Rosario Dawson vs. Ariane Brodier
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Brodier in tough for her FCBA debut. Don't let Dawson's 5-5 career mark fool you. The losses include Hall of Famer O'Dell, champions Durance and Winstead, top-shelfer Torv, and welter Hendricks. Add in wins over Kurylenko, Mitchell, and Lima, and it's clear Dawson, who's one of the most physical lights going, is going to be quite the challenge for the leggy French beauty. But, Brodier appears far from intimidated pre-fight. "No, I've never fought in one of the top-level organizations before, but I've fought plenty around Europe. I'm good enough to compete here, and tonight I'll prove it."

"She's long and she can move," says Dawson with a nod. "She's not a walkover. But. She's not getting a win tonight."

ROUND ONE:

Tactical stuff early. Ariane makes with the long left immediately and looks to establish it. Dawson trying to negotiate range. She's giving up a couple of inches here and Brodier's using that reach to her advantage. Dawson getting a lot of gloves in her face as she tries to do a little recon. The Frenchwoman not following on, however. She's mostly keeping the right hand in reserve, not committing on punches, just touching Rosario and slowing down her attempts to advance and bring her power to bear. Dawson patient, not going to force anything this early. She's trying to work past the long left, but, when she does so, Ariane simply gives a little ground, does some circling, keeps the long range she wants, and keeps working that left hand. It's good, slick stuff by the European, especially in her first FCBA fight. Dawson finally gets things going a bit late, puts some punches together in spots, but, at the bell, Brodier's taken the round close.

ROUND TWO:

Rosario turning up the heat. She's determined to get her offense going and willing to eat some left jabs from Ariane to make that happen. Dawson walking through the Frenchwoman's punches, then getting to banging. It's effective to a point. Dawson is scoring, but she's also getting scored ON. It's one of those situations where each fighter has an advantage at times. Brodier gets her points scored as Dawson works forward. Rosario takes command once she forces Ariane out of her defenses and gets her on her back foot. That's when the American can get punches put together and get her right hand on target. And, there aren't many right hands in the lightweight division with more behind them than the one Dawson throws. The result, as you might imagine, is another close round, but, by the time the bell rings, it's Dawson who's gotten more done, and Rosario evens things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Brodier makes a slight change in tactics. It's still all about the long left, of course, but, now the Frenchwoman is complicating Dawson's efforts to back her up by circling to her right away from the American's power. The circle allows Ariane to stay on the front foot while maintaining distance and continuing to score, thereby changing the scoring dynamic. Now, Brodier's getting more touches and more points, more than Dawson can offset when she's able to get combinations put together and get her power on. Rosario remains patient in the face of all this. She doesn't force anything. She just keeps working like you'd expect a veteran who's first FCBA fight was eleven years ago today to do. She's looking to cut angles and willing to work hard to get that done. She moves the feet and shows plenty of athleticism. But, it's not enough. At the bell, Brodier's claimed another one close and leads again, 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Dawson adjusts. She's getting the geometry down now, cutting down those angles and getting leather on target. She's quickly got Brodier backing up again in the face of increased aggression and it doesn't take long for all of that to pay off in a big way. A BLISTERING straight right hand ROCKS the French beauty and sends her stumbling into the ropes. And, Rosario immediately targets the big guns and sets them to blazing. For the next minute, she gives Ariane a terrific beating, and the French beauty looks to be cracking under the barrage several times. Somehow, however, she manages to stay on her feet. Then, in the final minute of the round, Dawson actually turns UP the heat, pounding away at Brodier, who does little more than cover up on the ropes as shell after shell finds the target. Why the referee doesn't step in is anyone's guess, but he doesn't, and when the bell rings, Brodier is badly scuffed but still standing, and, despite the wide nature of Dawson's victory, the fight is even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Dawson back to work. Brodier's clearly shaky and Rosario's taking full advantage. She's walking right through everything Ariane throws and just thumping her with power punches, backing her up repeatedly. The Frenchwoman is game. It's a fighting retreat. But, it's a retreat nonetheless. And, about a minute in, it becomes an absolute rout. Again, it's the straight right. This time, it's perfectly-timed off a hard left jab and it unhinges the European's knees. Brodier stumbles and nearly goes down and, once again, the heavy shell is loaded into the big guns and Rosario lets said shell fly. Ariane is again battered back into the ropes and absolutely savaged, but, again, the gritty French beauty won't die easy. She covers up, ships the shell, jabs back in spots, and plays for time. Again, there are times when the referee should probably jump in, but, again, he doesn't, and, at the end of the round, Ariane is still standing. She's lost it wide again, however, and Dawson has her first lead, 48-47.

ROUND SIX:

Dawson looking to finish now. Ariane backing and circling, snapping out jabs, trying to slow the pursuit, but Rosario knows her quarry is injured and she's not going to be deterred by anything Brodier's throwing off the back foot. Rosario boring in on the Frenchwoman, backing her up with heavy leather, looking for the finisher. And it's another straight right hand that looks to be exactly that. Ariane's going back with it, so it doesn't land as cleanly as Dawson would have liked, but it still sends Brodier stumbling. But, again, the French beauty manages to stay on her feet. This time, though, it's not for long. Dawson steps forward behind a brutal three-punch combination that snaps Ariane's head back three times, then drops a vicious left hook onto her chin, cutting all power to everything. Brodier noses in at Rosario's feet, out before she even hits the canvas. It's over, and your winner by KO6 is Rosario Dawson!

AFTER:

Ariane brought around in stages. It's nothing personal for Rosario, who goes over to check on her beaten opponent before doing the post-fight interview. "Like I said pre-fight," Dawson says, "She's long and she can box. But, there's no way she's matching me physically. And, that's no knock on her. There aren't many girls at this weight who can."