Felix vs. Ari

[Director Troutman]

Standard tournament fodder, you're fighting in the same location as Dain would normally host the Fighters League, but with a few small changes...

• The 'ring' is an octagon, similar to UFC standards, with canvas matting on the ground to cover the stone. No padding or anything, the perimeter is an eight-foot high close-knit mesh, so no climbing the cage walls.
  
• There is room for spectators, so it's not exactly going to be quiet in here. Bear that in mind.
  
• Fights are ended by submission or knockout, otherwise it goes to the judges after the week is up.
  
• The entire tournament is taking place in a single evening, so no opportunities to rest up. If you're injured, you'd be best to bear in mind you're not going to be 'fine' for the next fight. Also, unless you win VERY quickly, those who progress to the semi's are going to be at least a little tired.
  
• Competitors will be wearing their own clothing, but restrictions mean no weapons (obviously), and nothing that could be considered 'protective' clothing, so no steel-toed boots or whatnot.
  

Fight hard!

[Ari Karamzov]

Shit, I've five minutes. Five minutes and I lose on this prize. Five fucking minutes. Wait, no, make that 4 and a half. I'm gonna fucking kill somebody if I can't get in the ring because I wanted to fucking sleep in a little and forgot the time. There's the parking lot! Find a spot, find one! Yes! Now, who'm I takin' on?


Ari locked his car and sprinted across the lot and into the gym, forcing his way through the surprised crowd as if he were an enraged bull. Each step he took pushed him towards the mental state he felt he needed to take down his opponent, no matter who it would be. A little nervous, but not enough to show, he finally made it through the crowd and into the octagon, and he sighed in relief noticing that nobody was there to disqualify him, confirming that he had made it. Just barely. One deep breathe and he searched the octagon for his opponent. He had barely heard the opponent's name, but figured he might know their face.

Felix, as far as he knew that the name of his opponent, seemed to be a no show, or at least late. It wasn't like he was oblivious of his reputation of hostility and skill, but that shouldn't count against him. This was a competition, and one he intended on winning, with a fair brawl. Didn't mean he was in the mood to fuck around, though, and he became even angrier when he realized that for all his worrying, he arrived before the enemy.

Because Ari was tired and not remembering the exact time of the match, he knew he'd need all of his energy for the fight, and due to the potential crash energy drinks were more likely to be a liability rather than an asset. So, he decided to rest a bit after preparing himself for the fight, figuring that he wouldn't be asleep too long. Of course, next thing he knew he was being frantically shaken awake by Paul, who informed him that he had to get to the gym within a few minutes or he'd be disqualified. He nearly beat Paul to a pulp when he heard that, but restrained himself. He pulled off his jacket to reveal a camo green tank, clenched and unclenched his fists next to his shorts, and sunk his sneakers into the octagon's mat, trying to imagine what his opponent would be like.

Taking a quick glance towards the crowd, and nodding to himself as he noticed nobody other than him inhabited the octagon, he snorted in derision and muttered to himself as he prepared to wait.

"Great, all that fucking buildup and the prick ain't here!"

[Felix]

(Sorry, had a few things pop up and I know I was logged, but couldn't get to it. I'll post like your already there since you have the first slot saved. If that's a problem, just let me know and I will modify it ASAP.)

Felix made his way to the ring, the crowd was pumped and ready for the nights festivities. He left his storm coat in his car, and walked in with a tight fitting grey t-shirt. His baggy cargo's hung loosely over his shin high boots. He had wanted to bring out his old steel toes, but with the rules stating anything against it, it was just going to be hard rubber tonight.

He also had to be careful in the first match, seeing as how this would be a single elimination and all in one night as well. This wasn't like the Fighters League. This was straight brawl to the finish.
His first opponent was a kid named Ari. Up until this point, he'd never heard of him, but making his way inside the octagonal ring he saw the mammoth. 'Shit, he's taller than me.' Not many people were, seeming that everyone generally was either shorter, or matched his own height. 'There goes having an easy first round match, Felix thought to himself.

He didn't waste time with words, instead going to a short set of stretches and bouncing slightly. He didn't really care if he was ready either, the first round is always trying to find the quickest way to win. He set his stance like a boxing stance, as close as he could manage to the real thing, keeping both arms up to protect himself. He darted forward, opening up with two quick jabs from his right, aimed for Ari's gut. Quickly following the two jabs, Felix would hop back on his left foot, twist to the left and snap his right leg out towards Ari's leg knee.

His goal was to quickly stunt his opponents movement. If the tall giant was able to move freely, this wouldn't be in Felix's favor at all.

[Ari Karamzov]

OOC: Apologies for the delay, will try to be more prompt in the future. Now let's get a fight going
IC:

A confident grin spread across the giant Armenian's face as he saw his opponent enter the octagon. This boy, who he thought he'd heard of from the League matches before Dain put them on hiatus, must have been Felix, and he was the tallest opponent Ari had had since he joined the League. That group of punks he beat up for accosting Cale way back when he first re-enrolled didn't count. Regardless, this guy was still nowhere near as big as Ari, and as Ari raised his fists the thought of losing didn't cross his mind.

Didn't with Tiao or Dante, either.

Somehow the memory of his last fight didn't turn the grin into a grimace as usual. He had been too tired to fight effectively that day, and it seemed as if "Dante" didn't really care, either, as they spent the fight mostly exchanging punches and blocks. Eventually it had been stopped and ruled a draw, both because of the inconclusive standing between the two and the overall lack of effort. It was a foul stain on Ari Karamzov's pride, one he would not take lying down. Part of his motivation for joining the tournament other than the presumed monetary prize was hearing Nathan, the League judge, was participating. The thought of revenge was enticing.

Win or lose, I have to get through this kid to beat the crud out of Branigan. That punk won't get away with ruining my perfect record.

With one move forward on the part of both fighters, the match was on. Felix took a boxing stance similar to the one Ari had adopted and rushed to him, snapping out two quick right jabs aimed at Ari's gut. The boy was pretty quick, especially for a relatively big person, but Ari had faced similar situations enough that his reaction was not merely a practiced motion, but almost a reflex. Shuffling to his left, he twisted his body slightly to the right, allowing the right jabs to glance off of his blocking arms and missing for the most part entirely, while he fired his left hand out in a jab at Felix's face. As quick as Felix was, Ari was no slouch himself, and he had enough power to pulverize someone twice Felix's size without too much effort. The natural result would be that the jab, considering Ari's boulder like fist, would feel like a haymaker if it hit Felix's eye like intended, as it should since that area was left wide open and the counter would hopefully be sudden enough that Felix would not have time to rebound.

Either way, Felix stepped back, and Ari followed as he retracted his hand. Trying to stay on top of the smaller man, Ari noticed Felix's twist as he set himself up for a kick, and would wrap his massive arms around Felix and to the back of his head and collar of his shirt to get him in a clinch and hopefully keep Felix's arms trapped. As soon as this happened, his left knee would shoot upwards into Felix's unprotected abdomen and groin just below where his arms would cover. The plan was to intercept Felix just as he was beginning to throw the kick, and smash him with the powerful attack while he had no time to react and would be off balance. Ari's left leg would then return to the ground, and he would disengage the clinch, grabbing the hair on the back of Felix's head with his right hand while pummeling his side and liver with hooks from the left. In an MMA match he never would've used this tactic, but unfortunately for Felix Ari was pissed off today. The result? He was treating this like a street fight and wouldn't stop until he had beaten Felix into a fine red paste.

[Felix]

He watched Ari send out a left for his face after the blocked right handed jabs, but it was rendered useless because Felix had already hopped back. What he didn't anticipate was for Ari to step forward, and he immediately sent his right leg to the ground with enough force to jump a few more feet away.

It was his only option, seeing as how Ari wanted to use his size to his small but obvious advantage. He had to think quick, Ari wouldn't wait if at all. Street fighting was Felix's forte, so to speak, but it wouldn't do in this match. He couldn't use his height and weight against someone who was bigger.

He looked around the octagon quickly, noting that it wasn't that large, but he still had a good five feet behind him, and another two to Ari. 'Seven feet total, this isn't going to be spectacular.' He was quickly regretting his decision, but it would have to do. He turned and darted for the cage walls, sliding to a stop as his right foot hit the edge. Looking back at Ari, he took one last deep breath and ran forward, sprint style.

The distance closed extremely fast, and with a last foot on the ground, he jumped up, right knee aimed right for his upper chest. It wasn't supposed to hurt, to push Ari off balance so that he'd have to steady himself, with the added pressure that Felix was pushing on him. Felix hope was that while this was happening, he wouldn't be able to hold still to throw him down onto the ground. Once he was up, he was already working on bringing his right arm down to smash into the left side of his head. Effectively knocking around what he could to help disorient the beast further.

Felix had given up on going for the legs, he needed to bring his opponent down and this was his best option under fire. Though the risk was high that this could and would turn badly.

[Ari Karamzov]

OOC: Upon further review, I have become concerned that this post could easily be interpreted as modding Felix's actions. I would like to make my point here so it does not come up in the future that this is not the case. I was basically describing one long chain of moves, with each attack one part of the sequence. I'm not as much predetermining anything as I am describing just what Ari will do if it all goes to plan. Also, though it goes without saying, the stuff about inevitable defeat and how Felix doesn't stand a chance and all that is just from Ari's POV, since he's an arrogant SOB. His words, not mine.

It's over!

Ari had almost been worried for a second when Felix somehow stopped mid-kick and jumped a few feet away from him, cleanly avoiding his attempt at a clinch, but at first nothing happened as Ari started to move forwards again. Felix only looked around the octagon initially, as if looking for a way to escape his inevitable defeat. Then he did something nobody had done with Ari before; he literally ran away. At least, it seemed like that when Felix turned around and ran for the end of the octagon behind him, and Ari was just about to pursue when the smaller boy turned around and sprinted right back at the giant.

Ari hadn't known was Felix was planning, but still smirked a little as he crouched down, ready to intercept. However, he hadn't expected Felix to do something truly moronic, and was almost surprised when he saw Felix jump at him with a flying knee attack combined with bringing his arm down. There was a reason such moves were reserved for luchadores and similar pro wrestlers; not only were they highly inaccurate and completely lacking in any real power, but they left your balance compromised, and when you were in the middle of the air the opponent could do anything they wanted. At best, such a thing was a desperation move, at worst it was suicide. Ari was greatly amused at the idea that Felix was already so desperate that he would try a move that would play right into Ari's strengths and, if failed, seal his (Felix's) fate. Either he was panicking, or greatly underestimating Ari Karamzov.

Ari never, ever, let someone get away with underestimating him. His counter would be quick, it would be decisive, and if Felix was lucky he'd wake up after a few hours with a hell of a concussion. Taking a few steps forward as Felix's move started and raising his hands in defense as if to block, Ari would duck to his left with a quick shuffle step and then step forward, pivoting around once finished so that he would be facing Felix's back. If Felix were smart, that would be the part where he really started to regret pulling an aerial attack. Felix would eventually have to land after his attack missed, and just before he did so he would find Ari's massive tree trunks of arms wrapping firmly around his torso/abdomen. The timing of the grab, his almost inhuman strength, and Felix's lack of balance would give the opponent no time to react to Ari's lunging forward and grabbing him.

Nor would he have time to react as Ari sharply bent backwards in an arcing motion, keeping his grip tight on Felix even as Felix's head would be smashed into the ground. The hope was that only the one German Suplex would be needed to knock Felix out, as the momentum of the slam and the force of the impact would be mostly aimed at one spot on the top of Felix's head, where the skull and brain could be most effected by the attack. Sharp blows to the very top of the head/skull, especially with a great deal of force, tend to render most people unconscious near instantly, and Ari was going to exploit that. Being in midair, Felix would not be able to regain his balance before the attack, and there wouldn't be much of anything he could do to get out of it, especially since if he was like a normal person he would have begun to lunge forward slightly just before landing to try to stabilize himself, meaning he would be in no position for a split second defense like Ari's surprise throw would require. Suplexes were one of Ari's favourite moves, and he had turned them into a specialty of his over time. This meant that he was damn good at them, and he knew how powerful one could be properly done.

Of course, he had no way to know if Felix would stay down after just one, and he wasn't in the mood to prolong the fight for too much longer than needed, so after the initial impact he would sharply turn to his right while keeping the grip on Felix, ending up more or less on Felix's back while also on the front parts of his (Ari's own) legs. Quickly straightening his legs, he repeated the suplex from this position, again smashing Felix's head on the octagon mat. He did this twice more, for a total of four German Suplexes, before repeating the roll again. This time there would be no suplex, he instead released his grip for a second, and adjusted his position so that he would be more or less sitting on Felix's back. Any man who said he would not be stunned after being slammed right on his head by an experienced fighter who was aiming to KO him was a liar, especially from a man as gigantic as Ari, so Ari would take advantage of this inevitable dazed period, no matter how short, to lower himself and place his left hand on the back of Felix's head, while his right arm would slip under the boy's jaw and around him, gripping the left arm high on the bicep while he flexed the right arm's bicep. The RNC established, he would then compound it by bending back, coupling the squeezing of an air choke with a tight constriction of Felix's arteries- a blood choke. The boy would be out in seconds if this worked.

If you're still awake, do us both a favour and tap out, boy!

[Director Troutman]

Ari wins, though I note that next round your posting had better be more punctual. That last post was right on the hair, but Felix was unlucky in the choice of move. Well executed. Better luck next time, Felix.