Vol 1 Chapter 34: Rachel “Blondie” Stewart VS Yamamoto Yumi (2) – Who Will Prevail in the Beautiful Mama Showdown? (Vol 1: The Delinquent High School Girl’s Servant Survived and Advanced to the Second Year)

Even though Miyayuri was subjected to speech suppression reminiscent of some dictatorial regime, I was right.

During the initial scouting, had I already deciphered Yamamoto’s sense of spacing, her attack rhythm, and even her quirks?

The advantage in both offense and defense had clearly reversed—evident even to a layman.

Yamamoto, who tried to maintain distance with her legs, was gradually forced toward the corner post by Rachel, who read her movements, applied pressure, and closed the gap with minimal motion. Before anyone knew it, Yamamoto had been driven near the corner post.

Not in the typical octagonal cage common in mixed martial arts, but in the square ring still prevalent in Japan, a striker like Rachel seems especially adept at cornering her opponents.

Rachel, as if to serve a twist of poetic justice, struck Yamamoto’s refined cheek with a long hook.

Had she gauged Yamamoto’s distance correctly?

This time, perfectly dodging Yamamoto’s wide-swinging long hook—a counter she hadn’t managed earlier—with a swivel back, she turned her body even more sideways than her basic stance, pulled her right knee close, bent her ankle inward, and with a snapping knee and a twist of her waist, unleashed a side kick. As the heel of her foot forcefully struck Yamamoto’s torso, Yamamoto slammed her back against the corner post.

In Japan, the side kick is typically seen only in traditional karate or taekwondo bouts—where fighters adopt an almost half-body stance—but it has long been a staple in American martial arts.

If I recall correctly, in karate this technique was originally developed for fighting multiple opponents, which is why it isn’t often used in one-on-one matches outside of traditional karate, right?

Moreover, since this technique isn’t part of Muay Thai, it’s naturally rare even in Japanese kickboxing, and tends to be employed by fighters with a trickier style.

However, its power is formidable; if timed perfectly as a counter, it can even knock an opponent down.

“Are you Benny Yukied or what?! Don’t use such outdated techniques!”

Even though she’s invoking the names of legends who thrived during the kickboxing formative years—when K-1 was nothing more than a shadow of its current self and fighters like Toshio Fujiwara were active—couldn’t that be taken as a compliment in a way?

It seems even I was thrown into confusion.

Yamamoto stood face-to-face with Rachel and attempted a middle kick in response, but was pushed back by a counter front teep, causing her to stagger.

When you try to launch a middle kick head-on, it inevitably lands slower than a front teep delivered in a straight line from the shortest distance, making it an easy target for a counter.

“Daaaah! I told you—a middle kick from that position is no good!”

When did this guy become Yamamoto’s coach?

No, it’s a common sight in sports viewing—someone who goes, “I’m the coach!”

Unaware that I was scratching my head over my smartphone, with every downturn in the fight, Miyayuri’s cheers gradually edged closer to cries of despair.

Rachel, having seriously intensified her offense, launched a one–two followed by a left body combination that seemed to carve into Yamamoto’s torso, bending her body into a curved shape. She closed the gap even further, slipped her left hand around Yamamoto’s back of the head, and with her right hand, grasped Yamamoto’s glove to clinch, lowering her head while pressing her weight onto Yamamoto’s head.

“The knee is coming!”

Before Miyayuri could finish her exclamation, Rachel, with the explosive force of a spring, drove her right knee into Yamamoto’s body.

Even though Yamamoto is the world wrestling champion and also a kickboxer, escaping Rachel’s headlock—which rivals that of a Muay Thai fighter—appears nearly impossible.

While Yamamoto endured three or four rhythmic blows from Rachel’s bouncing knee, she managed to insert an arm from the outside and pushed downward to break the clinch.

“Daaaaah! That’s a trap!”

It was indeed a trap, just as Miyayuri had said.

But scarcely had Yamamoto escaped the knee hell when, as she tried to break away, Rachel used her left foot as a pivot to rotate. With her weight loaded onto her elbow, Yamamoto’s beautiful jaw was struck and snapped upward.

Rachel had deliberately released the headlock so that, in that fleeting moment when Yamamoto’s guard slackened, her elbow was poised to strike.

I had to concede that, when it came to striking, Rachel was leagues ahead.

Yet, even in this disadvantageous situation, Yamamoto did not give up—displaying the pride of a world wrestling champion.

When Yamamoto and Rachel clashed at close range, Yamamoto smoothly lowered her upper body, clinched onto Rachel, locked her arms behind her back, and, tucking her head to the side, brought Rachel down onto the mat.

“It’s a turnaround! Just keep on pounding her!”

Matching Miyayuri’s oscillating cheers, I felt as though no number of spare eardrums would have been enough.

Meanwhile, while I was in such a predicament, the match continued.

Despite being taken down, it was Rachel who maintained a favorable position in the exchange.

From her guard, Rachel grabbed both of Yamamoto’s hands. Just when it seemed she was pulling them straight in, she swung her hips widely to the left, drawing Yamamoto’s arms to her right side.

Perhaps the initial straight pull was just a feint, and Yamamoto, caught off guard by the lateral shift, had her right arm swiftly grabbed by Rachel’s left arm.

Was Yamamoto distracted by her arms? Rachel, the top fighter of the GFC, would not miss the moment when Yamamoto’s head was momentarily unguarded.

No, it’s more accurate to say that Rachel orchestrated it.

Without missing a beat, Rachel brought the back of her left knee in front of Yamamoto’s face, positioning herself so that her lower abdomen pressed directly against Yamamoto’s right shoulder—setting her up perfectly to transition into a technique.

Then, Rachel rotated her entire body to the right in a whirl, sandwiching Yamamoto’s right shoulder between her feet. As she applied pressure, she pressed Yamamoto’s right elbow against her own abdomen while thrusting her hips forward to secure a reverse crucifix, fully extending Yamamoto’s arm.

At this point, Yamamoto was left with no recourse, and with an expression of regret, she tapped the mat.

1R 4:40

The GFC Queen overwhelmed the heroine of Japanese women’s martial arts with strength true to her reputation.