Ashley Greene vs. Rachele Brooke Smith
(Words: Front Street / Results: Lookout!)

BEFORE:
 
Smith showing no signs of butterflies prior to her FCBA debut. "Ashley's good, no question about that," the dancer says with a nod. "But, she's not the athlete I am. Girls like me, girls who can move? We're in a different league. Scerbo proved that last month. And, I'm going to prove it to Ashley."

Greene, meanwhile, unimpressed with all of Smith's athletic ability. "What was it that Joe Louis said? She can run, but she can't hide. Eventually, I'm going to catch her, and, when I do, she's going to wake up sometime tomorrow. Night."

ROUND ONE:
 
Zero surprise early. Smith is all about the stick and move. She's, well, dancing around the ring, showing off her legs, snapping the left hand into Greene's face. Ashley stalking patiently. Working the feet, looking to cut the ring. But, she might as well be trying to cut diamond with a spork, because she's getting nowhere near bringing Rachele to battle. Smith might be an FCBA rookie, but she knows how to create distance, using a snake-like left to manage Greene's forward movement and letting her legs do the rest. This is Nicole Scherzinger stuff. Smith so quick, so athletic, that she makes Greene, who's anything but, look slow by comparison. That being said, Smith isn't exactly running up a bunch of points. It's all one-punch stuff. Stick, then move. Stick, then move. But, even one-punch stuff amasses more points than no-punch stuff, and that's pretty much where Greene is for most of the round, stalking Smith, but not finding her. As a result, the first goes to Rachele, who grabs the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Smith back on her bicycle. Greene adjusting a bit, keeping the hands high and tucking the chin now as she works forward. She still wants to cut, but she's finding that very difficult. Smith moving extremely well, managing with the jab, but not doing much damage with it. She's mostly having her punches land on Ashley's guard now, and, when she hangs in to follow, that allows Greene to get off in combination, so Smith limits those opportunities as much as possible. The result is that, while Smith isn't exactly running and she can't hide, she's making herself as hard to find as possible, and doing so effectively. But, the strategic change for Greene actually allows her to gain the offensive. Now, it's not Smith punching and Greene trying to counter, it's Ashley driving the action. It's a subtle change, but one that plays on the scorecards. The round is close again, but, this time, Greene grabs it to even things at 19.

ROUND THREE: 

Smith circling wider now, making Greene do more work to close. Brings her closer to the ropes than, perhaps, she'd like to be, but it gives her an advantage of being able to get off a quick second punch before beginning to move again. And, that begins to pay dividends. The left is still often getting caught on the high guard of Ashley, but the rights are now sometimes getting through. It's back foot stuff, so she's not hurting Greene, but Smith is scoring and doing so well. For her part, Ashley remains patient, keeps coming, even manages to bring Rachele to battle a few times. And, find, perhaps surprisingly, that Smith can do more than dance. She can hit, too. Smith holds her own pretty well in the brief exchanges, but, this isn't how she plans to win the fight, so, she keeps them as short as possible and gets back to moving. It's an effective game plan, at least in the third, because Rachele grabs the round close and leads 29-28.

ROUND FOUR:

Greene a bit more aggressive now. She's heard it a little bit in the corner between rounds, and she's taking it to heart. She's not getting sloppy, mind, just more aggressive, and that begins paying dividends. She's having more success cutting the ring, using the wider circles Smith's been employing to her advantage. She gets Smith boxed up and goes to work. On the body. It's the classic plan to deal with a fighter who likes to leg it. Kill the legs by killing the body. Smith knows well what Greene's planning, though, and she's going to make her pay a price, committing on hard shots to the head in these exchanges. Of course, that leaves openings for Greene to work up. And, one of those openings results in a short left hook that sends Rachele wobbling back into the ropes. Smith is HURT and Greene is on her like a pack of wild dogs. No longer having to chase her opponent, Ashley simply tees off, banging away with both hands to the head and body and waiting for Smith to wilt. To her credit, Rachele doesn't. She hangs on desperately and make it to the bell. Ashley's got the round wide. But. The cards are even at 38.

ROUND FIVE: 

Greene after Smith immediately. The dancer's legs are wonky and that means Ashley doesn't have to work to cut the ring and close. Instead, she can bore forward, bring power to bear, back up her rival with heavy leather, and simply build up the shell in hopes that the combined effects sink the ship. To her credit, though, Rachele won't go down easily. She's quickly backed to the ropes and taking again, much like she was at the end of the previous round, but, again, she hangs on. She jabs back in spots. She takes a beating, but she simply won't go. Greene remains patient. She's a hard-hitting bantam and she knows she's got the power to take Smith out. It's just a matter of time. The time is 51 seconds of round five. That's when Greene lands a straight right that staggers Smith and a left hook that drops her to her left side, parallel to the ropes. Rachele stays in that position for a count of five, then rolls to her back and tries to grab the bottom rope and pull herself up. She paws at it ineffectually for the next five seconds, until the referee reaches ten and it's officially over. Smith is out and your winner by KO5 is Ashley Greene!

AFTER:

Greene matter-of-fact in the post-fight. "Not surprised by anything she did," says Ashley with a nod. "I knew she'd try the hit and run stuff. But, like I said, sooner or later I'd get her, and, when I did, she was going down and out. She might be a contender some day. Who knows? But. I'm a contender right now. And you saw why tonight."