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norangeyyy · 3 years

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Late Night HCs

Bucci Gang Edition

TW: nothing too extreme, just a little bit of hurt/comfort stuff sprinkled right here and there.

Bruno Bucciarati

► Bucciarati typically doesn't stay up late at night, he has work and would squeeze all the amount of sleep he can get on his free time.

► Unless he has a lot of things in mind.

► It doesn't matter whether it's a work-related problem, his past, a random thought, or just generally his worries about his future. It will keep him up.

► He'll definitely need someone to be an outlet but if no one's available, he'll just stare at the night sky and distract himself with the moving clouds or finish some of his work until he's too tired to think of anything.

► If you happen to be in the same situation and same place that night though, then make sure that you take care of the trust he has for you when he was at most vulnerable and he will do same with you.

► I personally headcannon Bucciarati to be the type to like those kind of conversations since i highly doubt that he has been so vulnerable in front of anyone besides Abbachio ever since he joined the mafia.

► And even then, he's mostly the one who lifts the spirits up and not the other way around since he's the leader.

► So expect to hear things and words you wouldn't expect to come from the Bucciarati you see everyday come spilling out of his mouth, it'll be a lot.

► Pat his back or better yet, give him a hug and brush his hair while doing so. He needs it a lot since he hasn't really got one after his family fell apart.

► "I feel so much better now, thank you. I'll make sure not to forget about this night. "

Leone Abbachio

► The night owl of the gang.

► Staying up until 3AM is nothing new to this man, hell, he could even go on a whole day without sleep if he has a lot of things that's bothering him.

► He's the opposite of Bucciarati, he prefers to shoulder his intrusive thoughts alone. It'd take some great amount of effort and trust to make him talk and let it out.

► What he does during those times is either using his stand to replay certain memories that could either worsen his guilt or put him at ease, or just drink until he passes out but most of the time, he does both.

► He could also be listening to some music while he does so but if he's feeling guilty for making Bucciarati concerned about his frequent drinking, then he'll just listen to music and hope that he'll fall asleep and not just keep his eyes closed until the sun rises.

► It works, kind of, but even without alcohol driving him to sleep, he'll always be tired. His sleeping schedule is seriously messed up because he never really cared about it in the first place.

► Would sometimes go out for a walk. Leone is fond of the city's peacefulness when everyone is asleep, with the only thing keeping him accompany is the cold air and the dim light of the lampposts.

► Secretly still has his police uniform and would occasionally take it out just to stare at it or talk to it in a not-so-kind of way as he sees his younger self in it.

► Gets dragged in whatever shit Narancia and the others are up to if he gets spotted. Mostly it's just for a movie night behind Bucciarati's back but Abbachio knows better and expects the unexpected when it comes to the gang.

► Knows what everyone does in late night if they're still up and has seen a lot of ungodly sights.

► Whether it be seeing a sleepy Mista and the pistols chanting a weird prayer to a bowl of cereals or Fugo being dragged out of his room by Narancia, Leone knows it.

Pannacotta Fugo

► Just like Bucciarati, Fugo rarely stays up late at night and if he does, it's usually just because he's busy.

► Fugo has hobbies like painting and reading, everyone in the gang knows that. It's just that he gets carried way too far sometimes and loses track of time.

► Who could blame him though when the book he's reading is just too interesting or the painting he's currently working on is almost done, right?

► On extremely rare occasions where something unpleasant enough to keep Fugo up at night happens, he'll bundle himself in his fluffy blanket like a butterfly in its cocoon.

► He always does this back when he's still living with his parents, it makes him feel safe from anything that's haunting him.

► And if it's neither his hobbies or problems that's keeping him up, he'll just hear Narancia whispering outside his door or Mista throwing pebbles at his window.

► For the first few times the duo did this, Fugo was still able to resist until he just can't anymore knowing that they wouldn't leave him alone all night.

► "Well, this isn't so bad. "

► He says as he enthusiastically tosses a popcorn into his mouth with his eyes glued all over the lit screen of the TV.

► Movie nights, along with sneaking out to go the nearest convenience store, became a common thing between the Torture Dance Trio™ ever since then.

Narancia Ghirga

► The type to wake up in the middle of the night and think "Hmm... Everyone's asleep, let's commit robbery tonight!"

► Fugo's sleep paralysis demon.

► Would literally not hesitate to steal chocolate bars with Mista and probably does 3AM challenges with him too.

► Never runs out of ideas to keep himself up at night and is the one who comes up with everything but what he does still depends on his mood.

► If Narancia's feeling a little too lazy then he'll just sleep and most of the time, with music keeping him accompany. But unlike Abbachio, he purposely doesn't wear headphones just to annoy Fugo whose room is right next to his.

► If he's feeling like it, he'll straight up just invite the others to watch a movie or play videogames even though Bruno has already made it clear not to use the TV after 11PM.

► But just as he likes staying up at night doing crazy things with the boys, he also uses his energy left and free time to self-study, as surprising that may sound.

► He may hate reading but he takes advantage of the fact that his brain is much active at night and he doesn't want to depend on Fugo too much. After all, he dreams on going back to school and he's more than willing to be capable enough to do so alone and pass without the other teen's help.

► Will cuddle anything that's near him while he studies but if you give him a plushie, it'll be instantly his favorite and he would definitely use it as a study buddy.

Guido Mista

► Alright, let's be honest here, this dude wouldn't even stay up if it weren't for his bros.

► 5 seconds lying on the bed and he's already knocked out for a good 10 hours if there's no work he has to do for the day. Make it 8 at weekdays thanks to his mafia-related responsibilities.

► He sleeps like a log so only a combination of shaking him up awake with Fugo and Narancia can make him rise from what seems like a two year coma but is really just a normal tuesday night.

► Will pretty much join Narancia at anything he does but since his last three brain cells are obviously still as half asleep as him, he won't be able to remember that much the next day.

► And once he's out of the room and is already sitting on the couch with the guys, Mista's the type to fall asleep halfway through the movie.

► You can't blame him though, it's 12AM and it seems that Fugo got to choose what movie they'll watch since Narancia already got to choose the other night.

► Unless they're playing videogames or are going out then he won't be acting like a slow ass PVZ zombie with a fried brain. Actually, he'll be hella active if that's the case.

► Active at grabbing every snack each second, that is.

► Actually, it's the pistols who does that but oh well, it's not like Mista's innocent too.

► "I swear it's not me who ate all of our groceries for this month! Right, guys?! It's the pistols! "

► And that, everyone, is how Guido blew their little rendezvous without even trying.

Giorno Giovanna

► There's not much to be said about this boy since just like Mista, Giorno goes to bed early as he makes sure he still gets the proper amount of sleep.

► He already has a lot of things to deal with at day so of course, by the end of it, he'll be exhausted.

► Nights before exams are excluded because although he may seem like he skips class sometimes, Giorno still knows his priorities.

► Only when he became the head of the mafia did he really started to lose sleep as great power comes with great responsibilities.

► It took a LONG time for Giorno to adjust to a lot of things cause come on, he maybe resilient but he's still a 15 year old teen.

► Not only does he have towers after towers of work but i like to imagine that he still continued his education and used some of the things he learns in class in the mafia, specifically in classes like history or geography class since as a boss, he has to know every nook and cranny of Italy.

► Not to mention that emergencies happen and he always has to be ready to give out orders, even if it means being woken up at 1AM.

► God, help this child because all the things mentioned above are just an understatement of what happens on the first few months of being in charge of Passione.

► "So this is why Diavolo looks like he's about to explode whenever something goes wrong huh. "

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estamtam · 4 years

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PVZ: TEAM SCARF!

Eps 1

A nice day in small town called Neighborville, sun is shining brightly. The town look really nice, people get along each other. Then there some truck moving to the house with "sale" sign on the lawn. The truck stop moving right in front of the house, the black haired ponytail girl who first out from the truck with happy face on her. The girl going inside the empty house look around, she command a two men to move the items from inside the truck. After done moving the furnitures, the girl tell thanks to the two men. Before the two men go, one of them told the girl about something. "Be careful if your house get raid!" Said the one truck moving men. After they leave, the girl looks confused about what that men said but she just thinks it's a joke. "Hi my name is Catherina Edison. Just call me Cate. I'm just move to this small town name Neighborville because I'm got accepted at Neighborville University but also I'm want live with my new life I have been waiting for. Mostly I know about this town, the town looks nice, and calm unlike city I lived in before. I hope my life will be fine live in this town". Cate then stumbled towards the comfy bed, her eyes drift off. Her rest then was interrupted by coming from her phone. Picking it up she checks the phone number to then answering the call.

Cate mom: "Hi, Cate! Are you arrive at there yet?"

Cate: "hi, mom. I'm just arrived now. The house is really nice."

Cate mom: "ah that good to hear. But are you sure gonna be fine live alone?"

Cate: "I'm gonna be fine, mom. Don't worry about it."

Cate mom: "Hmm, alright. if you say so. Mom gonna go. Love you!"

Cate: "love you."

Cate end the call and lay back on her bed. She rotated her body thinking what should do now. Then Cate thinks if she should learn more about the town by walking around. Cate open the door, looking around outside. Some people passing her house say hi to her or give a smile. Cate more excited to explore this town. She came place to place, enjoying the view of small town (while Cate passed by town, people would greet her along the way. Seeing all nice people excited her, making her more happier then ever). Cate now chill at park for a while with enjoy on her face. She monologue at herself "this town is awesome and I'm won't leave from here!". Suddenly sound of siren scream loudly make people on town freaking out. People rush to inside building even there someone going inside to well to hide. Meanwhile Cate still at outside, confused about what just happened. From full of people to silent town, Cate doesn't understand why people really freaking out about the siren sound. Cate looks at sky notice some plane flying with sign "Neighborville closed due to invasion". This left a question inside Cate head. Don't want stay outside for long, Cate walk back to her house. She didn't realised if she being watched by foot soldier zombie hide inside leafs on tree near park. After arrived in house, Cate watch TV for search a new about the invasion people freak out. Suddenly Cate hear noises from outside, Cate looks at window there a swarm of zombies right in front of her house. Cate panic and scared at same time because her first day in Neighborville will be doom. Cate lock the front door for prevent the zombies come inside her house. Cate decide to hide inside her bedroom. A groans sounds of zombies still can be hear. Cate really doesn't know what should she does. The someone tapping a window from outside. (Peater): "Can you hear me? I know someone inside there."

Cate hearing a voice talking to her. At first she didn't trust that voice but she try to prove it if this person not zombie. The voice speaking again. "Open the window, I'm here to save you!". Cate brave herself walk to her bedroom window And open the curtains. Reveal some weird big plant looking at Cate, Cate confused and shock if the person is a plant who looks like a peas wearing a purple scarf around his neck. After open the window, that plant shout at her.

Unknown "you should get outta here!!"

Cate confused why that plant told her to out from her house.

Cate: "why I should get out?! There a bunch of zombies out there!"

Unknown: "they gonna blow up this house!!"

Cate: "WHAT?!?"

Sound of rockets to launch can be hear from distance. Cate not ready to lose her house but she has no choice. That plant jump from the window like it try to run away. Then she about to jump from her window, the bunch of rockets fly right to her house. Cate jump up right the rockets impact to her house. Cate has no scratch but her heart feel painful looking her house now just a ruins. Cate looks in front of her, the zombies about to walk to her but suddenly the explosion of butter? Destroy almost the group of zombies. Cate suddenly feel she being lift up to sky. She looks up there a flying van above her. Cate arrive inside the van, there a man with pot on his head seeing her with weird smile. He introduce himself with name Crazy Dave. Cate thinks this man it's really weird.

Dave: "howdy, neighbor! Name is Crazy Dave! Call me Crazy Dave."

Cate: "Wait-what?!"

Cate looks down from a window van, there a bunch of weird big plants fighting a zombies.

Dave: "the plants are our allies! They are who protect this town from zombies invasion."

Cate looks there so many zombie using a weapon and weird combine of technologies. Cate wondering how the zombies can used a weapon while they're mindless zombies. The plants try to defeat the zombies with their power. Cate still feel sad about her house, she can't handle look at it. Crazy Dave notice Cate sulking, he try calm Cate but she still ignore him. Cate stand up and shout blame at Crazy Dave.

Cate: " what should I do now?! I don't have house anymore!"

Dave: "oh, a new neighbor? Welcome to-"

Cate: "how could you didn't take this seriously?!"

The plants seen look a little bit mad about Cate action. The plant that told Cate to out from her house, walking to her and shouting.

Unknown: "hey, don't talk to our leader like that!"

Cate suddenly silent. That plant continue talking

Peater: "*sigh sorry for yelling at you. Name is Peater."

Then that plant jump off to the war. Cate feel pity at herself, then she sulking against the wall van. Seeing Cate crying about her house lost make Crazy Dave feel bad on her. Crazy Dave sit beside her while the plants suddenly feel bad too. The plants surrounding Cate. Crazy Dave seen proud about his plants. Cate feel something poke on her shoes, she looks down one tiny sunflower smile at her. Cate reply it with another smile and pet it head. The small plants glad seeing Cate feel better. Cate looks at Crazy Dave with apologize looks.

Cate: "I'm sorry for blaming at you, sir. I'm just want enjoy my new life in my first time in this town."

Dave: "wabby wabbo. That's ok. I know it's really hard see something you begin suddenly got destroyed. It's always happens especially for someone new in this town."

Cate: "Really?"

Dave: "it's my duty with the plants for protect this town. Usually people who just move here after knowing this invasion, they go away so quickly."

Cate: "I can't leave this place. Because I got accepted at Neighborville University. Hah...now I don't have place to stay.'

Dave: "Hmm, you can stay at my place."

Cate: "really?! You mean it?!"

Dave: "hehe yup!"

Cate: "thank you, sir!"

Dave: "nah just call me Crazy Dave."

Cate: "alright, Dave."

Suddenly the van shaking, one of Walnut jump to some big button on and she feel something shifting on roof of van. Cate looks at the window, she see raining of butters fall from top of van and defeat so many zombie. Crazy Dave try to command the tiny plants to press buttons. Leaving the plants busy, Crazy Dave walk to Cate like he want ask something to her.

Dave: "sorry if this happens. But can I ask some favor?"

Cate thinking about it but she doesn't know what favor Crazy Dave ask for. Since she doesn't have anything to do. The Cate accept Crazy Dave favor. Crazy Dave told her to wait and he looking about something inside the box. Crazy Dave finally got what he looking for and it's weird gun. Crazy Dave give that gun to Cate. Cate looks confused and shock, "why he give me this gun?!" Said Cate in her mind.

Dave: "I need your help to shoot the zombies with this solar gun."

Cate: "wait.....did you just give me a gun?!"

Dave: "I'm sorry if involve you to do this but I really need you help to defeat the zombies for this town safety. Please, would you?"

Cate: "hah.....fine. I'll do it."

Dave: "thanks."

Cate open the van door, she looking at below that really high from the ground. Cate can see the once this happy town turn into battlefield. Cate doesn't know what the gun Crazy Dave gave to her.

Cate: "umm, Dave what is this weapon do?"

Dave: "oh right, I forgot to tell you. That solar gun, it will shoot with power of sun beam. You can recharge it with sunlight."

Cate: "alright, thanks!"

Cate try to aim at one zombie and she ready to pull trigger. She shoot of sun beam. Meanwhile on battlefield, peater about to shoot the zombie but got shoot by sun beam from above. Every plants really shock including the zombies. Meanwhile Cate looking at the gun, her face really shock about the beam she just shoot. Cate looks at the gun with sparkles on her eyes because how cool that gun. Suddenly something shoot near Cate, Cate decide to continue helping the plants from above sky. The war really intense, it make Cate get tired about how long this war is. One foot soldier zombie looks at Crazy Dave van in sky, looking Cate shoot the zombies. The foot soldier zombie feel angry about it, he command other soldier zombies to launch a rockets from their ZPG to the van. Cate notice there a rockets flying right at her face. Crazy Dave scream to everyone inside the van to jump. Cate jump and scream so loud, she looks so panic. Peater notice it and command to plants to save people from van. The plants open big blankets for fall impact. Cate arrive first but she still scream. Cate open her eyes, she looks around the looks a t herself to make sure she alive. Crazy Dave run to Cate to make sure she safe. Crazy Dave glad Cate still alive while Cate still feel panicked. Suddenly Peater told everyone the war not end yet. Cate looks around there so many zombies. Cate looks like she so done with them, she prepare her gun and say "let's kick them in butt." Cate scream a battle cry and she run into battlefield. Cate shoot zombies like a madlad. When the zombies come closer to her, she punch them. Crazy Dave and the plants watch it and it's brutal. After Cate let her angered out, she didn't realised she has been surrounding by the zombies with angry look. Cate say "oops" and running away from crowd. The zombies chase and shoot at her, luckily Cate can dodge it. So many exploding at behind her, then Cate fall after the explosion. One of super brainz come closer to Cate, suddenly there a chili bean boom and blow up that zombie. Cate looks who save her and is Peater.

Peater: " you so stubborn. What got into you?!"

Cate: "I'm sorry! OK?? I just angry about them for destroying my house."

Peater: "I'm gonna take you to shelter now but first, we must get through them."

Cate looks in front of her there so many zombie at outside shelter area. She gulp then looks at Peater who still looks anger. Cate agree with Peater, then running and shoot the zombies around them. Peater notice how good Cate fight the zombies even she not trained. When they near the shelter, there a giant zombies looks like about to destroy the shelter. That giant zombie notice them, and about to smash them. They dodge it, peater told Cate for ready to battle the gargantuar zombie. Cate looks little bit scared but she has no choice. The gargantuar pull the electric pillar from the ground, then smash then but Cate and Peater dodge it. Peater told Cate to split up, Cate understood about Peater command. Cate try to distracted the gargantuar while Peater shooting it with peas. Meanwhile Cate run circling it, since the gargantuar got attached on Cate. The gargantuar try to smack Cate, she almost got squish. Cate looks the shelter, she can see people look scared watching the town got invasion. This made Cate heart drop, she try to make a plan while still distracted the gargantuar. Cate has an idea and try to shout at Peater.

Cate: "oi, I'm actually have an idea!!"

Peater: "what?!"

Cate: "I Have An Idea!!"

Peater: " IDEA?! What it is?!"

Cate: "use that chili bean boom to blindfold him, I'll try to punch him right in the face!"

Peater: "ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!"

Cate: "At least we try!"

Peater: "what the heck??"

Don't want think too long, peater first use his hyper speed ability and jump higher and fly right to gargantuar. Peater throw a chili bean boom right the gargantuar area. Cate use a trampoline near the shelter, then doing acrobatic by jump to lamp due to smoke. Cate jump and fly to the gargantuar, she put her right hand into fist. She punch the gargantuar right in the face and cause the head fall. Everyone look shock about what Cate did including the zombies. One of zombie blow a the trumpet as sign to retreat, every zombies run away and the plants gathering area around shelter. Everyone cheer up and back to their business. While the plants and Crazy Dave come to Cate and Peater to congrats them. Peater walk to her and say "that was the weirdest plans and cool tactic I ever did but thanks for helping us". Cate just smile at him, then Peater join the plants to go back to base. Then the flying van back up come down to ground. Crazy Dave told her it's time to go but Cate told him to get her thing at her new ruined house. Crazy Dave agrees with her and command Penny to fly to Cate ruins house. Arrive at there, she try to find her suitcase and she found it around the ruins. Her suitcase still in good condition, luckily she not packing her stuff from her suitcase yet when arrived in Neighborville. After Cate got her stuff, she told Crazy Dave if she ready to move to his place. Cate heart still broken looking her ruins house from window van. She try to think positively as she could. She looks at sky and whisper "my life in Neighborville just begin".

#pvz #plants vs zombies #pvz:team scarf #pvz au #pvzbfn

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bmaxwell · 4 years

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Best Games of 2009-2010

When I looked at the game releases for 2010, I thought I was going to have to start consolidating entries from here on out. As it turns out 2010 just sucked. So:

Best Games of 2010

1. Heavy Rain

I know David Cage is a boner. I know he fancies himself an auteur, though he wields his creative pen like a meat cleaver, hewing and hacking delicate subjects into heavy handed, club-you-over the head subtlety. The thing is, I find the moment to moment decisions and tense situations to be enthralling, despite myself. I love the way the games force you to make quick choices and live with the outcome of your choices and actions. Dude needs an editor though, I think he has the George Lucas problem.

Yup, that’s it, that’s all of them.

Best Games of 2009

10. Crystal Defenders

I like tower defense games, and this is one. With little Final Fantasy people.

9. Borderlands

The first shlooter? I think that title actually goes to Hellgate London. Anyway Borderlands, despite being not my kind of game, provided some coop fun on the old Xbox 360.

8.Demon’s Souls

My first souls game, and the one I had the deepest run with. I knew there was something to the game, so I worked to see what it is. I understand the appeal to these games, and they will always call to me, but they’re not quite for me.

7. Angry Birds

Even though I got real sick of Angry Birds once it stopped feeling like a game series and started feeling like a brand, those first few Angry Birds games were excellent. They’re simple, intuitive, and challenging. Launching birds into these structures and watching everything topple over and explode is FUN. I wish it had stopped before Transformers, and Star Wars, and a movie.

6. The Beatles Rock Band

Rock Band is a good time, and the Beatles have a great music catalog. This was easily the best of the music games dedicated to a single artist.

5. Brütal Legend

Brutal Legend is an action RPG that leans into the metalhead rock culture and has licensed music and voicework of some icons like Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmeister. Jack Black voices the main character. It’s a perfect fit.

There’s an alternate universe where Brutal Legend is one of my favorite games ever made. In this timeline, however, they shoehorned realtime strategy into a console RPG. There were a couple of years there where games like Pikmin and Overlord were popular. I guess that’s the reason. The rest of the game is so fun and has so much personality DAMMIT.

4. The Sims 3

The original Sims game consumed me in a way that few games have. The subsequent releases have never quite captured my attention the way that first one did. That said, my wife got very much into The Sims 3, and I spent a fair bit of time with it as well. The game has an impressive number expansion backs, most of which add to the game in a substantial (and overwhelming) way. My problem with the Sim 3 is that the more add-ons you installed, the more unstable the game became. My wife had save-ruining bugs more than once.

3. Katamari Forever

The Katamari games are always goofy fun. I can see why Namco Bandai wanted to keep making them, and I can also see why Keita Takahashi didn’t want to keep making them.

2. Flower

Flower is the first - and only - game I directly associate with the Playstation 3. I got it along with a new TV pretty late in the console cycle, and it was gorgeous. The music is as beautiful as the visuals, and the motion controls with the sixaxis controller were utilized in a way I never really experienced again. It’s a game where you control the wind and blow around picking up flower petals, so I get that it’s not for everyone. But it’s for me.

1. Plants vs Zombies

It ain’t sexy but - like Angry Birds above - it’s an excellent game despite its appeal to *gasp* CASUAL GAMERS. Also like Angry Birds, PvZ became a brand™ and probably should have died a long time ago, or least shouldn’t have been bought by EA. Plants vs Zombies 2 was a good game ruined by shitty in-app purchases. Anyway, I’m a tower defense guy, and this is fun take on that genre. Unlocking new plants, adding new enemies, and new types of stages are all ways to keep my interest. And, according to Steam, Plants vs Zombies kept my interest for some 70 hours.

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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“What’s At Stake In St. Louis ?” The UFC Division Breakdown

(Gonna try this for a month or so. See how it goes)

Joey

Jan 11th

Middleweight Fights Booked: 1 (Vitor Belfort vs Uriah Hall) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake? A torch passing.

Vitor Belfort has spent plenty of time in the UFC and while his value has dipped from being a potential title contender and bonafide numbers maker to being a guy who makes his bread as a dude who fights frequently and more often than not puts over the next generation of talent at the 185 lb division. Vitor is planning his retirement which is a big deal until you realize that he's basically retired about eight times now. Vitor is more than likely "retiring" to head elsewhere but in his place, he potentially could pass the torch to a new Vitor Belfort. If one truly wishes to think about it, Uriah Hall is basically what Vitor Belfort is. He's the ultra fast athletic striker who looks awesome in a highlight reel but has all of those dead spots in between Point A and Point B. Hall's best value to the UFC is what Vitor's value is; he fights frequently and is a name who more than not drags in viewers because of what MIGHT happen. There really isn't anything pertaining to relevance inside the division but there's a good shot that Uriah Hall is basically taking a good glimpse into his future when he faces Vitor.

Welterweight Fights This Week: 2 (Emil Meek/Kamaru Usman, Thiago Alves/Zak Cummings) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake? Keeping Pace

There's something to be said for keeping pace with your cohorts as opposed to waiting for the perfect opportunity. For Thiago Alves, he's taking a serious step down in name value from the likes of Patrick Cote, Carlos Condit and Jordan Mein but at this point, he was losing steam compared to the other veterans in the division. After two straight losses, the popular Alves probably needed to get back in there ASAP or run the risk of being forgotten for good as this WW division develops and matures. This though is mostly about Kamaru Usman. The one major component to Usman's game that's prevented him from really having top 5 potential in my opinion were his hands. He took a big step forward in that regard vs Sergio Moraes en route to a decisive violent finish. Since then, Mike Perry has fought twice (once on Fox), Darren Till ruined Donald Cerrone, Yancy Medeiros had a war for the ages which has vaulted HIM into a main event spot, Stephen Thompson made Jorge Masvidal look as bad as he's ever looked in the UFC, Colby Covington has set the world on fire with his words and Tyron Woodley has flirted with big fights. I would probably pick Usman to beat most of those guys if not all of them but he sort of needs to force the issue and make this happen because otherwise he's not going to be getting many call to arms when it comes to getting those fights.

Lightweight Fight This Week: 2 (Matt Frevola/Marco Polo Reyes, James Krause/Alex White) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake: Staying On The Track

If 2018 is anything like 2017 then at least once a month we're all going to have a brand new lightweight prospect to go crazy over. MMA's gone from being big and bulky to where 135 to 155 lbs produces prospects by the bushel and so chances are, these four guys are all competing just to stay in the conversation. James Krause is a local guy who has been in the UFC a good spell while Alex White is a top prospect from yesteryear who has sort of lost his way. He's from "the area" so it's basically Missouri vs Missouri for the fans. Matt Frevola vs Marco Polo Reyes is the battle between two dudes pitted through some UFC gimmickery. Frevola was the final DWTCS signing and he's an ultra exciting prospect out of Serra-Longo while Marco Polo Reyes is a TUF LAM brawler who will forever have a gig in the UFC by virtue of the fact that dude throws hands consistently. The likelihood is none of these guys have big money futures in the UFC as major stars but the key is to stay on the track the entire time.

Featherweight Fights This Week: 3 (Doo Ho Choi/Jeremy Stephens, Darren Elkins/Michael Johnson and Mike Santiago/Mads Burnell) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake: The potential for a shake up.

Any division with the headliner on a card is in line for something big to change but this could be a much different scenario. Doo Ho Choi had the FOTY (and maybe top 10 fights ever) vs Cub Swanson, was booked for Renan Barao and pulled out due to injury. He spent the entire year rehabbing and recovering but he's back----just in time for his mandated military service to creep into the scene. It's worth pointing out that Choi's rising star power once rivaled the likes of the Korean Zombie and Brian Ortega prior to dipping out. Now we'll see if the fans still love him the way they did before he lost and took a year off. If Choi beats Stephens then it wouldn't surprise me to see him fast tracked just behind the likes of Ortega and Emmett as a potential title challenger. I don't think he'd GET a title shot but he'd at least have some weight to challenge for it. Another potential shake up? The arrival of Michael Johnson to 145 lbs. If he can make the weight and if his power carries then Johnson has the ability to really stick at the weight. With 145 losing some talent to surrounding weight classes then Johnson might be a bit of a mid level cure in the division. One last shake up could be Mads Burnell as an arrival at 145 lbs. Burnell is moving to his more natural weight class after pinch hitting at 155 lbs on short notice. The Dane is just 23 years old and is flush with athletic potential so you'd imagine he's got a great chance to stick if he can pick up some wins.

Bantamweight Fights This Week: 1 (Kyung Ho Kang vs Guido Cannetti) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake: A dark horse returns at 135 lbs.

Kyung Ho Kang has a 2-1-1 UFC record which isn't overly impressive but it's not about the record its about how we get there. Kang took on Alex Caceres and give him fits en route to a split decision turned no contest. He gave Chico Camus fits in a frustrated/infuriating fight he lost by razor thin decision. From there, Kyung Ho Kang subbed Shunichi Shimizu in Singapore and then beat Michinori Tanaka in a fantastic fight in Japan. From there? He also got hit with the mandatory military commitment. He's been gone for OVER three years now but he's still just 30, he's a frenetic grappler and he's got some upside as a pesky gnat at 135 lbs. Guido Cannetti is a TUF LAM-er who hits really hard.

Women's Bantamweight Fights Booked: 1 (Talita Bernado vs Irene Aldana) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake: "The Future Of WMMA"

That ill fated photo of Irene Aldana, Dana White and Alexa Grasso paints a picture of being a bit too overenthusiastic with some insanely talented women. Alexa Grasso for the most part has lived up to the hype with a 2-1 record in the UFC that could've/should've been 3-1 had she ramped up the tempo vs Felice Herrig. It's Irene Aldana who stumbled hard. She was overwhelmed by Tanya Evinger in Invicta and then eventually got to the UFC where she's amassed an 0-2 record. She's been game and put on great efforts in those losses BUT in both losses, she's either not done enough offensively or been too lax defensively. She's got a third shot against Talita Bernardo in what is, in my estimation, a more favorable matchup for her. A loss here and I don't think they'll be any rope left for her.

Women's Flyweight Fights Booked: 2 (Paige Van Zant/Jessica Rose Clark, Jessica Eye/Kalinda Faria) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake: A Title Shot?

So this MAY burn a few asses but here's an inconvenient truth; this division probably benefits more from PVZ fighting for the title ASAP. She brings notoriety and attention to this division that the likes of Valentina Shevchenko or even Joanna Champion couldn't bring to the discussion. It makes sense for the UFC to want to see Paige win and yes, as much as it might burn our collective asses, the division is better off with Paige fighting for the belt on free TV than it is with a more accomplished 125er or a bigger named 135er popping up to handle business. The problem is getting there and Paige Van Zant is no lock to win this fight. Jessica Rose Clark is the sort of fighter that Paige CVan Zant normally beats comfortably----but we haven't seen Paige in a year. She's changed camps during that time period and undergone shoulder surgery. She has squabbled with the battle to balance her entertainment career with her fighting career and at times squabbled with the UFC itself. Who knows where her head is at, if she's made any improvements and if she's just here to kill time until something better comes along.

Women's Strawweight Fights Booked: 1 (JJ Aldrich vs Danielle Taylor) Fights This Year: N/A

What's At Stake? A streaker.

115 lbs is in a weird spot. The division seems to be a somewhat morphed version of the 135 lb division where there's a ton of fighters who can all beat one another but no definite dominant person to reign above all. Joanna may not be long for this division and even so, the problems she's suggesting about the weight class leave me no comfort in believing she can come back and beat Rose Namajunas in a rematch. As such, it's a collection of fighters who can all beat one another on any given week which in turn paints the picture where instability and chaos will reign until one rises to rule them all. That means that accumulation of wins is probably as important as the quality of competition. JJ Aldrich is coming off a win over Chin Mi Jeon while Danielle Taylor is living well after decision wins over Jessica Penne and Seo Hee Ham. In a division where I think a grand total of three women are on winning streaks, you'd assume Taylor going to three in a row could open up her up for potential big fight opportunities.

Off This Week

Heavyweight Fights Booked: N/A Fights This Year: N/A

Light Heavyweight Fights Booked: N/A Fights This Year: N/A

Flyweight Fights Booked: N/A Fights This Year: N/A

Women's Featherweight Fights Booked: N/A Fights This Year: N/A

#MMA #UFC #Fight Night #Divisions #HW #LHW #FW

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scribshade · 1 year

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they're talking about their favorite heroes (don't mind tv head and wildflower)

#pvz bfn #tv head pvz #wildflower pvz #yeti imp pvz #dandelion pvz #scrib draws #hc theyre secretly besties and like to chat in secret #only wildflower and tv head know abt it but they cant stand each others asses lmfao

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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Relating the WWE’s current business model to the UFC’s current business model---and how we may be seeing the end of the “star” era

Joey

November 13th

It's just another incident in a sea of incidents. Just another rock sized piece of hail in a storm that seems to have no immediate end in sight.

Just another case of Conor McGregor acting like a big star who has nobody to tell him no.

There will never be another Conor McGregor but not for the reasons you expect.

Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer once had a discussion about the way the WWE developed and "built" stars. Alvarez asked what the thought process was behind the 50/50 booking they used and Meltzer said that at some point, you just don't want to deal with the problems of a major star. When the WWE was going through a pronounced exodus of talents they were grooming, there was a rumor that they were just determined to ensure that nobody got too big should they leave. No one person could hurt the brand, no one person could control it. The brand won out over all. It was their way of taking less money to protect themselves over the long term.

The UFC has Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor has the UFC. The two for better or worse are tied to one another for however long this MMA endeavor lasts for McGregor. There's a lot of money at stake for both parties here and that can't be understated. Having said that, let's briefly lay out some of the "incidents" we've gotten since about July of 2015 which IMO is arguably the peak of the UFC-McGregor friendship/partnership:

-McGregor's continued lateness to UFC press conferences irritates the UFC and the media.

-Conor talks more and more about wanting to be essentially a co-promoter alongside the UFC. He gets his own dais at UFC 194 with no Dana White in sight.

-McGregor compares himself to El Chapo and bitches about the UFC's promotional department at a UFC presser.

-McGregor loses to Nate, saving a UFC event by even taking a fight, and then refuses to do media for UFC 200 which in turn gets him pulled from UFC 200.

-Engages in a bottle throwing fiasco that he winds up getting fined for with some pseudo community service thrown onto the back end.

-UFC 202 he faces Nate Diaz again and wins, McGregor ultimately saying after the fight that he wants to fight for the 155 title and won't return to the UFC unless he gets a pay raise.

-McGregor after objecting to the UFC making an interim 145 lb championship hems and haws on a return to the division while chasing 155 lb gold. He wins the belt, is a dual champion and then makes it clear he's not returning to MMA unless he gets equity into the org. Dana White tells him he can buy in but Conor either doesn't or refuses or who knows.

-Since November of 2016, Conor McGregor has made 0 title defenses across two weight classes. He's had one fight against Floyd Mayweather in boxing which made a lot of money and ripped off a bunch of marks. He still has no return date announced and the rumors of him trying to fight Paulie Malignaggi in boxing suggest a return date might not be coming anytime soon. There's a very good chance his next fight is at 170 vs Georges St. Pierre in a fight that would probably piss off the boxing populace.

-Since his last UFC fight, Conor has had to battle accusations that he's a racist, a sexist and homophobic. His press tour antics vs Floyd IMO helped prevent this event from hitting the higher marks it should've due to his comments in New York which left just about everybody at least momentarily turned off on the fight. His comments to Artem Lobov after the Andre Fili fight were gross and his pseudo apology of "It was blown out of proportion but I'm sorry" didn't really help matters either. His non-apology for calling Floyd Mayweather a boy didn't help either.

-He's TWICE NOW had incidents with Marc Goddard including charging the cage and shoving him.. HE also punched at (or connected) a Bellator employee in a fit of "McGregor fans will defend anything." Bellator's security was trying to keep a non-licensed person (essentially a fan) from jumping the cage and was swung at. Whether you argue that it was dangerous or not to push Conor off the cage, and I mean it pretty much was, the guy is doing his job to the letter and got swung on. Did I mention that Bellator by the way is technically a rival organization?

And this doesn't even include the rumors of drugs or rumors of him cherry picking opponents or holding the company up for more money or w/e w/e etc etc etc. It doesn't even include him running some kind of a Q&A BEHIND a paywall during an actual UFC event and then claiming they drew more viewers. The actual things Conor's done showcase the perils of having stars. It is the very example of Mo Money, Mo Problems. Conor brings in tremendous revenue and comes with tremendous headaches along the way. All of that paints a picture of a WWE-esque future.

Hell it's NOT just Conor either so don't think I'm picking on him. He's just the best example of what happens when stars get a little bit of power and pull in a very young goof-ish sport. Jon Jones? I mean we could be here all day. The UFC was prepping to build around Jones as a superstar before a DUI, a hit and run, coke, steroids* (TWICE!) and turning down a date with Chael Sonnen at UFC 151. Jones, while away from the sport due to a HIT and RUN, was complaining about how much power the UFC had at the time. He came back and continually fucked up and continues to do so to this day. Rousey? She really was a star among stars but we all heard the stories about how she treated people from UFC staffers to media. She lost once and never recovered both in the eyes of the public and in her professional career. Think of all the money they left on the table with a second Holm fight, a Cyborg fight, a third Tate fight and even a Carano fight could they have pulled it off. The UFC was prepared to build around Chris Weidman but they couldn't figure out how and injuries betrayed him. Cain Velasquez not only continues to get hurt but every time the UFC wants to do something with him, he's either hurt or just not available. Oh and dare we be remiss, he also joined up with Bjorn Rebney's failed (I believe at this point we can say that) bid for a CAA backed fighter's org. CAA and Endeavor are not exactly on the best of terms, y'all. Stipe Miocic? The UFC's probably going to give him a bigger deal for PPV numbers that are barely above functioning level Aldo/Holloway type fights. PVZ? Well she's a headache on her own entirely. It's worth remembering she was complaining about how much she was getting paid before the losses to Rose and the Waterson fight. Now she's turning down fights and announcing title fights we're not even sure about anymore. And Waterson? They tried to build her up too and she got crunched vs Namajunas as well.

Hell think of all the NON-stars who operate like McGregors; dictating opponents, trying to push their "brand" and arguing when and where. Fans want to see Wonderboy vs Till but that's not happening. Fans want to see Rivera vs Lineker or vs Assuncao and chances are that won't happen either. Imagine how much fun it would be to see Kamaru Usman fight somebody really good and known---and realize why it's not happening. Dana White once said "this isn't how it used to be" when talking about how fighters act and approach taking UFC fights and he's right. When fighters start earning MORE money, it becomes a hell of a lot harder to get them to go on board with what's best for the company. DC has talked about champions earning way more than they did before they earned the title so why wouldn't they exercise that power? Why wouldn't Woodley try to stomp his feet for a GSP or Nick Diaz fight, rankings or common sense be damned?

So where am I going with this? Well it's worth remembering that Zuffa took the WWE model, molded it in a few ways and ran with it as their own. WME-IMG has worked with both the WWE and now own the ZUFFA product as a whole. What's to stop them from just going even further with the WWE model? Imagine if instead of doing Dennis Siver vs Conor McGregor on a Fight Night weekend based entirely around McGregor, they gave him someone like Darren Elkins or Clay Guida as the second prelim fight on the card. Imagine if instead of doing big promotional pushes or putting dudes in fights in their home market, they just buried them on Fight Pass. What if they made everybody on the same level, save 2-3 guys they could trust, and then just went with it? They're not going to lose money because TV revenue is the ultimate bandaid. A guaranteed x amount of dollars every year from x amount of markets will cover up any weaknesses in the product. The UFC likely starts every year with a tremendous amount of immediate cash flow from TV deals and that's not going to change going forward EVEN if the TV money market crashes. The best way to prevent a star from taking over your product is to just have no stars or just rob said stars of any sort of strength within your organization. If this debt situation gets too much, an IPO is always an option It's worth noting that even in a bad year in terms of buyrates and ratings, the UFC's value went UP as an organization and Endeavor's stock has also risen after the purchase of the UFC. That's very much on the stars who help m ake the product---but if the product is made then when do you need stars? At what point is there no advil strong enough for the headaches?

It's not like the UFC has competition breathing down its neck either. People love to espouse Bellator but their numbers are down and until you can prove to me how social media metrics equal millions, I ain't about to hear about twitter buzz. WSOF is now the PFL is now graveyard programming on youtube. Combates Americas is getting a chance on NBCSsports but if the UFC leaves Fox to head there (and there's a chance) then what the hell is their future? Overseas is great and all but what Rizin does once month out of six is irrelevant to the UFC's business. Same for KSW.

We all agree that McGregor and Rousey and company have changed the way the UFC is seen and operates. We may learn that there's a chance it may not have been for the better.

#MMA #UFC #Stars #Star building #TV deals

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