Blair Yuen vs. Suzan Hinyanko [D]

[CaptainL]

Despite Blair's attempt to counter Suzan's armbar with a knee strike, the blonde still wasn't letting go, cranking at her shoulder with all her might! As the pressure built, Blair's teeth locked into a grimace, and her brow furrowed from the strain. This really wasn't anywhere she wanted to be right now. As long as Suzan had her locked down, there was nowhere she could go, and the punishment she would dish out could only get worse from here. Already, it felt like her arm could pop out of its socket at any moment; she was in no mood to wait around and see what would happen if she left Suzan to her own devices. But what was even worse was the humiliation that came from knowing that Blair had been shown up. If she tapped out now, she would have let a rookie not only take her down but take her out in the first few minutes of the match. That would be a blow to her pride too great for her to ever forgive herself for! And that motivated her all the more to fight back, just to keep that from happening!

"Then...I'll have to do it myself-!" Blair grumbled in defiance. Even if it was going to hurt, she would still do whatever she needed to, just to prevent Suzan from winning! Gnashing her teeth and shaking her head, Blair would attempt to kick out with her leg, this time throwing it forward to try and drag herself across the canvas. She would try to bring herself closer to the ropes - if she could do that, she'd throw her foot out to try and lock her ankle around the rope to score herself a rope break! It was the least she could do when tapping certainly wasn't an option!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Suzan notices what she’s doing and decides to let go of the hold before bringing her back to her feet. Unaware to her adversary that she was setting up another one of her signatures, the Raging Zephyr! She hits Blair in the stomach with a knee strike before preforming a Tomoe nage, otherwise known as a circle throw!

[CaptainL]

Blair winced with every inch she pushed herself across the canvas. No matter how far she moved, it did little to lighten the pain that was coursing through her shoulders more and more the longer Suzan held her in the armbar! She gnashed her teeth, throwing her head from side to side just to make the ordeal a little more bearable. All she needed was to get to the ropes - that was her last hope; if she could do that, she'd be in the clear. Now, Blair found herself just a few short inches away from her salvation. Her eye twitching and her brow running with sweat, she held her leg out as far as it could go, reaching for the ropes. Just a little more, she thought to herself - she could do it!

But just when Blair was about to free herself, Suzan let her go. All of a sudden, the dark-haired girl felt the pressure release, and with it, her arm dropped to her side. A second later, the pain caught up to her, and she shuddered as she hugged her still-sore arm closer to her side, feeling a shock run down her spine. She was going to need more time to collect herself before she was ready to throw herself back into the match at full strength. Which made things all the worse for her when Suzan was already lining up her next move!

When Blair got up and slowly turned around to face her opponent, she looked up just in time to see Suzan slam her knee upward into her midsection! Wheezing as the air was knocked out of her lungs, Blair doubled over forward, pulling her hands closer to herself to try and shield herself against any further blows while she caught her breath. But Suzan was already on the move - and while Blair was bent over, Suzan was able to grab her by the arms and pull her inward, dropping to her back and flipping her in an arc toward the mat!

She landed with a thud, groaning from the impact, and the fans sent out a cheer to see such an impressive move from the newcomer. For a moment, Blair panted for breath, trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head. But she just as soon forced herself back up into a seated position, hugging her arm closer to herself still. She huffed under her breath, keeping her teeth clenched. She couldn't afford to let Suzan push her around this much. Not just for the sake of her body, but for her pride. She needed to make a comeback soon - and she certainly couldn't stay laying around when Suzan could move in for the kill!

Blair pushed herself back onto her feet. She hissed in pain as she did so, and she teetered back and forth - but she still turned back around to face her opponent, her eyes narrowing in a glare. No matter how much it hurt to right herself, it would hurt a lot more if she couldn't. She brought her fists up to defend herself, watching Suzan from over her guard. For now, she would watch for what Suzan would do next, so she could react accordingly. She couldn't lose her cool now, and make this even worse! For now, she had to keep calm and remain focused!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Suzan would then prepare her Galestorm Grasp signature, grabbing a hold of Blair’s head before throwing her down with an inverted DDT.

[CaptainL]

With every step Suzan took, the tension rose in Blair's body. Her muscles pulled tight, her teeth clenched, and her stance curled inward, hugging her arms closer to her chest. She knew all too well that she couldn't afford to take her eyes off her foe for even a moment. For a Young Lioness, and a new debut at that, Suzan displayed a commendable knowledge of martial arts, hitting hard and fast and managing to keep tight control of the momentum of the bout at every turn. Blair had to stay on her toes. Her heart was beating faster with nervous energy, knowing that Suzan was every bit capable of taking her down if she let her. But she had to focus all her efforts on making sure that didn't happen!

When she felt Suzan grab her by the head, Blair's heart practically skipped a beat. Now she was closer than ever to the danger zone. But she had prepared for this moment. She reminded herself it would do her no good if she let her fears rule her now. Now that Suzan was in close quarters, Blair could strike, and she wouldn't pass up that opportunity! She felt herself being dragged forward as Suzan tried to pull her down - but as her balance began to tip, Blair would suddenly shoot her leg up from the ground, her knee pointed to deliver a strike straight to the blonde's sternum. Hopefully, that would throw off her balance enough for her purposes.

She would still find herself being pulled down and forward, closer to Suzan - but she'd attempt to roll with the momentum. When she dropped to the mat, she would tuck her head in and go for a sommersault, minimizing the damage she'd take from the fall and trying to get out of the way in the same time. Hopefully, Suzan would be off-balance from the knee strike, making it all the easier to get away!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Suzan: You know, I can understand stand why you’re doing this.. you’re trying your best, yet you’re afraid of failing miserably!

[CaptainL]

Sure enough, Blair had been able to roll forward, landing on her back and shoulders rather than her head, and pushing up with her legs and hips at the same time so that she would go tumbling across the mat. As she came to a stop, she rose to her hands and knees, panting for breath. She hadn't gotten away from Suzan's attempt at a DDT unscathed - her back was still sore from where she'd landed, and she had struck the mat with no small amount of force. But Blair knew it could have been a lot worse.

She bit her lip as she pushed her way back up to her feet, contemplating over what had led her this far. She had, perhaps, underestimated Suzan in the opening moments of this match, and the blonde was quick to show her the consequences of such foolishness. But even now, she was struggling to keep up with her opponent. There was more than beginner's luck involved here - Suzan was a capable fighter, and one who tested Blair's attention, reflexes, and endurance. It had only been by a stroke of luck that Blair was able to dodge the DDT. She knew she was going to have to stay on her guard through the rest of the match...but even getting a hold on Suzan seemed to be a daunting task!

However, as she turned back around to face Suzan, the blonde said something that cut through to Blair's core. As she took another step forward, she froze in her tracks, her eyes going wide. Somehow...Suzan managed to figure out exactly what she was feeling; how she was afraid of failing and letting herself down. She had only known her for a few short minutes, and it seemed like she could read her like a book! In that moment, something tightened in the pit of Blair's stomach. If Suzan had managed to figure her out so easily, what else could she do? Could she read her moves enough to counter? Was Blair herself really that obvious? If she had given her opponent an in like that, she already felt like she'd made a mistake she couldn't forgive herself for.

Still, she wasn't going to give Suzan the satisfaction of knowing she'd rattled her. Clenching her teeth, Blair took a step forward, her fists tightening at her sides into a white-knuckled grip. "S-Shut up! That's not true!" she barked. A second later, though, she winced - that too had been a betrayal of her promises to herself; she was letting herself be ruled by her emotions, and that was a sure-fire way for her to start slipping up. Sucking in a breath, Blair reminded herself she needed to be more careful if she wanted to win this match.

She slowly drew closer to Suzan, her arms raised in a guard all the while, and her eyes followed carefully behind every step she took. If she could get into range, Blair would lunge closer to feint a jab to Suzan's sternum in the hopes she'd protect her chest - only to duck low and kick her knee up, aimed for her now-unprotected stomach! If that worked, she'd quickly extend her foot to jab it into the same spot!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Suzan: *Sigh* Ya try to reason with ‘em.. (She ignores the feint before preforming a hurricanrana, which she transitions into a headscissor hold)

[CaptainL]

Blair was hoping that by switching up her approach, she'd be able to catch Suzan off her guard - giving her a feint to react to, and then striking as soon as she created an opening. Much to Blair's frustrations, however, it seemed as though Suzan had seen her plan coming! As her fist shot out toward the blonde, Suzan simply remained where she was, letting her knuckles come just shy of her chest. When she saw that her tactics didn't seem to be getting through to her foe, the Muay Thai fighter clenched her teeth, grumbling under her breath - it shouldn't have been this hard to assert her dominance against a rookie like Suzan was. But nothing she was doing seemed to work!

She wouldn't have long to contemplate her ill fortune, however. Just as quickly, Suzan jumped up, swinging her legs out to grab Blair around the head, and bowling her off her feet! The next thing Blair knew, she had gone head over heels before hitting the mat with the sound of a thud. The fans cheered Suzan for such an athletic counter, but it was growing quite apparent to Blair that she was in a tight spot. Suzan had taken her to the ground - a place where a stand-up striker at her was less able to work things to their advantage. And what was more, when Suzan had the size advantage, Blair could feel it all the more as she clenched down the pressure of the headscissor, her thighs squeezing her temples with crushing force!

A cold sweat ran down the back of her neck as her teeth tightened in a grimace. Blair knew she had to get out of this soon. She had no right to be doing this poorly against a Young Lioness - she had to turn things around, just to prove she had it in her to do so! Balling a fist, she let it fly toward Suzan's thighs again and again, bludgeoning her with a volley of punches. It was the least she could do right now - but she needed results fast, and she was running out of options.

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Suzan only tightens her hold on the stubborn fighter, with her punches only making her add pressure to her hold!