Lily James vs Samantha Hoopes
(Writing: LMW / Results: Lookout!)

Lily James
(33, 5’7, 8-0 FCBA, League of Mighty Women)

Samantha Hoopes
(31, 5’8, 7-13 FCBA, Free Agent)

Pre-Fight: League of Mighty Women’s Lily James will be looking to continue her winning streak as she faces off the free agent, Samantha Hoopes, who will be looking for her first win since Chimera closed its doors. Lily is still unbeaten and as a result she is rising through the ranks. If she can keep that streak going, she can soon make it to the top 10. Samantha had her career revival last year under the tutelage of Chimera, but since the stable’s closure, she has been struggling and she needs to find her form back if she wants to get signed to another stable.

Lily starts things off at the pre-fight press conference. “I’m just taking it one fight at a time. Of course I won’t stay unbeaten indefinitely and it will become harder to keep it going as I face higher-ranked opposition, but the important thing is that I’m happy with the progress I made since my debut and I’ll keep trying to get better. Samantha might not be in her best form recently, but she showed how dangerous she could be against big names last year, so I know I will have to work hard to get another win.”

While Lily seemed genuine with her words, it looks like Samantha takes it as being patronizing as she addresses it. “Sure, I hit a rough patch lately, but I proved that I’m an elite fighter, so don’t you dare look down on me! I don’t have anything to lose going into this one and I don’t care if you try to downplay the importance of your unbeaten record, you’re the one with everything to lose! Taking away your precious unbeaten record would be the perfect way to put me in the radar of all the stables out there!” The atmosphere becomes tense after Samantha’s address and the two fighters stare each other down before they are escorted to the back by their respective teams.

It is now time for the fight and Lily enters the arena first with her coach, Angelica Bridges, who is stepping in for Ali Landry as she is busy coaching Lily’s stablemate tonight. She has a focused look on her face, but she waves to the cheering fans as she makes her way to the ring.

She is wearing a black fighting attire with sports bra, trunks, gloves and boots, while her hair is pulled back into a ponytail.

Samantha comes out next with her coach accompanying her. She waves and blows kisses to her fans as they cheer for her. As she enters the ring, she starts shadowboxing to warm up.

She is wearing a silver sports bra with black trim, matching trunks, gloves and boots, while her hair is also tied into a loose ponytail.

Both fighters come to the center of the ring to receive final instructions from the referee and after that they touch gloves with a hard bump and a cold-eyed stare from both fighters. They now step back to their respective corners and we are ready for 10 rounds of lightweight action!

Fight: Round 1: The action starts right away as they meet at the center of the ring, ready to exchange some leather. Samantha lands a double jab, while Lily goes for the body with a hook to the ribs. They continue to stand and trade as Samantha lands a straight, but Lily ducks to avoid the follow up hook and she answers with another hook to the body and an uppercut to the chin. Neither of them is backing down yet, so keep on landing some blows. Samantha is just standing and throwing punches, while Lily is more active with her head movement and guard as well. As a result, Lily ends up in a much better position as the exchange continues on and the American model finally steps back, not wanting to get hurt this early in the fight.

Things settle down a bit for the rest of the round, but Lily is still on attack during that time and keeps racking up her landed punches total. She even hits a big hook during the final minute that rocks Samantha for a moment, but she moves away to safety before the Brit can take advantage of it. Still, Lily wins the first round comfortably.

Round 2: Samantha is back on attack at the beginning of the second round, but she is being more careful this time as it looks like she is not willing to stand and trade this time around. She gets in range to throw a short combination and then get out, utilizing her slight reach advantage. Lily is on the same tactic, but she needs to be more accurate with her timing to make up for her opponent’s reach advantage. While the pace is not as hectic as in the beginning of the first round, there is still plenty of action as both fighters score with one-two combinations or single punches throughout the first two minutes.

Just inside the final minute, Samantha lands a perfectly timed straight to the face as Lily tries to step in. It is the first time in the fight that she puts her British opponent on the back foot. As Lily retreats, Samantha follows it up with a one-two combination, but it doesn’t land cleanly. It does put Lily on the defensive for the rest of the round though, which gives Samantha a narrow win to make it even on the scorecards.

Round 3: More of the same in the early stages of the third round as both fighters go in and out of range to land some short combinations. However, things start to change at the end of the first minute as one of these shorter exchanges turn into a stand and trade. They both land some good shots, but once again, it is Lily’s defensive maneuvers that give her the advantage as the exchange progresses. After a couple of hooks rock Samantha, she clinches with Lily to slow things down. There are some punches thrown from the clinch and some pushing each other before the referee intervenes and separates them.

Samantha employs clinching tactics for the rest of the round, whenever Lily tries to get some action going and the American model successfully slows down the pace as well as bullying around her opponent a bit in those clinches. It looks like Lily is starting to get frustrated with her opponent’s tactics, but she sticks to her own game plan for now on. While it is hard to judge the latter half of the round, Lily’s performance in the early part gives her the edge over her opponent to win it and go ahead on the scorecards once again.

Round 4: Looks like Samantha is happy with the tactic she used in the previous round as she uses it to her advantage once again, but this time she goes to clinche after throwing a few shots at her opponent to prevent her from replying back. As Lily’s frustration with Samantha’s tactics build up, things get tense in those clinches with lots of pushing, shoving, shoulder bumps and parting shots. It starts to feel more like a brawl as the round progresses and the referee starts to have a bit of trouble keeping things in order. This brawl-like condition plays to Samantha’s advantage as she gains the upper hand and bullies her opponent around the ring. She even shows some examples of her specialization as she lands a few shots to her opponent’s rack.

It might not have been the most technical showing, but Samantha found a way to assert her dominance in this round, so she wins it convincingly. It could still go either way though, but it won’t be a long fight, because if they keep at it like this someone will be going down soon.

Round 5: Samantha seems to be keen on turning it into a brawl once again, which makes sense considering how well it worked for her in the previous round. However, during the break Angelica told Lily to calm down and try to be more strategic with her approach, so she is trying to do just that. As a result things are not as hectic as the previous round, but it is still going back and forth between different styles. Sometimes there are clean, short exchanges and sometimes it is back to clinching and brawling.

The first two minutes goes by like that and Samantha still has the upper hand, though she is not as dominant as in the previous round as Lily is getting her moments as well in this one. They go for a clinch once again following a few shots from both sides. After they push each other around for a moment, Samantha shoves her opponent and lands a parting punch to Lily’s rack. She then steps back in with a hook, but Lily ducks it and lands a massive overhand punch that stuns Samantha. Her guard drops momentarily, but that is all Lily needed as the Brit goes for an uppercut that raises her opponent on her toes and then lands a big hook to the chin that turns and drops the American model down face first to the mat! Lily starts walking towards the neutral corner, but she doesn’t have to wait long as the referee waves the fight off after taking a good look at Samantha as she is out cold!

Official Result: Winner via KO in round 5, Lily James!

Post-Fight: Lily raises her fists in victory as she stays undefeated. After celebrating the win with her coach, Angelica by hugging her, she realizes that the medics are tending her opponent, so she goes over to check with a concerned look on her face. Fortunately, Samantha comes back to her senses and after a couple of minutes she stands up with the help of her coach and the medical staff. She eventually receives the thumbs up and shares a quick side hug with Lily to end things on better terms. She then leaves the ring with the help of her coach.

At the center of the ring, Lily gets her hand raised by the referee and then takes the microphone to address the fans. “It was a rough fight and things got testy for a while in those last two rounds, but I’m happy that Samantha is alright and that I got the win. Of course it is nice to stay unbeaten, but as I said before the important thing is to keep improving and I’ll do just that! Thank you all for your support!” She waves to the cheering crowd with a big smile on her face before leaving the ring.

Another good win for Lily as she keeps climbing through the ranks, while Samantha’s struggles since is left without a stable continue with another tough loss.