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wellhalesbells · 6 years ago

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I see you reblogging some comic stuff an I was wondering if you have a favorite comic or favorite character or ship?

this ask is from so long ago but [DEEP BREATH IN] i’m finally going to answer it, nonny. finally. i kept wanting to read a little bit farther in my comics stack because.... maybe i’ll like that and will regret not having recced it, i just hafta--get--to it, see? and, honestly, i’m still there BUT, come on, i’ll never be caught up because that would mean comics would just have to stop coming out and i would be sad forever if that happened, SO

i’m not even going to pretend like i can narrow this down to one comic. (one ship? sure, that’s spideypool. one character? sure, that’s the merc with a mouth, the regenerating degenerate, wade motherfucking wilson. but one comic?!) there is just straight-up too much out there to make a definitive ‘yes, this is it, this is THE ONE ™ ’ statement. instead, uh, let’s break this shit down, yeah? (super special secret bonus round, will note all lgbt+ rep and standalone comics.) in no particular order, here the frig it goes!

HORROR

infidel, by pornsak pichetshote and aaron campbell. in case you haven’t seen this on every 2018 best list ever, here it is. and, yeah, it was good. a muslim-american main character living in a haunted apartment building where the entities feed off the xenophobia of its occupants. if that’s not a fucking modern horror story i don’t know what is.

spread, by justin jordan and kyle strahm. THIS IS ONE OF MY NEW AND ALREADY ALL-TIME FAVORITES. what an awesomely weird and epic story. the spread is an uncontrollable, unstoppable monster-making force that humanity accidentally unleashed by digging too deep. it infects everything it touches and basically all of humanity is running from quarantine to quarantine just hoping for the best. and speaking of hope.... she’s a baby, rescued by no, and the only thing that’s ever been able to stop the spread. also, no’s gay? and i just DID NOT see that coming. it seems like it’s going to be such a formulaic, bro-y story about the action hero who kisses the face off his girl (her name’s molly and she’s batshit insane and amazing) and instead, nope, it is not that at all. lgbt+ main characters.

the black monday murders, by jonathan hickman and tomm coker. hate capitalism? think all the rich and powerful are evil, soul-sucking monsters? [obnoxious, low-budget commercial sound effects] MAN, HAVE I GOT THE SERIES FOR YOU.

the beauty, by jeremy haun and jason a. hurley. i just started this recently but so far, oh my good golly gosh, i looove it. a sexually transmitted disease that makes you conventionally gorgeous.... at least before it explodies you. [wide, creepy smile] the art is gorgeous, the characters are aces and i am very, very pleased so far. lgbt+ minor characters.

the great divide, by ben fisher and adam markiewicz. this? was a COOL idea. the execution stumbled a bit but, gosh, was it neat. it’s post-apocalyptic where touching another person will literally kill.... one of you. the survivor then absorbs the memories of the person who dies, taking on a ‘rider.’ some people collect them, some people go mad, some form a bond, all have the side effect of dyslexia. like i said, neat as all get out. lgbt+ minor-ish/main-ish character. standalone.

revival, by tim seely and mike norton. a rural town in wisconsin experiences ‘miracle day,’ where the dead rise again.... except, they were kinda already mourned and buried and this is really just fucking up the status quo.

the woods, by james tynion iv and michael dialynas. a high school gets picked up and plopped down in an entirely new, and wickedly hostile universe. it’s all survival and alliances and seeing what you’re really made of when it comes down to it. lgbt+ main characters.

clean room, by gail simone and jon davis-hunt. a cult, a journalist and a clean room walk into a bar...

anya’s ghost, by vera brosgol. you think it’ll be a cute story of a girl and her ghost. HA HA THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENS AT ALL, OKAY.

FANTASY

rumble, by john arcudi and james harren. SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD, SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD, SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD!!! okay, first off, the art in this? pushes every friggin’ button i’ve got, and many i did not know i had. second, this book is so fucking fun. it’s mythology that’s balls to the wall ridiculous, funny, and features a main character whose life motto is basically: ‘do i have to?’ infinitely relatable and then some.

heathen, by natasha alterici and rachel deering. UGH, ONE OF MY FAVORITES. the art is just horribly, horrendously gorgeous and it’s LESBIAN VIKING MYTHOLOGY, OKAY. OKAYYYY??? lgbt+ main characters.

the wicked + the divine, by kieron gillen and jamie mckelvie. one of my favorite ever series right here. it’s a hella cool concept (gods reincarnating as humans every twelve years, and burning up their hosts in two), whip-smart and if you’ve ever met a human being who likes a pun more than kieron gillen i defy you to produce them. lgbt+ main and minor characters.

batgirl, by gail simone and adrian sayaf and vicente cifuentes. you know how people rave about gail simone? there’s a reason people rave about gail simone. honestly, i’ve never had much interest in babs. i don’t tend to go for superheroes who don’t kill and i have even less interest in ‘the killing joke’ story line and i am convinced only gail simone could’ve done the recovery on that and she did a GLORIOUS job of it.

red hood and the outlaws, by scott lobdell and dexter soy. (ignoring recent - and annoying - developments), this is my favorite of all the rebirths dc did. scott lobdell is the only writer to have gotten the idea down of: okay, we’re starting over, i assume you don’t know anything but i also assume there are a bajillion people reading who know everything, and hit the perfect medium between those two things. so if you want to start a jason todd run, you legitimately can here, and get all the found family, badassery, batman-teasing enjoyment there is to be had.

iceman, by sina grace and robert gill (covers by kevin wada). classic super-heroing here and bobby’s first solo title. he’s figuring out coming out while fighting (and flirting) with baddies. sina really gets his humor and how truly wonder-awful it is! lgbt+ main character.

spider-man/deadpool, by joe kelly and ed mcguinness. watch those names there, those are your guys right there, period. they looked at the void of a spider-man/deadpool series and filled it with absolutely everything you could possibly want for the pair (sans a hardcore make-out sesh, though they did get a few variant covers with some puckered up lips in there!)

limbo, by dan watters and caspar wijngaard. a fusion of 80s aesthetics, voodoo elements and a noir tone. just some remarkably cool shit in this. the ending, for me, left something to be desired but it was more than worth it to see worship via mixtapes. standalone.

hawkeye: kate bishop, by kelly thompson and leonardo romero. kate bishop is, apparently???, a super impossible character for a lot of writers. kelly thompson is not one of them. kelly thompson is my favorite kate bishop writer, actually, and the fact that she is ever not writing her is a gd travesty.

the unbeatable squirrel girl, by ryan north and erica henderson. honestly, i’m so tempted to just stick this under ‘contemporary,’ because it really does just feel very... normal. doreen’s navigating college, new friendships, and y’know... the squirrely-ness. this had every opportunity to suck and instead it’s funny as heck, never takes itself too seriously, and is just pure good-hearted entertainment through and through.

wolf, by ales kot and matt taylor. a paranormal detective and the-possible-antichrist go on a road trip. people hated this comic and i don’t know how you can hate a comic that has a character called freddy chtonic who has tentacles for a mouth???

ms. marvel, by g. willow wilson and adrian alphona. hi, you read ms. marvel because the world is a garbage fire and people are terrible and your cynicism is at an all time high and then kamala khan waltzes in and reminds you people generally want to help each other and the world improves when we work together and that thing optimists feel? you’ll feel that for as long as you’ve got the pages open and that’s a magical thing. lgbt+ minor character.

monstress, by marjorie m. liu and sana takeda. psychic links with monsters, matriarchal societies, magic and witchery, half-human/half-animal (and other ratios) characters, all through a steampunk lens. what’s not to like about that??

inhuman, by charles soule. i love this series, i love the idea of being a total average joe/joanne, getting smacked in the face by a cloud of mist and suddenly having to figure out how to live basically a whole new life. also, if you don’t fall madly in love with dante pertuz, i don’t even know what to tell you, my dude.

heart in a box, by kelly thompson and meredith mcclaren. break-ups suck, but only because of that whole pesky broken heart thing, right? so emma gives hers away. problem solved, no? standalone.

i kill giants, by joe kelly and j.m. ken niimura. i didn’t cry my eyes out or anything. did not. standalone.

sex criminals, by matt fraction and chip zdarsky. having sex = stopping time, which leads suzie and jon to the only logical conclusion: let’s rob some banks!

hawkeye, by matt fraction and david aja. honestly there are a lot of other artist combos in this run but the only ones that are worthwhile are the ones that have fraction and aja’s names on them - sorry not sorry.

SCIENCE FICTION

black bolt, by saladin ahmed and christian ward. saladin revived this character one hundred million percent. there is absolutely a reason this was parading around all over ‘best’ lists when it was released. it really, really did the damn thing.

saga, by brian k. vaughan and fiona staples. this is the comic you recommend to people who don’t even like comics because it is that good. like, my dad - who hadn’t read a comic since he was a pre-teen, eagerly awaits each new trade. the world-building, the characters, the care put into every single solitary bit of all the things? unparalleled. lgbt+ minor characters.

frostbite, by joshua williamson and jason shawn alexander. a post-apocalyptic story that has humanity dying from a plague that literally freezes you from the inside out. very neat, very cold, very readable. standalone.

descender, by jeff lemire and dustin nguyen. this had a rough start, for me, with the main character of the first trade being tim-21, an android who is literally incapable of having the depth to be a lead BUT that does not last through to the next trade, thank god. lots of space and found family and world-building in this to be had! but you know how people rave about jeff lemire? there’s a reason people rave about jeff lemire.

paper girls, by brian k. vaughan and cliff chiang. the 80s and time travel and lifelong friendships. it’s brian k. vaughan, you know it’s good, okay? why do i even have to sell you here, man? lgbt+ main characters.

injection, by warren ellis and declan shalvey. this is another one on my list that started out a little rough but really appealed to me later on. there was just a lot to absorb in that first trade but, once you’ve got it, the ride gets way, way smoother. lgbt+ main and minor characters.

black science, by rick remender and matteo scalera. this was a rocky start, because the main character is such an asshole but in a way where he can’t see he’s an asshole, he’s just a tortured genius who’s superior to all of you, don’t you know? but i am so glad i persevered because if that’s the set up? the rest of the series is knocking him back down. super scientist grant mckay finds a way to access the eververse, every possible reality the universe has on offer, and that’s really what causes every single problem that follows. hard to cause the apocalypse and be an arrogant prick, ya know?

CONTEMPORARY

giant days, by john allison and lissa treiman. this series is so funny and smart and warm. these girls are so kind to each other and relatable and failing at adulting regularly and often and i love reading about them. lgbt+ main character.

lumberjanes, by noelle stevenson and grace ellis and brooke a. allen. this is funny and ridiculous and kind and cool and all other awesome adjectives and you should read it, fact. lgbt+ main characters.

my brother’s husband, by gengoroh tagame and anne ishii (translator). this is such a sweet story about acceptance and family tbh. lgbt+ main character.

fence, by c. s. pacat and johanna the mad. i mean... i need to see nicholas and seiji hook-up, i need that, stat. stat means now! lgbt+ main characters.

WEB/INDEPENDENT COMICS

long exposure, by kam heyward. so mitch and jonas are my absolute faves and i love them to death and the author is so kind in that they actually put this up in print on indyplanet so i can read it the way i, personally, love to read comics (and - bonus! - support them with the monies). lgbt+ main characters.

modern dread, by pat shand and ryan fassett (editors). i’ve been trying to find more better horror comics lately so i’ve been kind of half-heartedly stumbling through kickstarter on the hunt and this was SUCH a great find. it’s an anthology but more cleverly done than any other kickstarter anthology i’ve read, with a main story line that seamlessly strings together the would-be-disjointed ones. this was really thoughtfully put together and really well done! standalone.

heartstopper, by alice oseman. a very sweet story about two high school-aged boys becoming fast friends, playing rugby and falling in love. the two characters are mentioned as an aside in the author’s book, solitaire, and she became so invested in them that she wrote their backstory as a free webcomic. lgbt+ main characters.

the pale, by jay fabares. JUST started this (like, just a day or so ago) but i’m enjoying it so far!

hotblood!, by toril orlesky. i mean... is it a webcomic about a centaur falling in love with his boss? it just might be. did i get a bound edition through a kickstarter campaign? maybe. maybe i did that. who’s to say? lgbt+ main characters.

the bay, by bbz. life on mars through the lens of three young professionals who form an odd but lasting friendship. lgbt+ main characters.

hard drive, by artroan. is it a nsfw comic about a dude and a robot? .... it might be a nsfw comic about a dude and a robot. [coughs] lgbt+ main characters.

seen nothing yet, by tess stone. a nsfw comic about two amateur ghost hunters. can’t imagine why i might be interested in that [coughs] lgbt+ main characters.

captain imani and the cosmic chase, by lin darrow and alex assan. i mean did i want a starship captain who can’t help but lust after the smuggler he’s chasing. i mean, maybe i did. maybe. lgbt+ main characters.

taproot, by keezy young. ghost falls in love with boy, boy falls in love with ghost, AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. lgbt+ main characters.

always raining here, by bell and hazel. just two boys falling in lurve. lgbt+ main characters.

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sbknews · 3 years ago

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Booth-Amos claims dramatic WorldSSP300 after thrilling Race 2

The ever-dramatic FIM Supersport 300 World Championship lived up to its reputation with a thrilling Race 2 at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Aragon Round. The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship lived up to its reputation of unpredictability after a thrilling Race 2 at the Pirelli Aragon Round, where Tom Booth-Amos (Fusports – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) claimed a stunning first victory of 2021 at MotorLand Aragon. As ever in WorldSSP300, drama was never far away throughout the 12-lap race with the lead ever-changing as well as battles throughout the field as the 43-strong field took part in Race 2. Booth-Amos claimed victory ahead of Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing), although the Spanish had crossed the line first he was penalised with a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap. It meant he was relegated to second place, ahead of compatriot Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) in third, just 0.013s between them. Huertas had been in the lead of the race but did not want to be ahead going onto the back straight on the final lap, although he was unable to use the slipstream to retake the lead. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) finished in fourth place, with Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) in fifth after a strong comeback weekend following an injury sustained in testing in 2020. Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) finished in sixth place, just 0.020s away from Carrasco but also just 0.056s ahead of Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) in seventh and fellow French rider Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) in eighth; a late charge seeing di Sora move up the order. Bruno Ieraci (Machado CAME SBK) finished in ninth place with Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) completing the top ten. The returning Dorren Loureiro (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) finished in 11th place ahead of reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki); the Dutchman holding the lead of the race throughout different stages of the race but being shuffled down into 12th in the latter stages. He finished four seconds clear of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) who came home as the first of four consecutive Spanish riders in a group. Stand-in rider Alex Millan Gomez (Kawasaki GP Project), replacing Alejandro Carrion who was declared unfit, claimed 14th place despite his first action of the weekend being in Tissot Superpole. 2017 Champion Marc Garcia (2R Racing) was in 15th and completed the points, just 0.025s ahead of Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) Turn 1 was a pinch point for the 43 riders taking place in Race 2, with rookie Harry Khouri (Fusports – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki), Oliver König (Movisio by MIE), Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (Accolade Smrz Racing), Joel Romero (SMW Racing) and Miguel Santiago Duarte (Yamaha MS Racing) all have incidents on the opening lap; the latter taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. One Event rider Stefano Raineri (Goeleven) came off his bike on Lap 2 while Sylvain Marakarian (Leader Team Flembbo) crashed two laps later following his crash. Julian Giral Romero (Viñales Racing Team) was also a retirement from Race 2. Vicente Perez Selfa (Machado CAME SBK) retired from the race after seven laps, shortly after he was given a double Long Lap Penalty by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards for irresponsible riding at Turn 1, while Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) crashed out recovering after taking the first of his two Long Laps; the Turkish star given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start. Kevin Sabatucci (Viñales Racing Team) was the penultimate retirement of the race when he crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 9, while Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) brought his Kawasaki back to the pits after 10 of the 12 scheduled laps. P1 Tom Booth-Amos (Fusports – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) “I didn’t really expect the win because I crossed the line in second but I’m obviously over the moon. I feel like this is my hardest round of the year so very happy to come away with a win and a second place and obviously the Championship lead. It’s a good way to start the season and we’ll continue like this.” P2 Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) “I’m very happy with the race. During the race, I pushed a lot and fought with the Kawasaki. I’m very happy for me.” P3 Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) “It has been a really good weekend. Today in the race, I gave my best but it wasn’t enough. I’m ready to fight for the Championship and I’m really with all the time, with the sensations.” WorldSSP300 at MotorLand Aragon - Race 2 1.Tom Booth-Amos (Fusports – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) 2. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) +0.127s 3. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) +0.140s 4. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) +0.213s 5. Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) +0.339s 6. Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) +0.359s Championship Standings (after Race 2, Round 1) 1. Tom Booth-Amos (GBR) Kawasaki (45 points) 2. Adrian Huertas (ESP) Kawasaki (41 points) 3. Unai Orradre (ESP) Yamaha (33 points) For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport 300 News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport-300/ Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com

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#AdrianHuertas #AragonWorldSBK #MotorLandAragón #TomBooth-Amos #UnaiOrradre #WorldSSP300

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thesportssoundoff · 7 years ago

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“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

#MMA #UFC #Brunson #Jacare #Gregor #Rinaldi #Koch #Bermudez

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