UFC, things did not get off to a particularly promising start. In introducing the night's action, play-by-play commentator Bill Wallace incorrectly referred to it as the "Ultimate Fighting Challenge" twice within 10 seconds.
Eighteen years to the day later, UFC on FOX marked the promotion's debut on network television, with a single fight broadcast around the nation. Like UFC 1, it was essentially an informercial, designed to pull in sports enthusiasts and channel surfers in hopes of creating new fans.
went just 64 seconds, robbing the UFC of a chance to give new viewers a deeper look at a textured sport.
Overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Let's take a look at the broadcast and break it all down.
9 pm ET: FOX opens the show with a black and white card which reads, "The following might be the most exciting live sporting event in the history of television, and it's our duty to say: Viewer discretion advised." Cool.
9 pm: The FOX Sports theme music kicks off as host Curt Menefee announces the UFC is part of the FOX family. A nice touch, and for football fans especially, a clear signal that this is going to be a big deal.
9:01 pm: FOX shows a quick montage with a brief history of the promotion, and introduces Velasquez and dos Santos. A good idea, but not in-depth enough to offer any real insight into the UFC's wild ride.
9:03 pm: Menefee and UFC president Dana White are at the FOX Sports anchor desk inside the arena to discuss the significance of the fight and the event. I have no problem with White having a presence and speaking about the company's rise. But to have the company president as the fight analyst doesn't make for optimal presentation. It would be a much better idea to have a retired fighter giving unbiased analysis without a promoter's slant.
joins White and Menefee to discuss the fight. Lesnar mentions he'll fight the winner of Velasquez-dos Santos, getting in a nice plug. Given Lesnar's status as perhaps the most well-known UFC fighter, his presence was practically mandatory. Lesnar wasted no time doing some verbal sparring with White, though he incorrectly predicted Velasquez would be able to take dos Santos down and keep him there. He wasn't the only one.
9:13 pm: FOX shows a segment on dos Santos that describes his early life, including an interview with his mother in which she tells a story of when as a youth, he refused to fight back against a bully because he didn't like to fight. This was a good, humanizing piece for those people who still insist fighters are thugs.
9:20 pm: A similar segment on Velasquez airs, detailing his father's sacrifices as a manual laborer to build a better life for his family, and how Cain learned his work ethic from him. Although this is a story many of us have heard before, it's important for the rest of the world tuning in to gain a little personal knowledge of the fighters.
9:25 pm: Menefee throws the fight to Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan for more analysis. Rogan describes dos Santos as sort of a throwback to the early days of the UFC for his reliance on one art: boxing. It's not too far off, but it downplayed dos Santos' wrestling brilliance, the fact that he's a jiu-jitsu brown belt, and that he's extremely athletic.
9:29 pm: dos Santos makes his way to the cage to the "Rocky" theme song and a chorus of boos. A great walkout song, but have fighters forgotten he loses? Rogan presciently asks, "The big question for him in this fight is, can he land the big shot standing up?"
9:33 pm: Velasquez makes his walk to the cage. At this point we're over a half-hour in and haven't seen a punch, so most people are probably getting a bit edgy. I understand the need for a pre-fight show but this is on the longish side. Hopefully that's because it's the first one, and in the future we can cut it down.
9:36 pm: Bruce Buffer begins introductions. Now we're in business. dos Santos looks calm and composed. Velasquez's body language isn't great. His gaze is downward as he walks side to side.
9:39 pm: Ref John McCarthy gives the "Let's get it on" opener. Let's.
9:40 pm: It's over. What? Look, many mainstream media members and other sports fans took shots at the UFC after dos Santos needed just 64 seconds to beat Velasquez, but those numbskulls should know that sports are unpredictable. There were three big sports events last night. This was one. In the second, Juan Manuel Marquez was robbed by the ringside judges in a loss to Manny Pacquiao. In the third, No. 4 Stanford was blown out by Oregon by 23 points in college football. Sports are unpredictable. We can't control that. That said, it clearly would have been beneficial for UFC to have a longer, technical fight that showcased more of the "mixed" part of MMA. But that's life.
9:54 pm: After post-fight interviews and some Rogan/Goldberg banter, we're back at the FOX Sports desk. White immediately questions Velasquez's strategy, asking why he didn't go for the takedown. This is a good question. But the entire post-fight analysis between the two is spent criticizing Velasquez while no credit is given to dos Santos for executing his plan. In essence, White acted more like an analyst than a promoter here, because he probably should have spent the time pumping up his new champion. That's good and bad, and it's another example of why White shouldn't be in the role. He can't serve the audience and his company, and he shouldn't have to. Just to be clear, it wasn't his idea. FOX Sports requested him there, but the network would do better to bring in their own analyst for these situations.
UFC 1 didn't exactly get off to a great start and things worked out OK. UFC on FOX had its issues, from timing to analysis. The fact that we only got 64 seconds of action in 60 minutes probably left a few hungry for more, but hopefully that just means they'll be back for another bite. With a seven-year FOX deal, there will be plenty more shows to choose from.
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Mike Pierce defeated Paul Bradley via split decision at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Paul Bradley tries to sway the judges at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mike Pierce punches Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mike Pierce lands a right hand on Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Aaron Rosa defeated Matt Lucas via majority decision at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Aaron Rosa kicks Matt Lucas at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres push kicks Cole Escovedo at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres knees the body of Cole Escovedo at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres front kicks Cole Escovedo at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres celebrates Bruce Lee-style after his win over Cole Escovedo at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres defeated Cole Escovedo via unanimous decision at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cole Escovedo throws a jumping knee on Alex Caceres at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Alex Caceres tries to armbar Cole Escovedo at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Robert Peralta and Mackens Semerzier collide heads at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Robert Peralta throws a leg kick against Mackens Semerzier at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mackens Semerzier lands a kick to the body of Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mackens Semerzier jabs Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mackens Semerzier looks to ground and pound Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Robert Peralta kicks Mackens Semerzier at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto throws a high kick against Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama throws a kick at Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mackens Semerzier falls down and desperately goes for a takedown against Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Mackens Semerzier goes for a takedown against Robert Peralta at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Robert Peralta def. Mackens Semerzier via third-round TKO at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama tries to submit Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at the closing seconds of the first round at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ricardo Lamas talks to Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ricardo Lamas falls to a knee after beating Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ricardo Lamas begins to get emotional after beating Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cub Swanson punches Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ricardo Lamas tries to escape a tight guillotine choke by Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ricardo Lamas attacks Cub Swanson from top at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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DaMarques Johnson knocks out Clay Harvison at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama exits the cage after his win over Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto walks off in defeat at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama def. Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama def. Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama kicks Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto pushes forward against Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama attempts to choke out Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Darren Uyenoyama attempts to choke out Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Dustin Poirier defeated Pablo Garza via submission at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Dustin Poirier defeated Pablo Garza via submission at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Dustin Poirier submits Pablo Garza with an arm-triangle choke at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Dustin Poirier drops down punches on Pablo Garza at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Pablo Garza throws a kick at Dustin Poirier at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson slugs with Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida goes after Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida and Ben Henderson get ready for battle at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson punches Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson defeated Clay Guida via unanimous decision at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida tries to win over the judges at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Referee Herb Dean warns Ben Henderson for an illegal punch to the back of the head at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida tries to choke out Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson knees Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida wants more of Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson takes a breather between rounds against Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson knees Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida rushes Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson knees Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Clay Guida charges Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 1 on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Ben Henderson defends a takedown attempt by Clay Guida at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cain Velasquez is ready to defend his UFC heavyweight belt at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos moments before facing Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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The scene of the main event of UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos lands a big right hand on Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cain Velasquez tries to take Junior dos Santos to the ground at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos drills Cain Velasquez in the head at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cain Velasquez falls to the ground after a hard left at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos attempts to finish Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos attempts to finish Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos attempts to finish Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos celebrates his win at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos celebrates his win at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos celebrates his win at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cain Velasquez fails to defend his UFC heavyweight title at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Junior dos Santos is awarded the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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Cain Velasquez leaves the Octagon without his belt at UFC on FOX on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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