Sevs hurried to the commentary table as everyone rushed to their seats. He sat down and turned on his mic. He, Jackson, and Lily all nodded to each other. Lily spoke first. “Welcome, one and all. Tonight we got a spectacle for you. A grudge match, years in the making. They have their differences but have agreed to settle them here tonight.”

Lily paused for a second to let the applause die down. While that was happening, Sevs had a chance to really look around. The place was packed. Less than half of the people had seats, and they would soon have to turn people away if they hadn’t already.

A few seconds later, Lily started up again. “I am Lily here for you on commentary. Joining me today are Jackson and Sevs. Before we start, I must give a big thank you to Sevs for putting this all together. He may be new to many of you, but for me, he has been a dear friend for almost as long as I can…”

Cheers drowned her words. Sevs leaned back in his seat and took in the audience. Inside his mind, part of him was screaming. This was not something he was comfortable with. Being the center of attention had been one of his biggest fears for as long as he could remember. However, he didn’t let his discomfort show. As the noise died down again, Jackson spoke up. Sevs was impressed by how confident he seemed. “I have to agree with Lily here. This is a really special event, and I am so glad to be a part of the commentary team with Lily and Sevs.”

He had to raise his voice to be heard, but he kept going. “So I understand you and Lily both have a lot of experience with combat sports. Why don’t you tell us about how this is going to go down.”

Sevs took a second to collect himself before speaking. “Certainly. Lily and I have been fighting for around a decade at this point. We are really looking forward to this bout. The plan for this evening is pretty simple. We only have the main event. We are going to introduce each fighter and bring them out. Then we got our referee to announce them and kick it off. Right now, he is talking to each fighter about the rules.”

Jackson nodded. “So when it comes to technique during the fight, I will defer to you two. So Lily, can you give us a basic rundown of the format of the match and the rules that the two fighters will be following?”

“Certainly, Jackson. We have three five-minute round formats. Between each round, the fighters will have a minute to recover and talk to their cornermen. Due to the disparity in the experience, we have a few modifications from a normal structure that some of you might be aware of. To keep it going and prevent too early of an ending, we will have a submission end the round immediately but not the fight. The one with the most submissions will win. However, due to injury concerns, we can’t do the same for striking. A KO or TKO will immediately end the entire fight. Calling the fight will be in the hands of the referee. Also, There will be no judges. That is it for the format, as for rules. No biting, eye pokes or headbutts. And no kicking of a down opponent. Each instance of breaking these rules will lose the offender the round.”

Sevs decided to clarify something. “We reached this agreement on the format with both of the fighters. We did it this way because we know there is a disparity in grappling skill between these two, and we don’t want to end the fight too early with a quick submission.”

“So I believe we have to give our predictions of how this fight will go then,” Jackson said. “I’ll go first. Last year I would have said it would go to Hank. Now, however, there is a large difference in weight, size, and reach. Jerome has to be at least a head taller than Hank. I think Jerome is going to clip Hank in one of these rounds, and that will finish him off. What do you think, Lily?”

“I have to disagree with you. I don’t think the size will really matter. Jerome isn’t much bigger than Sevs, but I have seen Hank hold his own against him many times. While it is true that Sevs almost always wins, that doesn’t mean much in this situation. Sevs and Hank have been training for around the same amount of time. I think if Hank plays it smart, he will go for an early takedown. Each round won’t last more than a minute. Two at the most.”

Jackson responded. “That is an interesting take. Sevs, would you agree or not?”

“Partially. I think Hank should be the prohibitive favorite for sure. Lily put an important caveat in her prediction that I don’t think we should overlook. She said, and I quote, 'if Hank plays it smart'. I think there is a real chance that Hank doesn’t play it smart. It will depend, but if Jerome can get in his head a little and get Hank to stand with him, he may have a shot. That being said, even on the feet, I would say Hank wins at least nine times out of ten.”

“You two aren’t doing much to build tensions. Will it really be that one-sided?”

“I think so. See, fighting doesn’t work like in movies. Just getting really angry doesn’t give you some superpower. It just makes you do something stupid or reckless, then you get tired afterward. Especially if your opponent knows how to handle it, which Hank does. Normally this is a horrible comparison but think of a fight more like a game of chess. Emotion only helps a limited amount, if at all.” After Sevs finished speaking, he saw Henry signaling they were ready to roll the first tape. “It looks like it is time to introduce the fighters. Let's start by welcoming the challenger!”

With that signal, the screens started to play the package they had put together for Jerome.