This was the big sports event of the weekend.

UFC 193 and the knockout defeat of Ronda Rousey in Australia on Sunday by fellow American Holly Holm.

In case you missed it, here are the dozen seconds or so that ended the fight — with Rousey on the canvas, bloodied and concussed.

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Often, after a terror attack, people and politicians make a point of saying “we are not afraid”.

That seemed to be the case in Paris, certainly, over the weekend, after the attacks that killed at least 130 people.

France’s president, Francois Hollande, said something like that in an address to the nation.

Versions of that sentiment were written on placards.

And everyone wanted it to be true … that they were not afraid, that their lives would not change … but it isn’t as easy as just saying so.

As various moments of panic in Paris tonight demonstrated.

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Friday, the 13th of November, 2015, will be remembered for a long time, in Paris. One of those “where were you when …?” events that everyone will be able to answer.

The overwhelming majority of the people out and about not only weren’t victims of terrorists, they saw or heard nothing about them until after things had gone very wrong elsewhere, most of it in the 11th arrondissement.

One of those stories involves an old friend, not the sort of person you might expect to be in the 11th on a Friday night, but there she was.

We found out about it while checking, via email, on friends and former co-workers still in Paris.

Here is her recounting of what turned out to be a harrowing, and then heart-warming, evening for her:

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Six days ago we left the Paris of the 11th Arrondissement, which today again was the Paris of Terror.

In the deadliest day in the city since World War II, seven decades ago, far more than 100 people were killed in six terror attacks, four of which occurred inside the 11th we stayed in for 16 days, ending Saturday. A fifth killing scene was across the street from the 11th.

It is the sort of thing that makes a person think about where they have been, and what they saw, and semi-close calls.

And, especially, why the 11th might have been singled out by the murderers.

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A characteristic of weather in the UAE, and this part of the world, is that it is relentlessly hot in the summer — as well as the four extra “shoulder” months, two before and two after summer, proper.

It was every-single-day, uniformly hot from, let’s say, mid-April, until today, when it the high temperature did not reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) — for the first time since April.

(And it was only in the past few weeks that we didn’t reach 100, for the first time since April.)

It is November, remember.

The photo, above, is the marvelous view from the balcony of our apartment.

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Like most individual sports, golf benefits from a rivalry at the top. Hogan versus Snead. Palmer versus Nicklaus. Woods versus Mickelson — which is not as lopsided as one might think.

The next great rivalry?

Looks like it will be between Jordan Spieth, the 22-year-old Texan, and Rory McIlroy, the 26-year-old Northern Irishman.

And it will be next played out in Abu Dhabi, at the HSBC Championship, January 21-24.

What have these two done already?

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This photo gallery is put up by one of those sites who live for photo galleries, then bombard you with ads and links (and slow response times) as you drew to negotiate the photos.

So, fair warning.

But this one alleges to represent 19 photos that could have been taken only in Dubai.

After six years in the UAE, including more than a little time spent in Dubai, I think I can speak to the accuracy of the “only in Dubai” part of this.

And thanks to LoKoGyRL for sending along the link.

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Thankfully, sometimes not-good things happen to not-very-good people.

Saudi Arabia’s football federation threw around its weight to mess with a 2018 World Cup qualifying process that should not have yielded to their demands and machinations.

They got their way everywhere but on the pitch, where they were held to a scoreless draw tonight by Palestine at a neutral site, Amman, Jordan.

And that was the sound of right-thinking people clapping.

This is one of those weird Asian soccer episodes you would not find in Europe nor in South America. Probably not even in Concacaf.

To recap:

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Got to love airline upgrades.

We had enough points with Qatar Airway‘s alliance that we could afford one upgrade from economy to business on the QR40 flight from Paris to Doha in the A380 super jumbo.

It is like moving from squalor — among the 400-plus economy customers packed elbow to elbow on the lower level of the world’s biggest commercial aircraft — to comfortable upper-middle-class living among 48 business passengers sprawled through the middle of the upper deck of the 238-foot-long plane.

So, who got the upgrade?

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Anyone who has been to Paris several times knows it is more like 20 cities than one.

Twenty is the number of arrondissements inside the peripherique, the circular roadway that divides Paris from its suburbs, and each of those 20 has its own personality — and sometimes several personalities, as you move about inside the neighborhoods.

The tourist- and government-dominated 1st. The finance-driven 2nd. The staid 7th. The wealthy 16th. The grim 19th and 20th.

We just spent two weeks in the 11th.

Where does it fit on the palette of Paris?

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