Date: Friday - May 17th, 2019
Time: 9:30AM
Streaming: YouTube
Location: St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
Featuring: Dante Reed, Kylah Seymour, and Zari Aliyah
Tonight’s feed brings you to a rather nice corner of Antigua and Barbuda’s capital city: St. John’s…
Our glamorous view of the lush blue skies began to fade as the camera crew worked their magic. Now, all we could see was a two-story home that had been painted a navy blue color. Multi-color homes were common within the West Indies as it was commonplace for an individual to build their own from scratch.
Recently, Zari had the privilege (or so she thought) of buying a nice piece of property for her biological mother in the island nation’s capital city. It served as both a token of rebonding as well as a get away from the fast paced worlds of Canada and the United States.
A quick shift in the feed brought us to Zari comfortably seated at the dining room table. She twirled a fork over a plate of coconut dumplings. “....I need a coffee from Tim Horton’s or something, Mammy,” Aliyah, the latest addition to Union Grand Prix’s 135 pound division, said aloud to her biological mother: Kylah Seymour.
Mrs. Seymour jerked her head towards her daughter with a surprised expression on her face. “Yuh nah get none here! Yuh spend too much time a farrin!” After Mrs. Seymour’s outburst, Zari’s jaw dropped towards her mother. “I never asked to spend most of my youth years in Montreal! You dropped me off there!...I’m tired of getting crap for ‘sounding yankee’ and all of that nonsense you guys talk about. My yankee money’s good enough for you isn’t it? Being ‘grown up a farrin’ isn’t an issue when you need something is it?” Zari questioned. Her mother, eyes widened, could only reply in typical motherly fashion: “don’t be rude! Mi gave birth to yuh rass, gal! You are the pickney and I am the mudda!”
Evidently, despite reconnecting, there were still signs of tension between the pairing. However, before Zari could reply, the house bell began to sound off. Rather than engage in anymore hostilities, Zari placed her fork down so that she could get the door. After pulling it open, a welcoming smile formed on the Antiguan fighter’s face. “Hey, Dante, welcome back to our little abode...come on in,” she said. Dante, the President of Union Grand Prix, seemed to have a lot on his mind. Yet, he responded to Zari’s greeting with a positive outlook. “How are you, Z?” As the two began to walk back down the hall towards the dining room, Zari answered the only way she could: “snap, I’m good...Just trying to remind my OG that she can’t keep acting all entitled.” Dante seemed a tad bit curious due to the statement. However, there was business to take care of.
“Z, firstly, I do have to say that Antigua’s a very nice place. I’d be lying if I said one of the best parts of my job wasn’t being able to visit the different countries our fighters represent,” Dante said with respect. “Not to mention, that tour you gave me yesterday of the local foods in your home parish was just great,” he added.
The compliment put a smile on the face of the young woman. Meanwhile, Mrs. Seymour placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, made eye contact with Dante, and bluntly said the following: “treat muh daughter well, jack. She’s gah be the biggest star pan this whole Caribbean here.” The bold energy displayed by Mrs. Seymour made Dante crack a smile. Historically, he always admired those who made efforts to take respect, admiration, and most importantly - success. On the other hand, Aliyah has always been known as humble. Therefore, she wasn’t as keen on Mrs. Seymour’s sentiments.
“Mom, can you go in the other room so I can talk to Dante about work?” Zari asked her mother. Mrs. Seymour refused to budge momentarily. “Please?” Zari added. Finally, her mother obliged. But, not before mumbling a few profanities under her breath whilst grabbing an open bottle of local Carib brand beer.
“I really apologize for that, Dante...She’s always had problems with drinking and the more money we get-” Zari stopped herself before she could continue...letting out a sigh. “Let’s just talk about that we mentioned on the phone. So, I officially signed that paper to move to Bantamweight. It seemed as if I couldn’t break into the top 5 at Lightweight no matter what I did. I’m really looking forward to having that fresh start towards contending for a title,” Zari explained passionately as she slid a clipboarded stack of papers towards Dante Reed.
Dante, forming an expression laced with a touch of sympathy, took hold of the papers. He looked down to the big ‘Z.ALIYAH’ signature firmly planted at the dotted line. “Zari...there was a mistake in the office,” Dante uttered with a tone of disappointment. “A mistake?” Zari asked in a confused tone of voice. “Bantamweight will be a great change of pace,” she added on enthusiastically.
“No….Zari, there was a mistake in terms of your next fight,” Dante said firmly as he looked Aliyah in the eye. “What do you mean next fight? I thought I was on hold ‘til the Bantamweight tournament now that Takeshi’s left the promotion,” Aliyah questioned. “Yeah, one of our matchmakers failed to report to me with information that you were up next for a Lightweight Championship fight,” Dante gritted out. To Reed’s credit, he had always been a true man of his word. Not once throughout his tenure as President had he been afraid of addressing issues within the promotion. That was why Union had grown to be one of the top Mixed Martial Arts companies globally.
“Excuse me?” Zari asked rhetorically. “What do you mean Lightweight Championship fight? Even though I had two first round finishes against two amazing women, and built momentum, I was still at #6 on the rankings…” Zealous said as she attempted to work the situation out in her head. “Yes, you were #6. But, we had a final Lightweight title fight booked to take place before our tournaments begin. Cindy regretfuly told me your teammate Hanako was slated to defend against either you or another member of the Lightweight roster-”
“WHO? Who else was considered?” Zari blurted out, visibly becoming distressed by the news. “The former champion Jordan Parker-Kane,” Dante responded. Suddenly...Zari stood up out of her chair as her eyes began to swell up. “Put me in there! Give me the fight! I have a lot of love for Hanako as a fighter and a person. But, we all go into the Real Killas Gym with the same goal of being the best,” Aliyah stated with a tone of aggression.
Dante began to shake his head. He felt bad about the Aliyah situation himself. “The fight between you and Hanako was going to happen for the title at the Bell Centre in Montreal. We can’t do that fight now because-”
“I could’ve fought in Montreal for the title? Now I can’t?! Because of what, man?!” Zari snapped again, even more angered by the fact that this life changing fight with her teammate Hanako Takeuchi, one of the most feared fighters in the game, was supposed to happen in her adoptive father’s hometown of Montreal, Quebec.
Fighting for the belt? That would’ve been life changing…
Fighting for the belt in front of her father? That was a game changing opportunity that would likely NEVER come again…
“You’re already processed to be in the Bantamweight tournament, Zari. So, the Lightweight title fight’s already off the table. Cindy wanted to apologize to you face-to-face. But, she couldn’t make the trip down here. So, I came here to apologize to you myself. You didn’t deserve to miss out because of a blunder on anyone’s part, and this is something we’ll have to ensure never happens again as we grow even more. I know this is a very difficult time to hear this. But, you have to listen…” Dante said to the Bantamweight fighter. “You are a star, Zari…Look at what you’ve accomplished so far...You’ll be back in no time,” Dante said encouragingly.
“I’m sorry, Dante, I’ve gotta go…You can stay here if you want. But, I’m done…” Zari said as a tear finally found itself rolling down her cheek. These were tears of emotion. Tears that showed the world how much a chance to become a champion meant to each and every Union fighter…
"Z..." Dante said in another last ditch effort to encourage the West Indian fighter. Aliyah brushed past the President of UGP, leaving her own status in question. Would Zari Aliyah ever forgive the promotion’s matchmakers for a historical blunder?...