My Week in Words: May 6-May 12
Another busy, exciting week with plenty of content created
One of the main reasons I wanted to bring this serial piece back is so that in the coming years, when I need to find something I’ve done, I can just come here and have the links accessible to me in a much quicker, easier fashion than combing through my saved files or doing Google searches that don’t always yield the best results.
Should I back everything up more for myself in terms of links and clippings and whatnot? Of course, I’ve pulled the plug on a couple WordPress sites myself that mean cool pieces from the past have gone by the wayside, but this is a good way to mitigate against that, as long as Substack doesn’t kick the bucket without warning one day.
It was another busy week pumping out content, with a couple more cool interviews, UFC 288 recaps and analysis, and table setting for today’s early kickoff in Charlotte.
Here is My Week in Words for May 6-May 12, 2023.
UFC 288 Recaps: I really enjoyed this event — we had some sharp finishes early, some tense battles throughout, and while the final couple fights weren’t the all-action affairs most people fancy, I quite liked the main event and was happy to see Belal Muhammad punch his ticket to a title shot.
UFC 288: 10 Things We Learned (Extended Edition): The “Extended Edition” gimmick launched here a couple years ago when there were one or two pay-per-views that had more than 10 Things I needed to talk about in the aftermath. Prior to that, I legit made cuts and it was difficult at times, so I just tacked on the parenthetical and bought myself as much additional space as needed.
I adore writing this series — and instant analysis pieces like this in general – because it keeps me sharp and affords me the opportunity to take all the stuff I’ve been thinking about and talking about all week, synthesize it through the result that just happened, and explain the ramifications for both right now, and potentially down the road as well.
The Next Day Takeaways, Episode 29: Can’t lie – it was really weird doing this sans Harry, but I think I managed alright.
The fun thing about the Takeaways is that it’s the perfect compliment (if I do say so myself) to 10 Things / About Last Night’s Action because it takes those initial thoughts and refines them or addresses things that maybe didn’t come to me in the moment. Part of the process before taping the show is bombing around the internet to see what folks are talking about int he aftermath, seeing what they’re focusing on, and how that aligns with where I’m at, and usually, it creates space for different thoughts to live and grow.
Keyboard Kimura Podcast: Help Me Understand Modern Coverage: While I know I’m an outlier in terms of how deeply and consistently I care about all of these cards and talking about the fights specifically, it was weird to come out of a quality PPV where important things happen and focus on Sean O’Malley’s Thriller jacket and Dana White talking about Power Slap metrics on TikTok.
So I sat down and recorded a podcast saying just that and asking for help in understanding why this is the case.
UFC Charlotte Fight-By-Fight Preview: There really is something genuinely activating about putting this series together for me, and I know that makes me sound like a colossal dork. Sitting down and going through an upcoming card starts me thinking about those matchups, the potential outcomes, and what it could all mean, and then when Saturday’s action has come and gone, I’m already locked in on what’s coming next.
And through the week, it hopefully serves as a nice table-setter for anyone looking to know what to expect when the action hits the Octagon.
UFC Charlotte Fighters on the Rise: The two FOTR athletes that made it to the cage last week got victories, and here’s hoping Ian Machado Garry, Carlos Ulberg, and Tainara Lisboa all perform admirably later today as well.
Both FBF and FOTR (as they’re known here) are key in the whole “I don’t understand modern coverage” angle because people complain about the UFC not introducing them to athletes, not spending enough time convincing them to care about fights or competitors, and yet every week, I’m out here dropping these two series that are focused on accomplishing those tasks, not to mention the litany of interviews the team does each week…
Alex Morono Interview: This one was dope because Alex and I basically sat for 20 minutes shooting the shit about being fight fans, his journey to this point in his career, and the appreciation I have for fighters of his ilk that can be counted on for entertaining fights each time out. He’s a great dude that genuinely loves this sport, appreciates the moments in the moment, and is bent on providing excitement each time out… how can you not root for a guy like that?
Jairzinho Rozenstruik Interview: I went into this one wanting to present a couple ideas and thoughts to Jairzinho in regards to his matchup with Jailton Almeida, and those things turned into the critical elements of this feature. “Bigi Boy” broke down what it’s like being the rising star, fighting in the main event for the first time, and smiled his way through talking about Almeida’s suggestion that Saturday will be easy work, and it was great.
Jailton Almeida Interview: It’s great when fighters genuinely understand and appreciate the situation they’re in, and Almeida was one of those cats this week. He’s aware of the challenge before him, but also confident in his abilities, and as much as I was looking forward to Saturday’s main event before this conversation, I became infinitely more pumped for this clash after speaking with the participants.