Tap or Nap: Jean Richards vs Kevin Derek

When Kevin got back up, he did so in an incredible display of fitness and athleticism, popping up right in front of Jean with one of those unnecessarily flashy moves you see martial artists do in movies to get up. Jean was already backing off on instinct when Kevin's hand whipped out towards him.

Jean managed to grab the wrist but the arm still caught him and started tugging him in. His instincts managed to prevent him from being fully tucked into the headlock, but up and over he yet went when the hiptoss went into effect. Jean hit the mat with an 'oomph', managing to land on his tailbone and sending a tingly shooting pain throughout the rest of his body.

Kevin catching the head hook and barely hanging on with Jean's arms getting in the way of a full on cinched up lock.  

"ARRGHHH ... quit messin dude"

Growling back at his opponent as the turn is made with the hip toss to get him down but Kevin is unable to ride it down and get a headlock on the mat in tight like he had planned.  Forced to rethink things, he pulls back up to his feet and moves around quickly to the side to land a stinging snap kick to Jean's lower back with the top of his right foot.  Pulling back to the corner ... watching ... waiting ... getting ready for the next opening.

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Jean begins to roll away from Kevin lest he decide to make use of some ground game. Despite his retreat though, the back of Kevin's heel landed in Jean's back just a bit above his belt, stinging him greatly and making him arch up his back.

Eyeing Kevin carefully, Jean pushed himself back up to his feet, shook his head out, and slapped his thighs to psych himself back into it. His back didn't hurt that bad, he was still at the top of his game, he just needed a bit of skill and luck to blast through Kevin's defenses.

With nothing to lose, Jean looked around at the crowd and nodded with a grin. He clapped his hands above his head and wiggled his fingers, daring Kevin to meet him in the middle and willingly lock up.

That cocky smirk ever present on Kevin's face as he looks over his opponent's stance and just shrugs his shoulders and steps forward.  His bigger, taller body not a bit sky about stepping into a lockup with the skilled yet unproven punk opponent in front of him.

"Ok dude ... I'll bite"

His hands coming up and feet setting in place against the mat.  biceps and forearms preflexing as he brings his fingers into contact and laces them locked with Jean's to start a test of strength lockup.

Jean's hands were still extended and fingers wiggling when Kevin came forward. Jean's eyes were locked on every step, and his face gave no indication that he was being anything but a bit cocky. However, the moment that their fingers touched Jean sprung into action.

In one fluid motion, Jean grabbed a hold of Kevin's right wrist and spun around in tight, his back slapping into Kevin's chest as he pulled Kevin's arm over his shoulder. At the same time he did this, he also quickly bent his knees to create a forward momentum for Kevin when he pulled the arm, all working towards pulling off a shoulder toss and flipping Kevin around to slam on his back.

"Wow, didn't figure you such a sucker" Jean grinned, pressing his knee into the corner of his pec and armpit to keep Kevin's chest down. He began to twist Kevin's arm around backwards, likely farther than his shoulder would want.

Kevin's eyes go wide as he get's punked by the TOS and instead finds his arm being wrenched over Jean's shoulder and on the way down to his back with a BOOM...

"Dirty motha ... "

Taking a quick full look at the toned muscle body standing over him.  Face contorted as the pressure of the arm lock sets in and he is now scrambling to get free of the quick applied joint lock.  Glaring up at his crafty opponent and then bringing his left foot up hard to connect with his adversary's head.

Jean flashes Kevin a toothy smile and yanks on his arm even harder, intent on doing as much for as long as he can. It doesnt take Kevin long to retaliate with a nasty kick to the side of Jean's head, nearly sending him sprawling across Kevin had he not caught himself there at the last second. The kick had sent shooting blinding stars of pain across his vision and obliterated his focus and hold.

Jean shakes his head out quickly despite the new throbbing just above his ear, he's gotta be quick if he wants to salvage the situation. Supporting himself with his hands on the mat, Jean grunts and kicks up his lower half into almost a handstand, and then drills his knees down right into Kevin's abs, hopefully dazing Kevin long enough for Jean to figure out another hold in the spur of the moment.

With his arm freed after the quick connect kick to Jean's head, Kevin flexes his core to start sitting up and then winces in a panic seeing his opponents body almost vertical yet upside down.

"WTF?"

Trying to figure out a quick defense and stalling momentarily with Jean starting to make the drop .... UNNNGHHH!

Kevin's body jack knifes up after the impact to his toned bricks from his opponent's sharp knees. Loosing some focus for a few seconds following but then moving quick to try and roll his opponent off of him before he can follow-up on the advantageous landing.

The crowd cheers for Jean as his knees come crashing down on Kevin, making him wince and flop around like a fish. Jean didn't blame him, two knees to the gut was a lot for anyone to suffer through. Jean ran a hand through his hair as Kevin rolled away, taking a quick breather to assess his options.

It was probably smartest to attack him from behind to limit his opponent's ability to counter him, but applying a good move was bound to be tricky. Jean shoved off after Kevin, jumping over and slamming his chest into Kevin's back. Jean grabbed at Kevin's right arm again, trying to wrench it back in a hammer lock and pin it down between his back and Jean's torso.

Kevin takes a few seconds to recover and reform his ab wall after the deep double knee shot before starting to press up to his hands and knees.

"That hurt dude ... HUNNGHHHH!"

Not finishing his sentence before Jean is back on him and landing solidly against his muscled back. His body going down to the mat again with his arm being twisted back. Kevin's bicep balls up as he fights against getting locked in by his opponent's ground game and he decides to throw a distraction tactic into the mix since it's a mixed rules match. His left hand working to reach back between the two muscled bodies and quickly rubs against Jean's pants covered crotch. His technique looking to prime the pump for things to come in case he gets the chance to win this match via the non-traditional tension fall.