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blueskiesandstarrynights · 2 years

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Rant about something from Hatchet field I wanna learn

Alrighty so initially this was gonna be about the time travel presented in time bastard, but I’m gonna put that in the time travel essay I promised val that I’ll tag you in (if you’re interested) but then I decided I wanna talk about holloduke and how I’m gonna relate it to dorace

So holloduke is the ship name for Ms. Holloway and Duke Keane. Wanna know what Ms. Holloway’s first name is? Me too. Anyways, if you wanna frame their relationship based on tropes to get an idea, it’s basically an incredibly powerful and bad ass woman and just a guy who loves her very much. We first meet them in Witch in the Web where Duke is the Foster’s assigned social worker and he brings in Ms. Holloway to help Hannah with a witch/black and white problem. Ms. Holloway is a witch with a hinted at shady past that we all want to know about, but that’s now what I wanna talk about. What I want to talk about is their second appearance in Killer Track from nmt s2. So, uh, if you care about that, major major spoiler warning.

So Killer Track is about this song that’s being spread through town, and anyone who hears it dies exactly one week later. One of the kids Duke looks after, Rose, heard the Track and has been having violently negative reactions to any kind of speaker all week, the screaming song following her around. Duke hears her side of the story and decides to bring in Ms. Holloway. She casts this spell that projects her consciousness into Rose’s a week ago when she first heard the song, so Ms. Holloway has the curse now instead. Her plan is to cover all objects that produce sound and hope for the best, and she left a note for Duke in case anything happens to her. Long story short, she dies, is carried away in an ambulance and is very Distraught. When he gets home, he remembers her note which basically read “kay so I'm not dead, don’t call an ambulance and just wait a couple hours.” Thoroughly confused, Duke sneaks into the morgue and after wondering what he’s doing here, she sits up with a gasp and hey would you look at that, she’s immortal! (I’m sure you can see where I’m going with these comparisons, both couples have an immortal partner) Duke is very much Freaking Out bc while he knew she could Do Stuff, this whole coming back from death thing is just a little too out there for him, poor dude. Ms. Holloway sits him down at her diner that I so desperately want to eat at and starts to explain-

And concludes her tale. Duke is confused, she hasn’t said anything, but she points out the discrepancies; the eaten pie, the rising sun. She’s been talking and explaining everything for the past couple hours, but part of this shifty deal she made ages ago, no one can know her past, so every time she tries to tell someone, their memories of it get released, and ohhh here comes the angst. Just imagine having centuries of experience, having done some shady stuff, made some shady deals, seen things no one ever should, and she can’t even tell anyone, can’t tell the person she loves and trusts more than anything. Forever alone (and she gets more alone dw 😈)

Anywho, Duke and Ms holloway work together and stop the killer track the day is saved, yada yada but the real important part is after. So the two are out on a lake enjoying the fireworks (cuz they stopped the killer track at a festival) and Duke wonders how she's going to explain she's still alive, and Holly (I'm gonna call her Holly for easy sake) says she's gonna let Ms. Holloway stay dead. Duke nods and suggests she change her name, change her hair, before she interrupts and says shes not changing her hair, it's been like that since the 80s and it's incredibly rad (she didn't say that last part lol) and now dukes confused and points out how everyone will recognize her and this is when she gets sad and so do I. People won't remeber her, and neither will Duke. He'll remember Ms. Holloway and how she was a good friend who died in the diner. He won't remember her powers. He tries to protest, but she asks him if she can say good bye, leans in, kisses him and vanishes. He opens his eyes, and she’s gone. He can’t remember what he was doing out here. He hears a boom in the sky. Oh yeah. He was watching the fireworks.

I want you to know I am UNWELL AND CRYING AT THAT LINE. "oh yeah. He was watching the fireworks" has given me permanent emotional damage and I will never recover. I just-

Idk if the line has the same impact only being read, but when that line was spoken I broke.

Anyways, months later, Duke runs into Ms. Holloway, now under the pseudonym Ms. Holliday, and as he walks away, she quietly says "Bya Duke" and she's got such a sad smile on her face and I just-

I actually wrote a one shot detailing her pov and like what I imagine her internal thought process was as she fell for Duke despite knowing she'd have to reset her identity here

Anyways, onto the dorace comparisons-

Imagine Horace trying to distance himself, but failing, not wanting to be selfish, but can't help it as he once again falls, and falls hard, despite it being unfair to the both of them. Imagine Horace wanting so bad to tell him something, anything but unable to, wanting to tell Douglas story after story without him forgetting everything he just said after.

Anyways I love holloduke so so much and I desperately want to get an actual backstory for Ms. Holloway and I love talking about them. Sorry if this got long but I am Many Thoughts head full about them.

#lrefmm #asks #marie (champion of making plankton a tumblr sexyman)#hatchetfield #holloduke #ms holloway #duke keane #nmt2 spoilers

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thesportssoundoff · 5 years

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“A great card on the 4th Of July weekend? Feels good man” UFC 239 Preview

The UFC PPV schedule rarely gives us goodies back to back but we all have to admit that UFC 238 and UFC 239 may be on paper the best back to back cards since December when we got Ortega-Holloway and all the madness under it with a pretty damn good Jones-Gus headlined show. As is becoming the case, the UFC has stacked yet another Jon Jones card as our International Fight Week festivities come to a close with the stupendously intriguing fight card. The headliner pits the greatest fighter of all time vs the most violent fighter of the modern era in a fight that'll be weird and wacky if nothing else, the co-main event could in theory be a fight to determine who the greatest women's mixed martial artist of all time is and while this card clearly has been dinged by losing JDS vs Ngannou, it's hard to argue with Diego Sanchez vs Michael Chiesa, Jan Blachowicz vs Luke Rockhold and even Jorge Masvidal vs Ben Askren should be pretty intriguing. The prelims are neither good nor bad; they feel like a mix of proven veterans (Gil Melendez and Alejandro Perez) testing potential future something's (Song Yadong and Arnold Allen) plus Marlon Vera fights are never boring. Throw in Randa Markos vs Claudia Gadelha and some intriguing prelim stuff and it's a damn fine card. Let's take a fightin' journey together.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Julia Avila

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 3 (Sean O'Malley OUT, Neholin Hernandez in vs Marlon Vera/Francis Ngannou vs Junior Dos Santos MOVED/Melissa Gatto OUT, Pannie Kianzad IN vs Julia Avila)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 12 (Jon Jones, Thiago Santos, Holly Holm, Amanda Nunes, Jorge Masvidal, Jan Blachowicz, Luke Rockhold, Diego Sanchez, Michael Chiesa, Gilbert Melendez, Randa Markos, Claudia Gadelha)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1) (Gilbert Melendez)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 7 (Jon Jones, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Santos, Edmen Shahbazian, Arnold Allen, Yadong Song, Amanda Nunes)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 26-12

Jon Jones- 2-0 Thiago Santos- 8-1 (!!!!!!!) Amanda Nunes- 3-0 Holly Holm- 2-2 Jorge Masvidal- 2-2 Ben Askren- 1-0 Jan Blachowicz- 4-2 Luke Rockhold- 1-1 Michael Chiesa- 1-2 Diego Sanchez- 2-2

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Welterweight- 3 (38) Light Heavyweight- 2 (27) Women’s Bantamweight- 2 (10) Bantamweight- 2 (33) Women’s Strawweight- 1 (18) Middleweight- 1 (21) Featherweight- 1 (30)

Lightweight- (42) Heavyweight- (18) Flyweight- (8) Women’s Flyweight- (18) Women’s Featherweight- (6)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (17-39)- Julia Avila, Nohelin Hernandez

Short Notice Fighters (16-23)- Nohelin Hernandez, Pannie Kianzad

Second Fight (38-12)- Ismail Naurdiev, Pannie Kianzad, Ben Askren

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (12-23)- Holly Holm, Luke Rockhold, Gilbert Melendez

Undefeated Fighters (24-26)- Ben Askren, Edmen Shahbazyan

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (9-8)-

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”) (17-13)- Holly Holm, Luke Rockhold, Pannie Kianzad

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Two of the UFC's biggest title fight "upsets" on paper happened on the big July PPV with DC KO-ing Stipe and Weidman KO-ing Silva. That's not even to account for Nunes finishing Meisha where Nunes was a slim underdog on paper. Can Santos or Holm find some magic in those numbers?

2- So how fun does Jon Jones want this to be necessarily? Make no mistake the path to victory for Jon Jones is versatile but the easiest one involves Jones wrestling Santos against the fence, making him pay with dirty boxing, taking him down, getting to mount and going for the rear naked choke or hellbows. The reality though is that Jones is not the same super explosive freak of nature athlete and while he may have slowed somewhat, he's probably never been more cerebral and calculated in the cage. He doesn't have those big offensive explosions anymore and he has decided to take things slowly and pick his shots. Removing the DC head kick KO where Jones had a fair bit of trouble and had to adapt in a grueling fight, all of Jones' fights since 2014 or so have been paced so much better where he allows his range and reflexes to shut down an opponent's offense while relying on a long jab and some of MMA's best footwork to punish them from a safety zone. HE chooses to operate methodically and force an opponent to will him out of that. So how fun does Jones want this to be? Will he take his time or will he try to be flashy?

3- One of the weirder knocks I've read recently about Jones is the idea that he's not exciting anymore. While I can agree he's more methodical, I find it hard to believe people could assume he's "boring" now. Either way I wonder if the UFC picked Santos over other fighters (Dom Reyes namely) because they figure Santos win or lose will bring a fight to Jones and they'll have something to talk about.

4- Holly Holm vs Amanda Nunes is interesting in large part due to the dueling narratives at play. If you're a Holly fan, so much of Nunes' vulnerability (cardio, the ability to fight with tempo deep into a fight, her adaptability) will be tested by Holly Holm. Holly always comes in with a pretty solid gameplan and I'd imagine they have plenty of Amanda's tendencies down pat heading into this fight. A win over Nunes and Holly Holm If you're a Nunes fan, Amanda Nunes could in theory be the first woman in the UFC to KO Holly Holm which would only cement her legacy further. Finish victories over Holly Holm, Cyborg Santos, Germaine De Randamie and Meisha Tate would pretty much make her in the running for greatest mixed martial artists ever and as previously discussed elsewhere, she'd have wins over six former UFC champs (Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, Holly Holm, Ronda Rouse, GDR and Meisha Tate) with a win over Holm. It has the makings of a kinda blegh fight on paper since Holm tends to be in those kinda fights but it's such a significant fight for both women.

5- I feel like so much of this fight revolves around who does what first; how quickly does Holm start to circle aimlessly because she has no entrance offensively vs how quickly is Nunes fading back against the fence looking for counter opportunities because she's flummoxed/hurt/stunned?

6- Is Luke Rockhold under more pressure than any other fighter here on this card? A win and Rockhold is probably the #1 contender since Dominick Reyes is MIA currently, Jones just dusted off Anthony Smith and Corey Anderson is never going to get a title shot by virtue of being the decisionator. If Rockhold beats Jan then he's probably got a clear runway lane for a title shot. Conversely if he loses, Rockhold would be 1-3 in his last four fights with soul crushing losses in back to back fashion in TWO weight classes. That's the end of the line for a dude who can go be a model, right?

7- I know it's exciting for a lot of people but you can't convince me Askren vs Masvidal isn't going to be like Maia vs Masvidal aka a very long way to go for a 29-28 split decision where Jorge Masvidal feels like he was robbed.

8- Michael Chiesa looked really good at 170 lbs and it's a bit of a shame he didn't get a really important step up in competition for his encore performance. Instead Chiesa gets Diego Sanchez who is coming off two wins BUT both of those wins were pretty limited in terms of opposition. This is still the same guy who gets smelted by any sort of striker with frequent-ish regularity so I'm imagining that Chiesa has a round or two to find Diego's chin and pick up a big time win on the biggest show of the year thus far.

9- The ESPN prelims have two fights with some intriguing upside potential on paper if you're the rambler gambler type. Claudia Gadelha is a healthy favorite over Randa Markos but there's two factors at play that I'd be concerned about; 1) Claudia Gadelha's rapid decline and 2) Randa Markos' weird ability to win fights she shouldn't win. On the other hand as good as Yadong Song has looked in his fights, he did struggle somewhat down the stretch vs Vince Morales when Morales began to go to the body more often. Alejandro Perez is one of those dudes who stays just active enough to be a high profile spoiler and this has some spoiler potential on it.

10- CHITO VERA IS BACK!

11- Is this the last time we ever see Gilbert Melendez in the UFC? I'd imagine Coker would happily do Chandler vs Melendez, right?

12- Ismail Naurdiev is the guy who basically survived the Michel Prezares clusterfuck and lived to tell the tale about it. He's back vs Chance Recountre in what HAS to be a showcase fight.

#MMA #UFC #UFC 239 #Jon Jones #Askren #Thiago Santos

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spiteweaver · 6 years

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Hollyhock gripped the hilt of the knife with robotic numbness. Warm blood had begun to seep into his tunic, and stained his fingers red where they met. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled gasp, the faintest whisper of his husband’s name. A single confused sob escaped him, and then he slumped forward.

The room exploded into chaos.

Abaddon was on Solaire before anyone could think to restrain him. In draconic form, Solaire would have been no match, but under the guise of their glamours, Abaddon struggled to pin him down. A swift strike to Solaire’s temple ended the confrontation.

“Move,” Isaiah said, and Abaddon dragged Solaire’s unconscious body back as the doctor knelt at Hollyhock’s side. “Hollyhock, can you hear me?” he asked. Hollyhock stirred only slightly in response. “Abaddon, help me with him. We need to get him to the hospital.”

“What about Solaire?”

“He’s fine where he is. Hollyhock’s our primary concern.”

The exchange reached Dreamweaver through a dense fog. The sight of so much blood, blooming from the belly of an innocent, had blanked their mind. Hollyhock was no warrior. He should have been at home, tending his herb gardens. Instead, he lay in a pool of red, his eyes glassy, his heart slowing with every labored beat. Each breath could be his last.

Use me, the nightmare implored, I will track your enemy to its nest. Use me.

“Dreamweaver...”

Crucis’ hand on their arm brought them to a dazed attention. He clutched their sleeve tightly, his knuckles white with exertion. “Put me to sleep,” he said. “Abaddon had the right idea; we can’t be used if we aren’t conscious.”

Dreamweaver did as Crucis commanded without a word, and he went slack against them. The Arcane emblem upon his forehead glowed with a faint light, but it was merely the remnants of their enemy’s attempt to breach his mind. Satisfied with their work, Dreamweaver turned to Abaddon and Isaiah.

“Go,” they said, “do whatever you must to save him. Solaire and Crucis sleep; I will see that the rest of our Arcanite brethren do as well.”

“I’ll take Hollyhock,” Banrai offered as he trotted breathlessly into the den. Noting the look of cold panic on his mate’s face, he was quick to add, “Winter returned just now through the back. He’s with the twins, and Abaddon should be here with Jorah. Let me take Hollyhock.”

“How did you...?”

“The whole house smells like blood, Dreamy.”

Dreamweaver nodded stiffly, and Banrai took Hollyhock’s lifeless body from Abaddon. Hollyhock was awake, but only just, his eyes rolling in his head as he searched for his husband. “Solaire,” he said weakly, “is he...?”

“Don’t speak,” Isaiah chided.

“He’s fine, Holly,” Banrai said. “Worry about yourself first.”

“What can I do?” Abaddon asked. He had returned to Jorah, who reached instinctively for his grandfather’s hand to hold, a familiar warmth beneath his fingertips to ground him. Again, Abaddon’s expression melted into one of tender affection. “Whatever it is,” he said, “we can do it together.”

“Abaddon, you’re Light-aligned,” Dreamweaver said. “It may be best for you to keep your distance. Jorah, I know you have no alignment, but if by some chance Junior returns, he will most likely come here. His family should be here to meet him.”

“You’re sure?” Jorah said. “There’s more that I can do. I want to help.”

“The best place for you is where Junior will be able to find you easily,” Dreamweaver insisted. They cupped Jorah’s cheek in one hand, and gripped Abaddon’s shoulder with the other. “I will return shortly,” they said, “hopefully with Junior at my side.”

“No need.”

The front door slammed open, and Atsushi stumbled into the den, struggling under Junior’s weight. His face was red with exhaustion, sweat dripping from his brow; he carried the scent of the summerlands on him. “Met him in Aphaster,” he panted, “he’s possessed.”

“I knew it,” Jorah said, “I knew that wasn’t da.”

“Whatever’s inhabiting him worked some tricky bit of magic,” Atsushi informed, heaving a relieved sigh when Abaddon took Junior from him. He rolled his shoulders, popped his neck, grimaced. “I wasn’t quick enough to stop it, so I knocked him out--er, I mean--”

“I won’t hold it against you,” Abaddon said. “It needed to be done.”

“What did you learn from it?” Dreamweaver asked. They pressed the back of their hand to Junior’s forehead. He was burning with fever, most likely a result of battling his possessor for control. Abaddon sat with him on the couch, resting his son’s head in his lap, while Jorah clasped his hand with desperate strength.

“It’s divine,” Atsushi said, “but it claims it is not one of the Eleven.”

“Do you believe it?”

“Yes.”

“A twelfth deity?” Abaddon said. “Rumors of a twelfth have always been popular among occultists and conspiracy theorists, but there’s never been any proof.”

“I don’t think it’s so much a twelfth deity,” Atsushi clarified, “as it is what would have been one. It spoke of a rivalry with the Arcanist, said that He cheated it out of its throne. I have a theory, but no evidence to substantiate it.”

“Let’s hear it,” Dreamweaver said.

“It’s possible that the Arcanist was not the only divinely powerful being born of the apocalypse that ended the Second Age,” Atsushi elaborated. “The Starfall Isles are enigmatic, even to their residents; there are many ancient beasts inhabiting them that we know of, and many more that we do not. This entity could be one of the latter.”

“Great,” Abaddon said, “how do we stop it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Atsushi’s gaze wandered to Crucis, then to Solaire, marked with his lover’s blood. “Whatever magic it unleashed will drive Arcanites to violent madness,” he said. “I saw nothing amiss when I arrived, but I imagine that will change soon enough, especially if Glamour is affected.”

Jorah leaned in, touching his horn to Junior’s forehead. He wished that he could heal as a unicorn did, but his father’s face remained hot, his eyes darting restlessly beneath their lids. There had to be something more that he could do. There had to be something--

JORAH.

“Yes?” Jorah looked up at the calling of his name, but Abaddon, Atsushi, and Dreamweaver remained deep in conversation.

ILLUMINATOR OF THE HEAVENS. CHILD OF THE BLACK SUN. SON OF--EXACTLY HOW MANY TITLES DO YOU POSSESS, BOY?

He hadn’t been aware he possessed any titles, being far too young to have earned them. The reverence with which the voice spoke them made Jorah blush, even more so when he realized who it must have belonged to. “Can I be of service?” he asked.

Now his elders had grown quiet, and were watching him with wide, curious eyes. “Who has touched you?” Dreamweaver asked. “Is it the Lightweaver?”

“No,” Jorah said, “I think it’s the Arcanist.”

YES.

“Yes, it is.”

YOUR FATHER WAS FOOLED. IN HIS SLEEP, THE FALSE PROPHET CALLED OUT, AND SHARD ANSWERED HIS PLEA.

“He’s saying that da was tricked by some false prophet,” Jorah relayed, “who cried out in his sleep. It must have mimicked a Call; that’s why da went to the Isles.”

WE WERE BORN OF THE SAME CATASTROPHE, BUT WHILE I PURSUED KNOWLEDGE, HE PURSUED POWER. I USURPED HIM FOR THIS REASON, ELSE WE MAY HAVE RULED TOGETHER.

“You were right, Atsushi.”

Atsushi couldn’t help a small grin, which faded promptly with a look from Abaddon. “Of course I was,” he mumbled under his breath.

JORAH, YOU MUST BRING SHARD TO ME AT THE OBSERVATORY.

“No,” Jorah said, so defiantly that Dreamweaver felt faint. “You aren’t taking him like you took papa’s father.”

I DID ATTEMPT TO BRING HIM INTO MY REALM WHEN HE ANSWERED THE FALSE PROPHET’S CALL, BUT I KNOW NOW THAT IT WAS A MISTAKE ON MY PART. THE FALSE PROPHET WOULD ONLY SEEK ANOTHER VESSEL. I WILL NOT FORCE SHARD INTO EXALTATION.

Jorah sensed the truth in the Arcanist’s words, and gave a solemn nod. “He wants me to bring da to the Observatory,” he said. “Will you heal him? Can you purge the prophet from his body?”

I CAN, BUT I REQUIRE YOUR STRENGTH TO DO SO. YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION UNTO THE GODS. SOME MAY CALL IT A WEAKNESS. I CALL IT A BOON. ONLY THOSE WITHOUT ALIGNMENT, WHETHER BY BIRTH OR BY CHOICE, CAN WITHSTAND POSSESSION BY THE DIVINE. IT MUST BE YOU.

“Alone?”

NOT NECESSARILY. IF THERE ARE OTHERS AMONG YOU WITHOUT ALIGNMENT, ENLIST THEIR AID.

“What is He saying?” Abaddon asked. “Surely He isn’t suggesting you face the bastard alone.”

“No,” Jorah said, “but I can only bring certain people. You can’t come, aba, and neither can papa. The false prophet could possess you both, but he can’t possess me--or Atsushi.”

“Me?” Atsushi squeaked. He tried to back away, but Abaddon caught him by the arm. “Oh, no, no,” he said, “I’m sure the Arcanist would rather anyone else. I nearly killed Crucis, and I used a piece of the Seat to do it. I should, ah, stay here and, er--”

“You’re going,” Abaddon said, “and if my grandson comes back with a single scratch on him, I’ll send you back to Spellwall Isle in a pine box. I shudder to think what that lunatic, Sadalbari, could do with a necromancer’s corpse.”

“You really must learn to ask nicely,” Atsushi grumbled.

“Who else, dear?” Dreamweaver asked.

Jorah crinkled his brow. He wasn’t spoiled for options. Most who spurned the Eleven would accompany him only under duress, and perhaps not even then. He would have to rely on the unaligned, his kin. “I need Penumbra and Holloway,” he said. “Penumbra’s alignment has been all but erased by the Shade, and Holloway had none to begin with.”

“I will fetch them.”

“Wait.” Jorah, who had appeared so self-assured a moment ago, now looked to his feet shyly. “There’s someone else,” he muttered. “You aren’t going to like it.”

Dreamweaver steeled themself. “Who?”

Taking in a deep, bracing breath, Jorah met Dreamweaver’s gaze. “I need Abraxas.”

@nostlenne @sophiellum-fr @serthis-archivist @airris-fr @reanimatedfr @jollyroger-fr @megane-pigeon

#flight rising #fr #zach writes #clan feldspar #feldspar lore #c: jorah #c: abaddon #c: junior #c: atsushi #c: dreamweaver #chapter: false prophet #i love how solaire and crucis are just passed tf out on the floor

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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Trying To Figure Out The ESPN+ Debut Card

Joey

October 22nd, 2018

The UFC's debut on Fox is pretty well documented; a rushed on paper, disastrous in reality debut that probably set them up for this long up and down rollercoaster with way more downs than ups in the grand scheme of things. They moved a big money title fight off of a PPV in ONE California market to go to ANOTHER California market. They rolled with one fight, putting Bendo vs Clay Guida (a #1 contender fight) on basically a remote internet stream with the likes of Cub Swanson and Joey Beltran. The reality is that everything that could've gone wrong ultimately did go wrong for the UFC and some would say they never recovered.

On the other hand, the UFC's debut on FS1 was a total success. Despite being down to its third (fourth maybe?) option for a main event, the UFC's debut on FS1 featured just the right amount of big names, just the right amount of marquee fights and JUST the right amount of high profile performances to be a success on all metrics. It was a gate hit, a big hit with the ratings and helped launch careers for dudes who are still major marquee attractions today like Conor McGregor. In many ways, it revived the career of Chael Sonnen as well after getting finished two fights in a row. It took everything the UFC did WRONG for it's Fox debut and corrected it and granted, it also had the benefit of nearly two years worth of tinkering.

The UFC's debut on ESPN+ will probably not fall on either of those tiers. This is not going to get, I figure, the big UFC on Fox treatment. Similarly, it's probably not going to get the level of attention and care that the FS1 launch show got. Remember the UFC's not trying to establish a presence on a new network with a major event nor is it trying to launch a start up sports channel. In my estimation, the UFC and ESPN+ is a marriage of convenience on an platform that probably will greatly benefit from UFC content----but doesn't exactly need it. The UFC is giving ESPN's subscription service up to 30 shows a year which is absurd if you think about it. The UFC is going to give ESPN+ 30 nights of content and when you work out the math of how many weekends there are in a year crosschecked by how many shows the UFC is providing PLUS 12 PPVs? It sure feels like this is about quantity and not quality.

That in turn sets me up to the UFC's debut on FX. At the time, the long play was the UFC moving to FS1 when that was ready to go which is why the UFC agreed to basically give away shows on what was then Fuel. The short play was to just try and drown viewers at home with content on FX. Remember that for the time the UFC was on FX, there wasn't much in the way of consistent programming. There were test shows on different days/nights/hours to see what would stick and what wouldn't stick; shows on Wednesday, back to backs on Friday and Saturday and at least flirtations with events on Sunday. FX was the content home of the UFC but the quality was hit or miss, sometimes even feeling like that was the case by design. In fact let's just take a quick peek at the UFC's debut on FX from January 20th, 2012:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_on_FX:_Guillard_vs._Miller

Of the main card, only ONE fighter remains in the UFC; Jim Miller.

Four of the eight main card fighters were coming off a win in the UFC previously; Josh Neer, Mike Easton, Christian Morecraft and Duane Ludwig with just TWO of those guys

The ONLY fighter to fight for a title off of that show; Khabib Nurmagomedov in his UFC debut

Of the prelim slate; only two of the losers wound up fighting in the UFC again (Pat Schilling and Kamal Shalarus)

Not an impressive showing from the UFC. The UFC's first foray onto Fight Pass is equally disappointing although to their credit, the reason that card even wound up on Fight Pass was that Fox didn't want it and they had trouble shopping it around to other avenues to hold the event. That plus the incoming WWE Network led to UFC Fight Pass and a show that's...well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_Fight_Night:_Saffiedine_vs._Lim

It's not AS bad I suppose. Kyung Ho Kang, Max Holloway, Hyun Gyu Lim, Mairbek Taisumov and ever Strasser Kichi all had good runs. Even Macho Bang gave us the first ever acknowledged fixed fight in the past like 5-10 years!

The whole point of this insane history lesson is to try and pinpoint what the UFC's first card on ESPN+ will look like. We have a brief glimpse into what it might look like for ESPN; PVZ vs Rachael Ostovich is officially a go go, rumors of Wonderboy vs Lawler continue to float around and Romero vs Costa is apparently in the works for the same event. With four fights scheduled for the main card, everything else after that is pretty much just eye wash. We can tell they're going to go all out and with rumors of TJ vs Cejudo happening in January at whatever PPV that might be plus Colby vs Woodley, we can kind of see what their PPV outlook might be as well. With shows in Brazil and Korea planned for February, it sure seems like the UFC has some international draws they're going to be using elsewhere right?

Given I'm the mock guy here, I figure I'd mock up what I would do if I was planning my first ESPN+ card! We have no date and no locale but that's not gonna stop me! One thing of note before we lead into this deal is that the head of the UFC's international stuff whose name absolutely escapes me said recently that ESPN+ cards will still have main card and prelim slates because they air internationally. If you've ever watched a Fight Pass card you know that the international set up for those best resembles what you'd get from old school UFC events (4 fight main card with an endless assortment of prelims).

Ready when y'all are:

Main Event Middleweight Darren Till vs Anderson Silva

The immediate thought process is "I imagine the UFC promised ESPN+ a title fight of some kind!" but I'd imagine the title fights that fit the bill off the jump are booked up. We've got Cejudo vs Dillashaw in 2019, Rose is expected to be out a bit longer into 2019, Colby vs Woodley is going on PPV and so what remains is a quick turnaround at 125 lbs or an interim 185 lb title fight. Probably not happening either way. We KNOW Anderson Silva is coming back in January since he confirmed it recently. The UFC clearly has no problem rolling Anderson out onto Fight Pass since they twice were set to do so; once vs Bisping (which we got) and once vs Kelvin Gastelum (which got nixed). ESPN+ is bigger than Fight Pass by any conceivable metric imaginable so we're not out of the realm of possibility to think that he could fight on ESPN+. With Till likely back sooner than later and Anderson Silva confirming his own return date, why not? The general argument would be that nobody in the US knows who Till is and I get that but Anderson is still pretty popular no matter what metric you use (he was probably the rare "co-main that outdraws the main" when he helped Holly and GDR do 200K buys in Jan of last year) so why not? Darren Till is coming off his highest profile fight yet (in a loss but still) and if he's serious about 185 lbs then there's no more high profile fight than he vs Anderson Silva. It's a good way to get him back on the horse in a big way while giving ESPN+ a big high profile main event.

Co-Main Event Featherweight Cub Swanson vs Jeremy Stephens

Riding a three fight losing streak, I think we're officially into the "Now Cub Swanson gets really good again" territory. Similarly Jeremy Stephens saw all of his momentum come to a screeching halt vs Jose Aldo in a genuinely fun first round battle that saw both dudes get rocked. Two top 10 FWs on the wrong side of 30 and coming off a loss? Sounds like a totally fair match up to me. This IS a rematch from 2014 when Swanson seemed to be crawling ever so closely to title shot contention and Stephens was coming off wins over Darren Elkins and Rony Jason. Both fighters might not have improved much since then but we at least can assume Swanson has declined JUST enough to put this fight into a more reasonable territory for both guys. Winner stays relevant and loser has to make the choice between sticking around and switching weight classes I guess.

Strawweight Mackenzie Dern vs JJ Aldrich

I'm still of the belief that there is an audience for Mackenzie Dern out there. It IS very concering that Mackenzie Dern went to the UFC Performance Institute in July or so to get cleared to resume her career at 115 lbs----and still hasn't emerged in any capacity yet. Dern is who she is; a natural athlete and tremendous fighter instinctually who has zero commitment to MMA. That doesn't matter since coasting as an elite athlete is what makes MMA what it is. JJ Aldrich is on a three fight winning streak, trains with Rose Namajunas and is one of those tough gritty grinder-y types who Dern should be able to run through if she cares.

Lightweight Jim Miller vs Nik Lentz

I'm not 100% sold that Miller's last performance is a sign that he's "back" or whatever the case may be. I like Jim Miller though and coming off a win, he's got relevance in this division again. The man with arguably the toughest resume in LW history vs Nik Lentz coming off a devastating destructive KO of Gray Maynard feels like a fun enough fight, especially considering both guys are coming off finishes. This is the sort of fight you go "That hasn't happened yet?" and then scratch your head.

Prelims

Lightweight Charles Oliveira vs David Teymur

If it's true that the UFC had the choice of an unbooked David Teymur vs bringing in a guy off a card and they chose the latter (James Vick) to face Justin Gaethje then I'm beginning to wonder if they're a touch confused as to what they have with Teymur. He came in hot as a tremendous kickbocking talent knocking dudes out but has slowed into a more methodical consistent paint by the numbers striker who utilizes fantastic footwork and range. That gets you wins (and Teymur has been fantastic vs guys like Drakkar Klose and Nik Lentz) but it can also cost you momentum in a 155 lb scene where finishes make you sparkle. Oliveira vs Teymur feels like a fun little striker vs grappler match up and both guys are on hot streaks. I would view this as similar to a mid card FS1 fight on a PPV card which makes it a perfectly fine "prelim headliner" (for international fans) for this card.

Welterweight Diego Sanchez vs Peter Sobotta

I'll take "Fights that probably should've happened in like 2011" for 500. Peter Sobotta's UFC second UFC run is the world's biggest most absurd smoke and mirrors run in history. The only win who remains in the UFC is Ben Saunders although who knows how much longer Killa B will be actively competing for. The losses were borderline non-competitive blowouts vs Kyle Noke and Leon Edwards where Sobotta was stopped pretty much at the horn. Sanchez just won so he's going to continue fighting so you might as well use him I guess. Feel like this is a SAFE fight for both dudes.

Heavyweight Stefan Struve vs Junior Albini

With the UFC apparently heading overseas in February, this fight might be better off elsewhere (Europe? Brazil?) but with Albini and Struve on losing skids and neither one looking too hot on the process, this feels like the perfect little "Okay so who wants to actually fight more?" type deal. Struve vs Arlovski would make sense to if you want to keep putting poor Andrei through such abuse.

Featherweight Gabriel Benitez vs Rick Glenn

The man known as "Moggly" has probably been, at least for my money, the most surprising talent out of TUF LAM Season 1. The somewhat raw Benitez has faced the likes of Enrique Barzola, Andre Fili, Jason Knight and capable vets like Sam Sicilia and Clay Collard while somehow bringing back a winning record in the process. The logjam at 145 lbs suggests there's really no rush in ascending him but Benitez vs Rick Glenn sounds like a fair enough fight for both guys. Glenn is coming off a "win" vs Dennis Bermudez and is at the very least a capable competent mid tier featherweight who can outmuscle and outheart dudes. It's a pretty fair fight for Benitez all things considered.

Lightweight Desmond Green vs Clay Guida

Poor Des Green. Maybe this was always destined to be his lot in life/the UFC but thus far he's the guy they task with giving tough fights to tough guys overseas who wind up missing weight on him. Coming off a game effort vs an overweight Mairbek Taisumov, Green deserves an easy touch. The problem is there really isn't a such thing as one unless yer dusting off the remains of some old fogey and I'm not about to do that to anybody. Instead give me Green vs Clay Guida who is still pretty damn solid despite coming off a loss to Charles Oliveira in a fight he just blindly rushed into a guillotine for.

Women's Strawweight Livia Souza vs Angela Hill

Y'all cool with running this one back? The first fight was pretty good and I think Hill has officially solidified herself as a good strawweight who has some room to grow but is probably always going to linger in the lower half of the top 10/15. Souza is coming off a dominant easy win over Alex Chambers where she wasn't tested much/at all. This feels like a fair enough fight for both ladies and I'd imagine anybody who saw the first one won't get hurt with seeing a rematch.

Women's Bantamweight Lucie Pudilova vs Gina Mazany

It feels like the UFC has about 12 women's bantamweights on their roster tops. Mazany and Pudilova are both coming off losses (of different quality of course), tend to stay active and the winner will find a spot.

#MMA #UFC #ESPN+#Anderson Silva #Darren Till

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thesportssoundoff · 7 years

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

Flyweight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Easy enough!

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

Seems easy enough here.

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

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

#MMA #UFC

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