(Words: FS / Results: Lookout!) 

BEFORE: 
No question this is a type matchup, a pair of similarly built brunette bantams with similar styles, and both are coming of big 2017s that have put them into the bantamweight title picture. And, neither lady is planning to have her momentum slowed this evening.

"Kat's very, very physical," says Demi with a nod. "And, a lot of girls at this weight, they can't stand up to her pressure all night long. Sooner or later, she wears them down. But. I'm not that kind of girl. She's not going to win a war of attrition with me. She might FIGHT one, but, when it's over, it will be Kat on the mat at MY feet."

"Oh, Demi's one of the hardest hitters in the division," says Kat. "No doubt about that. But. If she wants to bang with me, well. She'll be making a mistake. And a big one."

ROUND ONE:
First starts slowly. Both fighters probing, slipping forward, looking for openings. We don't see the immediate move to the phone booth you might expect. Instead, there's a bit more movement, lots of jabs, heads bobbing, shoulders rolling. It's good, tactical stuff for about two minutes. And, then, the brunettes settle in. And, we go into that phone booth. And the heavy leather begins to land. And, there's no surprise that much of it is aimed downstairs. Leather thumps ribs, midsections, flanks. And, as the final minute goes along, it does so more and more lustily. It's clear what's happening here. Both brunettes want to impose will. And, neither's going to allow that to happen. So, for sixty seconds, it's the freezer scene in "Rocky". Meat's being tenderized in a big way and each of the fighters is trying to one-up the other. At the bell, there's a staredown before the bantams return to their corners. It's a close first to Demi, who leads it 10-9.

ROUND TWO:
Right back to the phone booth, but Lovato makes a level change. She begins fighting out of a quarter crouch with her head tucked and it changes everything. Now, Kat's having trouble landing. She's catching gloves and arms more than head and body. Demi, on the other hand, is still getting leather on target with great frequency. Demi's getting punches put together very well. She's going head-body-head extremely effectively, to the point that, while she's not backing up Dennings, she's forcing Kat to cover up, throwing her onto the defensive over and over again. And, things don't get any better for the older woman as the round goes on. If anything, they get worse, as Lovato becomes more and more dominant. By the bell, Kat's getting almost nothing done offensively while getting her head snapped back regularly. It's Demi's round wide and Lovato now has a 20-18 lead.

ROUND THREE:
Demi's found something that works, and she's sticking with it. She's getting the better of Kat on the inside, and Dennings can't seem to do anything about it. Again and again, Kat's offense is caught on Lovato's gloves or elbows or shoulders, while Demi's able to land hard, sharp shot to both head and body, putting punches together well enough to thrown Dennings onto the defensive and force her to cover up. In the final minute of the round, Lovato actually begins backing Dennings up with some heavy leather to the head. Kat steps right back to, only to get backed up again. By the final thirty seconds, it's all Lovato, who's now imposing will, just like she set out to do in the opening seconds of the fight. By the bell, Lovato's won her second-consecutive round wide, and it's a frustrated Kat Dennings who walks back to her corner down 30-27.

ROUND FOUR:
Kat finally adjusts. She begins working the flanks with hooks placed behind Lovato's elbows and getting those same hooks on target to the head by slipping them behind Demi's gloves. All of a sudden, we're back to a competitive, two-way round. Demi's still landing, but, now Kat's giving as good as she gets. She's not being backed up or forced to cover. Instead, she's banging hard, heavy leather home just like Demi, and we're seeing a replay of round one, in which both fighters are getting off lustily, working hard to attrit one another, while certainly realizing that the job, in both cases, is a big one. Late in the round, with things still on even terms, Kat lands a nice right uppercut that backs Lovato up a step and follows with her best flurry of the fight. Now, it's Lovato covering up and taking heavy fire to the bell. When it rings, it's Kat who's grabbed it close, the late rally enough to get her the points and cut Demi's lead to 39-37.

ROUND FIVE:
Fifth sees the ladies right back in the phone booth, working away to both head and body. Again, it's two-way stuff, with neither fighter able to impose will or gain much of an advantage. Until Kat finds a spot for another of those uppercuts. She splits Demi's gloves with it and LOVATO'S LEGS DO A SHIMMY! Demi wobbles, nearly goes down, and Kat goes all in. Dennings letting the hands fly, driving the younger woman before her, putting her on the ropes and giving her a thorough thumping. Lovato in a high guard, hanging on, jabbing back in spots, taking a serious pounding as the referee looks in. Final minute sees Dennings begin buying body in bulk trying to bring the guard down. Demi's not having it, though. She takes the punishment, keeps the guard high, rides out the storm and runs out the clock. At the bell, it's Kat wide, but Lovato's still standing and still leading 48-47.

ROUND SIX:
Dennings right back to work. Demi giving ground as Kat works forward aggressively behind her left jab. She's got her rival exactly where she wants her, in retreat, and she plans to keep her there. But, it's a fighting retreat. Demi mostly on her back foot, but, she's landing shot of her own. Kat's getting the better of things, but she's not running roughshod over Lovato. Demi's scoring points of her own, staying in the round, even if she's falling further and further behind. By the final minute, Dennings has built a solid lead. And, then Demi times a right hand counter and DOWN GOES KAT! A perfectly-placed right hand from Demi and Dennings drops to her knees! Lovato quickly to a neutral corner. Ref's count reaches seven before Kat gets to her feet. He gives her the mandatory, then waives on the younger brunette. Demi has only about 30 seconds to clean up, but clean up she does, punishing Kat to the bell and extending her lead to 58-55 with the 10-8 round.

ROUND SEVEN:
Now, its Lovato in control, taking the fight to Kat, backing her up with solid combinations. Dennings now using the "fighting retreat" technique, landing solid counters and working to slow down the Lovato advance even if she can't stop it. Demi showing exactly why she's become a top bantam contender in this stanza, setting up punches beautifully, applying steady pressure, but doing so soundly, not giving Kat the openings for the big counter. Until KAT LANDS THE BIG COUNTER! Dennings slips a right hand and lands a short right hook and DOWN GOES LOVATO! Demi dropped to her back. Kat to a neutral corner to watch and wait. But. No love. Demi's on her feet at six. She takes the mandatory, and the referee waives on Kat. Like Lovato before her, Dennings has little time for clean up, but she takes full advantage, thumping Demi right to the bell to claim a 10-8 round of her own and cut the younger woman's lead to 66-65.

ROUND EIGHT:
Kat continues cleaning up, and her method of doing so is mopping the floor of the ring with Lovato. Demi's under siege from the opening seconds of the round, as Kat wades in and hammers away. Younger woman has no legs under her, so she can do little more that back and cover and throw jabs here and there in a vain effort to slow down the Dennings offensive. Lovato does as well as she can, staying off the ropes for over half the round, but, eventually, Kat pins her there and gives her an absolute thrashing, hammering away at both head and body, looking for the "off" button. Somehow, though, it eludes her. She's unable to land the one big shot and Lovato blocks and slips enough of Dennings' offense to allow her to avoid going down from accumulation of heavy leather. Instead, at the bell, Demi's still standing, but, Kat's won it wide and evened the fight at 75.

ROUND NINE:
Dennings looking arm-weary early. She threw a ton of leather in the last round, and it's taken a toll. And, that gives Demi an opening. Lovato's legs still aren't all the way back, but she's got enough under her to be able to put some mustard on her punches and hold her canvas, and that stops the Dennings offensive and resets the fighters in the phone booth banging head and body. And, with Kat slowed by fatigue, Demi can not only match her work rate, but exceed it. Things are even most of the way, but, in the late going, with her legs firming by the second, Lovato begins to get the better of things. She's not hurting Kat or backing her up, but she's landing more leather than Dennings and slowly building a small lead on the cards. By the bell, the lead remains small, but it's enough to win her the round and put Demi back in the lead, 85-84.

ROUND TEN:
Final round and both fighters need it. And. Both fighters KNOW it. That becomes obvious instantly, as the brunettes charge out of their respective corners and simply have at it in the middle of the ring. Both bantams are visibly tired and both have taken a ton of punishment, but they dip deep into their reserves and toss in everything they have for the final three minutes. Big shot is landed to both head and body by both fighters, and both are forced to cover up in spots as their respective opponents land hard flurries. Just like in the ninth, there's not much in it most of the way, but, in the late going, Dennings finds a little more in the tank. She backs up Demi with a series of heavy hooks, forcing Lovato to cover up, and then bunches her with some nasty shots to the belly. Demi is forced to clinch to get her breath, but Kat punches free landing another nice flurry at the bell. And, when it rings, the older brunette has claimed the points and evened the fight at 95. Overtime awaits. Except, it doesn't. At the reading of the decision, the referee does NOT ask the respective corners about extra rounds. Instead, he waives it off, ruling that neither fighter is in good enough shape to continue. It's OVER and the result of the fight is a DRAW.

AFTER:
Neither corner is exactly happy about this, but protests are relatively muted. The referee is not going to be moved, so there's no point in trying to move him. Plenty of respect shown by both fighters and corners for their respective opposites, for, while there's definitely a rivalry between Lookout! and Front Street, it's a much friendlier one than some of Lookout!'s other rivalries. Lovato and Dennings exchange a hug, and the corners shake hands and discuss the fact that a rematch is almost certainly in the offing at some point. Both fighters seem to agree. "She's better than I thought," says Demi. "And, I thought she was pretty good. But, I'm better, and I know it, and I can't wait to get another chance to prove it."

"She's as good as anybody I've ever been in with," says Kat, "And, aside from Neve, she hits as hard as anybody I've ever been in with. But, I almost had her. I know that and she knows that. And, when I get another chance, she's not getting off the hook."