Bella King vs. Prayuth Sakda - Lights, Camera, Action

[BlackAkuma]

When Prayuth first signed his LAW contract and made the deal go through, he’d worried that, maybe, he wouldn’t get any real challenge from their competitors. He’d seen some of their matches and knew what it was like, but you could never be sure if it was all a ruse. Especially with some of the lewder games that went on - it was hard to say if any of this was real, and that was coming from an actor.

Never let it be said that Prayuth Sakda was a man you couldn't prove wrong. Good going, Bella King.

Most people wouldn’t have been able to take a double elbow strike like that, much less figure out a way to soften the blow as she did, but Bella managed to pull it off. It still sucked for her, but she was knocked down instead of out, falling to her knees. ”Bit off more than you can chew? It happens.” Prayuth stepped back and flashed his best smile as he sank into his pose again, ensuring the camera caught his best side.

With sufficient mugging done, Prayuth tapped his fists together and moved in, looking to get Bella standing whether she ready to or not. Unfortunately, it seemed like she was ready - too ready. She came at him the second he was in range, swinging out with a board that caught him straight on the ribs, a painful reminder that they were operating under street rules.

It hurt. Definitely hurt. But Prayuth sold it for drama, letting out a loud cry as he stumbled back and clutched his side, hissing and gritting his teeth at the pain, wobbling feet, the whole deal.

[pikazard]

When Pray stopped his assault on Bella to taunt her and pose for the cameras Bella KNEW she had to teach him a lesson, which she would do as she was the first to make use of the street fight aspect of their match with a wooden plank used as a makeshift weapon and swung into Pray's side. For the first time in the match Pray's smile was nowhere to be seen on his face, but as Bella climbed up to her feet she more than made up for that as seeing the actor stumble back in pain put her in a hell of a good mood.

"I'll give you something to take a bite out of"

Not her cleverest line, but one-liners were Pray's job not hers.

Bella could have used her weapon to keep beating on Pray and maintain a range advantage over his fists, but the plank had done it's job already and The King still wanted to use her strikes to overcome her opponent, so she would toss it aside. In it's place Bella would take a side step towards Pray and attempt to smack him in the mouth with a Thrust Kick, or in wrestling terms a Superkick!

[BlackAkuma]

Eh, that was decent as mid-fight taunts went. He’d heard worse. In her place, Pray would’ve gone with something more thematic, though. Maybe something like, say, ‘Taking out the trash’ or ‘From one stiff to another’, or, if you wanted to get Bond-level cheesy, ‘This is right up your alley’. But he could give her a pass, this sort of thing wasn’t here wheelhouse. 6/10. Room for improvement.

He would have to share that assessment with her later, assuming they were both conscious at the point, which might not have been the case with the way Bella was putting on the pressure. The fight had only just started and she was already bringing out the weapon shot? Oh, yeah, this could get wild.

He was sent reeling back after the blow, but lucky for him, she didn’t seem to want to follow up with the wood - no, she was coming back in close, looking for some body contact. A kick came his way, slicing through the air, and he was just able to arch his back and Matrix dodge a thrust kick that would’ve laid him out flat. A lot of power in those legs, and he had a great view of them from this angle.

”Whew! So close!” He step back, twisted around with a flourish, and shot his leg out with all the momentum behind it, trying to catch her in the chest with a spinning heel kick to knock her back and create some distance.

[pikazard]

With Bella's quick thinking and mediocre quip-making she was able to stop Pray's assault and attempt to get back at him with a Superkick, but though the actor was hurt he still had quick reflexes and he was able to dodge the kick. Bella grunted in annoyance as her foot hit nothing but air, and while she was in the process of snapping her leg back Pray would begin his counter attack, giving Bella barely any time to react as she took the kick right to the chest!

"Ungh!"

The force of the kick sent Bella back in an awkward stumble, barely staying on her feet and avoiding an indignant fall as she cursed under her breath. It humbled Bella to admit it but Pray was the real deal, any doubt that his moves were just movie magic had vanished after he turned her abs red with that clinch into a knee. He wasn't better than Bella was, that would be ridiculous, but Bella would acknowledge that her cavalier attitude had come at the cost of her taking some good hits. She needed to take the fight seriously.

Instead of coming right back in for another exchange of strikes Bella would first re-enter her stance and start circling Pray slowly, seemingly wanting to build up drama like they had before. In reality her intention was to move so that Pray would turn with her until his back was to the wall, once that happened Bella would abruptly step in and start throwing a barrage of blows at the man, not really caring if they effectively as her goal was merely to force Pray back.

If things went Bella's way then Pray would eventually be backed into the wall, and when that happened Bella would abandon whatever attack she was currently attempting to instead thrust her leg towards the Thai fighter's gut for a Side Kick!

"Hah!"

[BlackAkuma]

His kick landed and had a good effect, sending her back, nearly knocking Bella on her - admittedly hot - ass and giving Pray the distance he’d wanted. After that, the typical thing would’ve been to move in and keep the tempo going, pour on the pressure, take control of the match and make her work damn hard to take it back again.

If they were in the cage, or even the ring, he might’ve done just that. But this was a special case, and as such, it required a special approach. Instead of closing the gap, Pray moved around her, staying just out of range, as he showed off some of his footwork. Fast steps, shifting his weight with ease, never staying on the center line. He kept his arms loose and fluid, before bringing them up as she got back into position for the next exchange.

”You’re looking a little nervous over there, Red.” Bella didn’t - she looked focused. Wouldn’t stop him from pretending otherwise. ”If the pressure’s too much, we can always take this back to my place and pick up Round 2. Choice is yours.”

It was a half-taunt, half-genuine offer, but Prayuth wouldn’t get the answer he wanted. Instead, she came at him hard, moving while his back was up against the wall. Nowhere to run, nowhere to go, nothing to do but take a hard sidekick to the stomach. It took some real effort to keep from crying out as she smashed the bone, but there was no hiding the pain on his face. She had some serious power in those legs.

Not wanting to give her the chance to follow up, he moved forward, going in the only direction available to him. His arms came out as he ducked down and tried to pull her into a tight clench, attempting to drive her forward so he could get away from the wall and back to the center of the alley, where he could do his best work.

[pikazard]

Bella scoffed when Pray taunted her with a flirty remark, not dignifying it with a response. The Thai fighter wasn't exactly unattractive and that offer may have at least been considered if they'd met under other circumstances, but Bella was here for one reason and one reason only; to win! The redhead would drive this point home with a rough kick to his gut that rid the Thai of the smug look on his face for the first time in the match, even if only for a moment.

Pray was tough though and wasn't downed just by that kick, instead powering through the pain to dash forward and try to drag her into a clinch. The knee to the stomach Bella had taken earlier gave her a healthy respect for his clinch game and so she would hop back to avoid it, though she grunted in annoyance at having to give up their position against the wall to do it "Tch!" Bella would then step back a few more feet, wanting to make Pray come to her so that she could prepare a counter to whatever he attempted.

[BlackAkuma]

Pray moved in for the clench, wanting to keep her close and take away her advantage, only to find that Bella was way too smart for that - he’d nailed her that way once, and she was quick to learn. He reached out and tried to pull her in, but she danced away from him with a quick hop, leaving him to stumble forward and grab nothing but air.

Pray righted himself fast enough, stabilizing and facing forward as he found himself again. Slick, real slick. Bella was a far cry from the grapplers he’d expected to fight in LAW, showing the kind of striker skills at home in any kickboxing ring. Made him wonder how she wound up here, of all places. Then again, he wasn’t one to talk.

”What’s wrong, don’t want to get close?” He moved in again, shuffling his feet as he closed in, showing off some footwork. He danced around her range, skirting it, daring her to bite at it. ”Fine, fine…I’ll come to you.”

He dipped back, then dashed in with a wild step, throwing a quick kick towards her knee - or what appeared as one. The real blow came from above, as he threw himself forward, curved his fist through the air, and tried to nail her with an overhand right, targeting her her forehead.

[pikazard]

With Bella having been forced to retreat from the wall and allowing Pray to get away from it the two of them would stand across from each other in a neutral position, Pray was taunting the redhead while giving her a display of his footwork but Bella would remain still, she'd been in enough fights to know when someone was really attacking and when they were just trying to fake you out and so she would just patiently wait for him to strike. When Pray did come in Bella would raise her hands up, seeing his kick for the feint it was and putting all her focus in parrying his punch so that it would get deflected to the side and his fist would pass beside her head.

If this worked then Bella wasn't done there, she would use use the hand that was used to deflect his punch to grab him by the wrist before attempting to grab him by his shirt with the other hand. If she was able to grab him like this then she would attempt to use his momentum to Judo flip him over her shoulder and down onto the rough concrete "Hai!"

[BlackAkuma]

Prayuth hissed as his punch sailed overhead, and he could already tell from the way Bella was moving what would come next: she was going to judo-flip him. He’d had this move done to him enough times, both in action scenes and in real life, to know it well. Didn’t mean he could do a damn thing about it.

At least, not about the move itself. The fall was a different matter. Bella caught his arm, pulled him over, sent him flying, and his body went into an automatic response from there, seizing upon his stunt training. His arms spread out and his hip raised, so he wound up coming down on his back instead - it was still going to suck, there was no avoiding that with concrete, but at least he could spread his body out and minimize the damage.

He landed, hard, and sat up straight after with a hiss, wincing along with the audience as the pain ran its course. No broken bones, but there would be bruises, and many more besides if he didn’t defend himself. Aching, he threw himself forward to his hands and knees and started scrambling his way back up, wanting to spend as little time on the ground as possible.

[pikazard]

After seeing through Pray's feint and parrying his attack Bella would follow up with a picture perfect judo flip, throwing him back first right onto the concrete and getting a pop out of the crowd at the sight of the instantly recognisable move. Even Bella couldn't help but smile at pulling off such a good counter, though she wouldn't let feeling proud of herself get in the way of getting on with the fight, Pray was already getting up after all.

Bella had no intention of letting Pray get to his feet, he might have spent time goading over her when she was down for the sake of drama, but Bella didn't care for drama or flair and instead looked to instantly prey upon weakness. The redhead would take a step back before dashing at Pray and rearing her leg up, intending to welcome Pray back to the floor with a merciless kick to the face while he was still trying to get up!