(Results: Lookout!, Words: Caspian)

5. Hannah Ferguson vs Charlotte Flair

Hannah:
(27, 5’10, 130, 50:12 FCBA, VIXENs)
 

Charlotte:
(34, 5’10, 13:6 FCBA, Free Agent)

BEFORE:
Hannah grinning wide as she entered the press hall earlier, giving the crowd a short wave as she makes her way on stage in a white blouse and pair of denim jeans.

“Charlotte’s dangerous, there’s no doubt about that - she’s beaten a host of girls these past few years, and that knockout of Torrie Wilson last week simply proves how big of a powerhouse she is. I’ve been wanting to test myself against her for quite a while now, but never had the chance to. Tonight, we finally get to see who’s better.”

Charlotte nods along from across the table, her muscles rippling as she smiles at Hannah’s words. “I completely agree - I’ve mainly fought (and won) against fellow wrestlers and athletes. But tonight, we’re about to find out we’re better than these models in the business. If I can beat Hannah tonight, a former Welterweight and JMD champ, who knows? Maybe we’ll no longer get overlooked for belts in the future.”

Definitely a potential rivalry as these two blondes meet in the center of the room - both of the same height but Flair packing more bulk and muscle in her frame - Hannah not looking intimidated. If she managed to beat Ronda Rousey before, no fake-wrestler is about to undo her success now, according to her.

In the arena, Hannah undresses a white shawl over her shoulders, revealing a slick black bikini, her blonde hair tied up into a ponytail out back as she bangs together white gloves. Charlotte’s rippling and stretching in her own corner, in a glitzy purple wrestling top and briefs as she shadow-boxes in white gloves. No submission moves tonight though, as we get to witness a true model-versus-wrestler bout. Referee waves his hands and HERE WE GO with ten rounds of Welterweight action!

ROUND 1:
Hannah shows off how it’s done, harassing Charlotte from afar with early jabs and mixed crosses, crisp punches landing to her face and body, though we’re questioning their overall effectiveness. Charlotte seems more irritated than hurt, slow moving forward like a nuclear blast waiting to get set off, busy defending against Hannah’s jabs in this opening round instead of trying to compete blow for blow. Fine by Hannah, who dances and bounces, rocks punches into her largely stationary opponent throughout these three minutes, having to only occasionally dodge and weave out of the way as Charlotte tests her own reflexes with a big bad hook or two sent skywards. Bell ends and it’s one hell of an opening for the Vixen, who proudly parades herself back to corner, thinking she’s got this fight in the bag.

ROUND 2:
Charlotte, however, has other plans in store for the model. Early minute sees Hannah back to hounding her to the head with fast jabs, till Flair agilely slips under one such combo and BASHES her own glove clean into the mouth, which nothing short of surprises Hannah. Ferguson grunts as she tastes her foe’s power and speed first-hand, has to quickly jump out of the way as another hook comes danger-close to her chin. Charlotte, for all her bigger bulk and unsigned status, is still a lethal woman to get into a fight with, and she uses her wrestling training to quickly close the distance in the ring with more punches pounding on Hannah’s arms and body, turning the tables for the rest of the round as she punishes her fellow blonde to the bell.

ROUND 3:
Hannah starts to realise the fight she’s in as the bell rings for the third, a little more serious expression on her face as she has to work doubly hard to land her shots and also keep herself out of harm’s way. Charlotte’s flying at her foe now with periodic bursts of energy and punches sent forward, scaring Hannah off repeatedly with one-two combos sent to the arms, followed by a big-ass hook designed to take her off her feet. Hannah’s still fresh, thank god, bobbing and weaving leftwards, right and back, making the wrestler work hard in order to catch up to her, at the same time burying shots into her sculpted body and chest to punish Flair whenever and wherever possible. Round ends and though Hannah takes it close, the rest of us are starting to see how closely matched these two fighters are.

ROUND 4:
Charlotte gets lucky in the first minute, plows a big hook into the Vixen’s arms, sending Hannah scurrying backwards with a furrowed brow and louder scowl on her lips. She can’t afford to get careless like that too often, or she’ll find herself planted face-first on the canvas before long. Flair smirking, closing the distance, knows she’s got both the stamina and power on her side as she continues to corner Hannah with her big swings. Ferguson however not biting, each time getting too close to the ropes, she ducks under or weaves like the wind away from Flair’s clutches, before sending a jab or two right back to bunch up the cheek. Charlotte may have had one of the best rounds thus far, but it’s spoiled by the Vixen’s continued insolence and hit-and-run tactics.

ROUND 5:
Hannah of course can’t keep running forever. First minute in the fifth and she’s avoiding Charlotte like the plague, even when Flair tries rushing in a couple of times, almost snagging her on the face with stiff swipes. Almost. Hannah’s lean and moving fast, ducking under or moving her head fast to one side to avoid those lumberous attacks. But soon enough, Charlotte gets wind of her foe’s tactics as she takes more feinting shots towards the Vixen. Finally, Hannah’s fate catches up to her when she weaves to the left when she should have gone to the right, Charlotte’s pulled-back arm enough to make her flinch and swerve into the wrestler’s incoming hook - WHAAAPP - it lands right across the cheek, sending the poor blonde reeling! Hannah lets out a cry of pain as her head almost gets turned 180 degrees about its hinges. Instead, the momentum carries her to the ropes, where she’s forced to twist around just in time to see the powerhouse Flair coming in for the kill. Charlotte’s arms are swinging rapidly, elbows chugging in and out as she lands more nasty shots to Hannah’s body and chest, but still finding the Vixen a slippery customer as Ferguson takes the abuse but then manages to slip out to the side, breathing hard as she recuperates near her corner. Close shot there indeed and who knows how either woman will keep this action up in the second half of the fight.

ROUND 6:
Hannah doing something crazy as the bell sounds for the six, CHARGIN’ straight at Charlotte when the wrestler hasn’t even made three steps out of her own corner. Charlotte reacts on instinct, pulling back a fist and letting that hook fly, but it’s ill-timed and unexpected, sailing over Hannah’s head as the Vixen tries to go all-in instead to capitalise on her speed and agility. Hannah rocks Charlotte’s head back with a well-placed uppercut to the chin, avoiding yet another swipe to her head as she goes to work on those well-chiseled abs of the bigger woman, plowing uppercuts into Charlotte’s body and more hooks swiped across the chest to try to force Charlotte into a retreat for once. Flair grunting, in trouble for the first time this fight, her face in a permanent grimace as she gets pushed backwards against her will, this insolent blonde model avoiding her attacks and having the audacity to try and put her down. Second and third minute onwards and Hannah in retreat, all of a sudden satisfied with her earlier results and confident that she’s already taken this round. Charlotte’s still moving about the ring on the other side, in partial shell-shock, her arms over her face and body heaving from unexpected pain and tiredness.

ROUND 7:
Hannah might just have a chance here to turn the tides as Flair comes out of her corner looking hesitant for once, waiting for the Vixen to charge at her face again. But it doesn’t happen. As they say, lightning doesn’t strike twice, and Hannah opts for a more measured advance now that her opponent is also giving her space to maneuver. It’s all the Vixen needs to land more crisp, methodical shots to Charlotte’s face and chest, staying at a comfortable distance and letting her fists loose in wild three-four punch combos that repeatedly sting the blonde’s nose and lips, Charlotte just a little too slow and inexperienced to intercept all of the punches at once. Middle minute and Hannah lands one of her textbook hooks across the chin, significantly wobbling the bigger girl as Flair goes stumbling to the side with her mouth hanging open. This time, Hannah pounces, leaping in to stack her chin up with another nasty shot, before a blasting hook to the face SENDS FLAIR DOWN to one knee, in a well-deserved KNOCKDOWN from Hannah Ferguson! This is certainly reminiscent of the Vixen’s fight against Ronda Rousey, as the big girl Flair chokes and shakes her head before slowly making her way back up by the count of eight. Hannah brimming with confidence at the end of this round, as she lets loose a big smirk across her face and we head into the final stretch of this fight.

ROUND 8:
Hannah circling in to try and mop up but meets a hell lot more resistance still dug into Flair in the first minute, her multiple jabs and straight hands harassing Flair to the head but not at all troubling the blonde like last time. Flair focusing more on her defenses, which is a nice change and good signal for Hannah’s corner, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to go down for the count anytime soon. Instead, Charlotte biding her time, arms locked and taking a beating to the body, Hannah switching to pounding away at her toned tummy again, but these still don’t seem to trouble her as Charlotte’s definitely felt worse than a couple of belly swipes. Last minute and Ferguson is the one who’s tiring rapidly, her own swings losing power as she gets careless here, with one of her hooks parried to the side in a loud gasp of surprise, followed by a gurgle of pain as Charlotte BURIES her own glove straight into her lips. Hannah almost collapses on the spot, losing her balance, but instead falls into Flair’s arms for a haphazard clinch, and the two women struggle for dominance in the middle of the ring. But of course, it’s Hannah who’s bound to lose this engagement, going toe-to-toe with a f*cking wrestler of all people! Flair growling in her ear, controlling her back to the ropes as she sends chopping uppercut after uppercut into the alpha Vixen’s body, repeatedly folding the model over in half. Bell rings too soon and Hannah’s left a blubbering mess on the ropes, her lips parted on her enemy’s shoulder as she clings onto the top rope to keep herself upright. And just when things were going so well for the Vixen! Charlotte battles her way back into contention and we’re heading to the ninth!

ROUND 9:
Six minutes left on the clock and so far, Charlotte’s been nothing but dominant, despite her scary knockdown suffered in the seventh. She’s back in full control here as she marches Hannah down, the Vixen still feeling the effects of those body shots in the previous round as she skirts the ring posts scared, her arms up but lacking the willpower to engage and throw down with her more powerful foe. We’ve probably never seen Hannah so nervous ever since her last showdown with Tahnee Atkinson, and here, Flair continues to rack up points at her foe’s expense, throwing bigger and bigger bombs her way, which catch the tired Vixen on her body and arms, repeatedly throwing her into the ropes against her will. Flair roaring in in the last minute, muscles rippling as she senses a clean opening and takes it - lets RIPPPP a right hand across the Vixen’s cheek, knocking her senseless with a grunt. Hannah barely has time to rebound as another shout of pain echoes from her lips, a blasting clothesline of a right hook catching her on the chin, sending her FLYING OFF HER FEET and hitting the ground with a loud THUDD!! Payback is indeed a b*tch as Charlotte scores a KNOCKDOWN of her own in the ninth, with Hannah Ferguson absolutely floored on her back, knocked out cold, her eyes squeezed shut as she’s reduced to a rapidly rising and falling chest on the canvas! Charlotte raising a hand confidently in the neutral corner as the referee finally hits the count of 10, and Ferguson’s STILL not moving from beneath the ropes!! IT’S OVER IN KO9 UPSET FASHION!

Official Decision: Charlotte Flair defeats Hannah Ferguson via KO9!

AFTER:
Holy hell! It’s not everyday you see the alpha Vixen herself laid out like this, and least of all on home turf! Charlotte breaks into a wide grin, happy at the outcome but secure in her victory always being a forlorn conclusion, as she parades around the ring to a mix of cheers and boos from the VIX-friendly crowd. She’s proven tonight that she has the stopping power to stay in the top ten of the Welterweight rankings, stable or no, and we’re equally scared as we are amazed at Hannah’s place going forth.

Ferguson’s getting tended to by the medical team, Head Trainer Steve Boyd immediately seen kneeling by her side, the poor man literally letting out a shout of anguish earlier the moment he realised his top girl was not getting back up. Hannah’s still groggy, eyelids fluttering as though she just got hit by a truck, and thankfully, Flair has the common decency to leave her to wallow in her shame for now.

“What a rush! Perhaps now Hannah won’t be seen as invincible. The era of models at the top is over - it’s high time us athletes get a chance to shine in the spotlight!” Flair says to reporters in her best trash-talking voice.

Well, two losses tonight on VIX soil and two ladies in the top ten of their divisions getting a taste of humble pie. It’s back to the drawing board for us as we head home to lick our wounds. Join us next month for yet another VIX event, where literally anything can happen!