Blair Yuen vs. Zira Cabalero - MMA Match

[CaptainL]

As she crossed over to the other side of the cage, buying herself some time to get her wits about her, Blair lifted herself up to her knees, where she panted for breath and tried to shake some sweat off her brow. There, she rubbed at her ribs, trying to dull the sore sensation that Zira's kick had left behind. She sucked in a breath through clenched teeth - this wasn't exactly the most fortunate start to the match, and she knew that she would need to turn things around if she wanted to stand a chance. But she had no other option. Her own self-respect lay in the balance, and she needed to stand up to Zira just to prove she could. That was something that drove her onward, as her teeth clenched tighter and her fist balled at her side as she planted her feet against the ground to hoist herself to her feet. There was no more room for failure!

With one eye squeezed shut in a wince, Blair lifted herself to her feet, drawing one hand across her chin to wipe her mouth. When she saw Zira bounding toward her with the constant motion of a capoiera master, she could feel her heart beating faster in her chest, and her muscles firmed up in preparation to make a move - whether that be a retaliating strike or a dodge. These last few seconds could make or break the match, and Blair knew she needed to choose wisely. When she saw Zira's leg lift off the mat, she ducked lower to the ground, shifting her weight to the soles of her feet to prepare to spring out of the way. Little did Blair know, however...Zira was counting on that.

At the last second, while Blair was in mid-dodge, Zira brought that foot down against the canvas to shove herself forward! The Muay Thai fighter only had a few short seconds to realize what was about to happen to her, and it wouldn't be enough to save her when Zira's knee slammed deep into her gut. Crying out from the pain, she doubled forward over Zira's knee, coughing and sputtering - and she was thrown back off the momentum, sending her back straight into the wall of the cage! The sound of a clang rang out, leaving a few spectators wincing as the cage rattled against the impact. But Blair began to sink lower - and, as she panted for breath to try and collect herself, the tension in her body could only grow tighter when she looked up to settle her eyes on her foe. She wasn't faring as well as she would've liked against an opponent like Zira, whose presence threatened her both physically and psychologically. And that spelled disaster.

[Bare]

Zira huffed softly after managing to push Blair back into the cage with a powerful kick. Placing her foot down and rolling her shoulders back Zira would watch as her opponent slid down the cage, seemingly stunned by the blow, and as a result in the most dangerous position possible for a fighter such as Zira as she marched across the cage to close the distance between herself and Blair, thrusting her knee forward once again to try and drive the hard joint directly into Blair's face! Should it work in stunning the girl then Zira would drop down into Blair's lap, a gesture that most people would be immensely excited about, but in this case Zira would start to throw punches directed at Blair's face, to try and turn this into a outright beatdown on the little dragon, at the very least until the time ran out on the round, or if Blair managed to fight Zira off, whichever came first!

[CaptainL]

As Blair came to settle at the bottom of the cage wall, panting and huffing as she tried to collect her breath, her eyelid twitched nervously as her teeth clenched into a grimace, and she rubbed at her shoulder to try and dull the pins and needles that were taking hold throughout her entire body. She hated to admit it, but there was no doubt about it - against Zira, she was struggling. Not only did this woman have an easy size and weight advantage, she'd also managed to get the better of Blair through psychological warfare, forcing the Muay Thai fighter to question herself and her chances, and in the process to let down her guard - something that Zira took the first chance she could to take advantage of. Now, the match had just begun, and Blair was already struggling to collect herself. It was no position she wanted to find herself in - but it would seem as though Zira left her with no choice.

In fact, Zira wasn't about to let up! Blair had tried to plant her feet against the mat enough to hoist herself back to her feet - but just before she could, Zira came running in to cut her off at the pass! In a lightning-fast strike, her foot rammed into the girl's face, knocking Blair back against the cage with enough force to rattle it, and leaving her to sink back in a daze. Everything hurt, and the whole world had gone blurry - and still, Zira wasn't done. Flinging herself off her feet, the heavyweight came crashing down onto Blair's lap, with all 196 pounds bearing down on her from above! Blair might have been dazed, but this was enough to get her to let out a scream - at least, it would have been if Blair had the air in her lungs to let loose anything more than a dry rasp. She fell back into the corner wheezing and gasping. The sheer size of her opponent had been enough to drive the air out of her lungs, and by now Blair was struggling to hang on, fading in and out of her senses. Something Zira certainly wouldn't help with when her fists began flying, and in a flurry of strikes she bludgeoned Blair all up and down her sides, causing her to jerk this way and that as she yelped and groaned from each impact!

Some of the fans could only wince at the brutal beatdown Blair was enduring. Others laughed and some even booed her, seeing this as the proof that the heights of Blair's career really had passed her by. But even through the stinging sensation of all the punches, Blair could still hear everything - and what she heard made her stomach tighten in a knot, as her muscles firmed up with a surge of adrenaline. This was what she had to prevent. If she let Zira get away with this, she thought, it would just be proof she was hopeless. She couldn't let Zira tell her story. She couldn't let this be the end - she had come here to prove she still had what it took, and she couldn't let Zira take that away from her!

Gritting her teeth, Blair looked back up to lock eyes with her foe. Her fists balled so tightly that the points of her fingernails dug into her palms. But Zira wasn't the only one who could strike. Blair was going to demonstrate that - as she began to fire back at Zira with her fists and elbows! If she could strike hard enough, she hoped, she just might be able to turn things around!

[Bare]

Thus far the match had been going exactly as Zira had thought it would go. Blair was an easy read for someone like her, haunted by her past and never getting over it left her all too vulnerable. Especially with Zira being proficient in the style that she had lost against previously to the point that it was almost poetic. Well it would be if not for Zira looking to utterly demolish Blair and beat her to a bloody pulp splashed against the side of the cage wall. Something that she was making very good progress in as she laid in punch after punch to the girl after dropping into her lap with force!

Now as Zira laid into Blair with a ground and pound it was leaving many to wander just how long this match would go on to, and if Blair could even make it past the first round! It would certainly be impressive for Zira at least. Even with the massive size advantage she held Blair was still a former mma champ and her proficiency in Muay Thai left little to ponder how she had done so. In fact if not for her past failures and inability to get over them, who even knew if Zira would be able to get the girl down and beating on her as easily as she had! So much left to wander and think about.. some of it maybe even getting to Blair's head as suddenly and without warning a fist came up and managed to nail Zira right in the liver!

"Ugh!" Zira grunted in pain at the blow to the sensitive area which was only followed by more and more, Blair seeming to have found her fight as she began to lash out and attack with fervor with blows to Zira's sides and chest! "Ugh! Agh! Gah! Fine ugh! If thats how you Ugh! wanna play lets go!" Zira growled out in between grunts and groans of pain before she started to lash back out at Blair, having to scoot back to get some distance from Blair's fist, but still close enough to lash back with her own, seemingly getting into an absolute slug fest with Blair!

Ding ding

Only for the ringing of the bell to signal the end of the first round and causing Zira at least to pause in her assault as she panted and huffed, adrenaline coursing but not allowing herself to act on it. Not right now at least. Looking down at Blair who's lap she sat on she would scrunch her nose slightly before moving to get up... But not before pushing off her face with her hand, disrespectfully shoving Blair's face into the cage again as she got up and off of Blair, turning and walking back to her corner to take the rest before the next round started.

[CaptainL]

When Zira had Blair pinned up against the wall of the cage, painting all up and down her body with punches and kicks and jabs that came flying from seemingly every direction, more than a few fans in the crowd winced and looked away. Given how much bigger Zira was compared to her opponent, it was looking more like a massacre than a fair contest between equally-matched athletes, and that wasn't even getting into the aggression Zira showed the lightweight. She was pounding fists and feet into Blair with a bestial fervor, dead-set on embarrassing the Little Dragon of Muay Thai in front of the world and proving she had no place in MMA. Every shot knocked Blair this way and that, her teeth clenching into a pained wince as she shuddered against the force of every blow that landed. But for all it was hurting Blair, it was also stoking the burning rage in her to make a difference - to stand up for herself, and to fight back. And in the end, not even the pain Zira was dishing out against Blair was enough to keep her down - she struck for Zira as well!

A few cheers began to ring out from the sight of Blair's defiance, which looked all the more impressive when it came in the face of what seemed so hopeless. The fact that Blair was fighting back at all meant she was too determined to let Zira's dominance slow her down. When she heard the people cheer for her, it brought the slightest hint of a smile to Blair's face. But what truly made her heart beat faster with rising confidence was when she saw Zira reel backward as Blair's strike landed. That told her what she was doing was working - that she could hurt Zira; that she could still win. And that was the assurance she needed to keep it up; it was as though a second wind propelled her forward!

Gritting her teeth with the fires of determination, Blair threw herself even harder into the fray. Her fists whipped through the air, pounding at Zira's ribs, her sides, her back - everywhere she could reach. Not even the aching sensation that covered her skin wherever Zira had hit was going to slow her down any more; it had all but died down into a numb tingle. It wouldn't matter how much she hurt, so long as she could make sure Zira hurt more! Even Zira was beginning to shrink back, unable to put up with it all. It made Blair's heart leap in her chest to think that she was this close to achieving victory, and she was prepared to tail after her foe...

Right when the bell rang.

The first round was over - and when Blair heard the bell, she had to pause for a moment to get her bearings, reminding herself where she really was. She had gotten lost in the furor of battle, and in the process she had let the real world slip away from her. For a moment, she panted for breath, looking back and forth through wide and glassy eyes at all the fans who were now staring at her blankly, in shock that she had that sort of aggression in her when she had made a name for herself through the precision and composure her style was characterized by. But what truly brought Blair back to reality came a moment later, when Zira shoved her face into the cold steel of the cage, sending a ring through the bars.

The referee stepped in between the two women, making sure they backed off from one another. But even then, the Muay Thai fighter was wracked with pain. Blair's teeth were clenched in a pained grimace as she pushed herself back from the wall, and one eye was squeezed shut in a wince. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath, and the whole world seemed like it was spinning around her. A shiver ran down her spine as she reminded herself that she had lost control - and how that had cost her in the past. But she was reminded just as quickly of all the aches and pains she felt along her body, with her skin blotched with bruises all over - and the sensation was just beginning to catch up to her, causing her to hiss through her teeth. Her arm shot to her side, cupping her aching muscles, and she leaned against the cage to keep herself steady. She turned to look back at Zira with a glare, but she had to ask herself all the same if she still had it in her to win this.

[Bare]

Getting admonished by the referee was never a generally pleasant experience but sometimes it was worth it to get a point across or at least get a little bit of extra satisfaction in from a certain position. In this case though both were achieved for her by shoving Blair's face into the cage. Not only did it feel a bit satisfying for her to do so, but it also rather loudly told Blair that even if she started to fire off some offense there that Zira still didn't see much in the woman below her, in fact it showed that that's exactly how Zira perceived Blair. Below her.

Getting up fully without further incident Zira would walk back to her corner, ignoring the referee's attempts at intimidation and instead focus on taking a quick breather, wincing slightly as her second place a cold pack on her ribs. "You shouldn't have gotten so cocky there, if you went for a submission you might have had her." The trainer told her before shutting up at the sight of Zira's focused glare directed to them for their input.

"I don't care. This is about showing that brat what the octagon is really like, that this isn't a barbie playhouse you can knock over when things don't go your way." Zira said with a sneer while glaring at Blair, practically counting down the seconds. Speaking of... Once the rest period was over Zira would practically shoot up to her feet and with a roll of her neck pound her fists together, smirking slightly as she approached the center of the ring, already raising her guard as she waited for Blair to do the same so that the next round could start.

[CaptainL]

Just thinking about it was enough to make Blair's teeth clench tighter in a wince - and the throbbing pain of the bruise that was quickly growing along her side was doing her no favors either. She almost had her. It had been a painful and embarrassing start to the match, one where Zira had practically walked all over the Muay Thai fighter. Sure, she had the obvious size and strength advantages, towering over Blair and with the physical bulk to match. But Blair was convinced that the blame of her defeat lay just as heavily on her own shoulders. She'd let herself get shaken. She'd let down her guard - and she'd paid the price. But what was worse was how she'd noticed it too late. By the end of the round, she was finally standing up to Zira, getting some good hits in on her. But before anything could come of it, the round ended, and the heavyweight was pulled just frustratingly out of her reach.

Standing in her corner, Blair stood straight and stiff, her head pointed to the mat below as she sucked in a long, slow breath and her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. She tried her best to look on the bright side - at the very least, she had managed to hit Zira a few times. Even with the two of them restarting from a neutral position, that was going to hold her back, and more to the point, it gave Blair the assurance that it really was possible to hurt Zira after all. So too, she'd have the chance to start things off right this time - going into the next round, she wouldn't have to be held back by the mistakes she'd made, and she had all the more reason to avoid slipping into the same pitfalls. Still, a sour taste bubbled up at the back of her throat. This wasn't how she wanted things to go - and she only had herself to blame.

Blair accepted an ice pack from the ring crew. Unlike Zira, she had no second in her corner. That in and of itself was a reflection of her stubborn nature - she was so desperate to prove that she was still capable that she wanted to do everything entirely on her own merits, so that no one could question if she'd needed a trainer to carry her, or worse, to make her anything more than a joke. If she was going to set things right, she'd do it herself. She too rubbed it over her body, deadening her nerves wherever the pain of Zira's fists and feet reasserted itself. She sucked in a breath, trying to let the chill of the ice bring her thoughts down to reality - but she still could've sworn she heard a mocking jab from Zira. She had only half-caught it, but she didn't need to investigate any further. She knew how little Zira thought of her, and it made her teeth tighten in a snarl. But it also reminded her just how much she needed to prove her wrong.

"I'm sorry," Blair shot back, her voice cold and cutting. "What was that?" Just as the bell rang, Blair cracked her knuckles, settling back into a stance as she stormed closer to Zira in order to narrow the distance between them. Her eyes never left her opponent's, not even to blink, as they raised their fists and circled around each other, each one waiting for an opening. On the inside, though, Blair's heart was pounding. She'd already come closer to defeat than she could tolerate. She had to do better this time - there was no room for failure.

[Bare]

One round down, two to go, with Zira largely dominating the first round save for the last minute or so. But it was that minute that she was focused on. Zira's sides were still hurting from Blair's punches and the pain was serving as a reminder that Blair had started to fight back, and that their damage had actually done something. It was infuriating for her. Too her, Blair was just a coward, a brat, a weakling who didn't deserve to stand across from her in the octagon or the ring in general. Yet she still stood defiant and aggressive against her, anyone else and she'd say she was impressed, but with Blair? Hell fucking no.

Placing her fists back up in a guard and dismissing her opponent as she began to approach the center of the octagon once more she would level her eyes with Blair's own who apparently picked up on what she said. Not that Zira cared. "I said I'm about to show you that this isn't a barbie house you can knock over when throwing a fit!" Zira shot back, not afraid at all to repeat what she said loud enough for Blair to pick up this time as she drew ever closer, overlooking Blair's form before starting to shift foot to foot once more, resuming the rhythmic dance like movements of capoeira that had earned her the advantage early on in the first round.

Sweeping closer and closer towards her opponent with each step before lashing out at Blair, swinging one leg around towards her foe, only to twist her hips as she did so. That way regardless if the first kick connected she would turn as she did so getting her other leg around to try and send a second kick immediately afterwards to try and connect with some free flowing kick offense!

[CaptainL]

The first round of what was supposed to be Blair's return to the octagon had passed, and in the Muay Thai fighter's mind it had been just short of an unmitigated disaster. Even the fact that she'd been able to get a volley of punches fired off against Zira felt like it was barely a consolation prize when she had kicked this match off by falling into a trap she should well have been able to see coming and taking a pummeling for it. She still felt sore where Zira's blows had struck - it made her hiss through her teeth to think of how that would only hold her back in the rounds to come. But what was worse than the pain was the knowledge that the first impressions she had set, in front of an audience that was already skeptical of how well she could live up to her promises, had only confirmed her worst fears. That everyone would see her as a washed-up has-been who could barely hold her own. Blair was out to prove those people wrong, and yet, so far she was only giving them more ammunition. But, she thought to herself, there was still time. She had to make these next rounds count.

However, when Blair took a step closer to the center of the ring, she heard what Zira had said to her - and at once, she froze. Her jaw dropped open in a gasp, but her brows furrowed as her eyes locked down on the heavyweight in a glare fueled by pure burning rage. If it wasn't bad enough that Blair was embarrassing herself in front of all the fans, now Zira had all but confirmed that she saw no need to respect her or to take her seriously! "Nngh..! You-!" she began, her fists trembling with pent-up anger that she was ready to let loose as soon as she got the opportunity. Her first impulse told her to charge right up into Zira's face, here and now, and to start unloading onto her - to show her how pathetic she really was. If she was quick enough, she thought, she wouldn't need to fear retaliation. And surely she could hit even harder if she was getting that angry...

But that wasn't what Blair did. Instead, as she saw Zira hop back and forth into the weaving footwork of her capoiera stance, the Canadian lightweight remembered that this was exactly how the last round had started. How she had let herself get distracted by her rage, and Zira had moved in for the kill. The beatings she'd taken had been all the worse when she knew they were her fault - that she'd let herself get blinded by aggression, and that she was unable to keep herself under control. Now, Zira was trying to do it again. If Blair fell for this a second time, it would all but confirm how hopeless she was. If she really wanted to make a change...this time would have to be different.

Sucking down a breath, Blair stood a little straighter, leaning back and raising her head to look Zira in the eye. Despite her size, Zira could still move quickly, and she only had a split-second to react. Blair saw the one leg coming her way, and she hopped to the side, dodging the kick with barely a moment to spare! If she could focus, Blair's attentiveness was one of her greatest assets, and she had come to rely on it. But that was also precisely the reason she struggled as much as she did against capoiera users - it was hard to predict.

Just seconds after Blair had dodged Zira's first kick, the heavyweight lashed out with another! This one slammed into Blair's back, causing her to bend over in an arc as her spine buckled against the blow. Her teeth clenched down into a snarl, and she hissed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut to try and quell the pain. But she couldn't let that pain stop her. She had pledged to get a hit in on Zira - and, as she threw a jab aimed at Zira's jaw while they were still close, she was out to do just that!

[Bare]

Second round was officially underway which meant it was time for Zira to get back to work, attempting to put Blair down once and for all before the third round could even be a consideration. As such she entered her capoeira stance, assuming that like the first round Blair would be thrown off by it and be easy pickings for her to unleash hell upon like before. Swinging her leg out as she approached she noticed Blair dodge the first, annoying but not a problem as Zira's continued momentum brought a second kick in right after that connected!

Pulling her leg back and pulling it down Zira was about to launch off for her next move, only to instead see a punch coming her way that connected flush with her chin without any chance to brace for it! "Ugh!" Zira growled out in pain, turning from the blow, clearly caught off guard by it as she was forced to take a few steps back. "Little bitch." Zira hissed out, determined to not let Blair that unanswered as she immediately approached the girl once more, swinging a right hook towards Blair's face!

However she was anticipating Blair to dodge the blow and if so then Zira would answer with a left uppercut aimed at Blair's chin which if successful she would try and complete her combination by closing the distance to drive her leg forward for a knee strike aimed at Blair's stomach! Sure enough whether or not it was obvious to Blair or the audience but the force of that one punch seemed to have flipped a switch for Zira as without warning or attempting another try with it, she had dropped the capoeira style, and was leaning more towards more traditional style of trading blows, what she was more comfortable with, rather than what she thought would get her a mental edge.