Week 12 Story: The Fighter
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| Israel Adesanya: Source |
Israel Adesanya had recently turned 25 as the year of 2022 was just starting. Israel was considered the UFC's best middleweight fighter in the class. He finally had reached 25-0 as a UFC fighter and had taken the belt as champion.
Despite this, Israel had not yet fought the greatest fighter of them all - Jon Jones. Jones was a fighter unlike any other that had also never been beaten except for when he was disqualified for eye-gouging. He fought very dirty, but was so good at his craft that everyone feared him and regarded him as the best fighter in the UFC.
A great debate had been going on as to whether Israel or Jones was truly the best fighter in their class. Fortunately, the day of the fight had finally come. Both fighter went up to tap gloves and the fight began. Israel attempted to grapple but Jones quickly deflected his attempts. Jones would try to throw a haymaker but Israel would quickly dodge. This continued for some time; however, every once in a while each fighter would trade punches. These punches were so strong that the entire crowd could hear a clap that resembled lightning striking each time one landed.
Late in the third round, Israel threw a jab to Jones' ribs and connected with major force. Jones began to back away as he was clearly injured. Naturally, Israel went in harder than ever in attempt to go for the knockout. People were screaming and cheering their respective fighters on and Isreal used his fans as energy.
Isreal jumped onto Jones' back, but Jones quickly threw him off. Isreal went in for a second attempt for a takedown and succeded. This time, Israel began to control Jones and finally had a dominant position. Israel seized his opportunity and went for an armbar. Jones began to wail as Israel slowly bent his arm backward. The crowd went quiet and all they could hear was the tapping sound of Jones on Israel's back.
Israel had won the fight due to this tap out. The crowd cheered as Israel had proven that he was truly the best fighter in the weight class. Jones ran away into the back of the locker room while Israel basked in his own glory.
Authors Note: The original story is The Battle with Grendle from the story of Beowulf. In this story, Beowulf is fighting Grendle and the fight is very even at the beginning. Beowulf ends up gaining an advantage and seizes the opportunity. He rips off Grendles arm and Grendle ends up running away. I made some major changes to this story as I wanted it to be more modern. I used the same plot but different characters. I made many subliminal hints to the original story so I think it would be interesting if any of you that have read the story can catch them.
The Story of Beowulf The Battle with Grendle by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933).
Hey Garrett!
ReplyDeleteI am already a big fan of the story of Beowulf and Grendel so I love the original story you used for your story. I think using sports, especially UFC, is the ideal way to adapt the story to a modern context. Your story was fun and easy to read. As a minor note, I think it would've been kind of funny if you had given Joe Rogan the role of King Hrothgar. But leaving him out works just as well. Great story!
Hi Garrett,
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to see a story about something I know a little bit about (UFC). I can only take so much of the fairies, princesses, etc. You did a fantastic job of taking beowulf and putting it into a completely different context. I can see the similarities in the writing. You've made me want to look at beowulf for bonus reading because several of the stories I've read over it have been very interesting!
Brady
Hi Garrett,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading beowulf in my English Lit class so it is nice to see a story that is based on it. I cannot realate to UFC even though I know of it. I have always been more of a passifist. I appreciate your storytelling ability. Keep up the good work and study hard for finals. Good Luck with finals.
Hi Garrett,
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting take on a classic story. I like how you made it modern. I really liked the characterization used. You did an excellent job overall. The characters are super fun to read about. You described the fight scenes really well. Even to someone who knows nothing about fighting, I felt like I was in the scene due to your descriptive powers.
Good luck on finals.
Ann
Hi there Garrett!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting read! I enjoyed your take on this story. I don't know much about UFC fighting or about the original story of Beowulf, but I think you did a great job of making the story easy to follow even for uninformed readers like me. I really enjoyed how this new time and place really modernized the story (even a couple years into the future)! Great work!
-Kate
Hey Garrett!
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually a fan of modernizing stories, but I'm impressed with how you've done it here. You've adapted the classic fight of Beowulf to a modern setting, against a modern monster, very well, and your detail writing made it feel as though I was watching the fight with my own eyes - certainly not something possible with classical tales.
Hi Garrett,
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to read your story once I saw the title and picture! I loved your modernization to a classic story. It was super interesting and entertaining. I don't know anything about fighting and I think your attention to detail really helped illustrate the fight. Overall, great job and I was very impressed. Hope you have a great rest of the semester.