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

[CaptainL]

Alena was in no mood to be pinned down beneath Keiko and at the mercy of her barrage of strikes. She had trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a style that was all about trying to obtain the dominant position and to not let it go, and she wasn't about to concede the advantage to her opponent so easily - that, and Keiko's punches certainly hit hard! Every time her fist came down, it knocked Alena left and right; her face was growing numb, and bruises were forming across her cheeks. She'd have to do something about that soon. But that still wasn't going to get Alena to give up. Quite the opposite - it was only fueling her will to fight back! BJJ had taught the Russian heiress another lesson, and that was that there was always a way to get herself out of a tricky situation. When she kicked up her legs to try and hook them around Keiko's arms, Alena was out to prove that!

Now, when she pushed her weight forward, Alena was able to roll her opponent over! A smirk came to her face - not only would this play to her advantage in allowing her to escape her predicament, she thought, it would also prove to the world that she was capable of countering anything her foe could throw her way. She could feel the two of them tip back further and further, their balance beginning to give way. If Keiko went down, Alena thought, she would end up on top of her - and then, she'd be the one in control!

But as Alena was about to discover, it wasn't going to be that simple. Right as Keiko was about to land, the Japanese girl threw her weight back into Alena, catching her completely by surprise when her backside came right into her face! Alena was thrown onto her back with a gasp - at the very last moment, right when the momentum was about to reverse, Keiko had been able to take hold of the leverage and turn it back against Alena! She was still practically dumbfounded by how quickly it had happened when she found herself on her back, with Keiko perched atop her and her legs in her grasp - but it had happened, and now Keiko was going for the pin!

"One!"

Alena was in a less than dignified position, with Keiko seated on her shoulders and her crotch in her face. She blushed a little - but that blush owed even more to the knowledge that Keiko had managed to disrupt and reverse her attempted counter and land a pin attempt, depriving her of what was supposed to be her moment of triumph! Alena wouldn't let her have the last laugh, though. Her eyes narrowed in a glare, and she would kick her legs out as hard as she could to break free of Keiko's grip - and then, she'd go to throw her knees squarely into the Silver Lynx's back for a double knee strike!

[Bare]

All throughout the bout between herself and Alena things were neck and neck, with both women struggling to gain let alone maintain an advantage over the other for some measure of success. Just as Keiko got the advantage, Alena did something to take it right back and vice versa, it was about as closely contested as could be and as a result the crowd was quickly getting whipped into a frenzy at the back and forth action.

Pulled down with Alena on top for just a moment Keiko would quickly bring her legs up to pull the Russian girl down and roll over their positions to secure a pin fall, the first pin fall in fact over her in this match! A fact that was soon followed by the first kick out and at one no less! Something that despite being mundane in most matches, the crowd was reacting as if it was a last second near fall and were reacting as such with thunderous cheers and claps!

But it wasn't just the kick out that deserved praise. No Alena was far too smart to simply do a kick out. Instead she went one step further, using her newly freed legs to deliver a pair of knees directly into Keiko's back that launched the black haired girl forward off the Russian heiress! "Agh!" Keiko cried out in pain as she was launched forward, clutching her back in pain and momentarily stunned from the impact!

[CaptainL]

This was the logical conclusion of having two women who were both at the top of their game when it came to martial arts in the same ring, with both of them equally driven to overcoming one another and proving their strength. Neither one of them could hold onto the advantage for long - and every time one of them seemed to get an edge, the other was quick to snatch that away from them! But no matter how much of a fight Keiko put up, or how much she kept her on the ropes, Alena wasn't going to slow down, and she wasn't going to get discouraged. She would keep up the fight with everything she had - it was the only way!

Even when Keiko managed to keep Alena down, in fact, it would only be a moment later that the lightweight swung her legs up, her knees aimed to stab Keiko right in the back! Against the oncoming force, the Japanese girl simply couldn't hang on any longer. She fell forward, going tumbling onto her face. And when Alena rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up to look on at her handiwork, it was with a satisfied smirk. She pumped a fist in the air, drawing on the cheers of the fans - this had demonstrated just how strong she could be!

She wasn't going to stop there, though! Now that Alena had brought Keiko down, she had the perfect opportunity to move in and claim the dominant position. If Keiko was on her face, that meant Alena was in the perfect position to claim a back mount! Lunging closer, she'd move to throw herself on top of Keiko's back, where she would hook her legs under Keiko's thighs and around her shins to keep them under control before throwing her arms around her front, crossing one above her shoulder and one under the opposite shoulder to secure a seatbelt grip around her chest. If that worked, she would roll herself over to the side, attempting to roll to her back with Keiko on top of her - so that she could take one hand out of her grip and throw it around her throat instead, in an attempt to set up a rear naked choke!

[Bare]

Keiko thought for sure that she had Alena in a dominant position. One that could very well afford her a match winning advantage. Unfortunately however Alena was once again proved her grit as she swung her legs up from behind, slamming her knees into the brunette's back, causing the girl to get flung forward, clutching her spine in pain while trying to get it to subside, determined to try and get back up. Unfortunately however she wouldn't be fast enough before the Russian heiress jumped her from behind, latching her arms around her neck for a rear naked choke!

"Ugh!" Keiko groaned out in pain, clutching at her opponent's arms desperately, trying to pry them apart. Unfortunately it was no easy task but once advantage that Keiko had in this position was size. Pushing herself up with gritted teeth Keiko would try and grab hold of the woman's legs while also holding onto her arm. If successful Keiko would try and rush forward in the direction of a corner, turning at the last moment as she neared to try and slam Alena back first into the corner!

[CaptainL]

Keiko had an advantageous position, that much was for sure - but Alena wasn't going to let her keep it for long. One of the things she had learned about in her training in BJJ was the importance of staying mobile and being able to flow from one position to the next with ease, and that was something she was going to put to good use here - as she grabbed a hold of Keiko with her arms and legs alike, getting a good enough hold to take her along with her as she rolled to her back! It was such a well-executed transition that plenty of fans were cheering for Alena's show of technical expertise alone. But now, she had Keiko firmly in her grasp - and she wasn't going to give it up so easily!

Having attained control over Keiko's airways with her arms and legs alike, Alena would waste no time in using that for all it was worth. Gritting her teeth as she drew on all the strength she could muster, her arm dug deeper into the crook of her foe's neck, while her thighs gripped tightly around her sides; she crossed one ankle over the other to lock her bodyscissor in place as she compressed the air out of Keiko's diaphragm. This move was one of the mainstays in any grappler's playbook, but that was because it worked! And Alena was sure that if she could keep it up long enough, Keiko would break sooner or later!

But even if Alena was stubbornly determined to win this match, Keiko was every bit as motivated to stand up to her. She refused to give in! Grabbing at the Russian girl's legs, she would slowly but surely begin to pry them apart. Alena hissed through her teeth; she tried to squeeze her legs closer together to fight back against her opponent's efforts, shaking her head as her face reddened from the strain. But no matter her tenacity, Keiko still had the size advantage, and she was able to use that to generate some leverage - enough so that she would be able to lift herself to her feet, with Alena still hanging on! And from there, she could take off in a charge, aiming to ram Alena into the corner post!

When she felt that she was in motion, Alena's jaw dropped in a gasp - but it was too late to avert her fate. Just then, Keiko turned to the side, and Alena's spine came crashing into the cold steel! Her head snapped backward in an arc as she let out a shrill scream, and her arms and legs fell slack at her sides, giving way from around Keiko. The impact had driven the air out of her lungs, and now she began to sink back in the corner, her head hanging slack and her eyes glazed over as her arms lay draped over the ropes. Alena had given Keiko plenty of trouble, but now, it seemed, the Silver Lynx was back in control.

[Bare]

Alena had a strong position on Keiko right now, choking the lift out of her with her arms while crushing her ribs between surprisingly powerful thighs that quite literally took her breath away. However Keiko wasn't done just yet, powering her way to her feet before running and turning at the last moment in order to sandwich her opponent between the corner and her body, finally forcing the woman to let go and slumping against the corner as a result!

"Hagh... hagh... Not bad... Keiko breathed out while unintentionally leaning against her opponent's body. Eventually though Keiko would turn around and hop onto the middle ropes, holding Alena back against the corner by the shoulder with one hand, while using the other to bring down several punches onto Alena's head!

If successful then Keiko would lean forward on the top ropes, lifting her leg up and hooking her calf behind Alena's head before pushing backwards in order to force Alena out for the corner! Climbing up the rest of the way to the top of the corner if successful Alena would turn around to face her opponent before leaping forward, hoping to come down with all her body weight on Alena's smaller frame with a double knee drop!

[CaptainL]

In BJJ terms, Alena had all but exerted complete control over her opponent. She was on her back, getting a solid choke in around her neck while also putting pressure around her waist, and if she so wanted to she could just as easily have moved to target any of Keiko's limbs. In the grappling contests Alena was used to, someone in a position like this might have already tapped out - but not Keiko. Keiko was still determined to fight back with everything she had in her; she wouldn't go down this easily! And, as she fought her way back to her feet, she would also take note of the fact that she was in the ring, with turnbuckles around her - just what she needed to use to her advantage right about now!

As Keiko began to run toward the corner posts, a jolt ran through Alena's body. She had grown used to thinking that she had her opponent at her mercy, but Keiko was proving to be a cut above the opponents she was used to facing! Before she could do anything about it, her back hit the turnbuckles with a loud crack, and she began to sag lower, crumpled against the post. Her head hung limp at her side as her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. But that didn't mean Keiko was going to let off the pressure, considering how she would proceed to lay into Alena with a couple of punches!

"N-Nngh..!! Gah!" Every blow that Keiko landed on Alena caused her to cough and gag. She was already reeling from the impact she'd taken, and now Keiko was sending her spiraling down further and further into a daze, as every punch caused her vision to start spinning in one direction and then another. She had no way of fighting back when the Silver Lynx managed to push her forward with a swing of her calf, and she dropped onto her face - just in time for Keiko to drop down on top of her, sending both her knees crashing down into her spine!

As she felt her back buckle inward against the impact, Alena threw her head back with a loud scream. A piercing pain had erupted through her system. She tried to claw at the canvas out of instinct, but she was still stunned from the blow, and with Keiko's weight bearing down on her she couldn't go too far. All she could do was fall back onto her face, sputtering aimlessly. The crowd sent out a cheer at the sight - Keiko was really adapting to the challenges Alena put in her way. And she was proving she meant business!

[Bare]

Safe to say that this was now definitely Keiko's advantage, and potentially match to win. In fact this had been the most consistent damage she had done to Alena all match and there was seemingly one big reason. That being that Keiko had switched focus from MMA to Wrestling. It may have been a small thing but really it made sense. MMA was the world both she and Alena came from, its what both were used too and in all honesty if either were up against a pro wrestler they'd probably be having more trouble.

So thinking outside the box definitely seemed to be the best thing Keiko could do at the moment. So with that in mind she had a particular idea of what move to use next, one that she had seen done and practiced but hadn't had the chance to use... until now. Sitting up a bit while still straddling her opponent's back Keiko would reach behind her, grabbing each of the Russian's feet in her hands before lifting them up and hooking said feet under her arm pits.

If done successfully then Keiko would reach forward to grab hold of each of Alena's hands before standing up to her full height, picking Alena up along with her, bending the girl's legs and arms out to their limits as the girl's own weight dragged her down while Keiko's own height advantage kicked in to make this pendulum hold even more effective!

Spoiler

[CaptainL]

As long as this match stayed within the bounds of what was legal in MMA, Alena and Keiko seemed like they were on perfectly equal footing. Both of them were skilled enough, and both had enough experience in the style, to even the playing field no matter what their opponents threw at them; any advantage one woman gained was countered just a moment later. But Keiko had just a little more experience when it came to professional wrestling - and Alena had been coasting by on the belief that she was a skilled enough grappler to not need to worry much about cross-training. But that was the sort of arrogance that was about to come back to bite her. Alena hadn't familiarized herself with what went on in the squared circle; she wasn't used to thinking about what approaches her opponents could take, or how to react to them. When Keiko rammed her back into the turnbuckle, it had caught her completely off guard. And just as equally, when Keiko hoisted the Russian woman up from the ground, dangling from her grip, it was like nothing Alena had ever seen before!

Her jaw dropped open in a gasp. There was no way she could possibly have prepared for this! Now, all of her own body weight was being used against her, her muscles and tendons stretching against the force of gravity. As the ache set into her back and her shoulders, she threw her head back with a scream. The crowd cheered even louder, seeing such a dominant display from Keiko. But Alena knew one thing - no matter how much it hurt, she couldn't let this be the end for her!

Gritting her teeth to try and steel herself, the grappler refused to give in - not yet; not until she had fought with every fiber of her being! She tried to press her feet against Keiko's back as best she could from her position, trying to brace herself, then to rock herself back and forth. Hopefully, if she could tip her center of balance far enough, she could make it harder for Keiko to hold onto her!

[Bare]

Keiko had been drawn to wrestling partly because of the creativity and imaginative use of holds and offense, you just didn't see things like what she was currently doing in the octagon and she was very dedicated at learning these moves. Incorporating them in her offense was just another story, but luckily it was one that she got to work for her now as she officially had it locked in on Alena, and it was definitely doing the work she wanted it to do on the Russian woman.

However Alena was nothing if not determined and soon Keiko felt feet pressing against her back along with the woman moving back and forth, more than Keiko wanted her too at least and it began to affect her grip.

'Not good.' Keiko thought to herself but if Alena wanted to build up momentum, well alright then. Moving back and forth herself to help Keiko build up her momentum Keiko would then let go as she swung Alena forward, aiming to send the woman crashing face first into the mat! If that worked successfully then Keiko would step in right after, lifting one leg up into the air before bringing it down, intending to deliver a axe kick directly to Alena's spine!