Blair Yuen vs. Zira Cabalero - MMA Match

[CaptainL]

As she was forced to let go of Zira and back away, Blair let out a huff, shaking the fatigue out of her arms all the while. She knew she had Zira. She could tell, from the tension in the heavyweight's body, that she had begun to panic, and that if she kept this up it could only be a matter of time before she had no choice but to submit. If she had given up hope of trying to escape and was just aimlessly flailing, it was already over. But if Zira couldn't save herself, the bell could - and at last, the round finally came to an end, forcing the two women to break apart.

Retreating to her corner, Blair rubbed the soreness out of her shoulders and back as she took a moment to limber up. She heard the curses and groans coming from Zira's mouth, and for a moment she almost wanted to smirk smugly at the thought of how she'd actually been able to force such a response from her - but her face went grave a moment later. This wasn't over, and even if Zira had come off worse for wear, she was still an incredibly dangerous foe that Blair couldn't afford to underestimate. But if anything, Blair's success could encourage and embolden her. If she had gotten Zira in her clutches, then that was proof the heavyweight wasn't quite as invincible as she seemed. When she saw how much Zira was limping, Blair knew that could only work to her favor. If she could cripple her opponent, it would be that much easier to manuever around her and keep her tied up with offense. As long as she played her cards right, she had a chance.

As the bell called both fighters to the third round, Blair tapped her gloves together and stepped forward to meet Zira in the center of the octagon. She took in a long, deep breath, trying to shake the anxieties from her mind. She just had to play it cool, but the stakes were never higher. This round could decide everything. Both she and Zira had taken the lead once - now, it was all the more important that Blair watched her foe carefully. This could be her moment of triumph, or her crushing defeat. It was all up to what she made of it.

With her eyes carefully trained on Zira, Blair put up her fists, strafing around her opponent, then switching back and heading the other way to keep her guessing as to what her approach would be. Her gaze kept flitting to Zira's feet, watching her gait for any missteps. Baiting Zira directly, she knew, was too much of a risk. But if she was limping this badly, it would only be a matter of time before she presented her with an opening. And when she did, she'd be ready...

[Bare]

Zira's second round had ended no where near the way she had wanted it too, with Blair managing to get one over on her and worse yet, trapping her in a rather brutal leg bar. One that still left Zira wincing and groaning in pain in the wake of it. 'Damn it... can't believe I let her get me like that.' Zira thought to herself with a growl as she got up and approached the center of the octagon now that the bell had rung ending the last rest period as the final round now officially was underway.

Wincing a bit as she put weight on the leg before shaking her head she would begin to strafe around her opponent, glaring at Blair intensely as she circled around the smaller woman. Careful to slide her leg along the mat rather than live stepping, trying to keep the pressure just a bit off her leg as she focused in on Blair who unfortunately wasn't doing anything, meaning she was waiting on Zira to make the first move in this final round.

'Tch of course she is.' Zira thought to herself with a glare and growl before deciding to give what the brat wanted, but not what she would expect as she moved in towards Blair. Figuring that Blair would expect a kick given the way this match had gone Zira would instead jut her fist out as if for a jab at Blair's face. Only she would stop just short of her opponent's face, instead pushing her other fist up from below, aiming to drive a hard uppercut directly into the gut of Blair to try and take her off guard!

[CaptainL]

At last, the bell rang, and the final round had begun. Blair could feel the tension rising through her body - the pin-pricks that ran down her back from head to toe as every hair stood on end, and the thump of her heart in her chest as it grew faster and faster. When Zira moved in closer, every step she took and every inch she moved made Blair's breaths quicken more and more. This, she knew, would be the round to decide everything. Both she and Zira had a win under their belt - this would decide it all. It wasn't just victory that hung in the balance, for Blair, but her own dignity and her self-respect. She had everything to gain and everything to lose. If she won, she would have proven she was still a force to be reckoned with in the MMA world...if she lost, it would be one more nail in the coffin of her career. Everything counted, now. There was no room for mistakes - and everything needed to land just right.

But when this meant as much to Blair as it did...she was ready to take that risk!

When Blair found herself face to face with Zira, she let out a deep breath, readying herself for anything. The heavyweight circled around her, and so too did Blair follow her in tune, matching her step for step. She never let her gaze leave Zira, not just watching her for any attacks, but for any missteps. Zira was already compromised, and Blair just needed her to present her with the right opening to take advantage of that.

Zira knew that. Unfortunately for Blair, she also knew how to turn that against her.

The moment she saw Zira's fist flying toward her face, Blair threw her forearms up to protect her head. That was the shot she was waiting for the entire time - the blow to deflect, dodge, and counter. But it wouldn't stop there. Just before Zira's knuckles met Blair's guard, the larger woman stopped - and Blair didn't even have a moment to think about what her plans were before she lashed out with her other hand, ramming an uppercut into her now-unprotected abdomen!

"GAAAH..!!" The blow hit her like a cannonball, driving the air from her lungs. Blair spun around in an arc, borne by the momentum of Zira's powerful punch. Her head whipped to the side, sending a trail of spittle flying behind it. When she came to a stop, she was doubled over forward, panting for air. The sore sensation of the punch throbbed in her stomach, and a bruise was starting to form across her bare midsection. But Blair wouldn't let that stop her. She wasn't going to let Zira take her down - or give her the chance to gloat! Gritting her teeth, the Muay Thai fighter pushed her weight onto the ball of one foot, and swung around in an arc as she stuck out the other, aiming to strike back at Zira with a roundhouse kick!

[Bare]

Things were approaching do or die right now for Zira at least. Despite the third round only barely starting her leg was screaming in protest at the pressure she was putting on it, Blair's submission in the last round having done quite a lot of damage, and meaning she'd have to do everything in her power to end this round as soon as possible. Marching on to do so she had managed to deliver a powerful uppercut square into Blair's stomach, lifting the woman off her feet and sending her turning from the blow.

Normally Zira would try and follow after Blair in a relentless pursuit to further press the woman, however with her leg as it was that was definitely not happening. "Ngh..." Groaning softly with a wince as she took a step forward Zira knew it would be best to play defensively, allow Blair to attack and then counter. Besides as desperate as she was, she knew Blair was just as, if not more so, plus with the apparent advantage of better mobility she'd be more aggressive than usual.

Sure enough despite the massive uppercut delivered to her stomach Blair was back up already and she was coming at her with a roundhouse kick of her own! Narrowing her eyes at this Zira knew she wouldn't be able to dodge so she'd brace herself. "Ngh!" Zira groaned in pain but even in spite of the pain her hands would shoot up, grabbing hold of Blair's leg while it was still against her side to keep the girl restrained all so Zira could pull the forward while raising her leg up, trying to spike Blair with a knee lift to the stomach!

"Hagh..." Zira hissed out if the blow had connected, her leg screaming in protest from the use of it for a outright strike against her opponent. It would be worth it though because hopefully it would leave Blair doubled over allowing Zira to wrap her arms around the front of the girl's head and hopefully pull her down to the mat while throwing her legs up, wrapping them around the woman's body for her own submission finisher the peruvian necktie that she liked to call Full Moon!

Spoiler

[CaptainL]

Blair had taken a hard-hitting uppercut from Zira, and it was enough to drive the air out of her lungs. She was sent doubling over, her face contorting in a pained wince. Her whole body wavered, her balance threatening to give out then and there - she'd already taken more blows than she would've liked, and she didn't think she could afford to take anything that hit quite that hard. Already, she was pushing her luck. But, as she gasped for air, she dug her heels into the mat, trying to hold herself steady as she wiped sweat away from her face. In any other match, that might've taken her down. But not here. She couldn't let that happen here. She was in this match to prove she still had a future - her opponent wasn't just Zira Cabalero, it was the very notion that she was washed up and past her prime. Whatever happened, Blair needed to fight with everything she had to prove all her doubters wrong. No matter how sore she was or light-headed she was, or how much her stance wavered on uneasy footing, she had the motivation to fight on - she had too much to lose if this didn't work!

Growling under her breath with nothing short of a burning rage, Blair whipped herself around, her leg extended to make impact. She could already imagine the resounding thud of her leg against the heavyweight's side; in her fatigued state she was sure it would be enough to send her toppling to the mat! But...that never happened. It was just then, when Blair expected it the most, that everything changed. Just as her leg came close, Zira reached up and grabbed it - and with that, the Muay Thai fighter found herself frozen in place, trapped in Zira's grasp!

At that moment, everything hit Blair like a wave. Her eyes went wide in shock, and the color drained away from her face; she could feel every goosebump that rose along her back. Even before Zira had landed a single blow, she had been rocked to the core. No. This couldn't be happening. This was Blair's last-ditch attempt to save herself - and Zira had caught it. How could she hope to contend with her now?

From the way she felt, Blair might as well have already been punched in the gut. She'd frozen up, staring off blindly into space. When Zira proceeded to swing up her knee and drive it right into her stomach, it was practically redundant. But that didn't mean it hurt any less! Doubling over the heavyweight's leg, Blair let out a scream that caused a fair few spectators to wince before she collapsed, wheezing and gasping, held up only by her opponent's knee. Her eyes had rolled back in her head, and everything felt like it was spinning. Her stomach was already bruised by Zira's uppercut, and now, taking another blow to the same site, made her feel like she was being torn apart from the inside out. All she could do was lurch forward, her body limp and heavy. When Zira dragged her down and threw her limbs into place around her head and body, all Blair could do was fall forward, powerless to resist...

[Bare]

Loathe as she was to admit it Blair had proven her wrong, giving her far more trouble than she ever would have thought, which in turn meant that Zira could leave nothing to chance. Nothing but her very best could be trusted to end this match in her favor. Hence she had watched Blair carefully, not leaving anything to chance, stunning her with repeated heavy strikes to her stomach to leave her gasping and breathless, unable to do anything for what she planned next. Catching her opponent and pulling her down to the mat while throwing her legs up Zira would lock in the Full Moon, her absolute greatest weapon, a hold she had won many matches with and now that she had it locked, she was sure it would end this one! Holding it for a few moments the ref would drop down checking Blair and after a few moments of non reply would grab her hand, lifting it up and letting it drop once, then again a second time and lifting it up for a third final time, if it fell, then this would be it!

[CaptainL]

With Zira landing her kick, it felt as though all the strength had left Blair's body. She didn't just fall; she crumbled - her body sagged lower under its own weight, and her footing slipped out from under her as she went toppling over onto her face. Now everything ached, and she could only draw slow and shallow breaths in and out. But despite it all, Blair hadn't been knocked out. She was still conscious...and if anything, that made matters worse. Blair knew she needed to move. She needed to do something; she couldn't just sit around uselessly. She had never been more vulnerable in front of Zira, and she knew all too well that Zira would tear her apart at the first sign of any weakness. If she wanted to stand a chance of success, she needed to get away. But she couldn't do that. Her muscles were heavy and slack, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't get them to move. She had no choice but to await the inevitable. And all the while, she could think of only one thing - that she hadn't been enough.

All of that already hurt - though not quite as much as it hurt when Zira clamped down around her throat with all four limbs at once! A moment ago, Blair had been out of breath and only half-conscious, but now she had been thrown violently back to her senses when Zira was squeezing her with enough pressure to make her head feel like it could explode at any minute! She let out a scream that split the air, writhing helplessly in Zira's grasp. But her struggles steadily began to die down. The longer it went on, the more she could feel her strength draining away from her, little by little. Slowly, her body went slack, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her breaths grew slower and more shallow; the edges of her vision dimmed and blurred. The last thing she could see before everyone went dark was the referee moving in to check her. At least, she thought, she would have the pleasure of knowing she hadn't tapped out to Zira...but that wouldn't change the fact she had still lost.

Once again, Blair's hand fell lifelessly to the mat - and with that, the referee got up and signaled for the bell! It was official - the match was over. And Zira had won.

[Bare]

Zira had never thought it would come to this, that she'd have to rely on what was honestly her greatest weapon to take the smaller woman down, but with the damage done to her leg she couldn't rely on many of her other moves, most importantly her mirked out. As such it was all on this, plus with the spirit Blair had shown so far, she doubted a lesser submissions would have done the job right against her. Thus it was all or nothing, and luckily it was paying off well for Zira.

Watching as Blair's movements slowed and eventually stopped, Zira had expected a tap out from her... Only she didn't, fighting seemingly till a last breath. Something the ref would confirm as they lifted Blair's arm up once, then twice... and finally a third time, prompting a ringing of the bell as the match officially ended! Undoing her limbs from Blair's body Zira would push the girl away from her before sitting up, resting her arms over knees, panting a bit before getting onto her feet, wincing a bit from putting pressure on her hurt leg before arm was grabbed and raised.

Immediately getting cheers in response it would appear that Blair's offense and refusal to give up easily had actually made the crowd get pretty worked up, more so than they had been. So there was at least one good thing to have come from that. Still... turning towards her opponent Zira would approach her until she was standing over Blair's body, looking down... before reaching down if Blair was still unconscious and grabbing her hand, giving the unconscious girl a few hand shakes before gently laying her arm down, showing some form of respect to Blair for the fight she put up before standing and taking in her victory!

Winner by Ko: Zira Cabalero