MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat

The first round ended with the sound of the horn, sharp and echoing through the gym.

Kenji walked to the corner calmly, breathing steady, his face untouched. He sat on the stool and sipped water as Damon approached with the towel and bottle in hand.

Damon crouched in front of him, focused and direct.

"You're doing good," he said. "Clean round, no mistakes. But listen, he's starting to read you."

Kenji nodded, wiping sweat off his chin. He didn't look tired, but Damon knew looks could be deceiving.

"I'm not saying change everything," Damon continued. "Just give him something to think about. Mix in a step-in elbow or a high kick off that cross. He's watching your feet. Change your rhythm, don't stay predictable."

Kenji adjusted his gloves, listening.

"Every time you land, you pull back and reset. That's your style, I get it. But you need to break that once or twice this round. Stay in the pocket a second longer. Make him feel like something's coming that he can't time."

Kenji took a breath and nodded again, slower this time. Damon could tell he understood.

"He's not walking you down yet, but he will. And once he does, if you don't push him back at least once, he's going to own the center for the rest of the fight."

The ten-second warning clapped behind them.

Damon gave his fighter a pat on the shoulder. "You've got this. Keep your composure. Be smart, but don't let him get comfortable."

Kenji stood up, bounced on his toes, and nodded with quiet confidence. Damon stepped back as the ref called them in for round two.

The second round began with Kenji circling to his right, just like before, but his eyes were sharper now.

Damon could tell immediately. There was a new rhythm in the way he moved.

It was still point-fighting, still compact and composed, but something was different.

He wasn't just looking to land and pull back. He was looking to set traps.

Trevor advanced again, testing with a jab. Kenji leaned out of range, countered with a quick low kick, then reset. Standard. Safe.

But the next exchange was different.

Trevor stepped in with a one-two, but Kenji didn't retreat. He pivoted, rolled under the right hand, and fired back a short left hook that caught Trevor clean on the chin.

It wasn't a bomb, but it was sharp, fast, and unexpected. The crowd reacted, a few claps and surprised noises from the corner.

Damon smirked. "Good."

Kenji stayed calm. He didn't rush. He returned to his bounce, circling again, feinting the jab now more often.

Trevor looked annoyed.

He tried a level change, dipped low for a body shot, but Kenji timed it with a knee that thudded into Trevor's chest.

Trevor grunted and backed up, forced to reset. It wasn't a turning point yet, but it was a statement.

Kenji followed up with a triple jab, nothing heavy, just enough to push Trevor back toward the cage.

Then he did something he hadn't done once in round one, he stayed close. When Trevor tried to jab his way out, Kenji planted his feet and delivered a sneaky step-in elbow.

It didn't land flush, but it grazed and made Trevor cover up.

He used that second to angle off and retreat again, back to his safer range. But now Trevor was hesitating.

Kenji's strikes weren't powerful, but his timing had changed. He was breaking the rhythm. And Trevor, who was used to fighters giving ground, wasn't sure if he should press forward or wait.

Damon stood near the cage, arms folded. He watched closely, noting how Kenji's feet weren't darting back as fast.

His eyes tracked Trevor's hips more. He was reading the bigger picture now, not just reacting to punches.

Trevor finally exploded forward with a blitz, jab, overhand, knee, but Kenji caught the knee on his arm and slipped out the side.

As Trevor turned, Kenji landed a clean right cross to the temple, followed by a stiff low kick before bouncing away.

It wasn't a dominant performance yet, but the momentum had clearly shifted.

Trevor's face was red now. His movements weren't as fluid. And his guard started to rise higher, more concerned with the sudden elbows and knees Kenji had mixed in.

Back in the center, Kenji fired another low kick, then feinted and stepped in with a jab-cross.

Trevor tried to return, but this time Kenji rolled and clinched, briefly, just enough to stall and push off before Trevor could use his size.

Kenji reset again, hands up, eyes calm. He didn't overextend. He didn't chase. But he made his presence felt now.

Damon nodded once to himself. This was what he wanted.

Kenji didn't abandon his style. He just sharpened it.

He made it unpredictable.

And the result was clear, Trevor Mills was starting to second-guess himself.

Kenji bounced lightly on his feet, controlling the center again. Trevor had slowed just a bit, enough for Damon to see it, and Kenji to sense it.

The short counters and angles were starting to frustrate Trevor. His breathing was heavier now. His head movement, slower.

Kenji feinted low and watched Trevor shift his stance slightly, raising his right elbow to guard a potential body kick. That was the read.

So Kenji circled left, dipped his shoulder as if to throw another leg kick, and the moment Trevor twitched to check it, Kenji snapped up a clean question mark kick.

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The shin whipped around and slapped just above Trevor's temple.

The sound was sharp. Not a full knockout blow, but it stunned him, enough to tilt his balance and send him stumbling two steps sideways.

Damon's eyes sharpened.

Trevor's arms were up but not tight. He was blinking.

Kenji didn't rush. He stepped in with a jab, then a lead hook to hide the movement, then bang, a straight right down the middle.

It landed clean. Trevor's head snapped back.

The crowd let out a quick gasp. Trevor backed up to the cage, arms up now, in full defensive mode.

Kenji smelled blood but kept his discipline. He peppered him with a low kick, then faked another before launching a flying knee.

It clipped the chest, but the follow-up right hand forced Trevor to shell up again.

Now Kenji swarmed.

He dropped to the body, two ripping hooks to the ribs, then upstairs with a left elbow that grazed Trevor's hairline.

He backed up just enough to draw a response, then slipped under Trevor's rushed right hand and landed a clean shovel hook to the liver.

Trevor's body crunched forward.

Kenji fired an uppercut, missed clean, but stayed close, adjusting. He feinted a right and Trevor bit, then the left hook wrapped around the guard and caught him behind the ear.

That staggered him.