In the very next moment, the opponent went in for a punch, but Ty was quick to dodge and get in an uppercut to the man’s chin, quickly following with a jab with his other hand.
Ria jumped when Melanie screamed, “Nice combo Ty!”
Ria had to admit she agreed. Ty was fast.
The rest of the round consisted of much of the same. Melanie told her that Ty was more of a boxer, but had been improving on fighting while on the mat. She noticed Ty did look like a boxer with the relentless, punishing series of punches to his opponent’s head and stomach. The guy’s face was already starting to swell.
The bell rang to indicate the end of round one.
“This is an amateur fight, so it will be three four minute rounds,” Melanie explained to Ria.
“That doesn’t seem like very much time.”
Melanie grunted, “It seems like forever when you’re getting the shit knocked out of you.”
Ria grinned. “Yeah, I can only imagine.”
Zane leaned over. “That happens when you don’t listen to your coach,” he said while giving Melanie a look of disapproval, but obviously trying to contain a smile.
“Oh, God. Give it a break, Zane,” Melanie snapped then elbowed Zane in the ribs. Ria noticed Zane didn’t flinch. “It was one fucking time, okay! I still won the damn fight!”
They all laughed and Zane leaned in to kiss Melanie. All of Melanie’s disgruntlement disappeared. Ria tried to hide her smile. Yep, Zane could handle her just fine.
The bell rang to begin round two. This time, Ty’s opponent’s coach must have told him to take Ty to the ground. As the opponent tried to sweep Ty’s legs out from under him, Ty surprised him by throwing all his weight and taking him down to the mat instead. Ty maneuvered his body where he was straddling his opponent, punching the crap out of him while the other man tried to protect his face. It reminded Ria of the night Ty saved her.
Eventually, the man on the mat was able to thrust up and throw Ty to the side. Ty quickly rolled away before the man could get on top. Now both men were on their feet, and the opponent quickly threw Ty at the cage. Ria gasped when Ty lost his balance and fell back. His opponent quickly moved in and attacked with punch after punch, then pulled Ty’s head down and kneed him in the face. Ria cringed from the impact and shuddered when blood started dripping from Ty’s nose.
“Fucking move, Ty!” Melanie screamed. Ria saw Nicholas yelling at Ty from behind, but the crowd was too loud to hear anything.
Fortunately, the bell rang, stopping the assault.
Melanie turned to Ria. “If it had reached a point where Ty couldn’t defend himself, the ref might have stopped the fight. Now, Ty has a minute to recover, and knowing him, he won’t let that happen again.”
Ria nodded her head, but she was tense. She watched Nicholas coaching Ty, seeing the intensity on his face as he spoke quickly. Ria felt the nervousness, hoping whatever Nicholas was telling him would work.
The bell rang, and the crowd’s roar became deafening again. This would be the deciding round.
She looked at Ty’s face. He seemed determined and focused. It made her feel a little more at ease knowing that he was okay. She didn’t know how anyone could so quickly recover from a knee to the face.
Both fighters looked tired, slowly circling each other, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ty’s opponent moved in first, and Ria held her breath, waiting to see how Ty responded. Before Ria could blink again, Ty struck him with a kick to the side of his head. The opponent hit the ground and stayed there. Ty quickly moved in to try and finish him off, but the ref stopped him as he checked on the man lying on the mat. In a matter of seconds, the ref ended the fight.
“Yes! He won by knock out,” Melanie cheered.
“Wow!” Ria responded.
The excitement of the crowd was contagious. She couldn’t help standing to cheer and clap along with the rest of them.
She searched for Nicholas and saw him in the cage with Ty. He was smiling, pride on his face. She smiled, too. She liked seeing him happy.
At that moment, he glanced toward her and their eyes met. She mouthed the words congratulations, and he nodded his head then stood next to Ty as they announced him winner by knock out.
When Melanie told her they were going to the back hallways to meet up with Nick and Ty, Ria followed them out. The crowd was still fired up, ready for the next fight. It took a lot of maneuvering to get around the fans, but they finally made it to the back where they saw Nicholas and Ty talking to some of the media outside one of the locker rooms.
“Nice finish, Ty. Congratulations again,” a reporter said as they approached the men from behind.
The reporter turned to Nicholas. “Nick, what’s the status on the arm? From the bruises on your face, have we missed that you’ve already returned to fighting?” The petite blond scooted closer to him, holding her notebook and pen in her hand as she gave Nicholas a clear view of her cleavage. Her intentions were obvious.