TESS VALMORE


2017 went out with a bang with the biggest card of the year. It was surprising to me. I had a list of 25 fights to predict. I predicted 24, two of which did not occur. Instead of the 25 expected bouts, we got 38, including some real prime time fights. Once again the title bouts were our undoing with the correct ratio. We got both title fights wrong ending up with a 13-8 record.

Kendall Jenner ended the year on a victorious note with a KO win over the dangerous Mary Elizabeth Winstead. She had a sensational 2017. The question now is, can she duplicate the year in 2018. My guess is no

Chloe Bennet much to my surprise retained the bantam title over a tough Trojan Bellisario. Bennet is a friend of mine, but I never dreamed she would win a title this year. Then, I thought she would last one bout as champion. Once again she proved me wrong by defending the title three times thus far.

The flyweight bout of the night was Portman/S. Miller. The bout went to Miller by a decision and should put her in line for a title shot

I was pleased to see Amanda Righetti walking away with a KO win. I thought she would lose. I always say don’t bet against Righetti. I disregarded my own rule to my chagrin . Fortunately, I didn’t bet on the outcome. Just to be safe, I have nothing against Rhoda

Karlie Kloss won the VS tournament however she just had a title match so she won’t get a lot of benefit from the win

Bo Krsmanovic won the highly debatable #1 welter contender bout. Other than the fact that neither Krsmanovic or Cole have had a recent title shot, I see little justification for this #1 contender slot

Strahovski showed Torv who is the boss in the land of Oz in an extra inning bout that she won by a decision and Upton won the Body Saddle bout. Both results were expected

Lowndes won the #1 flyweight contender bout and VanCamp and Scodelario also posted big wins

Shahi, Lilly and Biel all lost. 2017 was a poor year for Shahi and sends the message that it is close to the time to retire. I haven’t figured out what’s wrong with Biel who also had a terrible year. She will need to turn things around next year. The once top of the division fighter, Lilly, now continues to be just another average bantam

Decker and Panettiere won gimme fights while Jennifer Lawrence was upset by the up and coming Kira Kosarin. Missy Peregrym got back on track with a KO win over the much bigger and ancient Jeri Ryan

Gwen Stefani lost to Kim Kardashian. The message to Ms Stefani is “you have no business in the FCBA”  A loss to Kardashian is the kiss of death. There was another Kardashian in the ring in this PPV, Khloe. She lost. No surprise there

Over the last six months I have noticed a lack of interest in JMD/D among most stables In this PPV of 38 bouts, how many were JMD/D? Two

Ginny’s Academy ended the year with a 5-13 record. In most sports a manager with a 27% win ratio wouldn’t be around for the next year. (I just had to get that in, Happy New Year Miss Ginny)

I will reserve Happy New Year to the rest of the board as there are two year end articles to come