Before: Similarly configured fighters inside the ring that can’t be more different outside it, the rivalry between the two was probably inevitable.  Kat’s been touted as the second coming of Dani Fishel, but has most of her fights in the sheltered confines of the Asylum.  Kendra’s manager has been more blunt about her career: she puts butts in seats and eyes where he wants them.  He’s even gone on record saying that the only title she’ll ever hold would be the JMD, and she seems happy with the lessened expectations. 

Animosity between the girls is well known, leading to separate weigh-ins, and the one attempt at a joint presser ends with the two rolling on the floor after Kat tackles Kendra after the blonde opens with “This pasty coward skank…” 

Kat wearing her usual black bikini, black gloves, long, wavy black hair loose.  Kendra obviously trying to get under her skin, comes out wearing the same outfit!  Ref has hands on both arms during instructions, but both girls mouths are going a mile-a minute with promises of what’s in store for the other as the official drones. 

R1:   Kat winging rights, coming back with cranking left hooks, has Kendra a little gunshy early and stuns her blonde with a flush hook on the chops in the opening moments. Dennings smells blood in the water, has herself a good first minute, swarming the Playmate with thudding lefts and rights from hip to head.  Wilkinson sucks it up and midway through starts answering back - hammer and tongs slugging midring as the little jigglers start tuning one another up with blistering hooks and uppercuts. Down the stretch, it’s Kat pulling away, getting her head on Kendra’s chest, plundering the gut and forcing Wilkinson to the ropes at the bell. Bitter two-way slugging continues after the bell as the ref jumps in, both girls fiery-eyed and spitting like a couple of alley cats. 

R2:   Kat bulling into Kendra, rocks her blonde with the beach-legal shoulderblock, marches Wilkinson body on body into her home corner for a beating. Dennings fighting with exuberance, mashing her face against Kendra’s shoulder and letting her fists plunge in at random. Wilkinson gritting her teeth, and soaking up the damage, trying to reach up under her brunette’s arms and chest the jiggling dynamo back but without success. Raucous mouth on shoulder brawling at its best, girls feverishly trading, but Kat’s got all the leverage.  Deninngs reaching in to push Wilkinson’s arms out of the way, then reefing to the blonde’s exposed ribcage, burying Kendra under constant body contact and perpetual punching. Golden moments for Kat, she punishes her rival for a second straight round. 

R3:  Kat more disciplined, jabbing her way in, then bodying up, walking Kendra around the ring and touching the blonde up the middle, and around the sides with constant leather, Wilkinson’s sturdy body turning pink, she gets outhustled for two minutes, but in the final minute, the Playmate sets her feet and really brings it to the brunette’s gut.  Kendra’s jerking single shot lefts and rights, slamming away hard to the belly has Kat stopped in her tracks and at the bell it’s a tough call.  Dennings busier, controlled most of the round, but Wilkinson landing the beefier body shots late could have stolen it. 

R4:   Kat feeling the effects of the last round, comes out sluggish as Kendra takes over, blonde reaching in under brunette’s arms to chest her back, then hacking the short right to the hips or chest. Dennings getting broken down and walked around as Wilkinson piles on. Good hard punching, consistant work ethic from Kendra as she hounds Kat from pillar to post. After the bell, the Playmate grabs the ropes, forces their racks together, a little chest to chest bullying forces eye contact to make the point as the blonde evens things out.  Both bodies badly beaten, chests heaving, eyes locked through the interval. 

R5&6: Bitter trench warfare burbles along the ropes as the girls huddle together and slug it up inside. Travelling to all corners around the perimeter of the ring, girls lay in and jerk short, snapping rips to the waist, back and breasts inside—each trying to keep her hands in tight to her body when not punching, using her shoulder and body to crowd their opponent. Girls wearily bundled up, cheek to cheek, soaked in mingled sweat, hair plastered to backs and breasts, struggling and straining in close to free up the hook to the body. Opportunistic right hands curl around elbows to spank tummy, or jerk up the middle to uppercut chins in tight, close quarters slugging. Left arms reach around one another’s backs as they shoulder the other girl back, trying to free up the space for one more lick, while the heels of their left hands go thumping into their lats, searching for each other’s kidneys. It’s impossible to say who’s winning this war of attrition, churning footwork has their legs coated in sand almost to the knees, forcing the towel girls to get in there and wipe them down. 

R7:    Girls wrap up yet again and wrestle their way onto the ropes, cheek to cheek, toe to toe, they take turns twisting one another against the strands, then chugging in 3 or 4 pumping body shots until the inevitable clinch. Kendra starts getting the better of the holding and hitting, really reefing in the power shots, she seems intent on shouldering Kat through the ropes.  BUT DENNINGS WON’T BE BULLIED! She bodies Wilkinson into the ropes, deliberately jamming lefts and rights low into Playmate trunks, then gets rough with the shoulder again upstairs. Then it’s back to business, girls hunkering in shoulder to shoulder, straining to dominate with their legs and bodies so that punches can roam against the opponent’s midsection. Bitter smash mouth clobbering no longer boxing, just a catfight with gloves on.  Leather gloves spanking loud against sweat-drenched arms and torsos inside.  NOW KENDRA WANTS IT MORE! SHE helps herself to Kat’s thighs and trunks downstairs, bringing a groan of pain from Dennings as she tries to tie up. Kendra working her way methodically up the torso, stuffing her punches into the belly as Kat sits on the ropes, Dennings making several aborted attempts to walk her way off the ropes, but Wilkinson always bundling her foe up under the arms and chesting her heavily back--feet stomping, backsides jiggling throughout the heavy lifting from both women.  AND KAT GOES DOWN! Kendra finds something tender in brunette’s right side, maybe a liver shot as the hook shuts off the power to her legs, forcing Dennings to one knee, then face down in the sand. Kat in shock, Kendra stunned at the sudden collapse, bathed in hard working sweat but skipping away. In the neutral corner, Wilkinson’s face goes from delight, to hope, and then to teary eyed glee as DENNINGS CAN’T BEAT THE COUNT! Kendra gets one of her own back as she gets the last-woman-standing KO7! 

After:  Kendra forces her way over to a still-prostrate Kat, toes her over onto her back, then spins around and kicks sand back onto her supine body.  Playmate giving the appreciative crowd her usual victory display, hopping up and down, dashing about the ring, hugging anything that stands still! 

Even as this display of exuberance is warming the heart, can a shiver be seen going up the spines of Leven Ramblin, Kat Graham and any other Front Street fighter who can be considered on the fence?  The possible breakup of Lioness Club had every manager looking speculatively at their rosters, and every fighter out of the elite has to be looking over their shoulders.  In any case, being the girl who makes the Man in the Hat have to say “we’ve lost four in a row to O&E, and two of those are to Kendra” is not a high point on anybody’s career.