#these little bits may be one of my favorite things about having Kish as the host | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ships-sailing-in-the-night · 7 years

Link

Lucifer will have some competition this year.

When Lucifer returns for season 3, Tom Welling will make his debut as Marcus Pierce (Tom Welling), a devilishly charming police lieutenant who is also a potential love interest for Chloe (Lauren German). How will Lucifer (Tom Ellis) feel about that? Probably not great, to be honest, but Welling is loving it. Below, the Smallville alum dishes on why he chose Lucifer to make his TV return.

What was it about Lucifer that made you want to return to TV?

So this is going to sound cheesy, but it’s true. I had been in discussions with Fox on two other projects this year that didn’t work out — for one, I was too young and the other one I just wasn’t right for. On a Monday morning, I get a call from my agent and they say, “We have an offer for you for the show called Lucifer to do 10 episodes,” and I was like, “Okay, well, when does it start?” and they said, “Friday.” I was like, “Whoa, hold on a second,” and they go, “But, but, but, it shoots in L.A.,” which is good because I live in L.A. Having spent so much time in Vancouver, the idea of traveling to me isn’t a priority — in a sense, it’s luxury problems.

Anyway, shortly after I got a call from a very dear friend of mine, Greg Beeman, who was our showrunner on Smallville for many years and had directed episodes of Lucifer, and he goes, “I hear that your name’s in the mix to be on Lucifer. I know you, I’ve worked on the show, you’re going to love it, don’t overthink it.” So then I binge-watched about six episodes of the show, because I was familiar with the show, but they were like, “Take a look at these six that we recommend for you to watch, these are our favorites,” and I watched them all, and Wednesday morning the conversation was, “I don’t want to do 10 episodes,” and they said, “Well, you have to do 10, it’s 10 or nothing.” I said, “I want to do more, I want to do 15,” and so we signed on for 15 episodes, because I like it that much, and having met the cast and the crew they’re so much fun. They have a good time, they get their work done, they’re professional, but they’re enjoying themselves. I like the show, the show’s fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but they solve bit crimes and their issues and stuff like that. So I don’t know if that answers your question, but it at least gives you a jumping-off point about how it happened.

Tell us about Marcus as a character.

Well, Marcus, by design, you’re not going to know too much about him. The cliché is you’re going to have to watch to see who he is in the end and it’ll be worth it. At first, he’s a disrupter. At the end of last season, the characters of Lucifer started to get along maybe a little too much and they told me they wanted to bring somebody in to mix it up. He’s definitely going to mix things up between Lucifer and Lauren’s character, Decker, as far as like a love interest possibility sort of thing. But what you’ll find at the end of the season is he is much more of a character and you’re never going to guess who he is, but he’s definitely somebody that Lucifer is going to realize is maybe older than Lucifer, if that makes any sense. I’ll tease that. He’s not God. He’s not God, for sure. He’s not that, but he’s something that you’ll find is very much on par, if not greater, than what Lucifer is.

The description of your character intimated that Lucifer and Marcus had a lot in common. They’re both devilishly charming.

Well, I just did a scene this morning where Decker literally calls me a d—k, so that’s at least how I start out, and that she’s taking the brunt of my d—kish ways. I start out maybe one way, but hopefully, I can bring some charm to him later on.

How similar or different is he from Lucifer and how does that cause them to butt heads?

The way that I see it is Lucifer, in some ways, comes in like, [in a mock British accent] “Hey, I’m Lucifer, I’m crazy, and I’m more powerful, I’m the devil, tell me what your desires are.” And Marcus is like, “Yeah, okay, anyway, let’s get the work done.” It’s taking the air out of the room, I think would be the difference. Where Lucifer brings it, he brings the energy to the room, my character sucks it out.

So he’s a little more straight-laced then?

I think so. Yeah, maybe a different goal than Lucifer has, a different global objective as far as the desire from a character point of view. He’s looking for something different than what Lucifer is looking for.

Can you say whether Marcus is good or bad?

Well, every character thinks he’s good, you know what I mean? He’s not necessarily doing bad things, to answer your question. He’s not hurting people necessarily, but definitely, if somebody gets in his way, he’ll take them out.

What’s more fun for you to play, the hero or the villain?

Well, right now, the villain. A friend of mine was asking me about the character and he was like, “Oh, so he’s a d—k?” and I was like, “He’s not just a d—k.” He goes, “No, but I see why you’d want to play that character because he’s very much different than what you’ve played for so many years,” and in some ways, that is true. He’s got a different energy, he’s got a different delivery, he’s not so much like open-eyed as far as like, “Oh my gosh, what’s happening?” He’s like “All right, this is what I’m going to do, this is what I’m going to make happen.” So it’s a different energy.

Was that part of the reason that you wanted to come back to TV, doing the complete opposite of Clark Kent?

I definitely didn’t want to play Clark Kent again. The great thing about Clark is he didn’t know who he was and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with what he had and his abilities. This character very much knows what he’s capable of and knows what he wants to do and knows how to do it. So as much fun as that is to play, it wasn’t necessarily because of Clark that I chose this character. I think it was a number of things, it was the cast, the subject matter, the show, the showrunners, the Greg Beeman recommendation, the location. It was so many more factors than just “I don’t want to play Clark again,” but I’d be lying if I was saying that I’m not enjoying playing something very different for sure.

What can you tease of the dynamic between Chloe and Marcus?

Well, hopefully, it just puts everybody on their heels a little bit. At first, it’s not so obvious that there might be an attraction between Decker and Pierce, but it’s hinted in other ways. It’s television, so of course, there’s going to be that. I mean, we all expect a little bit of that. But I think wherein most shows somebody just comes in and all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh, they meet at a bar and there’s a new love interest,” it’s almost like the reverse where hopefully you’re not going to see the beginning. It’s not that they’re gazing into each other’s eyes at the beginning. If anything, he’s a very authoritative, demanding boss that just wants results and doesn’t really care what she has to say about anything other than what the case is and what’s going on. The scene this morning was, “Decker, where are we on the case?” And she says, “Yeah, we’re doing this.” I’m like, “Oh, you don’t have any suspects in custody yet?” And she goes, “No,” and his response is, “I thought you’d be further along” and just walks past her. She’s kind of like, “What the f—k, why is he such a d—k?” Things may or may not heat up.

Is this strategic? Maybe he has it out for Lucifer so getting close to Decker is part of his game plan?

Maybe. [Laughs] You’re not sure. The big question that even I had in talking to the showrunners was who is this guy and why is he here? Their answer was awesome. I can’t tell you because it ruins everything, but he’s definitely there for a very specific reason and Lucifer is part of that, Decker is a part of that, but you’ll find out that it’s something even bigger.

Can he be trusted? And does he suspect or know what Lucifer is?

Well, we did a scene last week where my character shows up in Lucifer’s apartment and Lucifer goes, “Oh, finally somebody actually believes that I am who I say I am, I’m the devil himself,” and Pierce says, “No, actually, I’m not crazy, I have no idea why you prance around in that and call yourself the devil, but anyway,” and just sort of moves on. So you don’t know how much Pierce knows or doesn’t know, but you get a sense that he needs a little something from everybody to get what he wants.

Lucifer returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

#lucifer spoilers #lucifer season 3 #lt marcus pierce #tom welling

29 notes · View notes

wearejustvisiting · 7 years

Text

HUMANZ review.

Before we begin, now is a good time to talk the politics of the alum. Many of the references to situations may seem outdated or played out, but you have to remember, this album didn't start production until 2014. Some of these songs are seriously YEARS old. So b sure not to judge the album for any recent political messages that you may consider "Outdated" because, technically, they're not.

1: I turned my robot off: Nobody cares, moby...nobody cares.

2: Ascension (Feat. Vince Staples): Good production, though I expect no less from a band like Gorillaz. Uses some unique effects that I haven't heard since Demon days, and Staples' feature is pretty sick. GLAD TO HEAR THAT CHORUS BACK.

3: Stroblite (Feat. Peven Everett): Kinda dull to start off with, sounds kinda like an overproduced track from G Sides. Everett sounds like every other british singer to me, I'm sorry, but it's not super unique. Not saying they're bad, just nothing to write home about. But damn, is that a catchy chorus. Maybe Gorillaz should just do commercials. Damon Albarn doesn't even have to pretend he's in the band at that point

4: Saturn Barz (Feat. Popcaan): Really good sample, strong beat, and I love the keyboard used in the song. But the production is a bit overdone. Autotune CAN be used as a stylistic thing, sure, but that doesn't always mean it sounds good. Popcaan does fine with it, but I would be interested in hearing it without him. And hey, Albarn actually SINGS on this song. CONSISTENTLY. The choir is also good, but I heard them do the same thing on Demon Days.

5: Momentz (Feat. De La Soul): De La Soul is an obvious choice. He's basically IN Gorillaz. The vocal modulation on MOMENTZ is awesome, and got me amped. But the kick drum threw my excitement riiiight off my back. It falls into the 22 DEATHBREAST trap of being too loud and percussive. De La Soul can rap, and i never questioned his ability, so that's obviously not too big of a deal. It's like saying 'hey, that really good mathematician can do MATH!' Other than that really, REALLY fun vocal modulation, it sounds a biit too much like Ke$ha in the first half. But the second half with the chorus reminds me of Dirty Harry. From...you guessed it, Demon Dayz. The final part with the keybard percussion is what the song SHOULD have been.

6: Interlude: The nonconformist Oath: "Ohhhh, you're all claiming to be non-conformists but you're just SHEEP" said every other artist ever.

7: Submission (Feat. Danny Brown & Kelela): This song immediately starts of with a female vocalist (I assume Kelela, correct me if I'm wrong) singing, and reminding me of a little dragon feature. Nice, solid music, as well. THAT CHOIR'S BACK BABY I'M LOVIN IT. This is the first song after Ascension that I can really say is a song from THIS album. It sounds NEW, almost like a different artist. Buuut...Brown ruined it. His voice is obnoxious. Why couldn't you just bring back Vince Staples? Or, I dunno, GET D.R.A.M. TO DO A REAL VERSE (Oh, we'll get to that.)

8: Charger (Feat: Grace Jones): OH MY GOD. DAMON ALBARN SINGS ON THIS SONG AS LIKE...THE MAIN GUY. It's a dirtier track, which I feel matches the earlier aesthetic of Gorillaz. But that's not a bad thing. It doesn't sound like a retread, just a tribute to other, harder songs like White Light or Oh Green World. But, the keyboards do a good job of keeping it fresh, it still sounds NEW. Grace Jones is a good vocalist, though there isn't too much of her on this track.

Interlude: Elevator: Goin Up" ...yep.

9: Andromeda (Feat. D.R.A.M.): YEAH, AS A FREAKING BACKING VOCALIST. GIVE MY BOY D.R.A.M. A REAL VERSE. HE MADE CUTE, DAMON. Anyway, it's a little bass heavy, kinda hurts your ears. One of the few songs I would recommend listening to through laptop speakers. And, to be fair, it's a great song. I actually love it when the bass is brought down and the electronics hit. So play it through laptop speakers, then plug it in after that. And, I do at least HEAR D.R.A.M., so that's something. Good dance track....no, AMAZING dance track. But I feel ripped off, as there was no real D.R.A.M. feature that was worth while. Unlike other songs, it seems to take more from Plastic Beach (which I kiiinda preferred to Demon Dayz anyhow) But it still stands as something from THIS album cycle.

10: Busted and Blue: Starts up with kind of a chillwave/vaporwave feel. Ambient noise and smooth, long, drawn keyboards. Very chilled out vocals from Albarn here. the backing vocals kinda remind me of Redbone or Me and your Mamma from Childish Gambino's"Awaken, My love!" SLIDEWHISTLE WHOOOO

11: Interlude: Talk Radio: um...okay.

12: Carnival (Feat. Anthony Hampton): The intro sucks. But Anthony Hampton is a pretty good voice! Matches with the heavier beat. Sort of trap influenced, almost. Not sure what I would call it. The voices and the layering work superbly, and the strings are great, too. Nice and distorted, but not to the point of being unrecognizable.

14: Let Me Out (Feat. Mavis Staples and Pusha T.): Haven't heard from Pusha T in a while. But I'm a fan of the interrupting keyboard, makes it sound distorted. If only they'd taken it to the next level and messed with the vocal track, but I guess we gotta get what we're given. Catchy percussion, love that snare. Mavis Staples has a fantastic voice, and I'm very glad she's on this record with THAT CHOIR BOOSTER. DAMN. The beat and music are also, again, pretty solid.

15: Interlude: Penthouse: I mean...yeah, I guess.

16: Sex Murder Party (Feat. Jamie Principle & Zebra Katz): The sting of percussion at the beginning is not good. I mean, it sounds fine NOW, but imagine that on a playlist on shuffle, and you have the volume up. Gotta think about everything, man. I feel like I have heard that drumline from somewhere, but I honestly couldn't tell you where. Kind of dull, honestly. Dissonant keyboard and strained vocals don't change a song's quality if all they do is remind you of Micheal Meyers. Jamie Pirnciple is NOT entertaining to listen to. Maybe in a different setting, his voice would work better, but with this kind of music it just doesn't fit. Zebra Katz, on the other hand...fits quite nicely. His voice and range matches the darker tone of the song. Even if the song is bad, he's fit for it.

17: She's my Collar (Feat. Kali Uchis): The snare hits you like a truck if you aren't expecting it. I don't like the Residents-esque guitar in the back. Shame, because without that, it would be a pretty solid beat. The drawn synth is also annoying, too. Kali Uchis is nothing to write home about, but they aren't terrible. Also,using they/them unless I know the artist's perferred pronouns.

18: Interlude: The Elephant: I mean, whatever, man.

19: Hallelujah Money (Feat. Benjamin Clementine): Now, I love this track. Clementine is an amazing vocalist, who deserves to be more popular than he is. He's one of the best modern singers coming out of Europe, in my opinion. This was the first song released from the new album, and if the rest of the album sounded like this, it would be a perfect ten. The beat is simplistic, but just so that it isn't too overwhelming. The choir is awesome, almost like a full on gospel chorus. The keyboards and synths on this song are also amazing. Favorite track so far on the album.

20: We Got the Power (Feat. Jhenny Beth): DAMN THAT INTRO. HOLY CRAP I THINK I JUST DIED. The vocals are amazing on this track, and the matching keyboards are a perfect match. Beth is an amazing vocalist with a unique voice who can really carry a tune. I wish the percussion was a bit slower, maybe half tempo. It seems a little too fast for this kind of song. Other than that, it's good. And hey, this seems like a good workout song. So, it's not awful. But gooooood, that ending. I hate when songs just STOP. At least Hallelujah Money gave us a build. This just stopped.

21: Interlude: New World: Meh, kinda boring. At least the other interludes were funny.

22: The Apprentice (Feat. Rag'n'Bone Man, Zebra Katz, & RAY BLK): Getting a kind of Homeshake vibe from the beginning of this song. Like the vocals at the beginning as well, but I don't know which artist it was. Their voice is unique enough that I bet I WOULD know, if I listened to them. Loving the chorus. Nice flow to it, and I like that they toned back the music on this one. It's more about the vocalists. The second vocalist (who I ALSO don't know the name of, you can tell I'm so versed in music lol) is pretty good too. Their voice getting the lead on the chorus is also pretty cool, you don't see a lot of bands do that, switching the chorus vocalist. Finally, Zebra Katz. He can rap, and pretty well. He has a nice flow, and keeps track of his words. Also: Laughter was SOOOO Demon Days.

23: Halfway to the Halfway House (Feat. Peven Everett) Peven is back, but first let's talk this intro. A bunch of RADAR sounding noises, followed by an underwater-type synth with a kind of ride in the back? It's not HORRIBLE, but it's not really hooking me. Kinda reminds me of a slowed, chopped, and screwed Doncamatic. Peven Everett has a better pattern on this song, and the chorus is a good match for this song as a smaller group. It sounds pretty good, against the dark and drab music. Not much else to say, honestly. Then the second half hits, and it picks up. More people, louder vocals, it's a really good thing. Sometimes more really is more. I also like how it fades and we get kind of a fan effect. But once again, we have a song that just...stops. Shit.

24: Out of Body (Feat. Kilo Kish, Zebra Katz, & Imani Vonsha): The intro is a woman (or two, depending on who you ask) talking about how there's gonna be some sort of special offering. It's seriously right out of a "top ten audio recordings that'll make you leave your hometown and move to Boise" video. But how's the song? Unique enough to use phones as the main synth. The bass is there, and it's loud, but it's just enough to be a good dance track. Kilo Kish is a good artist, kind of reminds me of Tkay Maidza with her flow, but on other songs where she sings, they sound pretty different. Her voice matches the song pretty well. Zebra Katz comes into the track like Nate Dogg on Shake that. Again, though, good rapper. Then a third vocalist, who I assume is Imani Vonsha comes in. She's a much more new artist, but I hope she becomes more popular. Her voice Really is something. kinda reminds me of Jelly from Tank and the Bangas.

25: Ticker Tape (Feat. Carly Simon &Kali Uchis): A slower track, but the keyboard wants it to be fast. It really doesn't sound good. I understand what they were going for, but it sounds ugly. I'm glad it comes out to a more drawn synth later in the song. Really catchy chorus, too. Good percussion, as well. Kick, snare, kick, snare...sometimes, that's all you need. Carly Simon has a lower, more lowkey voice, which is perfectly suited for this track. Relaxed, undisturbed, but still enough emotion to keep me from falling asleep. loving the James Blake styled vocal modulation on Albarn, really adds kind of a Bo-en feel to it. Kali Uchis comes in later, when the song picks up, which is really where her voice belongs; more upbeat or quicker songs. But guess what? it just...stops.

26: Circle of Friendz (Feat. Brandon Markell Holmes): A song with an intro of sirens, minor violin chords, and glass bottles smashing against walls? Gotta be good, right? Well, it actually isn't that bad! The choral vocal style pairs well with the string ensemble of the keyboards, and the dissonent backing over the verse matches well. Gorillaz has a history of ending their albums with more lowkey tracks, like Pirate Jet on Plastic Beach. Am I glad the tradition returned? Yes. Because this is easily one of the better songs on the album. Markell Holmes really can carry a tune. And how does it end? With a fade....well, at leat it's something.

PHEW! THAT was a long one. But was it good? Well, kind of. There's parts of the album that I thought were great, but others that were just reeeeally repetitive. Over all, it could have been worse. But it could've been better....but it could've been a LOT worse. 7/10

#Mari Rambles #Gorillaz #Humanz

1 note · View note

writingsubmissions · 7 years

Text

Fights to Make: UFC Kansas City

Demetrious Johnson (beat Wilson Reis) vs. Cody Garbrandt: Well, that was great. Demetrious Johnson has obviously been one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world for a few years now, but few performances put all his skills on display as much as this one did - Johnson just outclassed Reis on the feet, sniping away with strikes and getting out of the way just as Reis tried to hit him, and then took things to the ground, pretty much running through a high-level black belt and submitting him with ease in the third round. So, Johnson’s pretty much cleaned out the division and really has nothing left to do besides break Anderson Silva’s record for title defenses, so why not do a big bout against current bantamweight champ Garbrandt, whether or not he loses his belt to T.J. Dillashaw in July. Garbrandt floated the idea himself, and he’s a dangerous and interesting challenge for Johnson, probably his biggest since his days at bantamweight against Dominick Cruz. And really, since UFC seems to have no interest in a third fight pitting Johnson against deserving top contender Joseph Benavidez - who’s stuck at the moment fighting Ben Nguyen in Australia, I don’t really know where else you go.

Rose Namajunas (beat Michelle Waterson) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk/Jessica Andrade (May 13) winner: Well, that was pretty much the performance everyone was waiting for from Namajunas - admittedly, Waterson helped her out in the first round by going for that dumb head-and-arm throw that seems to result in every strawweight getting their back taken, but the second round saw Namajunas pretty much piece up Waterson on the feet before jumping onto the fight-winning choke. I’d like to see Namajunas flash this form a few more times before giving her a title shot, since both Jedrzejczyk and Andrade would probbaly be heavy favorites to destroy her, but she’s obviously the top contender at the moment, so that’s the fight to make.

Robert Whittaker (beat Jacare Souza) vs. Gegard Mousasi: Well, that was something. There was a contingent of fans that saw this as a trap fight for Jacare, but I don’t think even they expected one so one-sided, as Whittaker looked amazing here, shucking off Jacare when he went for takedowns (which was my biggest question) and then just piecing up the human alligator on the feet before scoring the stoppage. I know I called for a Mousasi/Weidman rematch last week, but with the footage of Weidman being so out of it during the stoppage, I’m comfortable just calling that a Mousasi win. Plus that makes the next fight for everyone involved obvious - both fights saw guys take their place as top contenders at the expense of their opponents, so it’s only natural to do Whittaker against Mousasi and...

Jacare Souza (lost to Robert Whittaker) vs. Chris Weidman: ...Jacare versus Weidman, as both guys could use a rehab win over the other. Plus, amazingly, it’s a fight that hasn’t been done before, so even better.

Michelle Waterson (lost to Rose Namajunas) vs. Felice Herrig/Justine Kish (Jun. 25) winner: Well, that loss to Namajunas pretty much exposed all the problems with Waterson’s game, namely her risk-taking when she decides to grapple and her being undersized for the division. She gave up bad position on the ground, got handled on the feet...just not great all around. Frankly, I kind of expected something similar in her fight with Paige VanZant, but she at least got past that, and she’s marketable enough that she should probably be kept fairly strong matchup-wise. Hell, even though I don’t think she’s ever going to really be a top contender talent-wise, I could even see her working her way to a title shot in one of those scenarios where she’s just the best fighter riding a winning streak. Anyway, either Felice Herrig or Justine Kish would make for a fun, winnable fight (and Herrig has one of those personalities that could make it a decently big deal fight on Fox with a win) for Waterson, so let’s try that to keep Mrs. Hottie relevant.

Renato Moicano (beat Jeremy Stephens) vs. Dennis Bermudez: It wasn’t always pretty, but Moicano got a big win over Stephens here - the Brazilian prospect’s career looked to be stalling a bit thanks to injuries, but a win over a top-five contender and a tough veteran suddenly makes him some new blood in the featherweight picture. I wouldn’t rush him towards a title shot just yet, but another top-ten fighter in Dennis Bermudez would make for an interesting matchup, as Bermudez can probably mix in some more wrestling than Stephens did, and provide a little bit of a different look to make sure Moicano is ready for the big time.

Jeremy Stephens (lost to Renato Moicano) vs. Gilbert Melendez: It wasn’t a one-sided loss, but Stephens was definitely fighting from behind the whole fight against Moicano, who looked excellent here. Apparently the slot for Moicano was originally slated to be Gilbert Melendez, and might as well do that fight here anyway - it just sort of adds to the interest of a bout between the two now that Stephens also desperately needs a win to get his career back on track.

Aljamain Sterling (beat Augusto Mendes) vs. Thomas Almeida: This was a big win for Sterling in the rare fight where both guys looked great - Sterling, who desperately needed a win here to stay a contender after dropping two close fights, finally showed a much-improved striking game, but it almost wasn’t enough against Mendes, who also had a career-best performance. But with the win, Sterling’s back on the fringes of contendership, and can pretty much be matched up with anyone else in what’s a suddenly deep bantamweight picture. Let’s go with Almeida - it’s a bit of a weird matchup in that both guys should probably be cultivated towards a title shot separately, but it’d be a fun fight and both guys are in about the same place, so why not?

Alexander Volkov (beat Roy Nelson) vs. Stefan Struve: It wasn’t a particularly inspiring win, and I still don’t really think Volkov has much of a ceiling, but he’s still fairly young, and he’s 2-0 in the UFC, so the former Bellator champ probably counts as interesting young blood in the heavyweight division. Let’s go the obvious weird route and put 6-7 Volkov against 7-footer Struve just for the freak show aspect, because come on, that’s what we all want, right?

Rashid Magomedov (beat Bobby Green) vs. Evan Dunham: Well, Rashid Magomedov got back to his winning ways in about the most Rashid Magomedov way possible - putting on a good technical performance, but not really leaving much of an imprint on the fight, and almost giving away a decision through sheer lack of inactivity. But a win’s a win, and Magomedov remains a fringe top-fifteen guy, so I guess you might as well keep giving him pretty solid opposition to move him up the ladder - let’s go with Dunham, who seems to be the well-rounded gatekeeper for everyone to get into that top fifteen.

Bobby Green (lost to Rashid Magomedov) vs. Anthony Pettis: Props to Green - his bullshit-heavy style is getting less and less effective in terms of damage, but he almost stole two scorecards here. We’re hitting the point of diminishing returns, so Green is as good a choice as any for a bounce-back fight for Anthony Pettis to return to lightweight - the former champ needs to string together some fun wins, and Green checks both boxes.

Wilson Reis (lost to Demetrious Johnson) vs. Ian McCall: Well, Reis got outclassed by the flyweight kingpin, so it’s back to the giant morass at 125 with him - flyweight’s a deep division, since everyone’s pretty good, but UFC also doesn’t have a particularly huge roster, so it’s a bit troublesome to keep making fresh matchups for all these solid vets. If Ian McCall is ever going to fight again (since his fights continually fall through), Reis makes for as fun a next fight as any to try and keep sorting out the division.

Tim Elliott (beat Louis Smolka) vs. Magomed Bibulatov: Elliott’s return to Missouri went quite well - his fight with Smolka was quite awesome, a non-stop blur of action, and he scored a one-sided decision win when all was said and done. Russia’s Bibulatov is probably the next big challenger for Demetrious Johnson on the horizon - assuming UFC doesn’t suddenly get concerned with Bibulatov’s ties to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyron - so Elliott’s a fine next step up to get Bibulatov working towards a title shot.

Roy Nelson (lost to Alexander Volkov) vs. Todd Duffee: Nelson’s still 2-2 in his last four, somehow, but he looks absolutely done - he has none of his surprising athleticism left, he can’t really get his knockout overhand going, and even his grappling game has gotten pretty ineffective, as Nelson is forced to pretty much do nothing if he wants to continue having control on the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if UFC cut Nelson, but if he gets another fight, looking at the roster...I guess go with Duffee? It’ll be a weird throwdown.

Tom Duquesnoy (beat Patrick Williams) vs. Michinori Tanaka: Well, Duquesnoy mostly cashed in on his hype as the best prospect in the world - he did have some trouble early with Williams’s pressure, but Duquesnoy was never really in danger, just unable to get his game going. And then once Williams tired by late in the first round, it was off to the races, with Duquesnoy eventually finishing the fight with some of his brutal standing elbows. I wouldn’t rush Duquesnoy up the ladder just yet, as I’m still curious to see how he handles better and better grapplers - to that end, let’s go with Japanese grappler Tanaka for his next test.

Augusto Mendes (lost to Aljamain Sterling) vs. Johnny Eduardo/Matthew Lopez (Jun. 3) winner: Well, despite the loss, Mendes looked awesome here, as he gave a much-improved Sterling a tough fight, showing off his awesome BJJ game and some solid striking that continues to impress. At 34 years old, I’m fine continuing to throw Mendes into the fire rather than waiting for him to develop, since he’s more or less passed every test - either veteran striker Eduardo or submission whiz Lopez would make for a fun fight that would keep Mendes relevant, so I like that as a next move to keep Mendes’s career momentum going.

Zak Cummings (beat Nathan Coy) vs. Emil Meek/Nordine Taleb (May 28) winner: Cummings pretty much ran through Coy, as expected, and the Kansas City native remains one of the more underrated fighters on the roster - he’ll almost surely never be a contender, but he’s above these sort of tune-up fights and is a solid mid-tier action fighter/gatekeeper. To that end, Meek and Taleb square off in Stockholm, and either winner would make for a fun fight - Cummings/Taleb would be a solid prelim fight, while Cummings against Meek would be a great test for Meek to see if he can keep moving up the ladder.

Anthony Smith (beat Andrew Sanchez) vs. Thiago Santos: Well, that was unexpected in multiple ways - both that Smith beat highly touted prospect Santos, and that Smith seems to be showing some surprising comeback ability. He’s always had a rep as a guy who wilts, but both here and against Elvis Mutapcic, the Nebraskan has shown the sudden ability to fight back from danger and get an unexpected win. Amazingly, this may be the start of a little bit of a charge up the middleweight ranks - let’s go with Smith against Santos for some explosive violence that could get the winner into the top fifteen.

Ketlen Vieira (beat Ashlee Evans-Smith) vs. Alexis Davis/Cindy Dandois (Apr. 22) winner: Vieira looked much better here than she did in her UFC debut - Evans-Smith is a good fighter, and Vieira pretty much kept her at range standing and did a solid job of mostly neutralizing things when things got to wrestling. Vieira suddenly looks like a talent to watch, so I’d keep moving her up the ladder - veteran grapplers Davis and Dandois would each make for a solid step up in competition.

Louis Smolka (lost to Tim Elliott) vs. Hector Sandoval/Matt Schnell (Apr. 22) winner: Smolka’s loss to Elliott somewhat ironically leaves the Hawaiian in the same position Elliott was in right before the end of his first UFC tenure - Smolka’s a top-ten or top-fifteen talent, but the UFC flyweight division pretty much has no easy wins, so Smolka suddenly finds himself with three straight losses, even if none of them are particularly bad ones. Smolka deserves another shot in the UFC, and either Sandoval or Schnell would make for a fine attempt at a bounce-back fight, as they’re both fun fighters, but at a low enough level that Smolka should hopefully be able to get a win.

Ashlee Evans-Smith (lost to Ketlen Vieira) vs. Lauren Murphy: Evans-Smith’s loss to Vieira was more about Vieira looking good than Evans-Smith looking bad, even if it did seemingly put a ceiling on the Californian as a tough mid-tier grinder rather than a contender, at least at the moment. Murphy’s sort of in the same spot, hanging around the middle of the division while being a tough out, so what the hell, that’s a fun fight to make, even if I’d be sad to see either go on a losing streak.

Devin Clark (beat Jake Collier) vs. Ed Herman: Clark just keeps getting experience, basically - he’s still pretty young, he’s a talented athlete, and he’s still raw enough that I have a ton of concern moving him too much up the ladder. He’d make for a good fight against Herman, since it’d be a classic young athlete versus crafty vet matchup to see exactly where Clark is currently at.

Andrew Sanchez (lost to Anthony Smith) vs. Vitor Miranda/Marvin Vettori (Jun. 25) winner: I’m still high on Sanchez as a prospect, since he took the balance of this fight, but leaving himself open for a late finish showed that cardio might wind up being his fatal flaw. He’s still someone I’d continue to keep an eye on, though, so I like the idea of putting him against Miranda or Vettori next to keep his career from stalling too much - either guy would be a tough out where a win would basically nullify the disappointment of this loss.

Patrick Williams (lost to Tom Duquesnoy) vs. Martin Bravo: Williams gave uber-prospect Duquesnoy some early troubles, but gassed as badly as you’ll ever see a lighter-weight fighter do, at one point even stopping to put his hands on his knees and just breathe. Williams is apparently going to combat this issue by moving up to 145, so he’s make for a fun gatekeeper opponent for TUF: Latin America 3 winner Martin Bravo, who’s fallen off the map since winning the season in November.

Jake Collier (lost to Devin Clark) vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov/Joachim Christensen (May 28) loser: Collier made for a fun gatekeeper against Clark - he’s pretty much all-offense, no-defense, and while he can probably improve a bit himself, he does mostly seem like roster fodder best used in an action fight. Both Antigulov and Christensen are fairly fun guys, so whoever loses that would make for a solid enough use of Collier going forward.

Nathan Coy (lost to Zak Cummings) vs. Sheldon Westcott: It’s been nice that Coy got his UFC shot years after anyone expected it, but dude, stop getting choked unconscious - Coy is 1-2 with the promotion, and both losses have seen him go to sleep rather than tap. Still, Coy’s a tough veteran grinder, and even though Westcott is coming off a win, I like the idea of the matchup - Westcott is basically a giant submission artist who either gets the first-round sub or tires badly, and Coy is exactly the kind of veteran grinder who can make that difficult.

#ufckansascity #ufc kansas city #ufconfox24 #ufc on fox 24 #ufc #mma #matchmaking

0 notes