Blair Yuen [D] vs. Finlay Zeffer - Last One Standing Match

[CaptainL]

Blair heard Finlay's praise, meeting it with a nod. As someone who took great pride in her skill and her striking ability, such words always reassured her that she was doing something right. She would say something in response, but there was no time to. She knew that in a tense battle like this one, any stray second could turn the tide of the match - and she wasn't about to afford Finlay that opportunity! Closing in on him, Blair reached for his shoulders, hoping to strike before her opponent could recover. He might have been taller than she was, but she was able to leverage the momentum of her charge into it, landing a knee straight into his chest as she hopped up to meet him head-on!

Finlay, however, wouldn't be put down so easily. He remained on his feet - and now that he and Blair had closed into range of each other, he was able to push her down before throwing his arms around her neck, putting her back into the clinch. The Muay Thai practitioner tensed, biting her lip. Given the difference in size between them, this was definitely an advantageous position for Finlay to take. And sure enough, he kicked up with his knee, slamming it right into Blair's stomach!

Wincing in pain, she clenched her teeth, doubling over forward over Finlay's knee. Her arms dropped from around his neck, and she panted for breath. But as Blair took in a breath, she resolved that she couldn't back down now. Finlay might have been testing her prowess, but she was even more determined to rise to his challenge and prove herself, to live up to his expectations! Leaning in against the wrestler to hold herself up, Blair threw her arms around Finlay's waist. Then, pushing off the ground, she tried throwing her weight forward for a takedown! Blair wasn't much of a ground fighter, but she figured this would buy her some time to make her next move.

[Bare]

Blair nodding to his praise was all the confirmation the male needed to know she heard him loud and clear. It was obvious the two were on a similar wavelength in temrs of views, fighting spirit, even mentality. So even with just a small gesture such as that Finlay was able to tell what Blair was thinking, at least a good idea of it. That’s why when she charged forward, flying through the air, he knew better to dodge. Bracing himself instead he threw his arms up around her shoulders and caught the girl right after kick!

Gritting his teeth in response to the blow the blonde managed to stand his ground and push through, readying a move of his own! Pulling her close to his own frame Finlay swung his leg up, driving the knee right into her gut in response! Hearing her gasp was all Finlay needed to know that the girl had been rocked by the heavy blow, while he was prepared to press his advantage further it seemed Blair had her own idea!

”Hm!?” He vocalized in surprise as he felt her arms fall away from his shoulders and instead found a place around his waist! “What?!” He yelled in surprise feeling Blair push forward into him, forcing him backwards against his will, which combined with him being off balance from the knee strike left him to topple to the mat! Grunting as he snapped his open and quickly took stock of the situation with Blair now on top of him.

Knowing he couldn’t allow her to take advantage and put him in a submission like before Finlay immediately took as decisive an action he could to switch the situations once again. Reaching up he’d attempt to snatch one of Blair’s arms by the wrist before pulling it towards him. If successful the blonde would then attempt to pull his legs out from under him before throwing them up and around his opponet! One leg going around her head the other hooked itself over it, if he was successful Finlay would then attempt to pull back for a tringle armbar submission!

[CaptainL]

Blair could see the mark of an experienced and knowledgable fighter in Finlay. Every movement he made was made with purpose; even the way he positioned himself after taking the brunt of a blow was controlled just right to allow him to take advantage of where he had landed. Every second counted, and every moment was an opportunity for him. She could see that now, as even though Blair had caught him for a knee strike and landed the blow in his chest, Finlay was able to grab onto her as the two were so close, putting himself into range to deliver a knee of his own right into his gut!

Blair stumbled forward, gasping and groaning from where she had landed against her opponent. But the fact that she had ended up in this predicament in the first place because of Finlay's ability to counter the momentum and positioning of an opponent's attack to bolster his own was not lost on her. She knew the capacities Finlay functioned at, and she was even more encouraged to rise to meet him on the same level! Taking inspiration from his own tactics, Blair threw her arms around his waist and shoved herself forward off the ground, tackling him to the mat!

As soon as Finlay was down, Blair raised her fist. Even if she was more used to stand-up fighting, she figured she could still land a few good blows on Finlay to keep him down. However, she wasn't expecting him to so readily fight back! Before Blair could press the advantage, Finlay suddenly grabbed her by the wrist, halting her in place. She looked down with a gasp as he threw his legs into place around her head and arm, before tightening his grasp with a tringle armbar!

At once, the tables had been turned. Blair froze, knowing that a move like this could turn the tide of a more conventional match. But this was a Last One Standing match, and submissions wouldn't apply. Gritting her teeth, she could only resolve to bear through it. Blair held firm, not moving and keeping her body still. Fighting the hold would only waste her energy, and Finlay would have to release her soon enough. Still, the pressure made her shudder and grow tense. She could try to last it out, but it wouldn't be pleasant!

[Bare]

Despite being brought to the mat Finlay was far from done. He was a fighter through and through and wouldn’t let something like a takedown take him by surprise leaving him defenseless. Not being the first time he’d been in a position like this Finlay reacted instantly as his legs snapped up, wrapping around Blair’s smaller body in a tight submission hold. Granted said submission wouldn’t do all that much good in the current situation due to this being a last one standing match. However he wasn’t trying to win with it. Rather just disrupt Blair’s flow and keep her off him a bit while inflicting some pain back onto her. In addition as he pulled her arm out he did so tactically, trying to weaken her limb the same way she did to his. Blair’s biggest strength was grabs and strikes. So if he could weaken the arm she led with it would certainly make her easy to read.

After a minute or two of applying the hold as painfully as he could, with minimal resistance no less, he would release it, pushing Blair away from him as he did. He was actually rather impressed by her abikity to ride out the hold as well as she did. Most would struggle ceaslessly and flail about trying to break it. But it took a far more intelligent grappler to choose to endure it, especially given the match type they were in, after all had she wasted her energy trying to escape than she’d surely be easy pickings. But she didn’t, and seeing such resolve brought a smile to Finlay’s face as he rolled away before standing. Putting his fists up once again he waited for Blair. ”Come on and stand. Its time to end this.” He said with a bit of a pant as he waited for Blair to meet him. Assuming they were about even in terms of damage dealt and energy spent than she must have been nearing the end of her rope same as him. It was likely the next exchange would be their last. And he’d be the one to win it.

[CaptainL]

With Finlay's legs latching around her arm and head at the same time, Blair had gone tense. Her mind was racing as she tried to come up with a way out of this. The triangle choke was already a renowned and feared move in the world of mixed martial arts, and that went especially so for someone like Blair, who preferred to stay within the realm of stand-up striking as much as she could get away with. Her strategy when it came to the ground was to stay off of it whenever possible, and when it came to breaking her opponents' holds, she had never excelled. When Finlay had her so thoroughly restrained in including her arm as well, Blair was in trouble. She grit her teeth, her breaths coming in shallow and sharp as sweat trickled down her furrowed brow. She wasn't someone who liked to be helpless, yet now, she was - and that ate away at her all the more. Her heart was pounding, but the best she could do was to sit and wait.

It was perhaps fortunate for Blair that in the end, that was all she really needed. Eventually, Finlay let go, and she dropped to the mat. As she began to rise to her knees, Blair panted for breath, reaching to rub at her shoulder and wincing as she touched the sore joint. All the same, her eyes turned up toward Finlay, and she locked onto him. She pushed herself to her feet and straightened her back, a defiant look on her face as she stared him down. If Finlay was going to try and make her feel helpless, she would have to show him how capable she could truly be!

"That it is," Blair said, meeting Finlay's words with a curt nod. She raised her hands and lowered herself into a stance, making her way toward her foe. She watched him with unblinking eyes, not willing to take her attention off him for a minute. Her breaths came hot and heavy as the fatigue set in, but she balled her fists, the muscles in her arms tensing. Blair wouldn't go out without a fight - and as she closed in on Finlay, she would swing out with a jab aimed for his chest the moment he came into striking range!

[Bare]

Finlay watched in anticipation as Blair worked her way to her feet, rubbing her shoulder out of pain from the hold he had her in not even a minute ago. Taking the brief lull in violence to inspect her form he knew she’d didn’t have much left, just like him. Her body was covered in red marks, early signs of bruises that would form later, her body drenched in sweat, shoulders heaving, a wild look in her eye. Signs of farigue that Finlay himself shared. It was time to end things, one way or another.

Locking eyes with and nodding to her Finlay knew she was on the same wavelength as him. She understood as well as he did this match wouldn’t go on for long, and that it was time to end it. To bring this to a battle of wills. In a weird way, as she put her fists up, Finlay found himself feeling excited. As well as something else. A feeling he couldn’t quite place. Of course what he was feeling next was pain as her fist collided with his chest. Wincing in pain he took a step back but.. shooting a determined glare at her, he reaffirmed his footing, before throwing his arm out to return the body blow with one of his own, throwing a jab at Blair’s chest!

[CaptainL]

Blair knew just as much as Finlay did that the wear and tear of the match was going to come back to her by the next morning. She was stiff and sore, and she had to give her head a toss to shake the sweat out of her hair. But that wasn't going to matter now. She wouldn't let it. Blair's eyes narrowed as she locked her attention in on Finlay, her fist balled at her side as she moved toward him with purposeful strides, and her shoulders rising and falling with each slow breath she took. She'd worry about the pain later - right now, she just had to see things through to the end. It was down to this, and whoever would emerge victorious would be whoever had the resolve to bear through it all.

Blair was quick to act as she neared her opponent, her fist lashing out and catching him in the chest. Even as Finlay stepped back, however, she didn't let down her guard. She watched him with unblinking eyes, maintaining her stance. She knew this wasn't over - especially as he shot back at her, connecting a jab of his own!

The girl bent forward from the strike, wincing and gritting her teeth as her shoulders hunched defensively in front of her. But she barely felt anything. The anticipation of being this close to victory was overpowering, and she couldn't let anything keep her down! Quickly pushing herself back to her full height, Blair swung back around, this time with an elbow at Finlay's side! She would stand up and fight no matter what!

[Bare]

Finlay watched as Blair reeled back from the return blow he successfully sent to the girl’s chest. However much like Blair had a momrnt ago he refused to take his gaze off Blair’s form. His intent and hawk like eyes watching his opponet’s body without so much as a milisecond of break, every ripple of her muscle, the sweat rolling off her form, everything.

That’s why, even as Blair slumped forward Finlay knew the girl was very far from down, something that he confirmed when she looked up and he saw that intense determined look in her eyes. Just as he thought, within moments the smaller girl would swing her arm up for a powerful elbow shot!

”Guh...” He grunted sharply in pain as he took the elbow and stepped back in response, the sharp pain blossoming in his side only serving to motivate him evrn further to matching Blair blow for blow! To rise even higher and push her to do the same! Twisting his body he sent a elbow of his own at Blair. Only with the difference in their heights, rather than go for her side it instead was aimed at the side of her face!

[CaptainL]

The size difference between Blair and Finlay was a real one, and over the course of this match, Blair had learned that she could be laid low if she ended up on the wrong side of his strikes. Yet that didn't matter to her now. The two were face to face and head to head, locked in battle, and neither would yield! Blair's sternum was still stinging from where she had taken the impact from Finlay's blow, but she narrowed her eyes and pushed herself back into the action. She couldn't back down now - not when she was sure victory was within her grasp!

Throwing herself against Finlay, Blair shot up with her arm, coiled into a sharp elbow strike that sent her opponent staggering to the side. But just like Blair, Finlay wouldn't go down. The two of them would trade as many blows as they could. It had become a contest of who would stay standing against all odds just as much as it was a contest to best the other, and Blair and Finlay both wanted to win each!

Staunch in her determination, Blair didn't even make any attempt to get out of the way of Finlay's next blow. It connected with the side of her head, and her face contorted in pain as a groan was forced from her throat. Her whole body went twisted to the side, pushed by the force of the impact. She looked as though her stance could give out - but it was then that Blair planted her foot against the ground to hold herself in place, her wide stance bracing her upright. At the sight of it, the crowd rang out in cheers. Despite the odds, Blair was still in this, and she was proving a force to be reckoned with!

Blair heard the roar coming from the stands, but she tuned it all out. She wasn't here to make fans or put on a show - she was here to win. She was quick to spin herself back around on her heel, and she came charging back toward Finlay. As she approached, she would kick her knee up off the ground, jabbing it into his chest!

[Bare]

Finlay watched Blair carefully as his blow sunk into her chest knocking her back severely nearly bowling the girl over. However just as he expected she wasn’t about to let herself be taken down so easily. Spreading her legs he saw her manage to keep her stance whilst the crowd roared in approval of her fortitude. But it just brought a smile to his face. She was proving to him through and through that he was right to put his favor on her.

More and more, as the match progressed, he found himself appreciating her skill and strength. Respecting her, hell even admiring her for her sheer guts she’s been showing all throughout this intense heated battle. It was making him want to go harder, to meet her head on, to do his best to defeat this mousy challenger, in as close a battle as humanly possible. Which is exactly what they were doing at the moment. They were in a fever pitch, their blows were back to back, filled woth fire and fury, and as her next blow came rocketing into his sternum he found himself stumbling back.

Grunting as he leaned back from the sheer force of the blow Finlay showed his own grit as he immediately swung himself back forward. He wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot. As he stood straight once again the blonde reared his leg back before thrusting it forward, aiming to drive his leg right into Blair’s side in returbution for the previous blow he had taken from her.