If an intern gets smacked in the woods, would anyone hear it?

A UFC thank you to Seth "Purple Nurple" Elrod for his help in keeping the updates flowing while I was out (training of course).

Now on to the battle, which many thought had the potential to be the battle of the century. And for #12 Jim "Silent Assassin" O'Connor, that is saying something as he has been fighting for well over a century -- giving him an immediate and palpable edge over #4 Ryan "MoBap Mystery" Farrar.

First came the long, uncomfortable stare. O'Connor stood outside the cube temporarily re-occupied by Farrar, with a large cup of coffee in his right hand.

But just before the fight could begin, El Conquistador, Kate Ranzini arrived, taking a temporary break from pillaging Dennis Turner's cube. She came by the staging ground, rolled up her sleeves, and let out a howl as she flexed her biceps one by one -- revealing a new set of tatoos that would make Voorhees blush. She pointed at the two combatants and yelled "Who's Next?" before leaving to deadly silence. (She was obviously preparing to meet the winner of this battle, while also mocking Turner's famous Asylum video)

The yelling did not faze O'Connor -- meaning either he is that tough or he is that deaf. But either way he went right in, gently set down his cup of coffee, and cranked up the volume on Farrar. It all began gently enough. O'Connor began by gently patting Farrar on the head, much in the way a father might pat the head of his son. But then it got nasty. O'Connor grabbed Farrar's ear and (with a delicate 180 degree rotation of the wrist), twisted Farrar to the ground in an odd mix of pain and confusion.

Please note the brut strength and ease at which the Assassin calmly went to work. He held Farrar in check with one hand, while having a sip of his coffee with the other. He roared to a 10-1 lead.

But suddenly he had to let go. A flash of blinding white light screamed by, hair blowing in his self-created wind. The feet moved so fast it is tough to say what knocked things loose, but rumors have it there are now two fighters with K Swiss logos on their foreheads. Jeff France was gone as quickly as he appeared.

Upon resuming battle, Farrar tried to take his shot, working from the stretch to deliver a quick smack towards the face of O'Connor. But the key word is towards. O'Connor's skin is tougher to pierce than HOH leather, and he quickly dodged the attack with a 13-3 advantage. He caught Farrar's hand in mid-swing, spun him like a top, and delivered his final shot - a combination spider kick - and winning with a 15-3-1-1 victory over Ranzini and France (and Farrar).

O'Connor meets Kate "El Conquistador" Ranzini in an epic battle in the Sweet 16.

Up next:

#3 Curtis "Bambi" Cruz vs #6 Denny "Big Sexy" Whiteside

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Good luck.