Modern Day Warriors - 'Demon' Masuyo Ai vs. Saikawa 'The Samurai' Saigo

For all her offensive capabilities, Saikawa was much less formidable when she was on the defensive. Not it wasn’t a spirited effort, but being on your back with an unburdened opponent on top of you was an MMA fighter’s worst nightmare. The same was probably true for Kenjutsu practitioners, too. The samurai could surely attest in a matter of moments.

Right between the woman’s legs, Masuyo could comfortable rain down punches onto her red-haired adversary. As expected, she turtled up, but there was only so much that would help when you were facing the Demon in the ring. A couple powerful jabs landed on the woman’s side, a couple more tested her guard. Bit of a bother, but she could break through it eventually.

That was, until Saikawa started firing back. A well-placed chop landed hard into her side, another broke her balance. She clicked her tongue. Staying here wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Instead, she fell back and grabbed the woman’s leg. Crossing her shin’s over Saikawa’s thigh, the MMA maven would lock the samurai girl into a kneebar.

From one bad situation into another, Masuyo certainly knew what she was doing! Saikawa let out a frustrated grunt when she suddenly felt her leg being trapped like this. While she didn't exactly need her legs for many kicks, the Samurai knew that she at least needed to be able to stand, so she started to try and free her leg in any way possible, trying hard to bend it against the pressure of the kneebar, but this didn't really work.

As soon as the red haired Warrior had realized that this wouldn't get her anywhere, she tried to get a few kicks into Masuyo's side with her free leg before just mustering all her strenght and starting to drag herself towards the nearest rope, visibly struggling with pulling her own weight and that of the demon with only one leg and her two arms. Saikawa was strong, but this would definitely be a test if she was strong enough.

Good god, this woman had some strength.

Masuyo had felt it from the early stages of this match when her opponent rammed her entire weight into her. She assumed that she was more relying on the momentum than anything. But as she crawled her way to the ropes, it was clear that Saikawa had more than enough power packed into that frame to take the Demon to the distance. She had to shut this down before it became a problem.

“Not a chance, Gozen.”

Twisting her body back around, Masuyo would roll herself on top of Saikawa’s leg as the red-haired woman crawled towards the ropes. From there, she’d sit up and attempt a transition into a single leg Boston Crab. It wouldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t reach the ropes, but the added weight would force the samurai to bear with the pain just a little longer. That’s all Masuyo needed to keep the momentum her way.

Saikawa could feel her leg hurting, no amount of pushing against Masuyo's kneebar brought her any relief, but she kept dragging herself towards the ropes at a slow but steady pace. She was lucky that she was this strong, a weaker opponent would, in her opinion, have no chance of getting away like this. But Saikawa was a Samurai, and she wasn't going to let this peasant make her tap!

"If you think that...I will go down this easily....You're WRONG!"

The Red Haired Warrior let out a loud, frustrated yell when her opponent transitioned into a single leg crab, using the short moment when Masuyo had to shift around to drag herself to the rope, both hands holding onto it and trying to use the ropes to do something...unusual. Instead of waiting for the Demon to break the hold on her own or the referee to break it, Saikawa tried to use her immense strength to pull her entire body towards the ropes, hoping to make her opponent crash right into said ropes.

There was something about her tenacity that Masuyo could really respect. Saikawa didn’t come across as one to surrender easily, but even as she was mere inches away from the rope break, her struggle hadn’t faltered in the slightest. There was an iron will beneath that skin, and the Demon couldn’t wait to tease the rest out.

“Really? Your leg is saying otherwi-HEY!”

Alright, that was something she wasn’t expecting. Masuyo was starting to get an idea of just how this woman thought when it came to fighting. It wasn’t enough for her to just get free from her opponent, she had to pay it right back. She’d give her this much, though. This woman was strong as hell.

Masuyo felt as though she were sitting on a rocket. Her backside collided with the bottom and middle ropes while her head was clipped by the top. The next thing she knew, the Demon was springing forward towards the floor. She landed face first, the bridge of nose colliding with canvas as she rolled to the side.

With Masuyo being pulled into the ropes and then flung back onto the Canvas, it was Saikawa's time to act, using the middle rope to get back to her feet, the Samurai noticing that her left leg was just a tiny bit wobbly thanks to the kneebar and the crab, but a true Samurai wouldn't let herself be held back by something like this.

Seeing her opponent laying on the side, the red haired woman smirked, running straight at her just to jump up high right in front of her, using her right leg to drive her knee right into the side of the downed demon.

"Never underestimate a Samurai's strength or ability to get out of a bad situation."

That was the thing about the more concentrated martial artists. Mixed martial artists like Masuyo had to keep their bodies constantly on the upkeep to pull off any number of techniques. Throws and takedowns especially. People like Saikawa, however, the ones that stuck to traditions and relied more on momentum. It was way too easy to forget that there was plenty of power packed
into that toned frame.

Masuyo rolled her side, one hand clutching her nose to inspect the damage. Nothing bad, but she was still a bit dazed from the speed that everything happened. Couldn’t get too comfortable down here. Kenjutsu was just as dangerous on the ground anywhere else. She placed one hand on the canvas, ready to stand up when she heard to the samurai boast some more. Probably earned that.

“Yeah, I guess that was my first mista-GAH!”

That knee landed hard on her exposed side, bumping against her ribs like a xylophone as it went. God, that sucked. As all of her nerves were set alight, Masuyo rolled over to the ropes, hoping to make some distance and scramble up to her feet before Saikawa got any more ideas for a follow-up.

Saikawa confidently smiled to herself as she felt her knee drive into her opponent's side, the Samurai getting back to her feet as Masuyo simply tried to get to the ropes. She quite obviously loved showing off her strength. But she was more than just brute strength and no brains behind it. Saikawa could also make a plan or two.

And with her opponent so close to the rope, she definitely had a plan. The red haired woman rushed to the opposite side of the ring, using the ropes to get some speed before rushing back towards Masuyo.

"I think you bit off a little more than you can chew! Pretty pathetic for a demon!"

Saikawa said as she was running towards the Demon who was still getting to her feet, sliding the last few feet, hoping to kick Masuyo out of the ring like this.

She was picking up on a bit of a mean streak from this one.

Masuyo kept on clutching her side as she rolled onto her front, placing herself up on her knees and forearm. Couldn’t bring herself to raise her head quite yet, however. This woman truly was a kenjutsu specialist. The elbow dug between the cracks in her ribcage with relentless power, penetrating right between to strike her lungs with its edge. She was as formidable as she was demeaning, it seems.

“I’m feeling some hostility from-AH!”

Clearly she wasn't ever going to finish a sentence again.

A pair of legs buried into her injured side. Masuyo found herself rolling out of the ring, landing hard onto the floor. She gritted her teeth, trying to get some air back into her flaring lungs and mentally preparing herself for whatever the samurai had to throw at her next.

Saikawa had to admit, she was enjoying this quite a bit. Not just tossing Masuyo around, but the fight itself! This girl could take a beating, but the Samurai was determined to bring her to her limits! With the Demon landing on the floor outside the Ring, Saikawa jumped back to her legs, quickly going through her options.

While thinking about what she'd do, the redhead already climbed to the top turnbuckle, keeping her eyes fixed on her opponent though. "Just stay down and accept that you'll never defeat a true Samurai" Saikawa told her as she stood there on the top turnbuckle and then jumped, elbow first, quite a devastating Elbow Drop if Masuyo didn't manage to get out of the way fast enough.