Chapter 220

I woke up around 9 and fired up the live UFC event. After a somewhat forgettable bantamweight clash between two Mexicans, a striker from Kyrgyzstan named Rafael Fiziev got his fourth victory in a row in an exciting banger with the ever-game Bobby Green. That concluded the prelims, and then two of my British pals showed up at my apartment for the main card.

Song Yadong broke the 2021 Chinese losing streak with a pressure attack over the promising Casey Kenney, Tecia Torres outpointed Angela Hill (but it was more exciting than a usual Torres fight), Vicente Luque reversed Michael Chiesa’s deep choke with a choke of his own, and José Aldo showed he’s still got it.

I cooked a big greasy breakfast in time for the main event, with eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, baked beans and fried cherry tomatoes. Not quite a full English but my British homies seemed satisfied. Then Ciryl Gane completely outclassed Derrick Lewis, negating the big gorilla’s one-punch chance. His athleticism, movement and technique are quite unique among heavyweights, and he has a very humble, fun-loving and endearing personality, I’m looking forward to his fight against destroyer of worlds Francis Ngannou.

The fight was for an interim belt, even though Ngannou won the title in March and isn’t injured. The UFC promotion threw the Cameroonian under the bus, saying “he doesn’t want to fight”, which sounds like horseshit to me. Sometimes I hate myself for being a MMA fan and giving so much attention to a scummy org like the UFC, but they’re the ones who put up the big fights so I tune in.

I chilled a bit during the early afternoon, and went outside to get the 20-L bottle of water. Usually the guy delivers but now because of those half-measures for the new covid scare he can’t come to our apartment building. I also bought vegetables at the market for a recipe I wanted to try, I applied myself for an hour in the kitchen doing just that. It’s a “savoury cheesecake”, similar to the original dessert recipe but with no sugar and with fried peppers, bacon, ham and tons of fresh herbs. Let’s see how it turns out, I put it in the fridge after baking time, it has to be completely chilled before we cut it.

I went to play soccer at night. Part of the old gang was there, and a bunch of new guys from Africa. We played for an hour and a half, sweating buckets, a good time was had by all. Two guys couldn’t make it, they got hit by a car on the way to the pitch, but word is they are okay, just a bit bruised.

The savoury cheesecake was pretty damn good, I can’t say I ever had anything like that before. It was like a quiche in some ways, but creamier and heavier, and eaten cold with a big salad (and a white beer).

I looked for something to watch and saw I have the first seasons of The Sopranos on my external hard drive. I watched 20 minutes of the pilot and got bored as hell, I just couldn’t feel anything for the obese balding main character, and for some reason, that kind of New Jersey Italian-American accent grates me to no end.