#the photo was taken before the events of the 1st game in early September when the year first started. vic cut her hair near maxs birthday

[panestates]

Victoria Chase's Instagram, featuring a post from September 2013 ꩜

[thesportssoundoff]

“Eh. Just a bunch of Eh. Good main though!” UFC Fight Night: Mexico

Joey

September 17th, 2019

The UFC decided to take its model for fight cards in Europe and import it over to Mexico for a bit! I think it speaks to the UFC's level of focus for this card that the third fight on this card is in a division they were going to close with two guys they just signed. This is basically a 3-4 fight card; a tremendous featherweight main event, two really interesting fights on paper featuring two top Mexican fighters AND the return of Brandon Moreno vs top flyweight Askar Askarov. Beyond that? Some action fighters, more WMMA, the return of Bethe Correia and some other stuff. It's not a good card but what's at the top is pretty solid. It's also worth offering them a bit of a mulligan since the headliner was supposed to be Brian Ortega vs the Korean Zombie before something fell apart. Either Ortega balked at the fight at first offering or someone in the UFC realized they need a South Korean headliner for their December Korea card. Either way we got what we got here. It's not great but as my sister says "You get what you get and you don't get upset." I also think it's worth pointing out that this card is basically a glorified gift show as the UFC breaks ground on their new PI in Mexico.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Ariane Carnelossi, Vanessa Melo, Brandon Moreno, Askar Askarov

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Brian Ortega vs the Korean Zombie CANCELLED/Isatela Nunes OUT, Ariane Carnelossi IN vs Angela Hill/Alex Perez OUT, Tyson Nam IN vs Sergio Pettis/Marion Reneau OUT, Vanessa Melo IN vs Irene Aldana)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 7 (Yair Rodriguez, Sergio Pettis, Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza, Brandon Moreno, Bethe Correia, MArcos Mariano)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 7 (Bethe Correia, Vinicius Moreira, Sergio Pettis, Kyle Nelson, Polo Reyes, Stephen Peterson, Jeremy Stephens)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC):  15-18 (The first card of the year with an under .500 record for the main card)

Yair Rodriguez- 2-1 Jeremy Stephens- 3-3 Carla Esparza- 3-3 Alexa Grasso- 2-2 Brandon Moreno- 1-2 Askar Askarov- 0-0 Irene Aldana- 3-2 Vanessa Melo- 0-0 Martin Bravo- 0-2 Stephen Peterson- 1-3

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Featherweight-  3 (47) Women’s Bantamweight-  2 (17) Women’s Strawweight- 2 (24) Flyweight-  2 (14) Light Heavyweight- 1 (35) Bantamweight- 1 (49) Lightweight- 1 (60)

Middleweight-   (32) Heavyweight- (27) Welterweight-  (52) Women’s Flyweight- (29) Women’s Featherweight- (7)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (27-49-1)- Vanessa Melo, Ariane Carnelossi, Tyson Nam, Askar Askarov, Brandon Moreno

Short Notice Fighters (25-32)- Vanessa Melo, Tyson Nam, Ariane Carnelossi

Second Fight (49-27)- Marcos Mariano, Carlos Huachin

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (19-32-1)- Claudio Puelles, Martin Bravo

Undefeated Fighters (31-34-1)- Askar Askarov

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (11-8)-

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”) (25-18)-  Martin Bravo, Sergio Pettis

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Yair Rodriguez's career since 2017 has taken quite a turn. He started the year dicing up BJ Penn in a showcase fight, got put against Frankie Edgar in what on paper seemed like a mega fight and then had one of the weirdest UFC spats ever. Yair was offered Zabit a few times, Ricardo Lamas once and then referred to a Dana White fight announcement as fake news. Dana cut him and Yair was on the free market for approximately a week or so before Sean Shelby patched things up and cleaned up the mess. Yair repaid the UFC by showing up on two weeks notice to fight the Korean Zombie at high altitude in one of the craziest fights of 2018. Likely down on the cards, Yair hit an upwards elbow that KO'd the Korean Zombie with pretty much the world's greatest buzzer beater KO ever. Yair apparently broke his nose and damaged his lead foot early in that fight which makes it even more amazing that he did what he did. Since then Yair has been pretty much out in nowhere land. He took time off to heal up, was rumored to be fighting in the Summer but instead returns here towards the Fall. He was originally supposed to be the co-main event but when Ortega/Zombie fell through, Yair got the bump up vs Jeremy Stephens. It's worth remembering that Yair Rodriguez is crazy young (JUST 26 years old) and fights in a division where every major prospect gets checked eventually. We've watched a lot of 145 lbers get the business from somebody with more experience or the right kind of style. Even Zabit had a bit of a rough go of it vs Jereemy Stephens.  This feels like a high pressure situation for Yair; a dangerous opponent on a losing streak in a market where chaos has tended to abound (I believe Mexican fighters are 0-3 in main event fights in Mexico). A win here says a lot not just about Yair's talent level but about his poise and maturity given where he was in his career at THIS point last year.

2- Does the fact that Yair and Zabit both have enough similarities offensively allow Jeremy Stephens to go into this fight feeling like he's seen the same guy twice in a row? I'd argue Yair's hands are much better than Zabit's but at the same time, Zabit is a far better wrestler than Yair who is more of a squirrely scrambler type. Either way if you're Stephens, the similarities have to make you feel like you've got something of a leg up going into this fight.

3- Would Yair Rodriguez vs Jose Aldo be an appealing fight for both parties if Yair wins vs Jeremy Stephens?

4- In 2015, Dana White took a photo with both Irene Aldana and Alexa Grasso where he deemed both the future of WMMA. It's been a rather tumultuous run for both ladies since that point and while it'd be fair to offer both mulligans; I think calling them busts relative to the expectations would be somewhat fair. For Irene Aldana, she probably just isn't good enough to ever be a challenger or even a contender for Amanda Nunes. After starting her UFC run with two losses (one in a controversial fashion), Aldana rallied with three straight wins including what felt like the final corner turner vs Bethe Correia. She returned to face Rocky Pennington in a big enough fight and while she started strong, she allowed Pennington to pressure her repeatedly en route to a split decision win. The last round was punctuated by Aldana chasing a go nowhere no hope heel hook as Pennington punched away from on top. Even when she had the opportunity to try and get to her feet, she stuck by her guns and eventually it cost her. Aldana's fight IQ and I guess her willingness to fight to her opponent's strengths continues to burn her. She'll get a soft enough touch vs the debuting Vanessa Melo after a bigger fight with Marion Reneau fell through. For Alexa Grasso; her not progressing feels like a serious bummer. Grasso's ultra talented and athletic in a division where talent + athlete usually means progress. Instead a lack of strength and so-so fight IQ (plus some UFC rush jobs) has hurt her. Grasso looked AMAZING vs Karolina K but Karolina may just be broken beyond belief. It's a long way from 2015 where she was the future of WMMA but Grasso has a chance to still make good (somewhat) on that hype.  It's a tough call though with Carla Esparza.

5- If you remove the fight vs Randa Markos which felt like Markos just coming out with a proverbial death wish, Carla Esparza's losses are to former champ Joanna Jedrzyjeczyk, future #1 contender Tatiana Suarez and former title contender Claudia Gadelha. A win for Grasso would be massive and would probably set her up nicely for another "prove it" fight, likely against Nina Ansaroff.

6- Without looking them up and just on a run sheet alone, could you tell me anything about any fighter after, say, the fourth fight on this card?

7- TUF LAM has given the UFC some pretty damn good fighters. Names like Teco Quinones, Enrique Barzola, Marlon Vera, Moggly Benitez and the aforementioned Yair Rodriguez. That makes it so disappointing that Martin Bravo has not been successful as of yet because he has the natural tools to be on par with those guys. Bravo came into the UFC off of TUF as a crazy body punching all action fighter. He got KO'd in his non-TUF debut vs Humberto Bandenay (who has since gone 0-3 in the UFC) and then followed that up with a loss in a violent war vs Alex Caceres. Bravo's chin seems to be a serious problem and his lack of anything besides a really good body work game and heart/cardio seems to be holding him back. He'll get the perfect guy if he wants an action fight in Steven "Ocho" Peterson in what has to be a loser leaves town fight for both guys.

8- I don't expect Polo Reyes to find much of a home at 145 lbs but I expect to get a few wild brawls and finishes before he eventually gets cut.

9- Brandon Moreno vs Askar Askarov figures to be an absolute hell of a fight but I wonder how much people are going to care as this 125 lb title dangles dangerously in limbo.

10- I cannot believe Vinicius Moreira is still on the UFC roster. Totally flummoxed and perplexed.

11- Speaking of fighters from 2015 that people had high hopes for, Sergio Pettis has gone from being a potential feature piece at 125 lbs or 135 lbs to scrapping this out on the prelims. Remember when the UFC went to Mexico in 2017, Sergio Pettis was the headliner. Now he's looking to find himself in the UFC after jumping weight classes recently with no success.

12- Sajara Eubanks vs Bethe Correia figures to be a stupendous fight, folks. Well worth your time if you want a wild action fight.

[banalpal]

2018 Review

This is going to be pretty long, but I wanted to just go through my year month by month in a really candid way. 

January

I started out my year trying to re-invent myself. I had a quaint little apartment, and I wanted to start blogging (here) and vlogging (youtube). I wanted to be organized and on-trend. Early in the month, my band worked really hard on producing our single in preparation for its release on Valentine’s Day. 

I ended a toxic relationship with a guy I really loved, and that was hard to do right off the bat in 2018, but I was determined to get better. I started spending a lot of time with my roommates and other friends. I wrote this reflection in my journal in January: 

“I’m so glad I spent time with Kendyl, Daria, Jacob and Kaleb. I’m very pleased with the amount of homework I’ve accomplished and that I have gone to my classes AND begun to exercise!”

This is one of my favorite photos taken in January. I was really down about losing a close friend, and I went to an ice cream/live band karaoke event at my college. A few friends and I started spontaneously dancing to Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA,” and I had a ton of fun. 

Lucky me! In the span of a week, one of my close friends, Jacob, asked me to be his girlfriend, AND my best friend came to surprise visit from Kentucky. 

This is my best friend, Connor! 

February

February was truly a bit of a mad-dash of always trying to rehearse for my upcoming senior recital, while balancing my schoolwork, 5 jobs (really!), my friendships, and navigating my new relationship. 

Somehow, I managed to pull through and make it to Daria (my roomate)’s birthday party, audition for commencement concert, introduce Jacob to my family, and I even took a trip down to St. Louis to visit my dear friends Luke and Alyssa, while also getting to see Jacob’s WGI competition. I was even on an intramural volleyball team!

March

March taught me much about failure. I had been practicing night and day for my recital. It was supposed to be shared with my friend Nathan, on March 26th. I failed my recital hearing a week prior, and had to reschedule for April. You may be thinking, “big deal,” but I had never honestly put in the work for something and just failed. There were times in my life where I hadn’t put forward my best effort and then not accomplished my goal, but this was the first time I had really worked for something and then failed anyway. It was extremely disappointing, but even in the midst of my hard work and failure, there was time for smiles. I spent quite a bit of time in Michigan meeting Jacob’s family for the first time, I learned how to shoot a gun, and I performed in 4 concerts despite my recital being postponed. 

April

If you thought March was wild, well hold onto your hats! In April, I was out of town the 1st-2nd, 6th-9th, 16th-17th, 20th-23rd, and 29th-30th. In that time, I also had to perform my senior recital, direct my drama class showcase, and take all of my finals. Here’s an excerpt from my planner that month:

“This was hands-down the most stressful month of my life. I was traveling nonstop. I truly don’t think I could’ve done it any differently, but I certainly don’t wish to repeat it.” 

My sister Phoebe turned 3!

The awesome group of students I got to travel with all those times!

Some friends and I at our volunteer showcase!

I got to go with my best friends to Senior Banquet.

I surprised Jacob in Ohio for his birthday; he had no idea and it was a great day. Totally worth it to be there for him.

I got to sing in chapel for the first time during our last week of school. It was such an amazing experience to do it with some of my best friends!

My wonderful friends from praise team and I after my senior recital! It was so fun to get all dressed up and show everyone what I’ve been studying for 3 years! I wore the same dress to sing in commencement concert.

May

Ahh. May. Such an incredible release from the tension that had built up over the late winter/early spring. I opted out of my choir trip which was sad, but I needed to spend the money on some summer courses. I only traveled a little with the praise team. I was honored with the privilege of singing a solo at our Baccalaureate service. I got to spend so much time with family, too!

My birthday!

Some awesome friends at our senior class event! We released paper lanterns.

Just before the Baccalaureate service. I had allergic conjunctivitis but my friends and family were so helpful with the eyedrops!

My close friends from home celebrating my birthday!

June

June was bittersweet. A wonderful month with wonderful weather, but my dear Great Aunt Ann passed away. It was hard on my family, especially my grandmother. Ann was so positive until her last breath, and an inspiration for me to live my life to the fullest.

I ran my first race ever, a 5k, in honor of my friend Cheyenne who passed away from osteosarcoma. 

I went to Cedar Point for the first time! It was rainy, but we had so much fun!

We had a great Father’s Day weekend.

Jacob surprised me with tickets to my first ever baseball game! We had seats right above the dugout for the opposing team. There were peanuts everywhere, but I lived!

Gus and I had a great time at Prairiefest!

Not pictured: applied for and accepted a position as music teacher at Parkview Christian (more on that later)!

July

More summer shenanagins!

I took my final trip with Praise! 

Independence Day was spent with close friends!

My great uncle retired and we got to sing “Yesterday” by the Beatles together.

We had some family visit from Florida and we got to go to the Field Museum in Chicago. It was my first time (that I can remember).

The lovely Jen Heim did our family portraits and they turned out absolutely beautiful!

Here’s me doing... yep, you guessed it! goat yoga.

August

August is where the rubber really met the road for me. I had to grow up so quickly. It was like life just smacked me in the face, and I had to decide what kind of person I was going to be moving forward. So, I decided to be the best version of me I could possibly be. I didn’t get there, and I’m still not there, but I’m sure as heck trying.

I started my first full-time job as a music teacher. I way underestimated how difficult it would be. I’m so thankful for the job and for the opportunity, but I won’t lie, it’s been a scary and difficult transition. I feel I was very underprepared for the job and very overwhelmed by it, but I made it through the month alive, with a lot of things learned. 

I got to see my first DCI competition with some friends from Olivet!

Through the hardship, I was so thankful to be leading worship 5 times a week at that point. I needed the constant lyrical reminders of God’s faithfulness in all situations.

I got a haircut to make myself feel good. It worked.

I got to sing at my lovely friend Alyssa’s wedding!

My car was totaled in an accident that wasn’t my fault. Just another thing in the dumpster fire that was my life!

I got one relaxing trip to SBR with my highschool students. It was so needed!

September

When life gives you lemons, sometimes making lemonade takes too long and you need to just eat them plain.

I lost a lot in September. My identity was no longer as a worship leader, a college student, a singer/performer, a girlfriend, and probably half a dozen other things I’ve forgotten about. I had to start finding another identity: one marked by my traits alone, and not my circumstances.

I lost a lot of weight. It was time to take control of my situation and my health! I didn’t want to wait for the new year to have a new me.

I paid cash for a new (to me) car! It sucked that I had this expense out of nowhere, but it felt great to be able to afford it.

My favorite thing about myself in hardships is how inspiring it is. Whenever life gets me down, God gives me a song to sing. It reminds me of one of my favorite Psalms:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

I’m so glad for all the creativity He gave me that month.

My best friend had a murder themed birthday party, of course! I was Courtney Love because... duh. She totally killed Kurt Cobain.

My brother, the soccer star.

Spending time with old friends at the Sandwich Fair!

Unfortunately, it was time for me to give up my position at First Baptist of Kankakee. I loved my church so much, and I still adore the people there, but I knew it was time for me to move on and meet other Christians in my area. I still hold them so dearly in my heart!

It felt so good to start gigging again, too! I played with my band, Vinyl Fox, twice, and with another combo with some friends from college. 

October

I got to go back down to Olivet for Homecoming weekend! 

My friend Ricky and I went to a banquet (for my friend from THE CHURCH I JOINED)!

My family at Halloween!

Pumpkin patch with the kiddos!

Luckily, my job became easier with time. I also started grad school! 

Gus, being a star.

November

A total blast. I spent so much time improving myself and becoming the person I want to be! It feels GREAT!

I got to spend so much time climbing at First Ascent. My climbing partner and I started actually leading routes this month and we progressed so much! I conquered a lot of fear in that area. I also met my friend Celeste! (The girl in the picture with me).

Alex Molica did a makeup demonstration on me, and I was thriving.

My family had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving in DISNEY WORLD!! So cool!! 

I spent so much time in the city! I kind of fell in love with the train rides home at night. I visited friends (and Sophie, my sister), participated in my first beginner comp (The Humblodt Rumble), did the Sendsgiving challenge (and WON a prize!), and even got to bring my cousin climbing with me!

December

DECEMBER. How could the year have come to a close so quickly? Well, I’m certainly not where I thought I’d end up. My vision for my life and for my future has gone through incredibly major shifts over and over again this year. But then I finally realized, I don’t know what the future holds, and I can’t know. So I need to just stop trying to know. It’s time to let go. I had been holding onto some things so tightly in my life this year - things that were really precious to me - and by doing so, I choked them out. This month I feel I’ve finally settled more into my adult life. It’s truly surreal to have just released songs (that will get its own blog post later), for real this time. I got to see one of my favorite bands, WALKTHEMOON. I celebrated a close friend’s wedding! I even directed all of the Christmas programs at school (while incredibly sick) and they went well! 

WALKTHEMOON!

Gus’ first Ninja Warrior competition!

Yes, I changed my hair again. What can I say? I get a rush from surprising people.

MY NEW MUSIC!!! (Thanks to Elijah Svoboda and Scott Miller! The best producers and musicians in the WORLD!)

Oh yeah, and I’m dog sitting for the holiday.

To wrap it all up and stick it under a tree, 

New year: better me. 

I can’t wait to keep learning and growing and changing in 2019. I’m so ready for whatever God brings my way!