Vol 1 Chapter 33: Rachel “Blondie” Stewart VS Yamamoto Yumi (1) Watching an MMA Fight (Vol 1: The Delinquent High School Girl’s Servant Survived and Advanced to the Second Year)

In recent years, the level of women’s martial arts has risen tremendously.

Until a few years ago, aside from a handful of genuine fighters, the standard wasn’t watchable—but nowadays, even fighters billed as “JK Fighters” aren’t merely crowd-pullers; they possess the skills to earn big, and it’s truly astonishing.

While they may lack the raw power and impact of their male counterparts, it must be acknowledged that there are top fighters whose technical prowess is so impressive they can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the men.

A superstar from the women’s fighting world has come to Japan, and her match is scheduled for today.

At RAIZAN—one of Japan’s top combat sports events—a female fighter was, for the first time, given the main event, pitted against some of the biggest names in women’s martial arts.

I held my smartphone to my ear, completely captivated by the sight of the two glamorous female fighters displayed on the TV screen.

“Blue Corner. 168 cm, 61.1 kg. Former World Wrestling Champion. RAIZAN Super Flyweight No. 1. Yamamoto Yumi――――!”

The woman with dreadlocks and sun-kissed, tanned skin broke into a smile so captivating that it stopped everyone in their tracks as soon as the introduction ended.

Once renowned for her absolute strength in women’s wrestling, after switching to MMA she climbed to become RAIZAN’s No. 1 Super Flyweight—and this match saw her moving up a weight class to bantamweight.

Not only is she famous for coming from a family of fighters, but her strikingly non-Japanese looks and beauty have also made her a fan favorite; known as a “Mama Fighter,” she is adored by women everywhere.

“Red Corner. 170 cm, 61.2 kg. Greatest Fighting Championship Bantamweight Champion, Rachel ‘Blondie’ Stewart――――!”

Her exposed stomach and thighs—revealed by a black separate and an ankle supporter—were in stark contrast to Yamamoto’s, and with her tied-up blonde hair swaying, she bowed toward the audience.

Rachel is a gorgeous mixed martial artist belonging to America’s renowned Greatest Fighting Championship, and she’s known for being so formidable that even male fighters are said to stand no chance against her.

She, too, was celebrated as a beautiful “Mama Fighter,” with her match against Yamamoto promoted under the catchphrase “The Battle for the Strongest Mother in History.”

“Yuuumiiiiii! Hang in there, Yumi!”

Over the phone, Miyayuri shouted boisterously.

It seems Miyayuri is a fan of Yamamoto Yumi—although she isn’t well-versed in MMA in general, she never misses Yumi’s fights.

“Round One! Fight!”

As the gong echoed, Rachel sprang forward, while Yamamoto—taking a southpaw stance—circulated to the right, creating space.

I had heard that recently, Yamamoto had been incorporating boxing training under a former pro boxing world champion, and her striking skills had improved dramatically.

That being said, her opponent is none other than the GFC champion—a pinnacle figure in the world of MMA.

It’s hard to imagine anyone matching the striking power of Rachel, who boasts titles as both an MMA fighter and a kickboxer.

Yamamoto herself was undoubtedly well aware of that.

She likely planned to avoid carelessly entering the striking range, choosing instead to retreat until her opponent came within her own reach—then launch a counter.

Likewise, with Rachel seemingly aware of the bait as she closed the distance, Yamamoto fired off a light, controlling right jab; and the moment she retracted her hand, she swung a huge right long hook—did Rachel’s punch extend farther than expected?

Her sway was a beat too slow, and the slightly grazing punch brushed against Rachel’s cheek.

Although she’s been studying boxing, her hooks appear overly wide and rough; but in MMA the range differs from boxing—attempting to be compact just doesn’t work, so it’s fundamental to swing broadly to keep the opponent under pressure.

“Uoooooh! That’s it! Yuuumiiiiii!”

Over the phone, Miyayuri shouted boisterously.

Then, Yamamoto smoothly dropped her stance, lowering her hips to set up her signature tackle, and for a split second, Rachel’s movements stiffened in caution.

But it was a feint—instead, Yamamoto slid in with a step and, with her long arm, hammered a right body straight into Rachel’s exposed midriff.

The mere title of a former world wrestling champion was enough to make an opponent wary of a tackle, but Yamamoto’s specialty was turning that around by feinting a tackle and then unleashing a body straight.

“Good job! Just keep on and beat those gaijin to a pulp!”

The announcer’s voice over the TV was completely drowned out by Miyayuri’s loud cheering.

Not only was Rachel taking hits, but she also fired off a sharp low kick.

However, since the kick was thrown head-on, it wasn’t too difficult for the punch to connect; as Yamamoto combined her right long hook with the low kick, first Rachel’s kick, then—just a beat later—Yamamoto’s punch, landed simultaneously.

Surprisingly, although Yamamoto appeared to have the upper hand in the striking exchange, the damage she inflicted seemed considerable, if not fatal.

Taking advantage of a moment when Rachel staggered and lost her balance, Yamamoto lowered her stance and, with a diving one-legged tackle, grabbed hold of Rachel’s front leg.

“Alright! Just roll her over like that!”

Without any prompting from Miyayuri, Yamamoto wrapped both arms around Rachel’s thigh, retracted her own legs, extended Rachel’s left leg—stripping it of freedom—and then shifted it to her right side.

Using her right arm to grip Rachel’s left thigh and her left arm to hold around the area below her left knee, Yamamoto brought it to her chest, pressed down on Rachel—who was standing on one pivot foot—and swept that foot with her left leg, slamming Rachel’s back onto the mat.

“Damn! Concrete will cause massive damage!”

No, it isn’t a brawl.

Since it would be foolish to comment on that, I said nothing and simply watched the fight.

After wedging her knees against both sides of Rachel and seizing the mount, Yamamoto shifted her weight as she went in to grab an arm.

In this position, it’s easy to have your arm grabbed, but Rachel twisted her left elbow inward and reversed the position, rotating in sync with Yamamoto’s attempt to take her arm. Their positions switched, and by applying her weight, Rachel crushed Yamamoto, freed her arm, and then took the mount herself.

“Ahhh! Blonde punk! You’d better lie down quietly!”

No… aren’t you blonde too?

And besides, while Rachel has her natural hair, you went out of your way to dye yours.

I wasn’t so inept as to bluntly tell Miyayuri that fact.

This time, Rachel countered by swinging a pounding punch as she twisted her elbow back, but Yamamoto leaped upward from below with a kick—a move Rachel disliked. So, Rachel quickly stood up, entering what is known as the Inoki state.

Refusing to keep up with Yamamoto, Rachel stepped back and, with a scooping gesture of her hand, urged her to stand.

“Ha! You think you can beat Yumi in the stand-up? You’ve been getting hammered from the start!”

“Maybe all along, it was just to size things up…”

“Shut up, you lackey! I’ll rip off your skin and set it afloat on the Tamagawa!”

Those high-kicking words shattered my eardrums, hitting with a force that threatened to pulverize my skull into splinters.

“…I’m sorry.”

I apologized, as usual, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

I’m used to being treated unfairly.

In fact, it was almost comforting; if they’re going to trample on insects, they might as well hurl even more abuse.

Amid the desperate battle between the two fighters, I found myself musing such unseemly thoughts.