slow starts and hittable nature, hurting him early and subbing him with a guillotine. Bermudez and Jeremy Stephens had a fucking amazing fight that ended with Bermudez being on the wrong end of the last knockdown, getting dropped and stopped by a Stephens flying knee on a sloppy takedown.  Since then Bermudez has been more and more skittish as a fighter. He's still aggressive when he needs to be but he wrestles more, strikes less and seems almost cautious to the point of self conservation. He had the Zombie hurt and never stepped back on the gas en route to a stoppage loss and he never seemed to get out of the starting blocks vs Darren Elkins. Dennis Bermudez and Andre Fili are similar like minded talents who have struggled finding any sort of footing in the UFC.

6- Some might call Andre Fili inconsistent but let's be real; Fili has gone W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W in the UFC. Seems consistent to me, am I right?

7- Juliana Lima is not a fun fighter to watch compete by any stretch of the imagination BUT her vs Randa Markos is a really intriguing fight. This is a battle of two fighters who could exist on the back end of the 115 lb division and both have lost to the elite of the elites (Tecia Torres, Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Joanna Champion to name a few).

8- Gregor Gillespie is a really intriguing 155 lber who is a bit too old to be a prospect (31) but not proven against top competition to feel like we know what he is in total. Unfortunately he's really not getting a fair step up with Jordan Rinaldi who is kind of a bottom layer of the division. Showcase fight for a big market.

9- Vinc Pichel vs Joaquim Silva is a REALLY good fight that is way too buried on this card. It's opening up the FS1 prelims but it's easily better than a collection of fights swimming around on the card above it. Pichel came back from a lengthy absence to flatten Damien Brown and his hands and wrestling skills make him a pretty intriguing 155er. Joaquim SIlva is a little basic for my tastes but he may be one of the best Brazilian "prospects" around. He's another guy we've seen tested before and he's passed those tests.

10- Bobby Green vs Erik Koch is such a battle between two guys who lose in spite of themselves consistently. I am ALL about this fight.

11- The featherweight division has won FOTN the past two shows to kick off 2018 so let's see if they can keep this going on with three straight shows. Bermudez vs Fili has an awesome shot to do it.

12- Any idea why fans have completely hopped off the Niko Price train? Seems totally weird given how good he was prior to his loss.

Must Wins

1- Derek Brunson

It's in his hometown against the highest ranked opponent he's ever faced. For MOST MMA fans, Brunson will always be the guy who loses to the best guys he faces. Machida could've been a guy you could rely on to turn that reputation around but alas alack. Brunson has improved a bunch since their first fight but has he improved enough to leapfrog Jacare?

2- Dennis Bermudez

Two fight skid, co-main event on Fox, opponent who stylistically matches up well with him. Bermudez needs this one.

3- Niko Price

Price finished Alan Jouban, Brandon Thatch and Alex Morono* to the point where it looked like the ATT product would crack the top 10 or so. Price took a step back vs Vicente Luque on short notice and then EVERYBODY forgot who he is. He's under 30 at 170 lbs with fight finishing instincts, length and pacing. The loss to Vicente Luque feels more like a roadblock and not an indictment of what he is.

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Dennis Bermudez vs Andre Fili

2- Derek Brunson vs Jacare Souza

3- Gregor Gillespie vs Jordan Rinaldi

4- Bobby Green vs Erik Koch

5- Mirsad Bektic vs Godofredo Pepey

[thesportssoundoff]

“History for one man, history between two women and a load of decent fights leading up to it” A UFC 215 Preview

The UFC returns to PPV with the sort of card that suggests that they need this new TV deal for more than just dollars and cents. This is a good card from the top to the bottom. It has two title fights, both highly intriguing in their own rights, and then a collection of fights on the PPV portion that either have divisional relevance (RDA/Magny, Pedro/Latifi) or the potential to be a slugfest (Stephens/Melendez). The free TV portion pits some of Canada's best hopes for being new leaders in Canadian MMA (Arjen Bhullar and Gavin Tucker) against vet competition (Luis Henrique and Rick Glenn). Also on this card you have some good WMMA fights and some interesting on paper fights pitting Canadian veterans against unheralded opposition. It's a good card----but is it the kind of card you pay $60 for? It's easy to argue that it isn't---but it's also easier to argue that there's no alternative. The average UFC event when worked out on paper roughly accounts for about 2 million dollars. A UFC PPV that does around 150,000 buys at $60 when you remove the PPV providers cut is about $4 million and change plus whatever they get for airing prelims and etc etc. It's just too big a financial relief to put it on PPV. So you're stuck with a card that might not be worth the PPV entirely (although if you bought UFC 208, 212 or 213,  I don't want to hear that shit) but also has no viable alternate. Now with that said, let's get the real meat and potatoes of this bowl of fruits and nuts.

Fights: 12

Debuts:   1 (Arjan Bhullar)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: (Junioe Dos Santos vs Francis Ngannou cancelled)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): (Mighty Mouse, Valentina Shevchenko, Amanda Nunes, Neil Magny, Rafael Dos Anjos, Ilir Latifi, Gilbert Melendez, Jeremy Stephens, Sara McMann, Wilson Reis, Henry Cejudo)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  4 (Henry Cejudo, Mitch Clarke, Jeremy Stephens and Gilbert Melendez)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Ray Borg, Valentina Shevchenko, Tyson Pedro, Amanda Nunes, Demetrious Johnson, Kajan Johnson)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 24-23)- Arjan Bhullar

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 17-25)- 0

Second Fight (Current number: 22-27)-  Gavin Tucker

Cage Corrosion (11-5)- Kajan Johnson, Mitch Clarke, Sarah Moras, Gil Melendez, Ilir Latifi

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- I'll try to elaborate more on this but what necessarily IS history in the context of MMA? Like if you think about it, the Guinness Book of World Records is filled with "historic" records but do you care about half of them? Even pro sports there are records that people don't give much of a shit about. So what is history for MMA? What is being the champion with the most title defenses in a sport like this really worth? You'd assume a lot given how I'd venture a guess and say MOST champs can't go three title defenses in a row----but is this a record people care about? If so, how do you get them to care?

2- There has to be a part of everybody who is simply tired of talking about this that or the other thing when it pertains to the drawing power of Mighty Mouse. Either you appreciate his gifts and his greatness or you don't and at this point, the only people who should be worried with how many PPV he sells are the UFC and Mighty Mouse.

3- Just for the sake of argument; a brief comparison between the title defenses that Anderson Silva has had and the title defenses that Mighty Mouse has had. Caveats of course being different era, more active contenders, less shows, established weight class etc etc etc. PLUS you have to weed through the fights Anderson Silva had at 205 as well:

A. Silva- 47-18  UFC record at time of title defense; 1 undefeated in org, 0 undefeated overall; longest winning streak- 5 (Patrick Cote); rematches 3 (Franklin, Sonnen and Okami)

D. Johnson- 40-12 UFC record at the time of title defense; 6 undefeated in org; 0 undefeated overall; longest winning streak- 4 (Kyoji Horiguchi and Henry Cejudo); rematches 2 (Benavidez and Dodson)

4- Is there a backup plan in place if Ray Borg misses weight as he's been want to do in the past?

5- We sometimes rail on MMA but when the best fight the best, it can be really fun. After watching Shevchenko and Nunes run through the 135 lb division throughout all of 2016 and the start of 2017, there's no doubt these two are the best 135ers currently going. They're not the stars that Rousey and Tate were (and Holm by extension) BUT they're better fighters as evidenced by the success they've had. Nunes has come a long way (with some flaws that remain since her Strikeforce tenure) while Shevchenko continues to be a consistent ass kicker. They match up well stylistically, both fighters have the ability to finish the other and it's the perfect matchup of slow and steady in Shevchenko vs the aggressive immediacy of Nunes. The weight cut failure/sinusitis (depending on who you ask) doesn't help matters but we're getting the fight and that's what counts.

6- So.....who is the #1 contender post EITHER title fight? That's less of a problem at 135 lbs where Holm can jump down/GDR can pinch hit for the spot/Rocky Pennington is hanging out around. Even Ketlen Vieira could probably get that fight if she beats Sara McMann. It's a little less clear at 125 lbs where Mighty Mouse has beaten, well, everyone. Sergio Pettis is a fresh face although I don't think that fight would do remotely well on PPV or even on free TV. Same could be said for Ben Nguyen although Nguyen has a well earned fight finisher rep.

7- If they kill the 125 lb division if Mighty Mouse wins again, you cool with that?

8- Gavin Tucker looked very, very good in his UFC debut. Even though he's 31, he represents the slightest glimmer of hope for a UFC Canadian scene that's been floundering since GSP left. The UFC is giving him a moderate step up in Rick Glenn; one of those guys who might epitomize a AAAA fighter (too good for the regional circuit, not good enough for the bigger orgs).

9- Speaking of the future of Canadian MMA, Arjan Bhullar makes his debut. Just to show the difference here; Bhullar at 31 would be tied for the 4th youngest HW in the top 10 behind Volkov, Struve and Ngannou. He'd be tied for 4th OLDEST in the featherweight division (Yair, Aldo, KZ, Moicano and Ortego are all younger), Stephens being 31 as well.

10-Henry Cejudo showcased a wealth of improvement from his earlier UFC fights when he took Joseph Benavidez. He didn't get the decision (which most people disagreed with) but the improvement was there. He'll draw Wilson Reis who is about a level above the guys he was beating pre-DJ but below Mighty Mouse and Benavidez. Cejudo is still young, he's still improving and chances are he can maybe make a run in the division again. Assuming he doesn't miss weight/pull out/lose a winnable fight here.

11- Is it wrong to be a stick in the mud re: Gil Melendez vs Jeremy Stephens? Gilbert has had a lot of great fights in his career BUT his UFC run consists of really only one great performance vs Diego Sanchez. Caveats about Mexico's altitude and Benson Henderson aside, Gil's just really not the same dude anymore. Jeremy Stephens has historically been a fighter who has two types of fights; the fight where he brawls his way to a killer finish or a boring fight where he's decisioned/wins a decision. He is a guy who hasn't evolved despite his success; fighting the same way he has since 2010. Now having said that, perhaps there's a chance that the two stylistically match up for some kind of crazy war. I'm just not sold on that being the case; we've seen Stephens booked in these kind of fights before (Melvin Guillard, Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson, Max Holloway off the top of my head) and it always ends with him being handled.

12- The quality of the 205 lb division has been dragged over jagged rocks plenty of times but Tyson Pedro seems like he could be a guy who has a bright future. The Aussie is undefeated in the UFC, both by finishes, and as we're seeing Khalil Rountree is no joke. The question becomes whether he can handle a serious step up in terms of style which is what Ilir Latifi represents. Latifi is a strong dude who doesn't need to hit clean to hurt folks and he's got an active ground game to match. He is a stern test for Mr. Pedro.

Must Wins

Demetrious Johnson

No duh. This is a must win. History is on the line here and a record that would stand until the end of time is on the line. Let's see if he can get it.

Ray Borg

Mighty Mouse is going for the record. That's without question a massive must win scenario---but a win by Mighty Mouse might legitimately end the 125 lb division in my estimation. That would suck for all involved. Ray Borg wins and there's an IMMEDIATE hot rivalry which would stretch the lifespan of this division out somewhat. Beyond that, Borg as a champion might convince a few new people to give 125 lbs a chance given how the issue seems to be about Mighty Mouse superficially and maybe not so much the division.

Tyson Pedro

I thought about Amanda Nunes here but I get the feeling that all roads will end positively there regarding her and the UFC. Tyson Pedro is a different kind of situation entirely; if he wins, 205 lbs has a new hot face on the scene at a time where Jon Jones is gone (for now), Rumble is gone, DC is going to be gone soon and Gustafsson fights every once every leap year. Pedro is a fight finisher who is 25 years old in a division lacking other fight finishers. He pretty much has to win.

Five Fights You Shouldn’t Miss

1- Ray Borg vs Demetrious Johnson

History is on the line. This is the fight to see.

2- Amanda Nunes vs Valentina Shevchenko

The first fight wasn't just good, it was the launching point for Amanda Nunes' career as it stands. Now they meet again with Nunes as the dominant champion who just iced the two most famous female mixed martial artists ever and Shevchenko chasing the only woman to beat her in MMA. It's a perfect story.

3- Sara McMann vs Ketlen Vieira

Ronda Rousey is not coming through that door. Miesha Tate is not coming through that door. Holly Holm is a 145er now (I suppose). You need new talent in the ranks and that ultimately means that Ketlen Vieira is of importance. The 26 year old Brazilian faces Sara McMann who at this point kind of is what she is. She's a frustrating fighter who when she puts it all together could beat anybody---but seems reticent to put it all together.

4- Henry Cejudo vs Wilson Reis

First, the challenge is on Reis to show he's not completely cooked and burnt out after getting thrashed vs MM. Wilson has had a long career and has fought up in weight, down in weight and in the middle. He's a good veteran fighter but he's got a lot of wear and tear on him. Henry Cejudo looked great in a loss to Joe Benavidez----so which Cejudo shows up? The one who upped his game vs Benavidez or the dude who slept through fights with Juissier Formiga and Chris Cariaso?

5- Rafael Dos Anjos vs Neil Magny

Tarec Saffiedine was a decent challenge for RDA at 170 lbs. Now comes a more perplexing challenge; a long limbed guy who exists in that "good enough to win but not great enough to win in one way." Magny has no true calling card; as a striker he's able to mix things up well enough. He has an understanding of angles and a variety of tools he uses to outpoint folks. He doesn't have the power to finish a guy outright and whenever he gets touched, he seems to react in the exact opposite fashion you'd want someone to. On the ground, he's good enough to challenge with subs and get to his feet but not good enough to stop takedowns and when it becomes chain for chain, he loses.  Dos Anjos on paper is good enough to beat Magny but in the words of Kevin McHale; good big beats good small every single time.

[thesportssoundoff]

“A Finale With A Killer Headliner” TUF Redemption Finale Preview

Joey

July 3rd

The month of August is pretty lean for high level MMA so you better enjoy this July we've got coming! With a Bellator card, some PFL stuff and five UFC events (Dana White Tuesday Night Contenders Series notwithstanding), it's a pretty busy month where quality meets quantity. The first show comes through from Las Vegas with a snazzy TUF Redemption season finale. Compared to some of the other TUF Finales? This one is okay I guess. Comparing it to the last four July TUF Finales, it's probably on the lower end of shows. 2014 had BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar and an at the time very solid undercard with guys like Derrick Lewis, Scoggins vs Dustin Ortiz and Kevin Lee on the prelims. Also there were two at the time great finale fights with Van Buren/Anderson and Lima/Gordon. In 2015, it was a relatively blegh card I suppose with Wonderboy at the helm. 2016 was an awesome card with Joanna Champion vs Claudia Gadelha at the tippy top plus the debut of Will Brooks and so on so forth. This year is probably on par with 2014 but above ‘15 and well below ‘16. 

Fights: 11 (as of right now with maybe two more to be added)

Debuts: 1 (Aspen Ladd)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 (Amanda Ribas out/Tecia Torres in vs Juliana Lima)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 6 (Brad Tavares, Michael Johnson, Tecia Torres, Jessica Eye, CB Dollaway, Gray Maynard)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  (CB Dollaway, Jessica Eye)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Steve Bosse, Elias Theodorou)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 16-18)- Justin Gaethje, Aspen Ladd

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 10-17)- Tecia Torres

Second Fight (Current number: 19-18)- Drakkar Klose

Cage Corrosion (Current Numbers: 2-2)- Steve Bosse, CB Dollaway,

*Going to give this a test run of sorts. How do fighters who have taken more than a year of perform in their first fight back?*

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Of all the fights on these two shows, Michael Johnson vs Justin Gaethje is the fight that I'd argue is the MOST Must See fight of the weekend. Justin Gathje is joining the UFC's deepest division and he's entirely unique as a fighter. Think of a guy who has Tony Ferguson's level of activity combined with Conor McGregor's ability to adapt as the fight goes on with a prime Diego Sanchez level recuperative level. His ability to go to the body when he pressures against the fence is absolutely perfect and he's going to rack up plenty of body shot KOs in time. Justin Gaethje has taken a ton of damage over the past 3-4 years, a guy who has never had an easy fight and whose initial output and activity level put him in the way of danger consistently. That makes for an intriguing match up with Michael Johnson given how Johnson has the ability to toast dudes out the gate with his hand speed and versatility on his feet. Sometimes you forget that Michael Johnson's quality of competition is so vast; guys like Tony Ferguson, Beneil Dariush, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon and Edson Barboza. If you look at the kind of guys that Johnson has struggled with, Gaethje IS that kind of guy. We're talking about somebody who amplifies the pressure with each passing minute, can take advantage of the lulls and inactivity Johnson uses to time himself down the stretch and somebody who will earn his respect right off the bat with his power. So yeah, I'm 100% in love with this fight.

2- TUF isn't going anywhere and next season features the female 125ers. I know it's not something of note anymore but I still get a major kick out of learning who the coaches for the next TUF season is. They normally get announced during the TUF shows so here's hoping we learn something on the show about it. I'd be totally down with two retired fighters taking the opportunity to coach TUF for the banter to avoid a champion getting tied up in TUF again. Give me Renzo Gracie vs Mark Coleman or Dan Severn vs Don Frye. Let Rampage and Rashad coach again and then retire vs one another.

3- So by all accounts, this season of TUF was a moderate success. The ratings have gone up and if you watch the show, the fights haven't been too awful with some of them actually being really, really good. I don't necessarily expect anybody to stick around, mind you, but chances are we're going to get 1-2 guys added to the roster. So how many fighters from the show will be on the Finale? We've got the final (James Krause or someone else/Jesse Taylor vs Dhiego Lima) plus potentially an open spot on the prelims (likely semi finalist vs semi finalist). Could they squeeze a third fight on the Fight Pass prelims? I mean I think it's possible if you really liked the season. You can do Ramsey Nijem vs Hayder Hassan or something similar to that if need be.

4- I wonder if Michael Johnson pulls off the upset over Justin Gaethje if the UFC would get froggy about sliding Johnson into Khabib's spot in this upcoming interim title fight. Khabib is expected to fight in September or October but can you trust booking thast fight a third time?

5- Angela Hill vs Ashley Yoder is on the FS1 prelims; Tecia Torres vs Juliana Lima is on the Fight Pass prelims. Given the interest in Tecia Torres, at least at the start of this 115 lb project, you'd assume it'd be the other way around. Unfortunately Torres has fallen by the wayside because her fights are just not up to the par of the other ladies at strawweight. Angela Hill vs Ashley Yoder at least has big wacky action potential with Hill probably chasing a finish in the process.

6- Brad Tavares vs Elias Theodorou is arguably the most frustrating UFC fight you're going to see this year. Tavares has the key components to be a MW title contender; the ability to strike, grapple and wrestle with most guys. Maybe he's just protecting a suspect chin but he seems SO cautious almost to the point of brilliant inactivity. For Theodorou, he's a phenomenal grappler but his wrestling is labored almost to the point of absurdity and his striking hasn't developed beyond some range finding kicks. Both guys SHOULD be better and yet here we are. Oi.

7- So if Drakkar Klose beats Marc Diakiese is going to be the new Bryan Barberena style prospect killer?

8- Jordan Johnson vs Marcel Fortuna is interesting to put it mildly. Both are early 30s LHWs in a division where that's worth its weight in gold. Jordan Johnson was dominant in his wrestling vs Henrique Da Silva while Marcel Fortuna went up to HW and KO'd Anthony Hamilton in really impressive fashion. It's a shame that two new faces in a division that hungers for new faces are pitted against one another but hey! All's well that ends well, right?

9- If Jessica Eye loses vs Aspen Ladd, will they release her or is she earmarked for 125 lbs?

10- How have CB Dolloway and Ed Herman lived in the same division for like 15 years and never fought before?

11- Gray Maynard vs Teruto Ishihara is interesting if you're looking to try some new things for both guys. Maynard hasn't been the same guy who gave Frankie Edgar hell for quite some time and Ishihara had quite a few flaws exposed in his fight vs Artem Lobov. Maynard's just got enough of that mythical "vet savvy" to give Ishihara problems and there's no doubt that he's got the power to hurt him.

12- So about this Marc Diakiese vs Drakkar Klose fight. It's a really intriguing fight on paper given how despite all of his skills, Diakiese hasn't had to face a lot of complex challenges in the UFC. His toughest opponent was Frankie Perez who was coming off a tryist with retirement. Now granted it's not like Perez was gone for four years but it's still realistic to have questions about a guy who steps away from the sport. In that fight, Diakiese had his first flirtation with trouble when he took on Perez but he passed all tests with flying colors by adapting and then dominating the fight when he had to make changes. We're talking composed and comfortable in the face of trouble. Curious to see how he deals with the length and tenacity of Klose who is a smart pressure fighter off the regional circuit.

Must Win

1- Justin Gaethje 

 The UFC has had mixed success in WSOF champion signings. For every Arlovski and Rumble, UFC guys who found themselves in WSOF, you have Jessica Aguilar and others. Marlon Moraes has been an interesting addition to the UFC but his first fight was surely a dud in more ways than one. Gaethje has the ability to be a perennial top 10 LW with action fights galore. The question is did they get him as a broken man?

2- Michael Johnson

Lightweight is not a division where you can stomach two L’s in a row. As it deepens, guys like Michael Johnson are always at risk of falling behind. This is a winnable matchup for him but I have no idea if he’s up for it.

3- Marc Diakiese

This is easy enough. The most hyped European prospect in the UFC needs to win and there’s no if’s ands or buts about it.

Five Underlying Themes

1- Any chance we get some finality towards the upcoming TUF Flyweight season?

2- How will the UFC handle the TUF Redemption winner? I think most fans will or have come to the conclusion that these guys won't last long either way but this is still a great accomplishment for these guys.

3- If James Krause wins the show, is this season a failure?

4- How they hype Marc Diakiese coming off three impressive UFC wins.

5- Can Todd Grisham find his sea legs as a commentator.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Jose Aldo/Max Holloway and....?” Preview for UFC 212 and the return to Brazil

Joey

May 30th, 2017

The UFC returns to Brazil with a very......awkward card. Awkward may be putting it kindly but what else can you really say? I mean what can you say about a show that has a good prelim slate, an abysmal main card but a fantastic main event? In many ways this card is eerily reminiscent of the sort of shows Jose Aldo has headlined before in Brazil. The support is weak but the fights are normally very well matched and the atmosphere always makes for a special night. This card is more or less been hampered by the obviousness of a very loaded July slate  plus the general malaise on MMA that doesn't feature "big" names PLUS the loss of Anderson Silva on this show after he turned down Rockhold and a few other opponents. Whatever the case may or may not be, this card can be broken into three main components. The first is that the main event is one of the best fights on paper this year and it sort of feels like one of those boxing fights that gets lost in the shuffle among the "major" shows or whatever. It's an amazing fight on paper pitting the best featherweight of all time and the best story arguably in the last five years. It's a five round title unification bout and in kind of a sign of how the year has gone for the UFC, a fight that was supposed to happen in February is now happening in June. Oi. The rest of the main card is, in a word, a dud. There's stuff to take from it but if you missed all of those fights, you'd live your life comfortably. The prelim slate though is really good for a prelim slate and top to bottom, there's something for everyone there. So let's try to analyze this big bundle of muss and fuss as quickly as we can, shall we?

Fights: 12

Debuts: 3 (Marlon Moraes, Deivison Alcantara and Brian Kelleher)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 3 (Anderson Silva/Kelvin Gastelum cancelled due to Gastelum's drug test failure/Leonard Santos/Olivier Aubin Mercier cancelled due to Mercier's injury/Felipe Arantes out, Brian Kelleher in)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 8 (Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Nate Marquardt, Vitor Belfort, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Erick Silva and Rafael Assuncao)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Nate Marqurdt)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  3 (Max Holloway, Antonio Carlos Jr and Iuri Alcantara)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 12-12)- Deivison Alcantara, Brian Kelleher and Marlon Moraes

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 7-13)- Brian Kelleher

Second Fight (Current number: 14-17)- Viviane Perreira, Jim Wallhead, Paulo Borrachinha

Twelve Precarious Ponderings:

1- So let's start by answering the obvious. Is this the worst UFC main card for a PPV ever? No, it's not. It's merely a really bad ugly main card. Off the top of my head I could name at least 5-6 in the past few years more gutwrenchingly brutal than this one. It's a bad card but noway near the worst of its time compared to UFC 177, UFC 191, 192 or 201. Now having said that, it is a shockingly bad main card by design which would've been a shockingly bad main card even if Anderson and Gastelum had held up. There's a theory in boxing that undercards don't matter and judging by the numbers stacked undercards with merely average main events do, I'm beginning to  believe that there's something to that spreading into MMA. Even if your argument is "this show will do what it does", there's nothing wrong with sincerely hoping for more out of a main card like this one especially given how most of the PPVs this year have either fallen apart at the last minute or underdelivered come fight night.

2- So having said that, I'm willing to stamp my flag here and claim that this is the best main event on UFC PPV this year going into whenever we eventually get McGregor/Ferguson or what have you. For starters, in a sea of rematches (Rumble/DC II, Jones/DC II, Woodley/Thompson II and JDS/Miocic II), it's a fresh matchup featuring at least one fighter who is genuinely still in his prime and another fighter who even if he's slightly out of his prime, he's still one of the best fighters in the world today. Stylistically it has all of the makings of a fantastic fight as both guys are machines offensively and tremendous top flight no doubt about it cardio to boot. What's more, there are so many storylines colliding at once here. If you're a guy who just needs a big main event to be satisfied, this is the kind of main event that SHOULD get you all hot and bothered.

3- There's so much to the game of Max Holloway that suggest to me that he's most complicated opponent Jose Aldo has fought during his time in the UFC. He's long, unorthodox, kicks well with either leg and unlike McGregor, Holloway has the ability to wrestle and submit people. He won't blow you away with his power but his volume and his versatility have given plenty of people problem and  similarly while there's no question that Aldo is the best fighter Holloway has ever faced, it's not as if Max hasn't been tested.  We forget sometimes that three of Max Holloway's first five UFC fights were on short notice and that he's fought everyone from Anthony Pettis to Conor McGregor to Dennis Bermudez to Ricardo Lamas and so on so forth down the line.  So is Holloway the most complicated fighter that Jose has ever faced?

4- Is it hard to get excited about a fight if you've already seen both fighters face the champion and lose decisively?

5- So okay this main card. Vitor Belfort vs Nate Marquardt is a strange fight that would've been AWESOME in 2011 or 2012 but should be pretty sad in 2017. Karolina  vs Claudia Gadelha is a totally fine fight but perhaps lacking the sizzle in a co-main with both of them having lost to Joanna. Oluwale Bamgbose vs Paulo Borrachinha would be a stretch as a main card fight on a Brazilian fight night even if I like both guys. Yancy Meideros vs Erick Silva is a fine fight that should deliver quality action but, again, it's not exactly main card worthy. What's more, each fight here almost has this weird air of irrelevance. Of these eight fighters, how many of them will be on the roster come this time next year?

6- Paulo Borrachinha is an interesting guy under 30 in a division that could surely use some interesting guys under 30. Borrachinha's power as well on display vs Gareth McClellan but I think we can all agree that beating McClellan doesn't mean a whole lot. At the same time, his ascent from prelim opener in  his debut to main card on PPV in his second fight suggests that they see something in the guy.

7- Erick Silva vs Yancy Meideros is an interesting fight and NOT because of the always popular Brazilian. Well, not entirely at least. Yancy Meideros made his debut at 170 lbs and was ultra impressive in KO-ing Sean Spencer. We've seen guys who were hit or miss at a lower weight class move up in weight and be dominant (Rumble, Robert Whittaker, Jorge Masvidal) so maybe Meideros' natural ability and power will carry better.

8- Marlon Moraes is one of the best bantamweights in the world so it's nice to see him finally popping into the UFC and already getting a big fight. IF Moraes beats Raphael Assuncao, does he leapfrog the likes of Cruz and the winner of Rivera/Almeida for a title shot?

9- Do we feel better about Antonio Carlos Junior now that we know that Dan Kelly's a genuinely good fighter despite his age and relatively garbage athletic profile?

10- So if this is the last fight of VItor Belfort's UFC career and he's probably going to go to your competitors, why would you put him in against a somewhat chinny aged middleweight? Other than to suggest you do not give a single shit about what Vitor does once he's out of your hair. Just seems like a pretty goofy fight to put together if Vitor's heading to your opposition.

11- "Buried" on the prelims, I really like Johnny Eduardo vs Matthew Lopez. Matthew Lopez was one of the many "failed" (I suppose?) Looking For A Fight guys who came in when there was a new Lookin' For A Fight guy.every other card. Having said that, Lopez is a pretty interesting prospect who showcased massive improvements in his grappling over when he fought Rani Yahya. He's a very good athlete who seems to be improving each time out. Johnny Eduardo is one of those super trusty veterans who can test a guy and beat up on veteran fighters. Fun test for a decent prospect.

12- Jim Wallhead vs Luan Chagas is an interesting fight because Chagas is a fun fighter until his cardio breaks about 7 minutes in. Wallhead is the opposite, a dude who can be beaten up on early on but tends to make a big rally later on in the fight. That could make for some compelling drama down the stretch.

Must Win

Karolina Kowalkeiwicz

Karolina K is the one on this main card with the most to lose if you really think about it. We've seen Claudia vs Joanna twice and that second fight sort of kind of drifts her into Joe Benavidez territory. On the other hand, Karolina Kowalkeiwicz had some success vs Joanna but nothing that would immediately make you feel like she had a better chance if they rematched. Still to EVEN be in that discussion, Karolina has to beat Claudia Gadelha and Claudia's pretty much unbeatable in three round fights. So good luck, dude.

Paulo Borrachinha

Again, it's very rare for a guy to go from Fight Pass prelims to PPV main card in an instant. Paulo Borrachinha is doing that in his fight vs Oluwale Bamgbose. Middleweight, once the home of the Brazilians, has seen the likes of Anderson Silva, Thales Leites, Lyoto Machida and Jacare Silva all fall on tough times recently. The best Brazilian MW right now is campaigning at 170 lbs. The goal when they got into Brazil (besides making a fortune) was to potentially open the door for brand new talents and it could be argued that outside of some very talented fighters under 155 lbs, they've totally whiffed on that goal. Maybe Borrachinha can be a guy who opens the door to that next level for the UFC in Brazil.

Marlon Moraes

If Marlon Moraes were to happen to lose, I don't QUITE think the world would come to an end. At the same time, it'd really be nice to have a hype project turn out this year after so many hyped commodities have either been unimpressive or flat out lost. This is no easy task for Moraes as Raphael Assuncao is not just a very good bantamweight but the sort of bantamweight who can make you look like shit even in a win. Moraes is all action all the time and watching him fight is a joy----but he could be in some trouble here.

Five Underlying Themes

1- The crowd and how they respond to Jose Aldo. This is Aldo's first major fight in Brazil since his loss to Conor McGregor and who knows if the fans will still see Aldo as a star despite beating Edgar AND despite having his own movie made about his life.

2-  How they hype Paulo Borrachinha on these shows.

3- Whether or not Jose Aldo folds fighting in Brazil for the first time in what should be a hostile environment.

4- Do we get ANY sort of hint as to who the #1 contender is?

5- Will they make any mention of Anderson Silva given the kerfuffle he caused on this show?

[thesportssoundoff]

Dallas gets a PPV and it’s a great one: UFC 211 Preview

Joey

May 8th, 2017

The first half of 2017 has been all about ups and downs for the UFC. The free TV events have been for the most part acceptable even though they've lacked the sizzle to their events (as evidenced by not bad but not good ratings for most of their FS1 events and a few clunkers on FOX). On PPV, the story has been a lot tougher as bad cards lived up to bad billing, even if on paper I thought 208 had some fun aspects to it, and good cards either suffered injuries or were hampered by things out of the company's control. 209 was a great card that ended with an all time bad main event plus the loss of its co-main event while 210 had weird as hell fights, a perplexing main event, crazy judging and some even crazier refereeing. It's been a mess and as such, UFC 211 is being welcomed with open yet skeptical arms. This card actually reminds me a lot in some ways of UFC 146 from way back in the day. That year business was slow for the company and so they turned to an all heavyweight main card to inject some life into the UFC. It was a really great show and for a while, we could all forget about how utterly bumpy the road was and amuse ourselves in the rise of a new heavyweight phenom in Junior Dos Santos. Ironically enough, JDS rides into town during another bumpy as hell year to challenge for the title opposite Stipe Miocic. The main card for UFC 211 is arguably perfection from a matchmaking standpoing as all five fights are well matched fights pitting strength vs strength. All five fights could headline their own UFC event which is the sign of a great main card.  Prelims are more than adquate as well and in some cases VERY very good, namely in the prelim headliner.

Fights: 14

Debuts: 4 (Rashad Coulter, Jared Gordon, Michel Quinones and David Branch)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 (Jarjhis Danho/Dimitro Poberezhets turned into Dimitri Pobereezhets/Chase Sherman turns into Chase Sherman/Rashad Coulter)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 10 (Joanna Champion, Stipe Miocic, Junior Dos Santos, Jorge Masvidal, Demian Maia, Frankie Edgar, Yair Rodriguez, Henry Cejudo, Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 2 (Chase Sherman, Henry Cejudo)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 11 (Stipe Miocic, Joanna Champion, Jessica Andrade, Demian Maia, Jorge Masvidal, Yair Rodriguez, Segio Pettis, Chas Skelly, Jason Knight, Kryzstof Jotko, Marco Polo Reyes)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 11-10)- Rashad Coulter, David Branch

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 6-10)- Rashad Coulter

Second Fight (Current number: 11-14)- Gadzhimurad Antigulov, JessicaAguilar

Twelve Precarious Ponderings:

1- The first fight for JDS and Stipe Miocic is well and truly a classic worth going out of your way to see. The first four rounds were really great shit and the last round is sort of disappointing but both guys were absolutely gassed out so forgive them. Miocic's boxing was worlds better than JDS for the first two (and IMO three) rounds but then Miocic just absolutely gassed out and JDS was able to pour the pressure on and rely on his superior conditioning, heart and fight IQ to wear out Miocic. In rewatching the second fight though, I noticed a few things that paint perhaps a more compelling picture in the rematch. For starters, there's a sequence in the second round where JDS is able to find a combination which gets the respect of Miocic. From then on, JDS is able to pop the same combination over and over and Miocic starts trying to wrestle him. The more you wrestle JDS, the more tired you get unless you're Cain (and even Cain Velasquez was exhausted at the end of their third fight in the troilgy). JDS has insane balance for a big man and Miocic is sneaky deceptive----but it is worth pointing out that Moicic has not had a fight leave the first round since the Dos Santos fight. JDS went five rounds last April even if it was kind of sort of a sparring exhibition.

2- IF you're picking JDS in this fight, you're gambling on two things. 1) The fact that Miocic hasn't had five tough rounds and has shown vulnerability against big punchers who combo well and 2) the HOPE that Dos Santos vs Rothwell was not one of those "the candle burns brightest before it goes out" moments where a fading fighter finds himself for one last big hurrah before the cliff hits. Otherwise there's no reason why the less shop worn, more athletic, more versatile fighter (Miocic's wrestling still exists even if he doesn't use it for a single god damn thing) who hits just as hard and KO'd the dude who KO'd THIS dude should be the loser. The problem is that vs Rothwell, JDS was everything you'd wish for him to be and then some. He looked quick on his feet, versatile with his strikes, powerful with his jab and most of all he seemed to be pulling the trigger again.

3- Who is the #1 contender AFTER this? There's Overeem/Werdum and I'm not sure I'd go that route. After a series of fresh HW title fights (Werdum/Cain, Werdum/Miocic and Miocic/Overeem), going winner vs winner here inevitably sets up a rematch of some kind. Francis Ngannou is sitting out there amassing wins and looking awesome but any of those four guys represents a massive step up and the only one I'd comfortably say Ngannou would beat is Overeem due to the whole Overeem so-so chin and Ngannou being quite possibly the hardest hitting HW since Shane Carwin. Derrick Lewis would be fun as shit if he beat Mark Hunt but man, I do NOT want to see Lewis/Werdum or Lewis/Miocic where Derrick has to shuck off 40 takedowns. In a perfect world, Cormier vs JDS would be a lot of fun but I think Cormier would retire before he'd move back up to HW.

4- The co-main event feels like a fight where there's a realistic chance for an upset even if nobody wants to discuss it.  On paper this is a stylistic dream fight, two really tough really powerful women with differing styles (Joanna more of a symphony of violence, Jessica Andrade more like thrash metal) where if anyone is going to get to Joanna, it's the fighter who can pressure forward and put all kinds of smoke and team on her shots. I don't know if Jessica has one punch finishing power but I would argue she hits harder at 135 lbs and possesses the better submission game. The one thing I keep coming back to is Joanna's style and how over her last 3-4 fights, there's been some cracks showing. Against Valerie Letourneau, the few moments Val had came when she would pressure and blitz Joanna. She didn't win the fight but she had a few moments where you coulf see something could be done there. Vs Claudia Gadelha, Joanna had a REALLY tough time early dealing with the pressure AND power of Claudia. Gadelha put her down at one point (twice even if I remember correctly) and who knows where the fight goes if Claudia doesn't gas out going for takedowns. Against Karolina K, Joanna didn't seem as aggressive, didn't seem to press the issue with power shots as often and even was hurt REALLY badly by someone I would not consider to be a powerful striker. There's something going on here and Joanna's comments about maybe retiring and her long term health plus the scares she'd had in her past two fights paint a picture of something bigger. The rumors of her going to ATT and not being particularly well recieved raise a few concerns as well, I guess. I dunno there just seems to be a lot happening with Joanna that leaves room for doubt.

NOW is Jessica Andrade the fighter to beat her? I mean....it's hard to imagine someone who twice went life and death with Rocky Pennington winning the title from the most dominant female champion going currently. It's also hard to imagine this fight heading into the 4th or 5th rounds with Andrade not having a serious cardio disadvantage working against her. Also Joanna's kicks are the best Jessica has seen pretty much ever and so while I don't always go Joe Rogan on leg kicks, they're bound to have an advantage. I just think if anybody is going to beat Joanna Champion, this is the gal and this is the time for it. There's some smoke here.

5- If Yair Rodriguez KOs Frankie Edgar (or just beats him decisively), would that justifiably make Yair the #1 contender for the winner of Holloway-Aldo?  Even over Cub Swanson who has two wins in high profile fights and is on paper as popular as he's ever been?

6- Man imagine a Mexico even with Yair fighting for the FW title and Brandon Moreno challenging for the flyweight title. That'd be fuckin' cool.

7- I went back and briefly looked at Demian Maia's shortcomings/weaker performances at welterweight. The two consistent refrains is that Maia can be stalled out on the ground (or perhaps he stalls you out from attempting any offense and can just stay on top) and his cardio in some of those fights, specifically ones where early on he has to really fight for takedowns, can lead to openings. Matt Brown DID have Maia bothered in the second half of their fight before Maia just snatched his neck and put him to bed---but Maia did take some shots in the process. Masvidal is REALLY hard to take down and even tougher to keep down. On the other hand, Masvidal is not a guy well known for turning up the heat late. I know pace and tempo are like boilerplate MMA terms but Masvidal IS the perfect example of a guy who controls pacing, tempo and has superb timing. The third round if it gets that far is going to be very interesting.

8- Sergio Pettis beats Henry Cejudo (by whatever way you so desire), does Pettis get the "record" shot vs Mighty Mouse or is that still Ray Borg's gig?

9- On paper I'd argue that Cejudo/Pettis and Alvarez/Poirier should be switched but Eddie has been SO quiet since the McGregor thrashing that I wonder if there's maybe some concern about his focus. The prelim headliner is still a BIG spot but it's obviously a lot more low profile than PPV main card. Whatever the case may be, I bet that fight is going to be badass while it lasts. Also shout out to Dustin Poirier for fighting like three months ago on one leg then turning around and taking a MASSIVE step up.

10- The Fight Pass fight of all fights pits SportsSoundoff hero Gabriel "Moggly" Benitez vs TheAntiCool's BFF Enrique Barzola. Mexico vs Peru! Moggly Benitez was once thought of to be one of the better fighters off of TUF Latin America Season One and while he is still 2-1 despite running into the leg of Andre Fili (no shame in that), he's probably been a step behind the likes of Marlon "Chito" Vera, Yair Rodriguez and Teco Quinones. He's a good fighter who probably has some untapped potential the more he trains with the likes of AKA. On the other hand, Enrique Barzola is a REALLY good, really raw young fighter with unlimited athletic potential and a developing fight game. He should be undefeated in the UFC but que sera sera and all that good stuff. Barzola's wrestling is surprisingly good for a fighter discovered off of TUF LAM and his striking is unorthodox, really funky and seems to be improving each time out. Enrique Barzola should be the favorite but I refuse to believe that Moggly won't have a shot.

11- We all like to bitch and banter about the UFC's LHW division but this is yet another show in a string of them where they're trying to churn the bottom of the roster. Similarly the same could be said with a HW as well with a new HW in the mix. Injury replacement and all but still!

12- Gotta admit I totally forgot about Jessica Aguilar and how good she is.

Must Wins:

Junior Dos Santos

Of the two big names in the main event, I feel like JDS has the most to lose here with a loss. Let's not entirely mince some words here; this is almost a gift title shot. He's getting the shot because someone has to fight Miocic and Cain/Werdum are both in the UFC bad books for two vastly different reasons. Rothwell was a damn good win given the streak he was on and so it's not like JDS didn't earn some semblance of a title shot. Even that being the case, Dos Santos' last seven fights consist of wins over Frank Mir, Cain twice, Mark Hunt, Overeem, Miocic and Rothwell. He's 4-3 and he wasn't entirely competitive in those losses. That being said, he's got a chance here. Miocic is hittable, his moments of greatness oftentimes coming out of brief glimpses of frailty. In glimpses JDS has the ability to remind you of why once upon a time he was the no doubt about it best HW in the world. If he loses to Miocic, you'd essentially have to acknowledge that if he's a top 5 HW, 3 of his contemporaries in that mix have beaten him.

Frankie Edgar

At just 24 years old, the 145er and 155ers of the UFC will be dealing with Yair Rodriguez for a long time. He's going to challenge for plenty of belts and as his physical maturation combines with Greg Jackson in his ear, Yair Rodriguez will almost certainly be a face for the UFC. There's no pressure on Yair here. Frankie Edgar is one of those fighters stuck in no man's land. The scene at 155 lbs has grown to the point where Edgar's herky jerky quirky stylings and in and out movement can't carry him the way it used to. At the same time, he's had two swing and a misses at Jose Aldo and the last one wasn't quite as competitive as we all hoped it'd be. He's 35 years old, on the last fight of his deal and he's the kind of guy the UFC has been losing/letting go recently. The sort of guy who is a TV draw but not a PPV draw who has essentially maxed out his value. Edgar vs Yair is the battle of good young fighter who might be great against the great old fighter who might be slowly dropping towards good. Edgar is far and away the greatest wrestler Yair has ever faced and conversely, Yair Rodriguez is really the most dynamic athletic that Edgar has faced. No, I don't think he's as good as Aldo but Yair does so many other weird, wacky and wild things that he essentially combines the "I don't give a fuck" of Cub Swanson with the versatility of Aldo. Edgar wins this fight and he's got two wins in a row likely looking at a bigger payday and he PROBABLY sneaks his way back into talks as a name for 145 lbs again or even 135 lbs if he finally commits to that drop in weight. A loss and maybe the UFC views a 35 year old Frankie Edgar as a guy on the downslide who can no longer beat the elites, isn't going to fight for the title and may not be worth six figures for them anymore.

Demian Maia

There's a section of UFC fans who think Demian Maia is a draw and he's really not. His TV numbers aren't great, I don't think Maia is a guy who draws people to the venue and he exits to be what I believe most insiders would refer to as card dressing. Having said that, the 170 lb landscape is KIND OF in the midst of some upheaval and so if Maia's ever going to get that title shot, the opportunity has to be now. He's won what feels like 10 fights in a row and his wins are over the likes of Carlos Condit, Neil Magny, Gunnar Nelson and Ryan LaFlare. He gets a surprisingly difficult puzzle to figure out; a low output striker who rarely misses his shots, rarely gets taken down, might be impossible to submit and has found some power since he moved up to 170 lbs. It's a fight Maia should win that presents some stylistic challenges for an aging BJJ maestro with so so cardio but arguably the stickiest grappling in MMA. We recently saw a similar minded aging BJJ maestro struggle vs a a guy who presented stylistic challenges who rarely gets taken down and has found his power after moving up in weight. I don't know if the ending will be the same but there's no question that there are some similarities in these two movie scripts.

Five Underlying Themes

1- Will there be more consistency in the three person commentary booth or are we doomed to more at times awkward at times stilted bro convos between Rogan and DC?

2- This is the best card of the year but I'd almost argue UFC 208 had more buzz to it. Will this card pick up as we get closer and realize this fight is FINALLY happening?

3- Texas has a well earned rep for shitty judging, even worse reffing and just general commission wackiness. Are we in line for another night of madness?

4- How will the crowd respond to Yair Rodriguez, a budding star to be, in his biggest fight ever?

5- Will we get any UFC 213 or UFC 214 announcements?