Jackpot PPV: Wild Card Match: Carmen Rodriguez vs Sachiko Kanda

Sachiko knew that Carmen wouldn't be done in so easily by a simple headlock which is why she wasn't surprised when the Puerto Rican slugger began to drag them both to the ropes, in an attempt to break the hold. Regardless, Sachiko still held the hold intent on taking as much energy out of Carmen as she could. With each passing second another bit of her energy would be drained and increase the chances of Sachiko putting this match to a quick end.

After what surely felt like a thousand mile journey for Carmen they arrived. Sachiko would release her hold on Carmen and then step back a bit so that the referee wouldn't get in the way when. "Leave you breathless?" Sachiko jokingly asked Carmen as she brought her arms back up, ready to lunge forward at a moment's notice.

There was some urgency to Carmen’s movements, a bit of needed expediency. She had never put anyone in a rear naked choke before, but she was savvy enough to have seen the move executed quite a few times before, and she knew how effective it could be. It was more than enough to end a match fast in most circumstances, if properly applied, and there were few flaws in her technique. Carmen was well on her way to getting knocked out when she grabbed the ropes, saving herself at the crucial moment.

The hold was broken and Carmen breathed a sigh of relief, not to mention just breathing to refill her lungs. The spots were starting to clear, she was okay, but it wasn’t a spot she wanted to be in again with this match. Had to be careful. Had to be smarter.

“Something like that.” Carmen had a quick chuckle as she stood, rubbing her neck to get the circulation going. She brought her fists up, matching Sachiko’s stance, and stepped forward. ”Let’s try that again.”

Carmen closed in on her opponent with a tight fist, edging towards her range. The moment she was close enough, she threw out a right cross, but pulled it back before it could make impact - a feint. Instead, she ducked down and struck out, diving towards Sachiko’s waist with a quick tackle to bring her to the mat.

Sachiko had her guard up as she watched Carmen get off the floor, apparently enjoying the joke at her own expense. That was good, being a boxer meant having to withstand some brutal beatdowns, especially when your own face was brushed and battered to the point of possibly going to the hospital. Sachiko doubted that she and Carmen would have to go to such lengths to keep the other down for the ten count in this match but one could never know.

Once Carmen was on her feet again the two women would square off once again, only this time it was Carmen's turn to take the initiative. Sachiko braced herself for the right cross that Carmen threw.....only for it to never land. Carmen's right cross was only a feint, a ploy for her real move. She'd charge in close, grab a hold of Sachiko's waist and tackle her into the mat! Sachiko wasn't quite prepared for the sudden shift, and the pain would feel a bit sharper for not bracing herself for the impact like she should. Now that she was beneath Carmen, all Sachiko could do was wait for an opening and take whatever it was Carmen did next.

Carmen’s little ploy worked, better than she could’ve hoped for, especially for a tactic she didn’t use too often.. Down Sachiko went, taking her weight full on and collapsing, coming to the mat with her on top, crashing hard. This was where Carmen’s weight advantage would serve her well, giving her an easy way to pin her foe down. Now, the only question left was what she’d do with that advantage.

The natural answer was a ground and pound, and she almost went for that right away, even brought her hands up for the telltale position, but she broke away before committing. Trying something outside of her usual zone had caught Sachiko off guard before, and there was a good chance it would work again. Might as well give it a shot.

So, instead, she reached down and seized her opponent’s arm, pulling it up hard. She fell to the side at the same time and slipped the limb between her thighs, as one leg came over her chest and the other went to her head, trying to pull her into a tight armbar.

Sachiko watched as Carmen raised her arms up ready to start a "ground and pound", a good move for a match like this where one had to have their opponent down for a ten count. Sachiko brought her arms up, ready to guard against the imminent rain of blows.....only they never came. Sachiko raised an eyebrow as a look of realization came across Carmen's face before she proceeded to reach out and grab one of her arms.

Sachiko watched as the Puerto Rican slugger grabbed her arm and fell to the side, locking in a brutal arm bar. Sachiko would yell out in pain for a bit before trying to free her arm. A boxer's greatest asset was their arms and having it targeted in a match like this was sure to have a lasting effect, especially for Sachiko as it would surely affect her finishing move "The God Hand". Sachiko would try to roll over to her side the one that Carmen was on and try to shift the position to ease up the pressure and, if she was lucky, land a few hits to Carmen's side with her free arm.

If Carmen were being critical - and she often was - this wasn’t the best-applied armbar in history. The grip on the arm was a little weak, should’ve been higher up for more leverage, and she messed up the placement of the legs, getting one too low on Sachiko’s chest. The only person she’d tried this move on was Army, who had at least half a foot on Sachiko, so everything was off with her muscle memory. It was a B- armbar, at best.

But it would do. Carmen didn’t need perfection here, she just needed to tip the scales in her favor, and even a minor weakness in Sachiko’s arms would pull that off. It might not reap any immediate results, but if they went the difference, all that wear and tear would show. A little investment for down the line.

That being said, though, all investments had a price, and Carmen was set to pay hers. Her opponent only suffered the hold for a few moments before she rolled over to ease the pain, and threw a few shots in her side for good measure. She could take the hits - three of them, in fact. But four was more than she was willing to take.

Gritting and grunting, she let go of the hold, kick at Sachiko’s chest to push her back, then rolled to her feet in a steady motion. She stood tall, brought her fists up, but hung back for the moment, curious to see how well her foe was doing after all that.

Carmen's armbar wasn't anything out of the ordinary compared to most of the other arm bars she had ever been in, but regardless Sachiko would admit that it was definitely something that should definitely be underestimated. Perhaps after this match was done, Sachiko could show the Puerto Rican Slugger how she could improve it in the gym sometime, after this match was done of course. Sachiko managed to succeed in rolling to her side and the pressure her arm had been under had eased up a bit, while also putting Carmen within striking distance.

Sachiko would use her free arm and strike Carmen in the side not one, not two, but three times in a row. It would've been four, or possibly five, but Carmen quickly brought her legs up and kicked Sachiko away from her, a smart move. Sachiko could feel the soreness in her arm, but did her best to mask it, not wanting to give Carmen any sign that it had been effective on her. Sachiko waited until Carmen was up before she approached her arms up at her sides. She knew she'd need to throw Carmen off balance somehow so she decided to do something unexpected.

Sachiko would throw a punch with her left arm, but this was only a feint, a distraction for the real strike. Sachiko's right leg would shoot forward and strike Carmen's knee from the side, which would hopefully break her balance and allow Sachiko to put Carmen in a headlock.

Three hits in the side weren’t pleasant from anyone, but from Sachicko’s legendary god fists? Oh, that was going to sting for days. Weeks even.

It was worth it, though, and the benefits showed up right away when they stood up. Carmen was a little sluggish, but she had two working arms to use. Her opponent wasn’t so lucky. With only one viable arm, she was predictable, and she had an easy time getting her guard up for the incoming blow.

Here came the right punch, going for her quick…a feint? Heh. Carmen knew there wasn’t anything to fear from the other, so that meant her opponent was going to double down, and when she did-

It was Carmen’s turn to be taken off guard now, as a kick of all things crashed into her knee. It was enough to bring her down, where a waiting arm snatched up her head and kept it tight, clamped and squeezing. Carmen struggled, but she wasn’t in a good position to do much with it.