In a private fighter room, Gerald Miller watches the tournament.
- "Rivera, eh?"
He has a flashback of fighting a fighter named Carlo Rivera, Marco Rivera's father and a BJJ master. It was a championship match in a fighting organization that had No-Holds-Barred. While Gerald ultimately won this fight, it was a tough battle. Carlo had dislocated his left arm, which would've been an easy win, but Gerald was able to slam him into the ground when he tried to go for an armbar on the other arm.
- "Let's see if you're as strong as your father."
He mutters to himself.
As Leonardo rests in the infirmary, he is visited by Punyawit Kaemkratok. Leonardo wonders why he approached him.
- "I knew I recognized you."
Punyawit says. Leonardo tilts his head, confused.
- "Four years ago, I was sent to the Philippines on a mission to eliminate a target. I was given information on the target, such as personal bodyguards and hired muscle. I thought it was going to be an easy mission, and it was until you showed up. I tore through the target's bodyguards until you came along."
Punyawit clenches his fist and raises it toward Leonardo.
- "I was hailed as one of the best martial artists in my home country, I was undefeated, my body was clean of scars because no one could even lay a hand on me, and then I fought you. You toyed with me like I was nothing, and you even yawned! You then slashed my eye out, scarring me! Since then, I've trained with the sole purpose of putting you in the dirt. I'm not just going to fight you; I'm going to kill you!"
Punyawit shouts. Leonardo looks shocked. Just before he replies, Jack steps in.
- "Save it for the tournament."
He says, as he gets in between the two. Punyawit clicks his tongue.
- "Like I'd listen to a crippled has-been."
Punyawit says, rolling his eyes as he leaves the infirmary. Jack sits next to Leonardo. Leonardo leans on him.
- "I've made quite a lot of enemies. In the past year, I've begun to regret my actions. There was no one who could teach me compassion and stuff like that."
- "It's okay, that's all in the past now. You've grown as a person. Now normally, I would advise you to apologize, but he is a fighter that challenged you, so before that you must defeat him."
Leonardo gets off jack and lies down on the bed.
- "I'll think about it later, I'm kinda sleepy."
Leonardo dozes off. Jack goes back into the stands to watch the fight.
Marco Rivera and Punyawit Kaemkratok enter the arena.
- "Now it's time for round 1, match 5! Marco "The Human Anaconda" Rivera versus Punyawit "Lethal Weapon" Kaemkratok!!!"
They stare each other down.
- "Fighters, are you ready!?"
The two get into their fighting stance.
[https://imgur.com/MUG21zQ] - Illustration of their stare down.
- "Mhm."
- "Ready."
- "Then…BEGIN!!!"
Punyawit starts with a jab, but Marco slaps his hand down, parrying it. He follows up with a crescent kick, but Marco parries it once again. The fighters back off. This fight was going to be a slow one that ends with a quick exchange.
- "He's a little bit shorter than me, but I would not want to get caught in a hold. It will be game over for me no unless I manage to time my counters right."
Punyawit thinks, as he circles around Marco.
- "The fight is starting slow, ladies and gentlemen! But I guess that's just how it's going to be against a master of groundwork!!!"
Marco inspects Punyawit. He recalls studying the fighters when the tournament spot holders were announced. Punyawit was one of the fighters holed up in their private rooms, so he couldn't get a good look at him. He only saw him once. Since then, he has been preparing himself to abuse Punyawit's blind spot. Marco lunges forward with his palm open, covering Punyawit's left eye, he grabs Punyawit's wrist and pushes him back, then positions his legs so that Punyawit falls backwards. Just before Marco was able to get into position to put Punyawit in an armbar, he counters by elbowing Marco. The hit was shallow, but Marco backs off anyway. Punyawit gets up.
- "I can see why they call you lethal weapon."
Marco's cheek is bleeding, Punyawit cut him with that elbow strike.
- "Woah! Punyawit barely grazed Marco yet he's been cut!"
Punyawit gets back into position, and Marco lowers his stance, readying himself for a tackle. From the stands, Yong An looks on.
- "So, there's someone other than me who can do that."
He says to himself after witnessing Punyawit's bladelike elbows.
Katsuya looks at the screen from the infirmary.
- "Looks like there's one more cutter in this tournament."
Punyawit has conditioned his body, turning his blunt bones into blades. His opponent's best option is to dodge and parry. He closes in for a low kick, but Marco blocks. He throws out a front kick, into a side kick, but once again they are slipped. Punyawit gets careless and swings wide. Marco ducks under and gets Punyawit in a Scissor Takedown. Punyawit falls headfirst, causing him to black out for a second.
- "A Scissor Takedown! What a nasty technique! You either get your knees crushed or your skull breaks!"
Marco attempts a Front Triangle Choke, but Punyawit gashes his inner thigh. Marco winces in pain. Punyawit then attempts to ground and pound, but Marco launches him off with his hops. Punyawit is off-balance. Marco sweeps his legs, causing him to fall again.
- "And the Human Anaconda is starting his hunt! Punyawit is struggling to escape!"
Marco tries to get him in a heel hold, but Punyawit kicks him off. He backs off, as Marco gets back up. Punyawit's vision is even worse than before, as his head is bleeding profusely. He wipes off the blood before it gets into his eye. Marco is trying to numb the pain. His cheek has stopped bleeding, but his mobility has worsened due to the wound in his leg.
- "Both fighters are badly injured, despite the low number of attacks thrown!"
From his private room, Gerald leans back in his chair.
- "That's just how it is when fighting grapplers, but still that Punyawit kid is crazy. Usually, a Scissor Takedown means the fight is over, but he's still standing. What a beast!"
He thinks to himself.
Once again, Punyawit circles around Marco. Marco notices that he's squinting, Punyawit is having trouble seeing. The Scissor Takedown is having a big effect on him. Punyawit keeps his guard up, circling closer and closer to his opponent. He closes in, mimicking a wrestling takedown. Marco prepares to block the tackle, but Punyawit uses the tackle as a feint to land an elbow uppercut, cutting Marco's chin. Marco counters by grabbing his arms, but Punyawit lands a front kick to Marco's solar plexus, pushing him away and dealing massive damage.
- "Punyawit's used a feint to get closer to Marco! What a massive two strikes he's landed, now Marco's bleeding even more now!"
Marco wipes the blood off his chin. He's bleeding, but the damage isn't as bad as it looks. On the other hand, he can tell that Punyawit's attacks are getting a bit sloppy. That isn't to say they aren't powerful; Marco is still shaken up by the front kick. Punyawit tries to follow up, but Marco too lunges forward. Punyawit wasn't expecting that, so he's caught off-guard and is pushed to the ground. He doesn't break the fall in time, damaging his backside.
- "Once again, the fighters are on the ground! Punyawit falls into Marco's territory and the snake begins to coil!"
Marco tries to go for a chokehold but is pushed off. He goes for an armbar instead, hyperextending Punyawit's arm. He grits his teeth in pain.
- "An armbar! Marco is trying to tear apart his ligaments!"
Punyawit struggles to stand up, with Marco on his arm, but after a long struggle he gets up. Marco is surprised that Punyawit can lift his body up, despite weighing near the same. Marco is no longer able to hyperextend his arm, so he goes for a Python hold from the back. He wraps his legs around Punyawit's arms while wrapping his arms around his neck.
- "An Anaconda performing a Python hold! Punyawit's struggling to stay standing."
Punyawit notices they're close to the wall of the arena, so he slams his back into the wall hoping to crush Marco. Marco escapes and attempts a standing front choke, but Punyawit elbows his temple. Marco is sent to the ground, while Punyawit falls due to damage to his back.
- "Both fighters fall! It seems like this fight is not a slow one after all!"
Marco's vision blurs, his head is bleeding, and he struggles to get up. He's concussed. Punyawit too struggles to get up. Crashing into the wall damaged it, and it seems like part of the wall has been embedded within his skin. Both fighters are bleeding all over.
- "Both fighters are badly injured, it's anyone's game!"
Punyawit, shakily, puts his guard up. Marco too, gets back into a low stance. Punyawit inches closer to Marco, getting away from the wall. Marco is on the back foot, stepping back as the hunter closes in.
Marco recalls the time his father first taught him how to fight.
- "Listen son, strikes are very important in fighting, but grappling can change the result of the fight in an instant. Yes, they may not be as flashy as those flying kicks or those overhand punches, but flashiness is not what wins the fight. Remember…"
Marco's eyes shine bright.
- "The one who stands taller at the end of the match is the winner."
The memory ends as he mutters those words. He stops stepping back and instead advances towards Punyawit. The two start slowly walking towards each other. Marco limps forward, his leg is still bleeding profusely. He tries to tackle, but his lack of mobility prevents him from succeeding, Punyawit countered the tackle by cutting Marco's wrist. Blood gushes out from his arm.
- "A wrist cut! Something that would only happen in a fight between those with bladed weapons, but Punyawit has shown us that he truly is a lethal weapon!"
Punyawit overextends, throwing a wide elbow swing. Marco tanks the hit, cutting up his gi and torso. He then gets Punyawit in a Standing Guillotine Choke.
- "If you're still standing after this, then you've won."
Marco says as he tries to choke the life out of Punyawit. Punyawit is struggling to stay awake.
- "A STANDING GUILLOTINE CHOKE! PUNYAWIT IS UNABLE TO REACH HIS OPPONENT, SO HE STRUGGLES DESPERATELY TO STAY AWAKE."
Just when Punyawit was about to lose consciousness, the grip loosens and Punyawit slips out. He prepares to counter with a front kick, but he sees Marco falling to the ground. He has been knocked out from loss of blood. Punyawit, out of breath, gets down on one knee. The referee calls for medical attention immediately, before going to Punyawit's side to help him stand up.
- "And the winner is…PUNYAWIT "THE LETHAL WEAPON" KAEMKRATOK!!!"
As Marco is carried via stretcher to the infirmary, a large man walks out into the hallway and stops them.
- "Excuse me, sir?"
It's Gerald Miller. He looks at Marco's defeated, unconscious body. He wakes up just in time to see Gerald. He looks a bit confused.
- "You did well, I'm sure your father would be proud. Don't let the taste of defeat sour your love for fighting, instead you must use that experience as fuel to become a stronger fighter."
He says, before accompanying the medical escorts to the infirmary. From the shadows, another large man heard the entire thing. He clicks his tongue.
- "All these failed students with their wishy-washy ideologies."
The man says before beginning his walk towards the entrance. It's the Demon Teacher, Elmer Calluen, making his way for his match.
- "I'll show them what it means to be a true teacher."
He mutters to himself.
Adam and Sang are once again bickering about the match. Jacques analyzes the fight.
- "Punyawit has body weapons on par with Yong An. That's going to be quite dangerous. Marco would've probably had that fight in the bag if he didn't take the elbow to the chest. It probably snapped an important muscle. Oh well, what's done is done. Now the next match, Simon Park vs Elmer Calluen is going to be quite interesting."
Just then, Jitae appears.
- "Now how did you get all the way over here?"
Sang runs to Jitae.
- "Papa! I made a friend! His name's Adam!"
He says, pointing at Adam.
- "Hi, Mr. Sang's dad, my name is Adam Ludwig, and this is my teacher, Jacques Williams."
Jacques and Jitae glare at each other, the kids don't know what's going on.
- "Oh, also! You gotta buy Adam ice cream."
- "What, why?"
- "I lost a bet."
- "Sorry but…"
Jitae can't resist, he spoils his son too much.
- "Okay, fine, I'll get your ice cream. Stay here."
- "Yipee!!"
Jacques looks at Sang.
- "I didn't think his dad would be THE Jitae Won. Maybe I can extract some extra information from him, when I do fight."
He realizes.
- "Nah, I wouldn't do that to a kid."
Meanwhile, Jitae was outside buying ice cream.
- "I sure hope I don't miss the fight."