GETTIN’ IN THE KNOW FT. JACK DONOVAN

This is…”Gettin’ In the Know” with Chlo!  Your occasional slice of Union Grand Prix Info-tainment.

Each episode, I, Chlo, help you all get to know your favourite fighters outside of the cage! I get to sit down with them for some good eats and try to get some good stuff from them. I’m all about keeping it fun, and I’m up for just about anything, anywhere. So I’m also gonna be spending time and trying some of your favorite fighters’ favorite things. 

The opening shot was a drone shot over hills, all grassy and a very striking shade of green. There was Celtic instrumental music over the view. Finally, a camera follows a young dark-haired Caucasian woman. She has the Union GP logo on her top.she walks along until something catches her eye. 

At her feet, she finds a horseshoe. She gasped before picking it up and clutching it. 

“What are you supposed to do for good luck from these again? I don’t remember, I really hope this show goes well! I’ll take any luck I can get!”

With hope in her eyes, she gives the piece of metal a rub, before tossing it over her shoulder…

“Oh shit-”

We catch a glimpse of the woman, wincing apologetically until we see the man Union GP fans know as “The Reaper” would walk into the scene, rubbing his shoulder.

“Might wanna brush up on your superstitions a little there, Chlo.”

He says with a grin, before bending down to pick up the horseshoe. Handing it back to her. 

She would pocket it, embarrassed. 

“Hey, everyone! I’m Chloe Kendall, and this is Jack Donovan. Welcome to the first episode of Gettin In the Know.”

***

The scene would fade out and back in as the pair are inside of a Dublin pub. It’s not flashy. Though it looks as if it had been around awhile. Not much had been changed about it since it opened in the 1950s.

“You could have had UGP cover the tab for any food or drink anywhere? But you chose here. What is it about a place like this that makes you know THIS is where we had to go?”

“That is… a great question. I dunno, really. I guess a place like this just takes me back home. I used to go to this one pub back in Australia a lot that had a similar sorta vibe to this, and one day when I was over in the states feeling home sick, and this just sorta… fixed all that.”

“Countries you’ve been in with the best pubs? Top 3, go!”

“Well, Australia has gotta be number one, obviously. Ireland is another one with some pretty good pubs, so I’ll go with them for number two. Then… hmm. Germany. That’ll be the third.”

“Do better, Americas!” Chlo would shake her head in disappointment, jokingly of course. 

Chlo would look eagerly as the order that he placed would arrive. She was luckily not allergic to anything, and would try anything, so Jack had really ordered for them both.

“You got your order out so fast. Sounded like it was your usual. Have you been here at this pub a lot? Do you just order the same thing everywhere?”

“Yeah, this pub I come to a lot. Don’t normally venture outside of my regular stuff too often. Once I find a place I like, like this one for example, I figure out what I like and sorta stick to it. But because I’m on my fight camp training, so I’ve been cutting back on what I’d normally eat, start eating cleaner than normal to get my body in the best condition to fight. So instead of, you know, piggin’ out and eating what I’d normally do, I’m stickin’ with just the regular old schnitty.”

“Next time, I’ll track you down when you can really have a cheat day… Craziest pub story you wanna share with us. I won’t judge, promise!”

Chlo was sure to make use of the momentary distraction to sample his order for herself. 

Jack laughs, looking to his side before back at Chlo. “Alright… so. There was this one time after a fight of mine where I was in Norway, right. I was sinking a couple back at the pub afterwards, and in come these guys all dressed up as vikings. They challenge me to a drinking contest, I take them up on it and we drink for HOURS. Afterwards, they get me all dressed up in the whole get up, even gave me fake long hair, and a beard that was a completely different colour to my actual one and we set off into the night… I don’t remember much after that, just remember waking up in Sweden dressed up as a viking, and only had my phone and wallet on me, which was a blessing.”

“If Jack Donovan wasn’t a fighter, he’d be a…? A viking?”

Jack laughs at the question, collecting himself he begins to answer. “Yeah, either a viking or a footy player, not a good one though. My old man was a footy player and wanted me to go down that path, but it wasn’t something I was really into. I got into MMA and fighting as a whole when I was about twelve, and just sorta kept myself in that career path. Sure, footy was great, but I didn’t have the love for that sport like I do MMA.”

“So, “The Reaper”, why’s that your nickname? Has it been that for a long time?”

“Ever since I set foot into the cage I originally wanted to be Jack the Ripper, I just thought it fit, being my name is Jack and all that. Then one time after I knocked out this one guy it got quite scary there for a minute. The guy wasn’t moving for a hot minute, and only started moving as I went to check on him afterwards, then backstage, my coach called me ‘The Reaper’ cause I ‘collected that poor kids soul’… and the name sorta stuck afterwards.”

“Fighting for a living can definitely be stressful, and with it being nearing a fight, I’m sure it’s getting intense. I’m sure your team would rather you be in the gym or sparring or whatever. No time for fun. But you’re on my show, and that means there’s always gotta be fun! So we’re gonna go somewhere, do something that’s gonna let you let loose a little. We’re gonna spend some time in your happy place…”

***

Frustrated screaming and the sound of shattering would cue a transition. Chlo and Jack are in a new place. Chlo now had gloves, earplugs and goggles on. Zooming out we saw that both of them had a baseball bat in hand. We would see but not hear Chlo mouth “A rage room?”

Jack nods his head with a smirk on his face, tossing a plate up for Chlo to hit with the bat in her hands.

She mostly swung and missed, until she just hit the plate when it was on the ground. Thus kicking off a quick montage of Jack and Chlo just wailing on and whipping breakables. They would keep lobbing and smashing back and forth. Jack was able to hit all of his targets but it took Chlo about three tries to really get into a groove. 

“They’re not gonna be able to salvage any of the damage The Reaper just left in his wake, or me in mine! Rest in pieces, of pieces, of pieces!”

Now out of all of the protective gear, Chlo is still buzzing, on a real high after her first rage room. “Woo! I get it now! Sometimes just hitting and throwing stuff and screaming is actually really fun, and I feel weirdly calm right now too.”

“It does that to ya, gets it all outta your system, I’ve been doin’ these Rage Rooms forever now… always have a blast when I do.”

“We’re all looking forward to what The Reaper can do in that cage against and we all love The Reaper! But…Is there anything else that you need UGP fans to know for sure about Jack Donovan?”

“Yeah, just that this sport is something I have spent a long time working on… it’s not something I’m just gonna give up doing just because someone is better than me one night of the week. I know that my opponent, Kirk Jenkins, is gonna be a wild one… but I want the fans of the UGP to know I plan on giving my all, you know?”

“Well Jack, I’m sure we all really enjoyed getting to know you a little better. This was my first rage room, and I don’t think it’ll be my last! Thank you so much for coming on. To end the show, I have a little challenge for you. I call it…”

***

The Decision

The host and guest were both walking along a nice scenic Dublin park path. 

“Give me your silliest, most fun, but most importantly hottest take. Let’s see if you can win me over. Let’s see if you can get the UGP fans to agree with you.”

“Hmm… alright. I gotcha here. Liking pineapple on pizza is not as weird as people want it to be. Most people heard Gordon Ramsey talk his shit about it and immediately they latched onto it and made it their opinion. But it isn’t really that bad.”

Chlo would listen intently before chiming in. “Who decided to just agree that Gordon Ramsay was a food expert anyway? Why do we need to have food experts anyway? Science and math and everything else, sure. Not everyone knows how to do math or science. Everyone eats though!”

As they were walking along, something caught both of their eye. Chlo though was sure to return to task, turning back to the camera with a smile. 

“Guess we’ll have to see if the UGP fans agree with you, if and when this goes live.”

Chlo would crouch down, level with a crouched Jack. She was the one to pick up what else but a four-leaf clover. 

“I’m keeping this, I need it, and it was great getting to know you, but as an unbiased professional I can’t let you have this. I can’t wish you luck. The fans and I are excited to see what goes down between you and Kirk Jenkins on Saturday, September 8th!“

“Until…” Chlo would cross her fingers. “Next time, this has been ya girl Chlo, and I hope this got you In the Know!”

Chlo would blow a kiss up close, to and through the screen. The pair would wave before a final fade to black.