Brooklyn Decker vs. Adriana Lima

Front Street Gym vs Odds & Ends Fight Studio
(Lightweight Championship)
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:

Plenty of bad blood in this one, and it's pretty evenly divided, too. On Lima's side, she's the girl who beat both Decker AND Upton to establish Model Supremacy nearly three years ago. Since then, Decker's gotten TWO title shots, while Adriana's never had an opportunity at a lineal championship. "She KNOWS which one of us is better," says Lima, eyes smoldering. "She KNOWS, because I PROVED it when I had her in the ring. She's done nothing but duck me since. But, now I have her again, and I'm going to prove a second time who the top model is. And, I'll take her titles in the bargain."

For Decker, Lima is the girl who ruined everything. Brooke had it all rolling back in 2013. She was mowing down model after model and had just beaten former champ Govich to establish her bona fides at welter. A win over Lima, who'd beaten Upton, and Decker would have been top model and a threat at two weights.Then, it all came crumbling down. She got blasted out in four and went to the end of the line. Before it was over, she was out of the welterweight division and becoming an afterthought in her own stable. And, now, after she'd clawed her way back to the top...there was Lima again. "Oh, I KNOW which one of us is better," says Brooke with a sneer. "And, I know which one got LUCKY last time. Well, tonight, one of us is walking out of this ring with Model Supremacy AND the Unified Lightweight Championship. And, the OTHER one is Adriana Lima!"

ROUND ONE:

One would expect this to start quickly, with two women who obviously loath one another going after it hard, looking to get out some pent up aggression, to put some of that hate into some hard leather. That's what one would expect. But, that's not at all what actually happens. Instead, the two fighters come out boxing, both using the long left jab to range find, clear the decks for follow on rights. It's all ranged warfare from beginning to end in the first, and, as you might expect with a pair of rangy models, both fighters are pretty effective on these terms. No one's landing bombs, but both girls are getting leather home. It's single punch stuff at first, but that changes by mid-round, and combinations begin landing. There are plenty of nice, slick exchanges with both blonde and brunette getting work done. By the bell, it's as close as you'd think an back-and-forth round would be, but Lima takes the points and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Fighters right back to work to begin the second, and it's right back to boxing. Corners seem pleased at this turn of events, as both have apparently cautioned their respective fighters about going all in early to vent spleen...and both have, at least for the moment, listened. Everything is sound. There are no wild punches, no desperate efforts to hurt a hated foe. Instead, the models box, and box pretty well. And, again, that's no surprise. It's all about tactics and subtle adjustments. And, while those change and are made, still, neither fighter can really gain an advantage. It's back-and-forth stuff for a second round in a row. With flurry and counter-flurry being the rule of the day. The fighters are landing a higher percentage in this round, but, other than that, it';s pretty much a carbon copy of the first, except for the result. Because, while it's close again, it's Decker who grabs the points this time and evens things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

More ranged boxing. Clearly each corner believes this is their ticket to victory, and it's easy to see why. Decker is, to quote the former Commission a "brutally hard-hitting blonde" that can and has stopped good fighters with one punch. Banging with her and succeeding isn't impossible, but it carries with it more than a little risk. On Lima's side, well. This is a girl who's stopped top fighers like Theron, Upton, and Arterton, and, of course, stopped Decker herself in their first meeting. So, again. There's risk. And, neither side seems willing to take same early. Instead, they want to box for points and look for openings to land something big. And, that's exactly what their fighters do for all three minutes of round three. They don't find any of those openings for a finishing power punch, but they find holes to fill with leather, and they score in combination. Again, it's close. And, for the second time in three rounds, it's the brunette who wins the round and takes the lead, this time 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Right back to range to start the fourth. The blonde and brunette working hard, staying sound, using the jab very well, setting up good hard right hands with it. This is harder shot than we've seen up to this point, though both fighters shake off the big right hands. Until. One doesn't. It's a blistering right cross off a straight left from the brunette that lands flush on Decker's chin and sends her sprawling to her back immediately. BLONDE GIRL DOWN! And Lima does a spin of celebration in the middle of the ring on her way back to her corner. The brunette stands, watching the count, certain of victory. Only to see the blonde get to her feet at nine. Decker's wobbly, but the referee waives Adriana forward. And, NOW the fangs are bared. Lima's all in on her wounded foe, hammering Decker back to the ropes and staggering her with another right hand. It's all too familiar. Round four. Just like the last time. All. Too. Familiar. Decker covering up on the ropes. Lima punching for glory. Referee looking in closely. BELL. And, none too soon. Because this wasn't going to be allowed to go on much longer. Lima gives the ref a glare on her way back to the corner. Decker stumbles back, looking pretty shabby. Adriana's built the lead to 39-36, but, at the moment, this doesn't look like getting anywhere near the cards.

ROUND FIVE:

Lima right after Brooke to start the fifth. Challenger has the champ in deep trouble and she knows it. Decker taking fire from everywhere, backing up, covering up, trying to do no more than survive the onslaught. And. DOWN. GOES. LIMA??? A brilliantly-timed right hand counter catches Adriana stepping forward and Lima goes down in a heap at Decker's feet! Crowd going batcrap! Shades of the first fight and Decker, well, decking Lima with one shot...the first punch of the fight! Brooke not taking any time to admire the handiwork. She's to a neutral corner immediately, watching and waiting. Watching. As Lima pushes up off the mat and beats the count, just as the blonde had done the round before. And, now it's Lima looking wobbly and Decker being waived forward with the bared fangs and we have a complete 180 of last round. It's Adriana taking shell after shell on the ropes, being shaken repeatedly by the heavy fire. Ref looking in again, looking just as ready to stop this thing as he was last round. But, somehow, Lima hangs on, even though she has to do so almost twice as long as Brooke did. At the bell, the brunette is a mess, but she's standing, and still leading 47-46.

ROUND SIX:

Decker gassed after two minutes all in and still a little buzzed. Lima more buzzed than gassed, but neither fighter in fine fettle as the second half of the fight starts, and it shows in the work rate. Not much going on early. Decker looks to come forward and consolidate, but Adriana has enough leg under her to hold her canvas, and that's pretty much it. The ladies settle into ranged boxing with a slow clockwise turn. Neither is doing much. Both clearly playing for time and the other more than willing to accommodate. There's some jabbing, the odd follow on right, but nothing of the heavy action we've seen to this point. Late in the round, both fighters make small efforts to put together a rally and gain valuable points, but neither is able to sustain much. By the time three minutes have passed and the bell rings, there's not much in it, but Lima has claimed another close one. And it's a big point that extends her lead to 57-55.

ROUND SEVEN:

Decker more determined to come forward now. She's recovered some and wants to get physical with Lima. Adriana has the legs mostly in place now, and she meets the blonde's offensive with determined resistance and HERE. WE. GO! In a complete turn around from the slowly-paced sixth, the seventh becomes pitched battle almost immediately with the two fighters putting punches together early and then, basically, beginning to trade bombs, all in an effort to grab control of the fight. Both blonde and brunette ship heavy shot without faltering and quickly return fire. All that comes to an end about two minutes in, though, as Decker ROCKS Lima with a straight right hand. The brunette staggers backward and is immediately met with a vicious salvo from the blonde that nearly puts her on the mat. Adriana manages to keep her feet, but she's quickly driven to the ropes and given a thorough working over to the head, body, and rack, because, yes, we've gone there. In the final seconds, the referee is looking in closely, but, again, Lima hangs on to the bell. Decker has another one wide, but Adriana still leads 66-65.

ROUND EIGHT:

Pitched battle from the first second. Decker right after Lima, who, again, determinedly holds ground. Adriana's still a little shaky, but this is all about will power now. She's not going to retreat before her rival and cede any more points to her. Instead, Lima commits to her defensive line and sits down on power punches that stall the blonde's offensive. Thus, the pitched battle which rages for over two minutes. It's sound, but plenty brutal, with both fighters doubling down on their efforts. Heads are snapped back, ribs and midsections ravaged, rack taken in copious amounts. Of course, stuff like this can't go on forever. Something has to give. And, something does. It's a single straight right hand that puts an end to it. It swivels the brunette's head and sends her crashing, face-first to the canvas. And, now, Decker DOES take a few seconds to admire the handiwork, but just a few. She's in a neutral corner watching pretty quickly. Watching as Lima rolls to her back and drapes an arm across her eyes. She can do no more. The count passes her by and it's OVER! And your winner by KO8 and STILL Unified Lightweight Champion is "The 21st Century Goddess", Brooklyn Decker!

AFTER:

Decker in her glory. "I told you all I was better than her!" she fairly shouts into the microphone. "I TOLD you all that I'd come walking out of this ring with everything tonight, Model Supremacy AND the lightweight gold, and that's exactly what I did! I've PROVEN over and over again to be the best. All SHE did was get lucky one time. ONCE. But, not tonight!"