#ya ya clinched it...this is the destination

[ignitionxblast]

One For All Paradox || AU

Plotted AU Starter for @kibouhero​

Katsuki didn’t know how long it had been since that day. And, to be honest, he didn’t want to think about how long it was. The thought only made him feel weak for not being able to do anything.

And now here the blond was walking up to the now abandoned general hospital. It had been awhile since anyone had gone into the building and Katsuki was glad he wouldn’t be dealing with anyone as he walked inside. He had a goal -- a destination -- the old lab that All For One’s fuckin’ doctor had used. As he made his way through the decrepit building and actually not using his quirk if he had come across blocks in the path. And instead opting to cautiously climb over it if he could, or just straight take another path if necessary.

Getting to where the old morgue was located, Katsuki pushed open the door -- as it swung before falling off the hinges to the ground. “tch..” was all that came out of his mouth as he walked into room that lead out into a corridor linking now abandoned rooms. 

“...fuckin’ bastard.” He stated out loud referring to the old doctor, though no one else was there with him to reply back.

After a walk down the corridor, Katsuki got to what he had assumed was the ‘main lab’ room -- despite how decrepit and destroyed the place was from the lack of use. Clinching his jaw in frustration as he walked past containers that had once held the damn nomu.

“...there’s gotta be something fuckin’ here.” He said after finding the shelves of stored quirks.

Searching through all the labels on the shelves, he finally found one that he was looking for. “fuckin’ knew it.” he stated, grabbing the one labeled: ‘Time Loop’. However, as he did his other hand reached into his pocket, and pulled out a syringe needle.

Filling the syringe up with the quirk cells, he held the item in his right hand, “I ain’t lettin’ that damn nerd die again.” He exclaimed before jabbing himself in the arm with the needle, watching as the quirk was injected into his body from the syringe.

Once the syringe was empty, he pulled the needle out of his arm as he winched while the quirk was settling. Clutching at his left wrist, as he tried to get control of new quirk that was now inside his body. “I need this --” He exclaimed, causing an explosion from his hand that was aimed at the ground before the spot that was destroyed was looped back to normal.

Once he felt like he had gotten control of the new quirk, Katsuki smirked, “time to save that fuckin’ nerd’s ass.”

The blond activated the ‘time loop’ quirk and in a flash felt himself spiraling through the space / time continuum before being shocked back to reality. 

-------------------

As Katsuki looked around, spotting the ‘extras’ that hung around him in junior high behind him. "Can’t ya extras spend the day without tailing me?” Katsuki questioned, trying to make sure he kept up his middle school attitude before he took off running in the opposite direction. 

He needed to find Deku -- the blond needed to get to him before All Might could, Katsuki had learned the route that Deku took home when they were training. And so once he finally spotted the back of the familiar green hair that belonged to his childhood friend, Katsuki sighed with relief before yelling to get his attention.

“OI, YA DAMN DEKU!”

[emisonme]

Señorita..................

My opinion on this song, is already known, but I will reiterate...This is Camila's song. She wrote it. She wasn't allowed to release it on her album, or under her current image, so she turned it into a duet with Canada. It's a win,win. She gets her song out there, and they both benefit from it. I love the song, and I wasn't even all that put out by the video.  There were moments I actually laughed out loud, at his awkwardness.

Camila wrote this song, about the same person she has written the majority of all her songs about, thus far. Listen to NBTS, Consequences, Bad Things, Into It, Find You Again...etc, then listen to Señorita. They all pretty much express the same subject matter, about the same person. The same person she has been writing songs about, since she was 16 years old.

I'll go as far as to say, this song, is a more mature revamped version of "Like Friends Do", that she wrote when she was 17 years old. She did say, she was going to take concepts from songs she wrote when she was younger, and rework them. Señorita, to me, is one of those songs.

One more thing, before we dive into it. Camila said she KNEW this song was going to piss off SOME of her fans. I ask you, which fans do you think she KNEW this duet with Canada, would upset? Ewmila shippers? There weren't any. Shmila shippers? Why would they be pissed? They are getting exactly what they want, at the moment. Camilizers? They are getting new music, so they can shut the hell up, about not getting any new content. The General Public? They could care less. They just want good music.

There's only one group of her fans left. She knew, this duet would send some of her LGBTQ+ fans, specifically fans of Camren, into a pissed off frenzy. She knows her fans well, because she was right.

It's unfortunate people couldn't see through all the bullshit, because Señorita is a really good song. Camila is wonderful at telling a story through her lyrics, and she likes to make you feel and think, right along with her.

One of the things I find interesting, is Canada's verse is filled with the pronouns her/she. On the flip side, Camila's verse, chorus, and outro (but for the one line of his), is all gender neutral, with you/ya/me/I. His part is memories  about them. She is directly talking to them.

Another interesting thing, is the way the first line is constructed. To comma, or not to comma, that is the question. Without the comma, Camila loves it when she is called Señorita. With the comma, Camila loves it when her Señorita calls her. The latter makes more sense, with the rest of the song, considering she is in a hidden/closeted relationship with them.

So, Camila loves it when her girl calls her, but at the same time... [[[ I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya, but every touch is ooo la la la, it's true la la la, Oh, I should be runnin, but oh you keep me coming for ya.]]]... She wishes she could at least pretend she didn't. In other words, this crush is crushing her, and she's having a hard time pretending that it isn't. (see what I mean about how easy it is to make the connection)

But, every time Lauren (her crush) touches her, it shoots feeling to places that does not help the situation. Yep, sure does. She knows she should be running from her feelings, but damn it, Lauren keeps her coming right back.

Time to reminisce about the past. The first half, of the first verse, is very reminiscent of their first encounter. There was something about Lauren, (we all know what it was) that gave Camila a strong desire to walk up to this girl she didn't know, and complement her. We all know what she wanted to complement, but the quick thinker she is, she complemented Lauren's shirt, instead.

Camila was so enamored by Lauren, she felt the need to also complement her voice and her beauty, to her mother. (That should tell you something) Everything about Lauren,  had sweat dripping off Camila, before she even knew her name. It made her feel like, ooo la la la!!!

The second part of the first verse, is memories of yet another time and place. [[[ Sapphire and moonlight, we danced for hours in the sand. Tequila sunrise, her body fit right in my hands, la la la, it felt like ooo, la la la.]]] Kind of like, "sneakin in LA when the lights are low, off of one touch I could overdose." (there's lots of NBTS similarities) Honestly, this could have taken place in LA, Miami, or even Puerto Rico while they were out skinny dipping, for all we know.

The funny thing is, the MV depicted none of this. We got the scenes that lead up to the lyrics. There was no sapphire moonlight (consequences video anyone). You could hardly call what we seen, dancing, let alone dancing for hours in sand. There wasn't even any damn sand.

Let's put aside the characters that were being played for the public. Camila has never been a waitress, and the way Canada was jerking those handlebars on that motorcycle, I'd be surprised if he's ever really driven one. Thank God for green-screen, or they'd both be in trouble.

Instead, let's focus on what the MV is actually showing us. It's showing us that two people were like "holy shit", at first glance. When they seen each other again, they were both interested, but one was more confident about their feelings, than the other. One walked away. The other was all, "nope, not giving up that easy", and waited for the other. They walk away, again, but the other is like, "wait.  I'm into you, you're into me. Don't let fear stop us from exploring these feelings." The other gives in, and they are off...Sounds kind of familiar, when you pay more attention to what we are being shown, instead of who we are being shown it by, doesn't it?

Now, we get the chorus, again, but this time we get the added line, [[[ I wish it wasn't so damn hard to leave ya.]]] They are now, spending time together, exploring their feelings for each other...But they are doing it in secret.

Camila reiterates this in the second verse. This verse is describing a physical, but closeted/secret relationship. It is also chocked full of sexual innuendo. Fair WARNING...when I get into the second part of Camila's verse, I will take it there. I'm going to go where the lyrics are taking me. So if you don't like sex talk, you might want to skip it. I'll WARN it again, before I write it.

Before I get into the second verse, let me explain who is playing who, in the video, and when. When Camila is singing, she is playing herself, and Canada is playing Lauren. When Canada is singing, he is playing Camila, and Camila is playing Lauren. Remember, this is her song. When you re-watch the video, with who is playing who, and when, it all makes a lot more sense. Except for the nightclub scene and hotel scene, the video is showing us what we know, the lyrics are telling us what we didn't get to see. Got it?

Moving on. Lauren finally gave in to her feelings, but not her fears. That's why their physical relationship was secretly hidden behind closed doors. (The Industry is the other reason, and why it is still being hidden behind lies and stunts)

[[[ Locked in the hotel, there's just some things that never change. You say we're just friends, but friends don't know the way you taste.]]]

Like I said, Lauren gave into her feelings, but not her fears. She wanted to be with Camila, but she wanted to hide it, especially from her family. So, not only was their physical relationship conducted in the closet, or behind locked doors, but she was also telling everyone, especially her family, that her and Camila were just friends. That is one of the worse feelings. It sucks!!!

In my Consequences post, I mentioned, there comes a time when being in a closeted relationship, becomes tiresome and toxic. This is especially toxic, when one of the partners is actually out of the private closet, and is basically being forced back in.

This is what I think Camila is referring to, when she said Lauren says they are "just friends". I don't think Lauren was hooking up with Camila, in hotel rooms, and telling her, "hey girl, don't catch feelings. We are just friends, nothing more. Now, get over here and let me stick my tongue down your throat." She was telling EVERYONE else, they were just friends, out of pure fear. (Most of us can relate to both sides of this coin.)

Here's where their relationship went from PG13 to NC17. It went from secret crush, to mutual crush, to make out sessions behind locked doors, to...ooo la la la.

[[[ Cause, you know it's been a long time coming, don't ya let me fall, oh]]] Yep, it went from making out, to a lot more. They both knew it would get to this point, eventually. Camila just hopes it would mean something to Lauren, instead of her freaking out and regretting it, leaving Camila to fall... alone.

WARNING.................... Now we get to the sexy sexual innuendo......[[[ Ooh, when your lips undress me, hooked on your tongue. Ooh, love, your kiss is deadly, don't stop.]]]

Oh yeah, Camila went there. This isn't describing some hot and steamy lip lock, with tongue wrestling involves. This is describing sooo much more.

Undressing someone with your lips, is so much fun, and being undresses by someones "kiss" is damn near torture. It's when you kiss  your way from the lips, to the jawline, down the neck, over the collar bone, to the twin peaks that are waiting for attention, down the torso, to your ultimate destination, and where she needs you the most.

Once the tongue gets involved, it's the "deadliest kiss" that you don't want to end, but leaves you quivering and weak. It makes you out of breath, clinched fists, arched back, and legs uncontrollably slamming closed around their head. And, if you are lucky, you get to paint her in your golden kiss, with honey dripping from your lips. Yep, another connection made, and she did go there. (I'm just going where the lyrics take me, folks. No hate!!!) .......................

Moving on. Now that we know what the lyrics are telling us, what is the video showing us? The video is showing us, two people that are nervous and scared... but ready. They both know, if they go there, there is no turning back.

Lauren is sitting on the bed. (forget Canada taking off the shirt. That was nothing but fan service) Camila is nervous, but she knows, she is the one that will have to take control of the situation. Be gentle, and reassuring. Make Lauren comfortable with the situation. move forward, but let her ultimately feel in control. (she loves control, after all)

Camila walks up, and coaxes them along, by pulling up on the chin. She takes a deep breath to steady her own nerves, then makes the ultimate move that takes them forward. She pulls up for the kiss that creates the ultimate feeling of desire, and makes Lauren forget all about her fear. She feels in control.

Then we get the chorus and the outro. The line [[[ I wish it wasn't so damn hard to leave ya.]]] They spend the majority of their alone time, locked away, living in their own little fantasy land. Eventually, you have to leave the room, and go back to the fucked up world, of reality. It's so damn hard to leave that room, and go back to pretending to be "just friends".

The outro tells us, [[[ All along I've been coming for ya. and I hope it means something to you]]]. It has ALWAYS been Lauren. Camila just had to wait for Lauren to accept herself, and her feelings. She just hoped, when they took their relationship to the next step, Lauren wouldn't regret the hell out of it.

Again, the video shows us, what we already know. There wasn't necessarily regret, but there was a bit of a freak out, and Lauren "ran". She didn't really run away from Camila, she just had to take some time to think, and figure her shit out.

Camila, picked herself up, pulled down her skirt, and waited......We all know, eventually, her Señorita figured her shit out, and ran right back into Camila's arms.

[iwannafuckyexiu]

A TEASE A DAY BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO YOUR DEATH  005

FACEPALM-KUN AND THE ABANDONED RAMEN between the yandere, sunshine boy, tsundere, shy boy, kuudere, which one would you choose?

Y/N stretches his arms, yawning as he makes his way towards the school gate in a drowsy approach. He ended up getting home by eleven thirty at night and stowed into the arms of Morpheus at two in the morning, scrubbing off the filth on his body before he went to sleep - which took the most time, even more than the time used to scroll through his phone.

The mob before the school invades Y/N's sight as he walks along the sidewalks towards the gate. "Damn what's with that crowd, is like a celebrity coming to our school or something?" he mumbles, nearing the horde, he recognises them as reporters from all the biggest news platforms in Japan, "oh wait, our school is filled with celebrities."

Spotting a familiar person whilst he attempts to wedge his way towards the entrance, he taps the guy's shoulder, "Hey, blonde guy it's you again."

"Heyyy! "

"What?!" the blonde guy yells through the rowdy flock of reporters, head yanking in Y/N's direction, his brows crumpled up and his eyelids tapered as he tries not to get squeezed to the side by the others.

"You know what's going on?" Y/N squints his eyelids as he gestures towards the mass of people in front of the school gate with his chin.

"I don't know, look yourself!"

The blonde guy tweaks his head back and thrust himself through the reporters with brute force, Y/N closely tracking behind his back, hand suspended mid-air throughout the entire fatiguing process of mashing into people and making an attempt to enter the school grounds without letting any reporters in.

"Wow, intense exercise early in the morning," Y/N comments as he walks along the corridor to his class with the blonde guy beside him, not minding that his uniform is wholly crinkled up and hair coiled with strands poking out, an untroubled grin stretches his cheeks.

"Oh, here's my stop, I'll see you later!" they pass by the class 1a door and Y/N bids his farewell to the blonde guy with a blow kiss - in which the latter clicks his tongue then turns his head away to (his scarlet neck rats him out).

Katsuki sits in his seat, his head lowered whilst he passes time with his phone in his palms on his table blatantly when a book is flung into his vision. He curls his hand into a fist and bashes the table, clacking his tongue in crossness.

"Who the fu-"

"Yep!" a radiant voice inserts before he can finish his sentence, even without looking up, Katsuki can pretty much guess who it is from the tonality and 'harmonious' book on the table.

"Midnight's lookin' hot on the cover there, don't ya think? " Y/N says as he bends over to flash a teasing smirk at Katsuki, crooking his head to the side, a brow raised at him.

Katsuki 'hmph'ed at the remark, ruby eyes never veering to look at Y/N, mumbling so tacitly that Y/N can barely hear it, "Fucking pervert." That's something new from the usual 'asshole' and 'fucker', Katsuki's updating his vocabulary too, damn.

To his unfriendly words, Y/N only lets out a faint chuckle, he sparingly flicks the side of Katsuki's head, "I heard that." Katsuki doesn't yell or shout at him for the action but he scowls and responds Y/N with a middle finger - which the latter gives a classic wink to.

"Aye Izuku," he greets as he strides towards his next target he is going to scourge. Y/N ruffles through Izuku's fluffy broccoli curls with one hand and the other chucks a long cardboard tube at the boy. "Here's an All Might poster since I couldn't bring the ice cream," he answers when he sees Izuku's puzzled cast on his features.

"Thanks!" Izuku says, dipping his head to convey himself, the corners of his eyes curving into arcs as wells as his pinkish lips.

"Also," Y/N begins while he tows a seat from the currently empty desk beside, straddling the chair with his arms tending on the top rail, "did you speak to that hedgehog there after school or something yesterday?"

"...how did you know?" Izuku first nods his head then twists his head and questions Y/N, green pupils peering agape at him.

"Saw it when I was running to work."

"Ah ... yeah, he said he's going to be number one from now on."

"Ahahahah, sounds like him," Y/N quenches a howl as he peeps at Katsuki from the side, visualising him shouting at Izuku like a tsundere schoolgirl: 'I-I-I'm going to be number one from now on, don't you bastard underestimate me!!'. The imagination of Katsuki doing that is too wicked, too wicked - Y/N heaves a sigh to himself at the overly whimsical thought.

"Also-oh, Aizawa's here I'm gonna go back."

As Y/N's words died down, he inches his way to his seat at the back of the room to prevent that yellow condom from calling him out for not being in his seat again, he's not one for attention you know.

"Good work on yesterday's combat training, I saw the video and results," Aizawa heaps slight praise to his students, his hand setting down his stack of papers on the desk at the front. "Bakugou, you're talented so don't act like a kid," his sagging eyes slothfully roves to Katsuki as he speaks of him briefly, gaze full of disdain.

"I know," Katsuki shifts his gaze to his left whilst he says with an overt frown, leaving the rest of the class dumbfounded at his unexpectedly composed temper.

"Hey slap me."

"Ow-oh my god, it's real."

"And Midoriya," Izuku instantly straightens up and tucks his arms atop his lap at the mention of his name from Aizawa, "you settled it by breaking your arm again, huh? You can't keep making the excuse that you can't control your quirk. I don't like saying the same thing over and over again. But as long as you fix that issue, you'll have a lot of things you'll be able to do."

"Feel a sense of urgency, Midoriya," Aizawa winds up his remarks on Izuku, in which the boy replies him with a firm 'hai! ', gushing with a youth's determination.

"Now let's get down to homeroom business, I'm sorry I didn't warn you beforehand but today I'll have you ..." letting his voice dwindle off, Aizawa has everyone put their heart in their mouths.

"Is he gonna say that he's resigning?"

"...Decide on a class representative."

Everyone sets about hoisting their arm up and screeching for Aizawa to pick them, almost sounding like a certain 101's theme song: "pick me! ". To all the ruckus going on in the classroom, Y/N just huddles his head between his weaved arms on the desk and sinks into sleep's deadly arms.

"Silence!"

The class quietens down at once straight after Iida's shout, and all eyes are bonded to his now-standing figure. Iida clinches an arm high up in the air but interposes to his classmates, "This is not something that just anybody could do! This is a job that requires leadership skills! Everyone's trust in you is required in order to be a good leader ... so we should vote! "

"Why did you suggest that?"

"We even don't know each other very well yet, how are we supposed to trust?" ribbit ribbit queries, stoking up the other students' pertinent comments.

"Everybody's gonna vote for themselves anyway."

"That's exactly why the person with most votes should become class president," Iida prods up his glasses with his fingers, the lens glistening in the artificial light, he turns to Aizawa (who's nearly asleep), "don't you agree, sensei?"

"Tsk whatever, just choose one before class ends," Aizawa says moodily and zips his yellow sleeping bag up to return to his slumber, making sure it's soundproof.

So everyone agrees to use the method Iida suggested. One after another, they walk to the front to vote for the most suitable person to be class president, including Y/N who awoken when Iida silenced the class. And too waspish from his interrupted nap, he scratches his mark beside the first name he sees on the blackboard and walks back to his seat as if a zombie.

Bypassing to when they reveal the final results of the mini-referendum, Izuku got three votes, sealing his class representative position, and Yaoyorozu got two votes, making her vice president.

"Deku? Who voted for him?!"

And Katsuki is back to his regular self, brimming with rage. The class now think that maybe a calm Katsuki isn't that bad, they want that him back.

、、、

"That took too fucking long!" Y/N grumbles to the mustard and ketchup duo as he cautiously rambles towards the table they're on, balancing a warm (and heavy, Y/N doesn't forget to mention) bowl of noodles on his tray.

"You could've chosen something else to eat you know ramen's one of the most popular choices between students," Denki pokes fun at him with a suppressed smile by his lips, then giggling at the boy's strange posture while he settles the tray onto the table.

"I was just craving it too much, after rewatching Naruto and Shippuden over last night."

"Ai ..." Y/N emits a lasting and theatrical sigh, he sways his head at Denki. "You won't get it, bro," he says perplexingly, acting profound and inscrutable to the two.

"But I get you," the ketchup of the duo who has been silent for the past conversation finally speaks, giving the male opposite him a 'yes I get you bro' expression which Y/N responds with his hand pounding on his chest lightly.

Y/N lifts his chopsticks up, dredging up a clump of noodles from the soup, ready to eat it all up when a resonant toll sets off within the canteen.

"Just as I was gonna take a sip," he snarls and tosses his chopsticks in the bowl, pressing his lips together as he gets up from his seat, "Shitting hell, in the single moment I just blank out a bit they all run out."

Y/N ventures out the canteen and around the hallways, he attempts to pinpoint where exactly the others are but he only ends up astray from his destination. And on the fourth time of laying his eyes on the same wall after roaming around, again and again, his mentality snaps.

"AHHHH, DENKI YOU FORGOT TO BRING ME ALONG!" Y/N howls in the hallway to his heart's content, off-track in his breakdown, not noticing the presence nearby, "first I don't get to eat my ramen, then I get lost." He leans against a wall and slouches down to perch himself on the ground slowly, the lesions from the day before twinging as his skin smears against the solid surface.

"What fucking sorcery is this?!"

Finally quelling down, Y/N turns his head to skim his surroundings when a dim figure by a wall grasps his eyes, he shrinks his eyelids at the direction, "Hold on, is that a person there?"

"H-"

"You better shut your fucking mouth up or I'll disintegrate you," before he even speaks the silhouette lashes out at him and shows himself from the shadows.

His voice is husky, coarse and guttural, but tone simmering through into Y/N soul with spite and malice. Giving a hasten glimpse at his appearance - slender yet fit figurine, unkempt but appealing ultramarine locks - Y/N supposes the face behind those slightly greyed but dainty and slim fingers is not bad too.

"Okay, okay," Y/N says in a reposeful manner, taciturnly distancing himself from the clearly perilous man just close by, his features malformed into a grovelling cast.

"Tsk tsk tsk, looks good but seems too yandere," Y/N mutters in a low tone, darting a sidelong glance at facepalm-kun, his tongue pricking out to moisten his chapped lips.

"What?"

"Nothing." Y/N works towards a canon ball shape, burrowing his head further into his knees to minimise his existence to the brink.

The man hums shortly then reaches his hand towards Y/N direction, he intimidates him, "Don't tell anyone about me, or else ..." His single veined eye pops in Y/N direction menacingly, sending the latter's hair and goosebumps raising in cold blood.

Even when Y/N sets back to his class, he can still recollect the blood-curdling aura the man dispersed from a single stare. Worn out from the taut tension with the man before, Y/N drapes himself across his desk as he gapes at one place blankly until Denki calls him.

"Y/N! Y/N!"

"Where did you go just now?" Denki asks, eyes enlarged at Y/N's figure without the slightest cut since he didn't find him beside him during the drill, which gave him a great shock.

"Oh, uh ... the bathroom you know, I had to pee real quick," tilting his head to the side to act above suspicion, he gives Denki an answer full of faults.

But Denki doesn't uncover him, he plaits his fingers through Y/N's hair, tousling his curls, he says to him with fondness. "You're lucky it's just a fraud or you might just get in trouble with the villains."

Hahhahhahahhahaahhahaa.

He did.

"But it's a fraud this time, so I'm fine!" Y/N draws a viscid grin to show, he lifts his brows at Denki and provokes, "see, you can pinch me to test!" Denki hoists a hand up and harshly nips at Y/N's waist, muting his laugh as he sees the boy's twisted expression from the force of it.

"Ow ow ow! Not that hard!" yelling at him whilst also smacking his hand away repeatedly, Y/N gnaws on his bottom lip as the mark throbs for a few seconds, his E/C irises blazing holes through Denki.

"Hm, just as noisy as always," Denki jokes with him, stroking his chin with two fingers in a pondering position.

"Tsk."

"Oh, there comes Aizawa, I gotta go back to my seat."

"Talk to you later, see you~"

"Can I say something?" Izuku steps up all of a sudden, fists clasped by his sides, chin tipped upwards with determination. "I think-I think that Iida is more capable for the position of the class president! He managed to calm the crowd down during the drill, so I think he's the most suited for this job," the poor boy's body quavers slightly as he announces to the class, eyes meandering everywhere.

"I agree with Midoriya."

"Me too, Iida was kinda a good leader just now."

"Like everyone literally just stopped talking when he flew up and said his thing."

"Same."

"Alright, if you're all done with that, then listen to me." Everyone hush down at the din of Aizawa's sluggish voice.

"We'll be participating in a rescue simulation for your basic hero training class," Aizawa starts lazily, ignoring everyone's roars at how excited they are for the event and resumes to speak, "this time you can decide whether you will wear your hero costume or not, because for some people it may be restricting."

"We're going there by bus since the training is going to be outside of the school grounds," he explains whilst he removes his hands that were propping himself up from the desk.

"That's all, now get ready."

TO NOTE

soooo updates are gonna be slower after this chapter because my holiday's ending! yayyyyyyy

but yeah updates will be slower and most likely too slow.

[fallen029]

The Good Mistake

“It was like living in a dream,” Lisanna whispered softly. “Not a good dream or a bad dream, but a dream you thought you wouldn’t be able to have anymore, that you wouldn’t see again, but then you open your eyes and...and… And there’s everyone, every single person you thought you would never see again, just right there in front of you, smiling at you, happy to see you. It was the best….worst...dream I’d ever had.”

Natsu only sat there thought, silently, watching. Listening. It wasn’t odd for him to be doing the former, but to also be accomplishing the latter simultaneously was reserved for only the most important of occasions. Or, honestly, this occasion only as even in the most dire of times, listening and keeping his yap shut weren’t too simple for him. For Lisanna though? After all these years, for Lisanna?

He’d do anything. Just to keep these moment going.

“I guess I should have been happy,” Lisanna sighed, just a bit as she looked off, away from him for the first time. “That I wasn’t turned into, like, some sort of toad or something. You know? Like if the other world was all toads? Could you imagine?”

She was joking, of course, and she grinned from the thought, but when Natsu was so serious it was hard for him to crack one of those. Everything had been so jovial, the past few days, as they celebrated not only the return of Lisanna, but also then return of them all, honestly. He was pretty beat up, Natsu was, from both the only just recently ended adventure in Edolas as well as the fights and drinking that had gone on up at the hall since they’d gotten back.

Now, finally, Natsu and Lisanna found themselves alone, without even her siblings who, understandably, were hanging off her every breath. Happy was hard to lose as well, but this was equally as expected.

Natsu himself felt as if he was clinging to her. Who could help it? Who else would ever be given an opportunity such as this? To be reunited…to find one another again…

They were at the Strauss house where Lisanna was both part happy to find her tiny room mostly untouched as she was dismayed to realize her siblings were still that lost in their grief. Still, the familiarity and ability to, almost, just pick right back up was welcome. Though this was her home, this was her world, she was accustomed to the ways of Edolas after her time there and, well, everything felt as if it were new. No longer second nature.

Even just the feeling of her magic once more coursing through her body, constantly, was...exhilarating.

They sat on the floor, like they had since they were kids and Mira first was able to save up enough jewels for the rundown little house that, honestly, was much better than the one they’d had back in their village. If only because it had been bought by her big sis through sheer hard work, determination and, of course, love.

Even if she wasn’t the best at showing it back then.

“But anyways,” she sighed when it was clear Natsu was no nonsense (at least for the moment) before carrying on, “I just… I always knew I was out of place there. At first I thought… Mira believes, you know, in afterlife and all that? But I don’t. Do you? When I woke up there though… It felt like I’d been gifted a new chance, a way to restart. But not Heaven or Hell or anything in between. I know now, obviously, that it was just a completely other world from our own, but at the time… I know none of this is making sense-”

“No,” Natsu finally spoke and voice wasn’t in the least bit rough. It was almost soft, even, in a way he usually wasn’t too great at capturing. “You’re fine, Lisanna. Go on.”

She smiled at him then and Natsu felt something, deep in his chest he felt...a strong urge to just… It hurt. Why did it hurt so much when it should feel so good? She was home. She was back. With him. Finally. He’d found her and saved her (well, okay, fine, his actions had indirectly done so), but yet..

Clinching his teeth hard, he forced himself back into silence.

“I realized eventually, of course, what was going on, at least a little bit of it, and I had to adjust. Or I tried to. To be more like the Lisanna… The one that… But I still…” She paused for a moment before remarking, “It’s hard, Natsu, to resolve to yourself that you’ll never go home. That you’re not even sure if there is a home. Before you and Happy came into the guildhall that day, I had started to doubt myself, even. I’d fallen, you know. Their Lisanna, she fell too, to her death, and I thought maybe… Could I have hit my head? On the way down? Were you all just memories? That happens, you know, they say. That when you go into a coma or whatever, you imagine these worlds, these vivid worlds, and maybe this was the imagined one and Edolas was my home and...”

She was tearing up then and Natsu shifted on the floor so that he was no longer just across from her, but rather beside her, tossing an arm over her shoulder, as if in comfort. He didn’t think he was too good at that, comforting, but he’d try.

For Lisanna, he’d try anything.

Sniffling, she wiped at her eyes and huffed some. “I feel like a stupid little kid sometimes. Do you? Probably not. You’ve gotten so strong, Natsu, I can tell. The others have told me. And what have gotten? Even more weak. Without being able to access my magic so much over there, I feel like I’ve just withered away compared to you and Elf.”

“Don’t say that, Lisanna.” Finally, he smiled some as he said, “I couldn’t do it, you know. Go through all that you went through. To even find the strength to survive, knowing that you would never see your brother or your sister again or Happy or-”

“Or you.” When she turned her head towards him, her eyes weren’t so watery anymore. “Natsu. I… It really sucks. All of it, of course, knowing what Mira and Elf went through here...what the other Mira and Elf are going through now. Leaving Happy. Leaving everyone. Now twice. But all the things we were gonna do together, me and you, we lost so much time-”

“Two years ain’t that long, Lisanna,” he insisted to her and, as his arm fell from her shoulders, he only bumped his against hers. “We’ll have so many more now. And if you don’t feel like you’re strong, that’s okay; I’ll be strong for both of us. Out on jobs. You should see Hap, too. He’s a big help these days. And we go out with Erza and Gray and Lucy a lot now, but you can come too or just the three of us, you, me, and Happy-”

“I think Elf has me covered on jobs.” She let out one last sniffle before wiping her eyes for the last time. “He said that I’m not to go out on any jobs without him. It’s an order.”

“Well, I’m orderin’ ya to do whatever you want.” And Natsu meant that. “This is your second chance. Not his.”

“Mmmmm,” she hummed in agreement. Then, softly, she added, “I tried so hard, Natsu, to be content there. With what I had. I had Elf and Mira and...and…you, but it just wasn’t the same. I almost feel like, maybe, if I close my eyes, just for too long, that this will have been the dream. Not a good one or a bad one, but just a dream and I’ll have to leave, just like before. But where would I go? If these are both just dreams? Where would I go from here?”

“You’re not going anywhere.” His hands returned to his lap then, Natsu’s did, and he gripped at the air tightly, clinching his fists so hard that his nails cut into his flesh. “Lisanna. I won’t let you. Not again. Not ever again. Edolas was fine, I guess, for the people who were from there, but I like our world much better. Don’t you?”

She nodded softly before, with a yawn, taking to leaning up against him. Natsu froze, just from the feeling, the warmth, the comfort. He’d never thought that he’d ever feel it again, not that way. Lisanna felt it too, of course, but she enjoyed more the distinct scent that his scarf radiated, as foul as it was given the typical procrastination for laundry day it’s wearer had, and couldn’t believe that after all these years, it was just the same.

“Such a stupid mistake.”

“What?” Natsu, who’d been drifting into thoughts of all the evils in the world he would now have to protect Lisanna from, glanced down at her place at his side. “Lisanna?”

“The whole thing. If I just hadn’t… I if I hadn’t stepped up to Elf-”

“Lisanna-”

“I caused everyone so much hurt and-”

“And now it’s all better.” He felt whatever it was that had been wrestling in side him before, when he was listening to her talk about that place, dissipate and he wondered if it had only formed because even the thought of her there, with them, the other Fairy Tail, Edolas Fairy Tail who were (semi) fine people, but not them, their Fairy Tail, the real Fairy Tail, and most importantly not with him, it just….

He’d always thought that losing Igneel would be the worst thing that ever happened in his entire life. To find out that wasn’t true and now, being given the opportunity to avoid it ever happening again, just the idea that she could leave him again, that she could be taken from him again…

Of all the things Natsu was, for all his strength and prowess and ability, the one thing that held him up above others was his hope. He truly believed, in every battle and every fight that he’d ever entered, even those where he was destined to fail, that maybe, just maybe, there was a sliver of a chance, a possibility that maybe, just maybe he’d come out the victor. It’s what helped calm him, when his guild was threatened or his friends were in danger.

He truly believed, from the bottom of his heart, that no matter what, they would all end up fine. They would all turn out okay.

But with Lisanna, he hadn’t even been given the opportunity to try. He hadn’t even had the chance to save her, to protect her. And it wasn’t that Elfman and Mira couldn’t do that, hell, Lisanna herself could look out for her own well-being just well, but…

Losing her had been like losing a part of himself. A part that he hadn’t even had the chance to at least try and save. To hope and save. She was there, one day and then the next, Elfman and Mirajane were returning without her.

He’d never really weighed the cost of being a mage. Of being in a guild. He knew it, of course, had had it told to him before, but the idea that one of his friends, his best friend, his truest, closest, only real friend had paid the ultimate price…

“Yeah,” Lisanna was whispering softly to him then. “It is, isn’t it?”

“I missed you,” he told her then and pulled back some, just so that he could look in her eyes, her deep blue eyes that felt kinder, even, than her sister’s. “Lisanna. I missed you so much. Every single day. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you.”

“Why would you be able to?” she asked with a shake of her head. “Natsu-”

“Because I can save anything. I do save anything. Seriously, Lisanna, I don’t know about your Gray and Lucy, but mine need their butts saved a lot on jobs- Even Erza once, if you can believe it. I ate ethernano, just to save her.”

“People sure need you,” she conceded. “But-”

“That’s not what I mean,” he insisted. “Of course they need me and I need them too. They save me all the time. Especially Hap. And… And you will now too. Need me. Won’t you? You don’t mean that about only going on jobs with Elfman, do you?

“I dunno.” She even shrugged. “I just know that I missed you too. And I mean that, you know? Even though I got you, a different you, it still wasn't’ enough.”

“Well, no offense to Edolas’ Natsu, but he was a bit of a-”

“I thought he was kind of cute.”

It was his turn to huff, but not in annoyance, not at anything, really, but more just because this moment, living this exact moment, still was blowing his mind a bit and he wondered how long it would take before he stopped feeling this way. Stopped waking up and having to see Lisanna immediately. Just to know she was still there.

Would this be how it was, he wondered, when he found Igneel? If anything, finding Lisanna once more definitely confirmed to him that yes, eventually, he certainly would be seeing his long-lost dragon sooner rather than later.

“Wait a minute.” And Lisanna’s look wasn’t so serious any longer. “Did you just say that you ate ethernano? I mean, fire is one thing, but-”

“It’s a long story.” One that, honestly, he’d forgotten most of by that point. Boy, the months sure flew.

“Yeah,” she agreed with a nod. “I’ve been hearing that about a lot of things recently. I guess I have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Not with me,” he insisted. “Feels like we’ve hardly missed a beat.”

He held up a victorious fist then, as if something had been accomplished, while Lisanna looked passed him, reflective once more.

“I just keep thinking about how,” she told him then, “it was all a mistake. It-”

“Lisanna, you can’t keep-”

“Not about Elf,” she told him. “About… Everything happens for a reason, right, Natsu? That’s why we’re all here. Because we’re supposed to be. But what if it was a mistake? An accident? Happenstance? That I just happened to be at the right place, at the right time, to be taken up by a foreign magic, for the other Lisanna, Edolas Lisanna, to die in that exact instant that I needed her too… What if it had been the other way around? What if… What if I died? Had actually died? And she was sent here? Or if you went there, to Edolas, and I wasn’t there? And it was the other Lisanna? What then? Natsu?”

Her question didn’t make sense to him and he wasn’t even certain if it was a question at all, but rather just a rambling train of thought. Still, he shrugged after a short second of thinking before remarking, “Then nothing, I guess. The other you wouldn’t have been able to come back to Earth Land with us and would still be living with her siblings there, whether she’d been in Earth Land with us before or not.  So if it was for a reason, I’m glad for it. A happy coincidence too.”

“A good mistake,” she whispered and he nodded some.

“The best worst dream.”

They couldn’t stay there forever that day, together, away from the others, locked off in her bedroom at the Strauss’ house where nothing had changed and yet, everything was so different, but Lisanna was as happy for the opportunity just to have that moment. Even if it was only a moment. To be with Natsu like that. Again.

She knew he felt much the same.

And even if, just as they both got comfortable in the idea, as he stopped rushing to her each morning in the hall, to be certain of her, and she didn’t wake in the night, frightened that she’d find her siblings and best friend were no longer the one’s she’d grown up with, it turned out to just be a trick, just a dream, just a fantasy and things were reversed once more, then at least, at the very least, they’d been given a chance to be together again. To see one another again.

If this had all just been a mistake then, well, Natsu resounded to the idea it was the best one either of them had ever made.

Rewatching Edolas after having not seen it in a good few years. It’s still the best of the original arcs. Bet. Put me in the mood for some Natsu and Lisanna stuff, anyways, so maybe some more one-shots on the way.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Card Depth Is A Presumption You’ve Got Headliners To Begin With” The UFC 220 Preview

Joey

Jan 17th, 2018

If we learned a single damn thing in 2017, it's that undercard depth has never ever mattered as little as it does these days. Look at the cards for UFC 211 and UFC 218 then explain to me why UFC 210 and UFC 219 outdrew those. Card depth and card quality matters little to MMA fans these days, opening the door to instead debate how MMA has swung from "these are all great fights!" to "this FIGHTER is all I need to see on it!" This all brings us to UFC 220 which will likely divide MMA fans into two distinct categories:

1) This card has the biggest main and co-main event! I need to see this! Everything else is just a bonus!

2) This card sucks and if you remove the main and co-main event then it's not even worth watching on Fight Pass!

Neither opinion is wrong per se. If names and fights with numbers next to those names really get ya giddy then this show is not for you probably. It is VERY VERY top heavy and that's very true as it pertains to fights 3 to 11. At the same time, you are getting THE biggest fights possible the UFC could make at this time sans McGregor. The two best HWs and the two best LHWs on the planet who are eligible to fight (side eye to Jones) are fighting. That should be enough to sell you on this show with a lot of really well put together evenly matched fights on the undercard which have high potential for drama and violence. If you're one of those fight fans who bemoans the lack of stars then you can look at fights 3-11 as opportunities for some good young fighters to step up and elevate themselves. There actually are some damn good fights beneath the surface and I'm going to try to point some of those out.

Fights: 11

Debuts: 4 (Matt Bessette, Julio Arce, Dan Ige, Brandon Davis)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 3 (Charles Rosa OUT, Julio Arce IN vs Dan Ige/Arnold Allen OUT, Matt Bessette IN vs Enrique Barzola, Jamie Moyle OUT, no replacement sought for Maryna Moroz )

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC):  5 (Gian Villante, Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou, Volkan Oezdemir and Daniel Cormier)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Gleison Tibau, Gian Villante)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 7  (Volkan Oezdemir, Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngganou, Shane Burgos, Alexandre Pantoja, Enrique Barzola, Islam Makhachev)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 23-9-2

Stipe Miocic- 4-0 Francis Ngannou- 5-0 Daniel Cormier- 2-0-1 Volkan Oezdemir- 3-0 Calvin Kattar- 1-0 Shane Burgos- 3-0 Gian Villante- 1-3 Francimar Barroso- 1-2-1 Thomas Almeida- 1-2 Rob Font- 3-2

Too High Up- Gian Villante vs Francimar Barroso

Listen fellas, I get it. They're big guys and Villante is good for a brawl with the right opponent. Francimar Barroso is not the right opponent. He'll NEEEEEVER be the right opponent. This has all the makings of a fun round one where both guys trade, a second round where Barroso smothers VIllante and a third round where two big exhausted 205ers drag balls through some awful striking exchanges and sloppy takedowns. This fight is not a PPV main card worthy fight and I say that knowing full well that that there are not many options to take its place.

Down Too Low- Sabah Homasi vs Razak Al Hassan

An argument could be made for Alexandre Pantoja vs Dustin Ortiz which I could definitely hear you out on. The problem is that on a card with a bunch of genuinely massive human beings, Ortiz and Pantoja going from the prelims to the main card would probably just get them unneccessary angst from fight fans. Stupid but it is what it is. Sabah Homasi vs Razak Al Hassan will almost certainly be a tremendous fight of the night type brawl and I'd GLADLY welcome them onto this main card which could use a bit more oompah on it.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 0-1): Matt Bessette, Julio Arce, Dan Ige, Brandon Davis

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 0-0): Matt Bessette, Julio Arce

Second Fight (Current number: 1-3): 0

Cage Corrosion (2-3): Gleison Tibau

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- So did you know that Gleison Tiabu has been in the UFC since 2007 and he's NEVER headlined an event? Ever? Not even a free one! Dude's never even had a co-main spot! He's also JUST 34 years old which is perhaps even more amazing. I would've gone at least 10 years older without even batting an eyelash.

2- I want to use this opportunity to discuss how rare what it is we're getting here. For the first time in forever and a day, we're getting two title fights that genuinely feel like a battle of the best two fighters in their respective divisions. Francis Ngannou debuted in the UFC as an ultra raw rookie with high upside and all he's done is finish everyone he's fought from hype prospects to established veterans to top 5 heavyweights. Stipe Miocic could, legitimately, be on his way to building the greatest HW resume of the modern era with a win over Ngannou (and potentially Cain Velasquez if his body is actually capable of going through a fight camp). In the LHW division, Volkan Oezdemir has done nothing but beat top 10 LHWs since showing up in the UFC, two of those in violent dramatic fashion as an underdog. Until Jon Jones finds a way to not be some sort of fuck up, Daniel Cormier is the best LHW in the world. Simply put end of discussion. These two title fights exist in weight classes where convenience more often than not determines title shot opportunities---but these two fights are legitimately great.

3- Do NOT "get sucked" in the words of Bill Parcells. Simply put, don't even get worked into believing that either Stipe Miocic or Francis Ngannou are anything but excellent fighters in a division devoid of excellent fighters. These two guys are, without question, great fighters with skins on the wall and skills of the highest order. Don't believe Miocic was never good if he loses and don't believe Ngannou was exposed if he loses to the CHAMPION of the most hectic division in MMA.

4- Of note, Miocic has a reputation as being a fantastic wrestler. He is without question very good BUT.....the only stylistic matchup I can think of similar to what Miocic has here is when he fought JDS. He went 1-18 vs JDS in their first fight and gassed himself out spamming takedowns.

5- Curious to see how Ngannou responds to Stipe's speed because there's probably no HW who moves as well as Miocic does. It's a vastly different level of athleticism between he and Overeem.

6- We can all pretty much figure that Cormier is going to hit a wall soon. He's got decades of competing in combat sports in some form or fashion for quite a while but beyond that, his style of fighting is really not one designed for long term success. The general rule of thumb is that 37 or so is when the high level wrestler starts to break down and Cormier is 38 coming off a KO loss. This opens up a very unique challenge going into a fight vs a guy who hits really hard. Is Cormier basically burnt out from years of fighting and injuries? With Jon Jones likely to be back before we all know it, I'm assuming Cormier has to know that if he can get by Volkan, there's not really an immediate challenger who would prevent the big cash out fight vs Jon Jones.

7- DC does his best work in the clinch. Volkan seems to excel against the fence. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin' bout?

8- There are people who like to get all twisted and wrapped up in Volkan Oezdemir's UFC debut. Everybody knows it's on short notice and he gassed out. What most people DON'T know is that Volkan got the call while training to take a fight at HW so that probably had a lot to do with his general conditioning as well. He'll be at a serious disadvantage vs Cormier but I can't imagine it'll be AS bad as it looked vs OSP if we get into the 2nd or 3rd round.

9- TheAntiCool has predicted that 170 lbs is going to be the division where there's a heavy sense of upheaval with new people emerging and breaking into the top 10. I could see that but for me, I think it's 145 lbs where we're going to see a big changing of the guard. One of those figures who could potentially really take that step up is Shane Burgos. Burgos has some squintable Conor McGregor qualities, primarily in how good his hands are and how he can absorb punishment in exchange for pressure for a consistent clip before he finds you. When he hurts guys, he can either take them out or take them out of their gameplan enough to the point where he has you either 1) fighting at his pace and his range or 2) retreating and hoping he'll leave you alone long enough for you to do something to slow him down. Throw in a solid wrestling base, a great camp (Jimmie Rivera, Lyman Good etc etc) and seemingly solid cardio and you have some things that make you feel very confident in him going forward. ON THE OTHER HAND, there are some real Mike Perry qualities in his game which might make you want to hit the breaks. For starters, Charles Rosa gave him a lot of problem with volume and accurate strikes. Eventually Burgos got him when he needed to but the obvious story of the fight was that Charles Rosa had him figured out and Burgos was left trying to keep pace. You also always have to wonder about a fighter who marches forward, chin out  who relies on his power and combinations to win exchanges. Calvin Kattar, in a way at least, seemed more well rounded than Burgos in his fight vs Andre Fili back in July. Both guys are good FWs but Burgos has that It Factor where you just assume he's a guy destined for bigger things.

10- At this point, what do we say about Thomas Almeida? Anybody got any ideas? At 26 years old, Almeida has steamrolled every one he's supposed to steamroll and repeatedly and incessantly bonked his skull when he's gone upwards in the division. He didn't look bad vs Jimmie Rivera and had moments of success  BUT he was dropped seemingly any time Rivera landed cleanly and he struggled to exchange with Rivera without getting tagged. Rob Font is a bit like Rivera; the sort of guy who has all of the proverbial tools but simply can't get over the hump when he faces top competition.

11- Reminder that Sabah Homasi once ran off with a Bellator ring card girl after a show never to be seen again by Bellator.

12- Some of you guys might not have seen DWTCS (go watch it, it's fine and takes like an hr and 30 mins per episode) so lemme fill ya in a bit on some dudes who were on there who are debuting on this show:

Julio Arce- ROC champion and a guy who people have been saying would be in the UFC since about 2013. His two losses are to current UFC BW Brian Kelleher, trains with Jimmie Rivera and the crew at Tiger Schulman's. Pretty solid fighter although some may be higher than others on him. Beat Peter Petties on the show to get an eventual deal.

Dan Ige- Sort of came out of nowhere really. A solid Hawaiian fighter who is well rounded with good cardio. Fought Luis Gomez who is now the Titan FC featherweight champion on the show and beat him with a 3rd round RNC. Does seem to be a better fit for 135 lbs and I have concerns about how hittable he is.

Brandon Davis- Another fighter out of Alan Belcher's camp and you can see the Belcher influence in him. Sort of like a Jason Knight except his punches are a lot cleaner but he still takes plenty of damage and seems to relish getting into brawls. Dude had a tremendous fight to get a deal the night of against Austin Arnett. Didn't see a ton of grappling so that's a little worrisome.

Matt Bessette- Long time regional guy who fights on the East Coast, hits REALLY fucking hard and is well rounded given his 50 years in MMA. Lost to Kurt Holobaugh in a fight where he broke his hand/face but there's some controversy there as well.

Must Wins

1- Daniel Cormier

For me, Daniel Cormier's legacy is secure. He's in the top 5 of the greatest light heavyweights of all time and he's the second greatest LHW of the modern era. He's been a UFC champion (legitimately, if the former champ can't stop fucking up then you are the champ) and he's done some tremendous work in a short amount of time. Unfortunately I feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to the legacy of of DC. He just has to keep winning and if this is his final year in the sport then a loss to Volkan Oezdemir would be a pretty rough way to go out.

2- Shane Burgos

I feel like I've listed all of my concerns about Shane Burgos here but let's not mince words; dude is an amazing talent. At 26, he's got youth, high level experience and an undefeated record on his side. Burgos faces Calvin Kattar in his UFC main card debut and it's on a big show where he's going to get plenty of exposure.

3- Brandon Davis

The Tuesday Night Contender Series guys have lost before but most of those losses come from guys who didn't get original night contracts-----until Matt Frevola this Sunday. Davis is another guy who got a contract the night of and he faces a pretty stiff test in Kyle Bochniak. He'll have a pretty good size advantage on Bochniak and on the feet, I'm fairly certain he can piece him up as well. The downside is

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Stipe Miocic vs Francis Nagannou

2- Thomas Almeida vs Rob Font

3- Volkan Oezdemir vs Daniel Cormier

4- Sabah Homasi vs Razak Al Hassan

5- Alexandre Pantoja vs Dustin Ortiz

[thedenfantasyleague]

The Den Fantasy League Recap: Week 8

Fellas,

There’s a lot of moving and shaking going on right now. With the NFL Trade Deadline today and Den teams moving up and down the ranks, there’s a lot to be excited about. It’s a simple one tonight. 

Stick With Us PVO v. El Commish

Dylan got off to a big start on Thursday with a massive game from Bailey, sending his projection through the roof. The big question after a hot Thursday night start is always the same: can the rest of the squad continue the trend? For Dylan, somewhat yes. Dylan put up a respectable 96.1 points this week which could occasionally win you a game. Dylan was led by guys like Saquon (20.3), Mack (15), and Fournette (13.6) to go along with Bailey’s aforementioned 16. Unfortunately for Dylan my team kicked it into gear and exploded throughout Sunday afternoon. After being forced to start Danny Dimes himself, I was concerned I didn’t stand a chance against Dyl but my team (and Danny) stepped up. Danny (28.2), Julio (15), and Juuls (19.5) all had their best games of the season then you throw in 20 from the Pats D you have a pretty good outing. I feel like I’m forgetting someone. Am I? Oh yeah. That’s right. Tevin had a modest 35.8, scoring 3 of his 4 TDs in the first half alone. As I said, Dylan didn’t really even stand a chance with an explosion like that.

Wilmore Cinderella v. Fire Jarn

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would be this early in the season but I think we’ve reached peak Rob. In Rob’s last two games, he’s averaging 53.9 points. Add in his last three (in which he snuck out a win against G) he’s averaging 65.2 points per game. That’s an implosion if I’ve ever seen one. The only bright spot (and the only player to reach double figures) was Aaron Rodgers who racked up 27.1 points. Everyone else was a dud. In fact, not a single other player hit their projection this week. Actually, that’s not true. Alvin Kamara who was projected zero (ya know, because he was inactive) hit his projection. As one of Rob’s biggest fans, this isn’t a good look for us. JP surged to his second-highest point total on the season and has quietly worked his way into a game under .500. Although he again picked the wrong QB and the week he finally doesn’t play a Chiefs WR he ends up scoring, JP found success in big games from Conner, Thomas, Stefon, and Lions D. Two teams that were trending in opposite directions seems to have pulled a Freaky Friday and are taking on different identities.

Team Timshel v. Debbie Rowe

To sum this one up: Mike, thanks for showing up. Mike saw his record come back to 4-4 and really had a lackluster week. He did find good games from Tannehill, AP, and his kicker but other than that no other player reached their projections. The story of this matchup was Hurricane Jane. The force to be reckoned with came out like a bat out of hell this week and put up an impressive 171.7. The points came from all over but massive games from Deshaun (27.8), CMC (23.5), Aaron Jones (34.6), Kupp (28), and Mike Evans (31.8) gave him enough to beat every team this week. Can Jake keep up this production after a letdown last week? Frankly, I don’t see him losing again. Jake’s team is bred to win a championship and I may go ahead and lock that in right now.

VP v. The Perfect Ten

DON’T LE THE KID GET HOT! Miami’s own stepped up this week and continued his momentum after taking down Jake last week. There was some concern early on for Vinny as he saw Miles Sanders putting up close to 20 on his bench but he persevered. His success can be contributed to guys like Hopkins (finally), Hooper, and Jags D. The real story is the return of Brees who put up a solid 24.9 in his return. Is Vinny’s winning streak a fluke or a second-half team surging? One team we can’t read right now is E. After getting over 100 points and the win last week, he came back down to earth with a disappointing 83.2. Obviously MVP candidate (some are saying) Matt Stafford had a great game and Latavius chipped in with 27.7 in the absence of Alvin but the rest of E’s team fell flat. With E, there’s always hope he can return to glory but is this the year he just doesn’t put it together? There’s still plenty of time before the playoff push but E’s team is searching for its identity.

Kalabar’s Revenge v. Hank Mardukas

Has Kalabar lost his October-mojo? We’ve always feared taking on Kalabar in the month of October but he has lost his third straight and only won one of his four contests in the spookiest month of the year. People forget Kalabar was defeated multiple times. Speaking of Kalabar’s defeat, G and Scott’s game came down to the final whistle on MNF. G tried to make it a game with big games from Royce and Montgomery and gave it everything he had with JuJu (USC Trojans Fight On) and Mason on Monday night. JuJu (USC Trojans Fight On) fought to keep G’s week alive but came up just short. Scott has quietly worked his way into an impressive 6-2 start to his season and isn’t looking like the chump we’re all used to. Scott’s impressive week started on Thursday night with Dalvin getting 23.1 and Vikes D getting 13. He then continued on with good games from Engram and then a massive game from Golladay. Is Scott a serious contender? Is he destined to burn out? Do we live in a world where Scott could win our league? Only time will tell.

Virg. Gardening Minmaxers v. Professor Remus Lupin

Oh, Al. How did you get here at 1-7? Currently, Al is sitting at the worst record in the league and this week didn’t offer much hope. Playing without two early draft picks (DJ and Thielen), Al struggled again this week. Mixon, DJ, Titans D, and Lambo all had good games but that’s about it. Cooks got concussed, Gore, Fitz, and Ertz did nothing, and even if played the guys on his bench he still comes up short. Al’s team is in a world of hurt and he needs to start making some moves of desperation to distance himself from the Cabana. Gabe, on the other hand, has excelled since the name change as he’s won his last five. Gabe went into this week without his star RB and was still able to snag the win with good games from Goff (Bengals stink), Carson, 49ers D (who Al called the 69ers Friday night), and Zane. Chubb did give him a scare with his two fumbles but was still able to get almost 10 points. The question everyone is asking though: is Gabe good? His last three wins have been against some of the league’s worst but sometimes that’s all you need to get some momentum. He’ll take on G this week which will be my game of the week. 

We’re starting to get into Cabana Boy realities as teams may begin to clinch their safety. Al obviously leads the way but there are still a few teams behind him that, if they slide, could be in danger.

Your beloved Commissioner, 

Jared R. Mosqueda

[ladyluck09]

Sex me

Cold and blistering winds howl, piercing layered flesh. It's early December, late night and she just got off work. The walk to the bus stop was nearly two blocks, but ends gotta be met. Finally reaching her destination, she takes a seat, taking cover all the same. Placing her hand inside her inner pocket, she checks the safety on her "protection". The neighborhood, far from a bad one, but ya never know. With an earbud in one ear she's in a Pandora zone, listening to TGT radio. Listening attentively, aware of her surroundings. A few minutes go by and her bus is running late. There's no one home awaiting her arrival, so it's no problem for her to wait. In the distance, she sees a dark shadowy figure approaching her. Gripping tighter, to her gloc, she disarms the safety. Slowly, the figure gets closer ...and closer. The scent of Pierre Cardin cologne rushes past her, lighting up her eyes. It's her favorite. Before she could exhale, a voice calls out to her, "Hello beautiful. What's a pretty woman like you doing out, alone this time of night ...at the bus stop, no-less?" Already on the defensive, she responds, "How do you know I'm beautiful under all this ...and furthermore, is it any of your business?" With a grin as big as Texas, he replies, "Well, you're a woman made in God's own image, so I can only imagine. I saw you waking down I thought you might need a lil company, so I just came to see you off safely." "Well thanks but no thanks. I'm sure I can handle myself.", she says. "I bet", he mutters under his breath. "What'd you say", she ask, drawing her weapon. Before she could get it drawn he says, "Look, I mean you no harm and will jus stand over here, til your bus comes. Just as a courtesy." And for the next few minutes, nothing was said.

Feeling bad now, she looks over at the man, giving him a second look. A good look. She smiles. He looks her way and she hurriedly turns her head, looking down at her phone but still watching him. Then he says, "What time was the bus suppose to be here?" "About 30mins ago", she responds. The man walks over to the bus schedule, on the pole and reads it. "Ma'am, there's no bus scheduled for this hour." She pulls the schedule from her pocket and reads back to him, "Saturday, 12:24a, bus 622". Walking around to where she sat, he says, "Umm yea, today's Sunday. Last bus was about an hour ago." Frustration mounts as she looks at the time and date on her phone and then back at the schedule and back again at her phone. "Look," he says "I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but can I pay for you a cab and you can wait at my place or offer you a ride home? My name is Clint. Clint Nelson". "Hell naw I'm not going to your house, apartment or shit else. The fuck...? IF you want to pay for a cab, be my guest, but I'll kindly wait here." Still pressing his luck, Clint's pursuit increases. "Ok Mrs ...I'm sorry, what's your name?" he ask. Shaking her head, laughing, she replies, "Brandi". "Ok, Brandy, like the drank, I sure could use one about not. Here, here's my ID jus to settle your nerves, but I refuse to let you stay out in this cold much longer." Again, shaking her head and laughing, Brandi responds, "Like you have a choice. If anything you want some pussy, in which case, the answer is no. Otherwise, why the hell you want me in yo house so bad? No matter how good some Brandy would do me right now." Now laughing himself, small talk becoming more focused and intent, secretly agreeing with what she said, Clint looks her square in the eyes and says, "So you've already considered fucking me? I hear the truth will get you what you want a lot easier than a lie." Trying not to smile, Brandi changes the subject, asking how soon a cab could be there. Clint jus zones in deeper, "As early as the morning, if you stay the whole night." Feeling both disrespected and turned on, Brandi ask, "Saying some shit like that, how you don't know I have a gun and will shoot yo shit off?" "Well, if you wanted to, you would've already. 2ndly, if you shoot it off, you'll never know what it feels like filling you." Again, Brandi is lost for words and begins to take the bait. "Fill me? Wow, if you could get that lil muhfucca up. Boy don't play wit grown folks, it's too cold for games." "Playing? You've called me out on my intentions yet have not turned to walk away. You've threatened my life, which I take personal and will punish you for later. Still, you're still here, still talking, STILL playing games." The more he talks, the more she's drawn in, like a fish on a hook. Unable to think of a snappy comeback nor resist further, she ask, "Which is your house?" As they walk a few houses down, she never let's go of that iron, unsure of what to expect. Clint goes to open the door and ushers her inside. Removing his coat, hanging it on its coat hook, he offers to take hers. Still grasping the gun inside, chi earring from the cold, she looks him over, smiles internally at what she sees and says, "Only after you allow me to pour me some Brandy." With a reluctant pause, Clint agrees. "Ok, if you'll follow me, the kitchen is this way ...the glasses are there, the fridge is there and the..." Brandi cuts him off, "I got it, thanks." Grabbing the bottle from the counter, she pours a shot, using the shit glass that sat beside it. And then another. Apologizing, she explains that it's obviously been a long week, long hours at work and building frustrations weren't helping. "Well now that you've gotten that drank in ya system", Clint goes on, "allow me to take ya coat?" With little hesitation, Brandi says yes and turns her back to him. As she begins undoing the buttons, Clint walks over and begins kissing the back of her neck. Chills shot down her spine and the hairs on her arms stood on end. "Damn, jus like that?" she ask, with shock and awe in her voice. "If you rather I stop, I'll stop", Clint replies, still rummaging kisses about her neck and earlobes. Hands taking off her coat, hearing the weight of her firearm as it drops to the floor. Turning to face Clint, Brandi begins pulling at his zipper, lifting his shirt over his head and throwing it back behind him. Biting and licking at his nipples, she takes his dick in her hand to determine where to put it next. "I don't know you like that to be putting shit in my mouth so..." That's code for, this is too much duck to be trying to suck. Not bout to choke me. Finally and fully undressed now, Clint steps back and looks Brandi over. She about 5'4, 150 wit the the complexion of an aged Cognac, thick like pure maple syrup, and an ass that won't stop. Her curves like a trip across the state in a luxury sports car, bountiful. Lifting her into his arms, Clint places her upon the counter, taking in a mouthful of breast. Taking a Magnum from his jeans pocket, that were down to his knees, he rolls it into to place and thusly, thrust his way inside. Being that it'd been months since Brandi had actually had sex, she gasp and clinches her legs tightly around Clint's waist. Instantly dissolving around his shaft, her pussy walls grip and tighten, release. Grips and tightens and releases again and again. Throwing it back, taking all that Clint gave, her moans grow louder. Now laying back against the wall, ass barely on the counter, Clint continues to deliver. Harder and harder, each stroke deeper and more precise than the last. Reaching a point of no return, Brandi claws at his chest, gripping the edge of the counter simtaneuosly ....and jus like that, they cum together. Still pulling against Clint's push, he mutters, "SHIT ...that's 1."

[thesportssoundoff]

Ten incomplete thoughts on UFC 216

Due to work, I missed the main card except for the main event which I managed to get home in time for. Anyways here’s what I got based off of the prelims and the FX card.

1-  Demetrious Johnson is our ugly baby

This is a Jerry Jones-ism so forgive me but I think it fits if you think about it. Have you ever seen a couple that just had a baby---and the baby's ugly? To everyone on the outside, the baby is absolutely hideous looking but to THEM, to those parents, it's the most beautiful thing ever because its THEIR baby. Demetrious Johnson is our ugly baby. For some fight fans and casual consumers, Demetrious Johnson is a midget who has boring fights against limited competition with a weird personality. He lacks a demographic, a definable fanbase by which an organization can capitalize on his gifts. He's destined to be the guy or the man who fight fans have no interest in. His mere PRESENCE on a card or an event signifies skippable to them. He is almost a fan repellant at this point. He is, in many ways, an ugly baby.

But he's our ugly baby. He's the best fighter in the world as of right now. Where as other see boring fights over limited competition; we see dominant performances vs good fighters who would be great in a world where he doesn't exist. Whereas they see the hit but don't get hit style as boring, we see endless activity through a variety of channels designed to minimize risk BUT still promote action. He finishes fights. He challenges himself to be better. His dominant reign has never featured two fights alike and while you can be bored with the dominance, it's still dominance. It's still one man dominating a host of opponents of various shapes, sizes and styles. All of which unique, all of which remind you that what you're seeing is special and what everybody else sees is irrelevant. Who gives a shit if he's an ugly baby, he's YOUR baby.

Mighty Mouse, in a climate where fighting often and fighting consistently on TV isn't really worth as much as it should, will never be respected for what he is. He's our ugly baby; the thing only we can truly appreciate. You just gotta go with it.

2- The Uniqueness of Combat Sports; Good and Bad; was on display.

We begin with the good. The 1 v 1 nature of MMA (and boxing and etc) makes it so much more free flowing as to the how and why we get the matchups. There is no set schedule---so when Derrick Lewis hours before the show can't go? You just get another guy on display! Out comes Walt Harris who had a fight scheduled previously who gets bumped up the card. That's the fun thing about MMA; it's never always laid out to perfection but 9/10, it ends up being just fine. Instead of not getting a Werdum fight, we get Werdum vs Walt Harris on like six hours notice. That's really cool.

And the negative? Well in no other sport would an obvious matchup not happen on account of money. The brackets are what they are, the Yankees and Red Sox don't immediately get to play one another in the ALCS. Who wins is who wins. Tony Ferguson vs Conor McGregor is the fight to make under all categories except for one----which happens to be the biggest one. At the risk of upsetting the Nate Diaz fans, imagine if the Lakers last year took the place of the Spurs to ensure that the NBA would garner the biggest ratings for their playoffs. It'd be stupid---but MMA is a stupid sport sometimes. So we'll sit and wait to determine whether the right title fight will take place or whether the most economical title fight will take place. Either one will do.

3- Mighty should SERIOUSLY think about retiring.

There's a theory that flyweight would've had a better chance of surviving had it not been for Demetrious Johnson, the aforementioned ugly baby of MMA. Let's test that. Mighty Mouse should seriously consider pulling a GSP. Just take off for a while, work on the Fox team/whatever network is next team and provide analysis from a distance. When the opportunity arises for him to come back aka when there's a title fight that makes sense, he should return. Let's see if HE is the problem of it the division itself is a problem.

4- Tony Ferguson is a once in a decade type fighter

No, I don't mean that in the sense that he's a prodigious athlete or some special draw. He's not Conor or Ronda or whomever else has been tabbed with such a label.  I'm talking about a guy who is a fighting freak; one of those fucked up type of guys who has these fights that the average human being couldn't fathom and even pro fighters would try to avoid. He began the third round shouting at Kevin Lee about how this was going to be his round and he legit just marched dude down, ate whatever fire was coming his way, got up from takedowns and then when shit got hairy on the ground, he went elbows into armbar into triangle. Tony Ferguson fights with this unrelenting confidence and this air of inevitability. "At some point, I'm going to get you. And when I do? You aren't going to do shit about it." Ferguson isn't just a great fighter, he's a savage sadistic will breaker. You don't see guys like that come along, not in today's MMA where fans think fighters play it safe more than ever before.

5- Greg Jackson had a bad night.

I didn't see any of the main card fights beyond the main event but this goes to the Duquesnoy and the Ray Borg fight. In the former, it felt like any adjustments after the first round were nil for Duquesnoy. Unorthodox only works when fighters are afraid of it and you execute it with near perfection. The unorthodox offense and footwork of Duquesnoy was figured out pretty quickly by Stamman and the adjustments were....I unno. MAYBE Duquesnoy got some great advice and he just didn't execute on it. His third round was abysmal from start to finish and outside of Stamman nearly giving him the fight by virtue of being an idiot, it was not the performance we expected from a top prospect. As for Ray Borg? WHEN has clinching with Mighty Mouse ever worked. I watched a bushel of Demetrious Johnson fights in a row and pointed out that the clinch is where he excels---so Borg clinched and wrestled. Even if Ray Borg isn't a good striker, you have a better chance of starting something on the feet. Furthermore, you HAVE to tell your fighter to never go for the neck on Mighty Mouse. Everytime he takes guys down, they chase that desperation guillo because he feeds it to them. Every single write up I read involved some form of "Borg chases a guillotine" but that never works. NEVER. The gameplan didn't seem to give Borg a single shot.  Also felt like Lando Vannata engaged far too much vs Bobby Green BUT I'm not gonna hold dude responsible for that.

6- I think Kevin Lee is making a right choice jumping up to 170 lbs

I made the comparison of Gray Maynard for Kevin Lee at 155 lbs. I think that's still apt---but I think Lee going UP in weight is the right idea. Kevin Lee said he weighed 185 lbs or more vs Tony Ferguson and so that gives you an accurate window of what MOST 155 lbers are weighing after rehydration and etc etc etc.  Lee will not be at that big of a size and strength disadvantage vs guys at 170 lbs. Look at how MOST 155ers who have moved up have been able to hold their own vs genuine welterweights. The difference is not that massive and so I figure Lee with better cardio will pop into that top 10 discussion.

7- I need a good reason why there's no 165 and 175 lb divisions

Just curious what the excuses are. I understand it might not curtail weight cuts but it can't hurt for sure. Unless you're going to tell me 185 lbers are going to try to kill themselves to make 175 lbs but if thats a concern, just establish a weight percentage rule. Weigh more than 15% of your intended weight class? Move up or move out! If you're concerned about MMA watering itself down then I mean are you not realizing the quality of talent between 155 lbs and 185 lbs? That's a stupid excuse. The quality of fights will improve because people aren't dying to make weight that intensely. You're at least TRYING something. Two more titles? 99% of you people don't even care who the champ is anyways if he's not a star so how does it impact your ability to enjoy MMA?

8- Brad Tavares is quietly becoming really good.

I've been harsh on Tavares because I feel like he's better than what he's put out recently. Over the past two fights though, he's shown some serious improvements. He's more aggressive while still being his usual composed and patient self. He's got a great jab, he can wrestle with just about anybody. In many ways it felt like he always knew his chin was a little questionable and so he fought to protect that. Recently though it feels like he's more aggressive than usual and that's a good thing. I just think he needs to get that finish which has eluded him so far in the UFC.

9- Magomed Bibulatov losing is a bummer.

Yes yes yes yes. I know. Try to hear me out here for a second will ya? The one thing we keep hearing about guys at 125 lbs is that they're all basically the same guy. The idea that they're all just fighters fighting the most boring guy in the world. Bibulatov had a teensy bit of buzz on him and John Moraga, a dude who at this point is your gatekeeper to the stars, smelted him. Woooof.

10- The Anik, Rogan and Cormier team seemed to have an idea of how to work together.

Don't know if it was the week or whatever the case may be BUT thesse guys were all on their game. Cormier seemed to fit in better and have a better understanding of what he should or should not be calling and their jokes actually seemed to work for once. Most of all, all three guys seemed to be in the zone with very little moments of  "Wow that was stupid!" Good night fo rthis new commentary squad.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Hey Pittsburgh, we uh...we got a thing for ya” Fight Night: Rockhold vs Branch preview

So for the majority of you/us, Gennady Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez is THE fight of the year in boxing and maybe even in MMA if we never get McGregor vs the winner of Ferg/Lee. For the slimmest of you, aka me and other hardcore UFC fans who have compulsion problems, we will be watching the UFC's Fight Night LIVE from Pittsburgh. I almost thought about heading out to this show but the ride would've been too much for a main event involving David Branch. I'll just wait for an inevitable return to Philly I suppose. Sometime before 2025 please? Anyways this show is...it's weird. There's been far worse free TV offerings from the UFC but it's also not great. What's more, it's not great on a night where great programming abounds everywhere (Louisville/Clemson, LSU/Mississippi State, Texas/USC on free TV, GGG vs Canelo) and the entire MMA and boxing community are recovering from the Mayweather/McGregor show. In the end, we're left with a fine show pitting some fine fighters against one another in some fine contests. The headliner is what a boxing trainer I knew would refer to as "mandatory non-destination programming." In other words, it's an important fight that's hard to care for. Beyond that the show has a nice mix of fighters who COULD be major players in the division vs established veteran challengers and intriguing on paper fights which would be hard pressed to not at least be amusing. All in all, this is just a card on a Saturday designed to fill out a predetermined schedule. Proceed accordingly.

Fights: 11

Debuts:  2 (Azunna Anwanyu and Alex Reyes)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Thiago Alves OUT, Alex Reyes IN vs Mike Perry/ Dimitriy Sosnovski OUT, Azunna Anwanyu IN vs Justin Ledet)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 4 (Luke Rockhold, Hector Lombard, Sergio Moraes and Anthony Hamilton)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Hector Lombard, Felipe Arantes)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 8 (Sergio Moraes, Kamaru Usman, Gregor Gillespie, Anthony Smith, Justin Ledet, Tony Martin, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Uriah Hall)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 25-23)- Zu Anwanyu, Alex Reyes

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 17-25)- Zu Anwanyu, Alex Reyes

Second Fight (Current number: 22-27)-  Daniel Spitz

Cage Corrosion (14-7)- Luke Rockhold

Twelve Precarious Ponderings:

1- I wonder if I didn't give this main card enough credit on paper for being decent enough to get by. It's not going to wow anybody BUT that's neither her nor there; it's just not an awful showcase. The main event is a dull fight on paper BUT Rockhold vs Branch has some serious divisional relevance and you can absolutely appreciate on paper what the point is behind said fight. Mike Perry vs Thiago Alves on paper was a great test for both guys but Alves fell out. It would be easy to just call this a scrub fight BUT Mike Perry himself was like a week notice replacement for somebody once. The same could be said for Justin Ledet vs competent regional HW Zu Anwanyu on short notice. I have little interest in Anthony Smith vs Hector Lombard on paper but Smith is on a finishing roll in the UFC and Hector Lombard COULD be fighting for his job. Gregor Gillespie is coming off a really impressive mowing down of Andrew Holbrook and could be a player at 155 lbs. Lastly you have an intriguing fight between Kamaru Usman and Sergio Moraes primarily because Moraes is the first guy who stylistically people would say has a shot at stifling Usman (a bigger stronger grappler type). It's not as bad as I imagined.

2- Is Luke Rockhold the most hated UFC fighter ever? This Bisping-GSP fiasco is entirely on his shoulders because if he beats Bisping, we're not dealing with any of this mess.

3- It's believed that Branch is getting this fight because a) Anderson Silva said no, b) Romero would take it but only if it was three rounds and c) Jacare doesn't want to fight any time soon. So David Branch draws Luke Rockhold in the main event and lest we forgot, Branch is absolutely Mr. Ratings. Now what can David Branch necessarily do to Luke Rockhold? I mean....I 'unno. Branch has been training for five round fights since he essentially wound up at WSOF. Now counter to that, so has Luke Rockhold. Branch has been successful at LHW but I have little doubt Rockhold's future is at 205 lbs by the end of 2018 at the earliest. Branch is pretty strong in the clinch but Rockhold made Weidman look small in the clinch. Rockhold's grappling is world's better than Branch. The one key caveat is that Rockhold has, at times, looked chinny during his UFC run. Getting finished by Vitor is not the end of the world given Vitor's.....physique but there's simply no way to justify getting flattened by Bisping. No way no how.

4- Without looking it up, guess who is younger between Rockhold and Branch and also by how much.

5- How many finishes would Mike Perry have to get in a row before his detractors acknowledged that he brings excitement to events?

6- Of all the fighters on this main card, no one guy has the ability to challenge for the title and soon the way Kamaru Usman has. Usman's wrestling is above and beyond the call of duty and his striking seems to be improving as well. The downside is that beyond the best wrestler in the UFC is like a big glowing tag that reads BORING on it, even though Usman tends to be a hyperactive ground and pounder who just seems to lack the ability to get that ONE fight finishing shot. If he can finish Kamaru Usman, he might take that BIG step up the rankings that people seem to be waiting for him to take. Sergio Moraes has been successful across a collection of weight classes (185 on TUF, 170 in the actual UFC) and he's a crazy good grappler who AT LEAST has pop in his hands. It's a good test for Usman as the UFC tries to figure out if he's a nuisance or a star on the rise.

7- Is Anthony Hamilton vs Daniel Spitz potentially the worst sanctioned fight  (MMA, boxing, kickboxing, shoot wrestling, pillow) in the history of the universe?

8- There are a lot of wrasslers on this card and grappler types matched up; one such fight is Olivier Aubin Mercier taking on Tony Martin. OAM is a grappler first and foremost with a knack for submissions (although getting there is a chore). Tony Martin is a grinder who has suddenly discovered that he can strike over his last few fights. Mercier is hard to hit but doesn't react well when he IS hit while Martin seems to struggle with his cardio and his angles. It's a well matched clash on paper.

9- Felipe Arantes vs Luke Sanders is a really intriguing fight and one of those sleeper bouts you get one of those  FS1 cards during a block of FS1 cards where you go "Oh shit that's a freakin' great fight." Sanders is 1-1 in the UFC but he could be 2-0 had he not made a tactical error vs Iuri Alcantara. Felipe Arantes is one of those guys who dropped down in weight and seemed to find himself. After going 3-3-1 at 145 lbs, Arantes moved down in weight to 135 lbs and he's gone 2-1 and could be undefeated in the weight class  depending on how you view his split decision loss to a one legged Erik Perez. Both guys are action oriented fighters although Sanders tends to keep things upright and batter dudes while Arantes has become more sub savvy at 135 lbs.

10- Okay so is Hector Lombard the biggest UFC bust ever? Also let's not forget that at 28, Anthony Smith would be among the younger top 15 guys.

11- Justin Ledet came into the UFC and boxed up Chase Sherman at high altitude for three rounds; a win that in hindsight looks a lot better. Then he went into Belfast and submitted Mark Godbeer in relatively easy fashion. Zu Anwanyu is a good veteran HW who hits hard, hits infrequently and is one of those guys who just does stuff just to do it.

12- We still in on this Uriah Hall buzz or nah?

Must Win

1- Luke Rockhold

There's simply no way to describe this; Luke Rockhold cannot lose to Michael Bisping and Davis Branch back to back. You cannot be a top 10 MW and do that. You just can't.

2- Hector Lombard

The argument could be made that Lombard is the biggest flop in UFC history. A win over Anthony Smith doesn't prevent that from being the case BUT a loss might as well solidify it.  Aging Hendo to bloated Hendricks to Anthony Smith? Irreplacable.

3- Kamaru Usman

Usman may be the best prospect between 170 and 205 lbs----but he's lacking a really signature win or finish to cement that. As of right now, he's just a really talented wrestler with powerful g-n-p who fight fans do not care to see. A win over Sergio Moraes would absolutely challenge that thought process ESPECIALLY if he gets a finish.

Five Must See Fights

1- Gregor Gillispie vs Jason Gonzales

Simply put, Gregor Gillispie is a very unique talent in a division filled with them. Jason Gonzalez has the ability to challenge Gregor in a few areas but this should be a fun exciting showcase for a good fighter.

2- Mike Perry vs Alex Reyes

I know nothing of Alex Reyes but Mike Perry has finished 3 of his 4 UFC fights, all in relatively violent fashion. He's an all offense, no defense sort of fighter who relies on his chin. He's got some scary Leben-esque tendencies to his game.

3- Kamaru Usman vs Sergio Moraes

This is a total stylistic clash but one where the stylistic advantages of both fighters suggest whomever has improved the most outside of their strengths will dictate who wins. That makes it fun and compelling.

4- Luke Rockhold vs David Branch

The question re: Rockhold's chin make this a compelling fight on paper. Chances are once the bell rings, it'll be a whole lot less compelling.

5- Daniel Spitz vs Anthony Hamilton

This has "must be seen to be believed" written all over it.