Bengal vs. Betsy Lincoln - Red, White, and Blaze

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal's STO was successful, taking Betsy down to the mat with a resounding thud. "That's more like it," the Tiger crowed, leering over her fallen opponent. "Flat on your back, where you belong!" The crowd booed, many of them urging the American to get back on her feet.

Bengal wasn't about to let that happen. She raised her leg high with a dancer's poise, then brought it whickering down like the blade of a guillotine as she kicked her other leg back. The Tiger was looking to land directly on top of Betsy, crushing the smaller woman with a Split-Leg Drop! The blonde boxer was already starting to roll away, but would she be able to escape from the impact zone in time?

Split-Leg Drop

[BlackAkuma]

‘Flat on your back, where you belong’. Pfft, predictable. Blaze didn’t moonlight as a comedian, Betsy knew that much. ”You’d know better than me!”

Not the best comeback Betsy had ever uttered, but in her defense, she was working on scant time. She rolled away, trying to make distance, and she did - at first. That was, until she looked up and saw her opponent leaped towards her, coming down for a hard sit on her best. Betsy got her arms up and covered her chest, absorbing some of the impact, but it still absolutely sucked and wasn’t a hit she would be looking forward to taking again.

Thankfully, Betsy still had the wherewithal to retaliate, which she did with little delay, swinging her leg up while she laid there in an attempt to clock Blaze in her - undoubtedly smug-looking - face.

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal landed right across the star pattern on Betsy's prominent chest, legs split wide. She grinned, looking like the cat that got the cream - only to be blindsided by a powerful kick to the side of her face. Her opponent wasn't just a trained striker with her hands; the young woman's feet were clearly formidable weapons as well. Moreover, she'd retaliated immediately after getting hit, seemingly unfazed by Bengal's offense. Even the Tiger had to admit, that was impressive.

Bengal was knocked away by the force of the kick, rolling off Betsy and onto her hands and feet. She clutched her temple, trying to recover her bearings. In hindsight, going for a pinning move like the leg drop probably wasn't a wise idea in a match where she could only win by knockout. It was time for a more aggressive strategy, one more suited to the stipulation.

As the two fighters began to rise up, Bengal suddenly rushed at Betsy, launching her lithe body into a reckless spear. If the gambit worked, she would knock the blonde boxer off her feet, landing straddled on top of her. From there, she could go to work with repeated strikes to the American's face. A good old reliable ground-and-pound ought to knock some of the moxie out of her young opponent!

[BlackAkuma]

Betsy managed to get Bengal off for the time being, but that hardly meant she was in the clear - quite the opposite. While she had the woman off her chest, she was still hurting from that heavy attack, needing a chance to recoup and catch her breath. One that her opponent seemed hell-bent on not giving her.

She was just starting to get up when Bengal came rushing in, pouncing with all the speed and alacrity of her namesake. Betsy cried out in surprise and frustration as the woman collided with her, brought her down to the canvas, and let the punches fly.

Betsy took two on the chin before she brought her arms up and started absorbing the rest, blocking as best as she could while she was mounted. It was a losing position, however, and it was only a matter of time before Bengal found a chink in her armor and got a good shot in. She needed out.

She waited until her opponent drew back for a heavy shot, then planted her feet and bridged hard, attempting to send Bengal rolling off. As soon as she was free, Betsy scrambled up to her feet, raised her guard and tried to make some space before her opponent could bring her down again.

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal's spear connected, and she began to rain down blows on Betsy's chin. But the All-American reacted with lightning quickness, guarding her face with her scarlet gloves. Bengal reached down to pry her arms apart, only to be bucked off by her opponent's high-powered hips as Betsy raised into a bridge.

Bengal rolled away, thwarted once again. She stood and faced Betsy, amber eyes narrowed to slits. The blonde boxer's fists were still raised in a tight guard as she backed up, separating herself from the Tiger. Catching her would be difficult would be difficult, but maybe she could do something to get her opponent to come to her instead. "You like playing hard to get, don't you?" Bengal crooned, batting her long lashes mockingly. "Good." She licked her lips, as if anticipating her next meal.

Of course, this was all a performance. Bengal was actually quite frustrated by the way Betsy had repeatedly denied her. No matter what she tried, her opponent always seemed to find a way to wriggle out. Her sarcastic flirting was just an attempt to get the other girl flustered, or enraged - Bengal didn't care which, as long as it made her careless. Then, when the American attacked her, she'd be ready with a counter. It was a devious tactic, but would the Tiger's mind games be effective against a veteran fighter like Betsy?

[BlackAkuma]

Probably shouldn’t have gotten back up so fast. Definitely not good for her equilibrium.

Betsy stumbled back a few steps as she tried to shake off the effects of having her skull repeatedly thumped. Much as she hate to admit, the furball had some decent punches under all that finery, enough to rock anyone’s world if they got off some decent hits. Betsy was stronger than she looked, but not so strong that she could take hits like that and keep on going. Playing it safe was the right move, here.

Of course, knowing that and following through were different things, especially when Tonya the Tiger was so keen on ticking her off. Her face wrinkled at the taunt. ”Bitch, even if I wasn’t married, not in a billion years.”

Definitely wanted to shut her up now, though. After a quick reprieve, Betsy was able to move in again, and did as she weaved, swinging left and right while she closed the distance. She waited until she was just in Bengal’s range, then leaped in and lashed out with a right hook aimed at her opponent’s head, followed by a left hook from the other side, trying to get her momentum and body weight into the action to create the heaviest possible hits.

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

"Awww, you're married? An honest woman. How touching," Bengal sneered. "When your husband goes to bed tonight, he's gonna dream about me kicking your ass!"

Even as she spoke, Betsy began zig-zagging toward her, moving unpredictably. Bengal watched the All-American cock back her shoulder, judging her angle of attack. She was able to block the right hook she saw coming at her head, catching the arm in mid-swing. She was about to put her opponent in a wristlock - until she felt the left hook crashing like a meteor into her ribs, right above her claw-mark tattoo.

The Tiger staggered back, but somehow, she was able to hold onto Betsy's right arm. She yanked the trapped limb toward her, attempting to clinch with the blonde woman and put her in a Bear Hug! If she couldn't beat her opponent's striking game, maybe she could simply crush the life out of her with a submission hold. A tap out wouldn't count for the match's stipulation though, she reminded herself. So I'll just have to keep squeezing until she goes to sleep, Bengal resolved, trying to lock her arms around her opponent's curvy waist.

[BlackAkuma]

If the right doesn’t get you, the left will.

Betsy was more than happy to land only one of her two strikes clean, especially when the blow had such an explosive effect on her foe, really rocking her world from the looks of it. It connected clean and sent her reeling, a good sign that she was superior in the striking game. This was the winning play.

Betsy was eager to land more strikes - especially after the bitch’s little comment about Troy, a man she knew nothing about - but it seemed Bengal had other plans, as she moved in and scooped her up into a tight bearhug, pressing their bodies togetiher with an unrelenting, constricting force. She yelped as she waist was subjected to a pounding, pervasive force, and all she could do was writhe in her opponent’s grasp..

Well, that wasn’t all she could do, strictly speaking. She could talk junk, for instance. ”Only one dreaming here is you, Fancy Feast.”

Oh, and she could do a headbutt, too. Which she promptly attempted, reeling back and jerking forward to slam their skulls together at full force.

[BengalTheBlazeTiger]

Bengal smirked as she heard Betsy cry in pain, constricted by the pressure around her waist. But before she had the opportunity to fully realize her hold, the All-American craned her neck back, as if she was looking at something far above them. Then she thrust forward, pulverizing Bengal with a headbutt! At such close quarters, the Tiger didn't have any room to dodge. She could only watch helplessly as her opponent's head slammed into her own, filling up her field of vision, seeming to practically split her skull apart with blinding pain.

Releasing her Bear Hug, Bengal wobbled back toward the ropes, desperately pinwheeling her arms to keep her balance. Stars were swimming in front of her eyes, and they weren't the ones covering Betsy's outfit. She headbutted me, the Tiger thought to herself, blinking in disbelief. Is she insane?! In her matches so far, the Indian woman hadn't found too many fighters willing to perform this risky maneuver, likely due to the possibility of damage to the user. Her last remark had been intended to make Betsy mad, but maybe it had been a little too effective. As she staggered, Bengal could only hope that she hadn't gotten a concussion - and that her opponent had suffered at least some portion of the damage that she had.

[BlackAkuma]

In hindsight, maybe ramming her skull into the skull of another human being wasn’t the best way she could’ve gone about that.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, sure, and it had even worked. She wanted Bengal to let her go, and she sure as shit did precisely that, releasing Betsy so she could stagger away. But her head was pounding so much that it was a little hard to capitalize on the window she’d created - hell, it was hard not to fall on her ass.

As much as she wanted to fall down, though, she knew that wasn’t an option - she needed to keep moving and do something, even if it wasn’t a particularly good something. She shook her head, cleared it was as much as it would ever get clear, then closed the distance on Bengal with a long step, bringing the fight right to her.

As soon as she was close enough, Betsy leaped up, tucked her legs in, grabbed the back of Bengal’s neck and proceeded to fall back, attempting to drive her knees into the woman’s face with a Codebreaker.