Akiko Takamiya vs Melody Serperior - No Disqualifications match

With how quick the entire sequance happened, the crowd applauded the exchange.

Melody stood up, she needed to decide how to continue her attack within a split second. Her usual Spring Moonsault would be extremely effective, but it would likely take way too long, and Akiko would probably just roll away again.

So Melody settled on a slightly different approach to doing a Moonsault. She got her back turned to Akiko and jumped, doing a flip backwards as she did in order to land on Akiko's abs with her own with a Standing Moonsault

If successful, she would hook champ's leg for the first pin of the match.

Still a bit disoriented from the landing, Akiko didn't have enough time to recover before Melody came crashing down across her abdomen. "OOOOMPH...!" the fiery-haired girl groaned loudly, the wind having gotten knocked out of her by the impact.

Her green-haired foe moved quickly, hooking her leg and securing a pin on her. The ref quickly swooped in to start the count. "ONE" However, Akiko was too tenacious to be put away that easily, quickly kicking her way out before the second count. Needing a moment to catch her breath, she attempted to slip away and roll over onto her feet.

As Akiko kicked out at 2, Melody immediately rolled away to the side, not knowing what to expect from the red-head. She didn't expect to win by pin there, but the fact that she had her pinned for at least a one count was already showing that she was doing alright against the champ.

Turns out that Akiko had the same idea as she rolled away from Melody to recupperate from the offense.

Melody stood up from crouching and stood back into a fighting stance, waiting to see what Akiko will come at her with.

"Whew. Guess that was another 'almost', huh?" Akiko gave a small smile, keeping an eye on Melody as they both got back to their feet. The green-haired girl was a lot stronger than she expected. She was probably going to have to start putting more pressure on her, or else she'd be the one getting worn out first. Well... she still had all her underhanded options available still, but better to save those for a real pinch.

For now, however, it seemed as though Melody was waiting for her to make the first move. The girl was quick, and probably more agile than she was. But if she could keep things in close-quarters, she could prevent her foe from gaining too much momentum and have the advantage with her brawling skills. Assuming her own cautious fighting stance, the fiery-haired girl slowly approached her foe, ready to react in case she suddenly lashed out.

Once she felt she was close enough, Akiko did a quick step forward, trying to close the distance as much as possible before throwing a straight punch aimed at Melody's chest with her right hand, and preparing to follow it up by ducking low with an uppercut to the belly with her left.

Melody smiled back at Akiko's comment. Although, as she said, "almost doesn't count", being on equal ground with any champion made her that much more excited to fight.

As both of them slowly approached each other for another encounter, the red-head suddenly lashed out a punch Melody's chest. The girl barely had enough time to block the punch to her chest...

...but then she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and the wind knocked out of her by champion's uppercut to her gut.

Melody doubled down from the pain, open to another attack from Akiko yet again.

Melody managed to block her initial blow, but she left herself wide open for the follow up, hunching over as Akiko's fist sunk into her belly. Not about to waste a single moment of opportunity, the fiery-haired girl grabbed the back of her foe's top, using it to hold her down. Pulling the dark-haired girl into position, Akiko's knee shot straight up, aimed for Melody's chest. If possible, she would repeat the attack a couple of times before letting go.

Melody was in no position to counter attack, so she couldn't do anything as her Red-haired opponent grabbed the back of her MMA top to hold her escape and delivered some devastating knees to her chest.

Having already had the air knocked from her lungs by the punch to the stomach, the attack was a clever follow-up as Melody couldn't get that air back.

Trying to muster up her strength, Melody pushed the champion away from her, just as she released her top and would try to send a left hook to Akiko's jaw. If successful, Melody would take a quick step back to try and regain her breath.

Akiko was able to get in a few good shots before Melody shoved her away, forcing her to let go. The green-haired girl instantly threw a counterattack, a quick punch that just barely caught her right cheek when she tried to dodge. It wasn't bad enough to rattle her, but it still forced the fiery-haired girl to stagger back a few steps, giving Melody the chance to recover.

Despite missing her hook, Melody did get a quick moment to regain her breath and get enough air to her lungs.

Getting a short opening to counter attack, Melody would attempt to launch a Roundhouse Kick to her opponent's head with her right leg. That wouldn't be the end of her attack, as Melody would pivot around her left leg and rotate 180 degrees with her back to her opponent. Once her leg was back to the ground, she would immideatly follow it up with a Spinning Heel Kick with her left leg, and, using her right leg as a pivot, would rotate again, now facing, hopefully falling Akiko.

Akiko readied herself as she saw Melody coming at her again, moving forward to meet her. However, the green-haired girl swung her leg up towards her head, forcing her to stop abruptly as she just barely ducked below the kick. No sooner had she recovered when her foe was already swinging around with another kick.

She was in too close to dodge, so the fiery-haired girl braced herself and attempted to block the hit. Melody's momentum was too strong however, and her leg slammed into Akiko's side, sending her crashing down to the mat with a yelp.