The Lynx and the Duchess - Alena Stepanova vs. Keiko Yamamura

[CaptainL]

Even if Alena was going to go down, she wasn't going to let that be the end - in fact, she wasn't deterred at all. Being off her feet just meant that she had two more limbs to work with, and she was going to put it to good use. Even if she could still feel the numbness in her jaw from where Keiko had struck her, Alena wasn't going to let anything slow her down as long as she could keep Keiko under control. And there were a lot of angles she could do that from, as she was out to demonstrate!

However, if Keiko and Alena's legs were tangled in a knot, that meant Keiko could exert control over their momentum just as much as her opponent could - and, when she shoved against the mat, she was able to send the two of them tumbling over, reversing their positions. With Alena's legs still wrapped around Keiko's, she had no choice but to go along for the ride!

She landed flat on her face with a thump - and only a moment later, it seemed, Keiko had leaned forward and grabbed her head, yanking her back in an STF! Alena cried out in pain, feeling her spine buckle and her body bend against the pressure. Her hands flailed around her, striking blindly at the canvas. But it wasn't to tap out - Alena wasn't one to back down so easily! Instead, she'd plant both hands firmly against the canvas, pushing up as hard as she could and lifting her upper body off the mat as she bent her back into an arc. She was looking to get as much of her leverage back as she could, so that Keiko's grip would be weakened enough for her to pull her legs free!

[Bare]

Thus far Alena certainly lived up to her reputation, being a skill grappler on top of fiercely competitive. Keiko liked this quite a bit though, even if she got shown up in her entrance compared to the woman Keiko was determined to not be outdone in the match and thankfully she was starting to make headway in accomplishing that goal! Reversing Alena and now capturing her full force in a STF submission hold! Wrenching back on Alena's face and neck Keiko was aiming to do as much damage as possible while she had this advantage!

Naturally however Alena wasn't going to be held down for long as she pushed back and created enough slack to loosen her legs around Alena's own! 'Crap!' Keiko thought to herself but not wanting to lose her advantage she'd pivot on her hips sharply, using her arms still being around Alena's face to pull her with her as Keiko sat up while pulling her legs around the Russian's waist and lowering her arms down a bit to wrap them around Alena's neck. Trying to transition from the broken STF into a sleeper hold and body scissor combination!

[CaptainL]

Both girls had plenty of hype built up around them leading up to this match. And so far, Keiko hadn't disappointed Alena one bit - she was keeping her on her toes as the two of them jostled for the top position at every turn, and when she did get her hands on her, she hit hard. When she had Alena trapped in the STF, restraining her legs as she hauled back on her chin to stretch the Russian woman's back as far as she could, Alena definitely felt that! Her face contorted into a pained snarl, and her back felt like it was burning against the force Keiko was putting it through. For her demure disposition, Keiko was a capable competitor indeed! But Alena wasn't the type to give up so easily. If anything, Keiko was giving her a challenge to overcome - and she liked it when her opponents made her work for her victory!

Bracing her palms against the mat, Alena tried to haul herself up. Little by little she created more room for herself, tipping the tension Keiko used to apply force, until at last, she was able to pull her legs forward and out of Keiko's grip! She panted for breath - but she wasn't out of the woods just yet. Keiko was once again going to demonstrate her technical expertise and her sense of flow. She didn't break the position - she threw her legs around Alena's waist while compressing her neck at the same time!

Now, as her spine was wrenched even further back, Alena cried out in pain. She twisted and turned, but Keiko wouldn't budge - and with her sitting upright, she was putting more of her weight down on her back, forcing it to buckle against the pressure! At the same time, she sputtered and gasped from the crushing force against her throat - and the traction on both was bending Alena into a C shape, with every inch she moved sending another stinging pain down her spine! But Alena hadn't lost hope - and when she looked back at Keiko out of the corner of her eye, it was with a piercing glare. She couldn't give up just yet. She was keenly aware of positioning, and she still saw her chance!

Alena still had her hands against the canvas, after all. And now, Keiko had released her legs, which only gave her more mobility - mobility she was willing to use to her advantage! Now that she had her legs free, she would send a powerful kick behind her to try and upend her balance, aiming to roll over and flip herself onto her back - bringing Keiko down in the process!

[Bare]

Alena was nothing if not consistent in how resistant and determined she was in fighting against Keiko and her hold, if her strikes were as powerful as they say as well than Keiko knew she would be in trouble. Thankfully though if there was something that Keiko was known for it was her technical ability and ground game, and keen mind in using each and every hold. Things she was showing Alena first hand with her near seamless transition from the STF into the sleeper and body scissor combination.

Unfortunately however that tenacity of Alena's was still a problem and even as Keiko tried her best to squeeze it out of the smaller woman, Keiko would soon find herself taking a kick making her groan in pain before getting dropped down against the mat in turn, making her cry out in pain and admittedly while she hadn't completely undid the hold, it was loosened, both her arms and legs, allowing a window of opportunity for Alena if she took it!

[CaptainL]

The pressure Keiko could exert with her hold was no laughing matter. Alena's face was contorted in a wince as her spine buckled inward against the load, while her head was wrenched back with enough force to stretch the ligaments and tendons all through her back. All the while, Keiko was compressing her airways from both ends, simultaneously wringing the air out of her lungs and compressing her throat. A lesser woman could well have tapped out by now. But Alena was someone who believed in never giving up, not until she had fought through the odds with everything she had - and even then, it wasn't unknown for her to hurt herself in her sheer tenacity.

In fact, Alena's stubbornness would end up giving her a hand here, as she was able to summon enough force to flip her and Keiko over, rolling the Silver Lynx onto her back with Alena on top of her. But Alena knew better than to wait too long like this. Her experience in BJJ told her that Keiko could easily take the opportunity to assume back control. Luckily, when she'd just been upended, she was in no position to fight back - and that meant Alena had this opportunity to make her move.

First, Alena would try to pull back and break free of Keiko's hold now that her grip had gone slack. Then, she would spin herself around to face her opponent, getting to a top guard position - and from there, she would throw herself down on top of Keiko so that they would be laid parallel to one another, where the Russian girl would try and throw her arm around her opponent's throat for a sleeperhold of her own!

[Bare]

For a moment Keiko had managed to lock in a pretty good and suffocating submission hold on Alena, and she knew that she must have been close to a tap out from the woman if she could have just kept it locked in longer. Unfortunately however she would not have the chance to do so, with Alena managing to turn them over and drop Keiko on the mat, loosening her hold and allowing Alena to roll over her and get behind her at a parallel. 'Crap!' Keiko thought to herself as she suddenly felt the arms of Alena wrap around her neck for a sleeper hold of the Russian's own! "Ngh!" Keiko groaned out while trying to turn on her side, reaching behind herself to try and throw elbows and punches behind her at her opponents to try and make the smaller woman let go!

[CaptainL]

Alena hadn't gotten out unscathed. Keiko had let her go, and she sank against the mat, but her spine still felt like it was on fire where the Silver Lynx had stretched at it to the breaking point - she winced and shuddered as that pain came bubbling back to the surface. What was important, though, was that she hadn't tapped out. A lesser woman might have, but Alena Stepanova was no lesser woman - that was one thing she was determined to prove. She would keep on fighting with every fiber of her being! And in what was proving to be a dream match for MMA fans, Alena had no intention of folding just yet. Not until she had tested the utmost limits of what her opponent was capable of, and saw her at her fullest potential!

In fact, after Alena had such a close brush with defeat thanks to Keiko's sleeperhold, she was eager to test how her own would compare! Now that she'd rolled herself over, she would spin herself around, going to a top guard and then slipping behind Keiko to reverse their positions. And as she brought herself down, her arm circled around Keiko's throat before she clamped down as hard as she could!

Still, Keiko was fighting back! Alena had shown just how determined she was in fighting through the sleeperhold, and now Keiko was out to prove that she could equal the Russian woman's tenacity, as she slung elbows back behind her! While a few shots went wide, some of them did land against Alena's ribs with the sound of a thwack, causing her to twist and turn from side to side. She hissed through clenched teeth - but still, she wasn't about to back down! If she needed to secure more control over Keiko, she'd do just that - she brought up her legs, looking to throw them around her opponent's waist and squeeze her with a bodyscissor! If all went well, not only would this help Alena secure her hold, it would also wring more air out of Keiko's lungs in the process!

[Bare]

Apparently Alena was quite eager to test the ability of her own sleeper hold on Keiko, and to see Keiko's own ability to escape it but Keiko wasn't looking to disappoint as she began bashing and punching at her opponent's arms to loosen her grip and make her let go. Something that was working for a bit at first but wasn't quite doing the job as she wanted it too.

Not before Alena suddenly snapped her legs up and around Keiko's waist, trapping her in a body scissor hold in addition to the sleeper! "Ngh!" Keiko grunted out as Alena's slim yet surprisingly strong legs began to squeeze and crush her waist. 'Have to get out of this quick.' Keiko thought to herself as she grabbed onto Alena's arm with both hands and pulled it up to try and break her grip around her neck!

If successful than Keiko would sit up and twist sharply to try and turn within Alena's thighs so that she was facing the Russian woman's direction. All while getting her knees under her and starting to fire off punches at Alena's face for a ground and pound!

[CaptainL]

As she leaned in closer to close the distance between the two, Alena was looking to test Keiko's endurance, willpower, and strategic thinking, clamping down a sleeperhold of her own. The Japanese girl, however, was just as quick on the uptake - and she was willing to fight through even the crushing force bearing down on her throat if it meant proving what she was capable of! Even when she had to aim from such short range, her fists were meeting their targets, smacking Alena all up and down her sides with no shortage of power. Coming from a woman larger than she was, Alena grimaced and shuddered against the force of each strike. But she wasn't going to let it slow her down for long - and just as quickly, she slung her legs around Keiko's waist to further compound the force she was subjecting her airways to, squeezing her with a bodyscissor!

For a moment, Alena held the position, squeezing Keiko tightly from two angles. That was enough to tell the Silver Lynx she was going to need a different approach. But even when she found herself at her opponent's mercy, Keiko wasn't giving in! Seemingly undeterred by the force bearing down on her, she grabbed hold of Alena's arm with a firm pull. The Russian girl tried to squeeze tighter in a desperate struggle to fight back, unwilling to concede her dominance so easily, but fatigue had already begun to set into her muscles. In the end, Keiko was able to yank herself free - and that left her holding onto Alena's arm, a position she could surely turn to her advantage!

Alena barely had any time to adjust before Keiko flipped her over, rolling herself on top of her foe! She let out a gasp to suddenly find herself on her back, and in her moment of shock, her legs ever so slightly went slack. That gave her foe enough room to shake herself free - and from there, to begin raining down mounted punches! The crowd broke out into cheers. It seemed as though Alena and Keiko were as evenly matched as their reputations had promised - at every moment, the two of them were trading the top position back and forth, countering and dancing around each other's moves as though for every move their opponent knew, they had a counter planned!

With every punch that came down, Alena's head rolled from side to side and she sputtered and gasped. But she wasn't going to let this stop her for long - and as she looked back up at her foe, her teeth clenched with determination! Right when Keiko's fist was about to come down on her, Alena would reach up to try and catch it, stopping the punch in midair! If that gamble worked, she would push back at Keiko's fist to try and steer her foe backward, taking back some ground for herself - and then, she'd swing her legs up to hook them underneath Keiko's arms, trying to exert the leverage to roll her off of her.

[Bare]

Alena was certainly as fearsome as her reputation had promised and it was by no means easy to match her fellow heiress, but that didn't mean it was impossible. Managing to maintain her ability to be on top of the woman even as she was being choked. Thankfully it worked out for her and she was able to mount Alena, scissor hold shaken off and neck free, in prime position to start raining down punch after punch on Alena, getting some solid hits on the woman in the process!

Unfortunately however it was a position that was too good to be true as when she went for yet another punch she found her fist caught! Breath hitching in her lungs and feeling her arm slowly being pushed up along with the red of her body she wasn't able to do anything as a pair legs suddenly came up on her! "Eep!" Keiko cried out cutely in shock as she was pulled down!

However this move while surprising wasn't particularly painful or debilitating which meant Keiko had more than enough awareness to response! Pulling her legs back up and swinging them forward while popping her hips Keiko would throw her lower half towards her opponent, inadvertently smacking Alena in the face with her rear end! Of course this was just a side effect of Keiko's weight getting thrown forward, shifting her weight and pushing Alena down to her shoulders while grabbing the Russian woman's own legs as she did so for a roll up school girl pin!