Iskra Lawrence vs Ashley Graham

Pre-Fight:

“I wanted to fight Ashley for one simple reason,” says Iskra. “She isn’t anywhere near the top of this division. But, she is maybe the strongest. Well… second strongest now that I’m in the picture. I already proved my power against Antje. I plan to do it against a bigger girl in Ashley. Toe-to-toe. I’m gonna prove that not only can I stand and trade with her, but that I’m better at it than her. Sure, I could out-maneuver her if I wanted, but that’s not my M.O. this fight. I’ve got the best power in the FCBA. And I’m going to prove it tonight.”

“This girl better know how to move,” warns Ashley. “Otherwise she doesn’t have a chance. She thinks she’s so big and bad, she wants to stand up to me and show me how strong she is. Let her do it. Because I guarantee after round one she won’t do it anymore. That’s if she’s still standing.”

The two fighters couldn’t come to the ring in a more contrasting fashion. Ashley with her robe on, hood over her head, and a serious demeanor. She may as well be marching out while her music plays. Meanwhile when Iskra comes out she looks completely loose. She even dances her way into the ring, hood on her robe down and everything. She wears a massive smile across her face as she fluidly shifts her hips back and forth.

R1:

Iskra wearing silver shorts, sports bra, and gloves while Ashley opts for all black. Lawrence makes good on her promise to meet Ashley head-to-head, a tactic the overwhelming majority of welterweights would avoid. Still, it seems she wants to prove a point.

The two women with their guards up in the center of the ring. Iskra with a few quick jabs. They circle around a bit. A few more jabs from Iskra. She’s in a bit of a rhythm now. Another jab that Ashley blocks and then follows with a huge sweeping right to the abdomen. Iskra’s eyes go wide. She looks like she can’t believe the force with which she just got hit. She doubles over a bit, but here comes Ashley with a massive left uppercut to the chin.

Lawrence’s head snaps back and she stumbles. On her heels and Graham comes in for more punishment. A right hook that almost spins Iskra around. Most fighters would go down to a punch like that from Ashley, but the blonde stays standing if only barely. Iskra covers up, allowing Ashley to combo rights and lefts to her body. Lawrence’s eyes getting bigger with every blow to her body. Her form compromised as she’s bending over. Guard still up, but she is hurt early on. The only thing that saves her is the bell ringing.

Iskra stumbles back to her corner, down in a round Ashley takes easily.

10-9 Graham.

R2:

The question for Lawrence is if she switches up tactics in this next round, and the answer is no. She seems determined to prove a point and goes right at Ashley. This time though Iskra has a chance to flash her power. After a few jabs, she ducks a right from Ashley and follows with an uppercut of her own. Now it’s Ashley’s turn to be surprised.

She backs off and then gives a little nod, almost acknowledging her opponent’s power. It doesn’t scare her for good though as she steps right back in, eating a right to the ribs but she’s able to charge through Iskra’s offense and deliver a right cross of her own. Now the blonde is in trouble. She’s on her heels again, shocked at the amount of raw power she’s being faced down with. It’s like fighting a bear. Everytime Ashley connects it shakes the blonde to her core.

Lawrence does her best to fight back, and she lands a little bit of offense here and there. But Ashley is hitting her with bomb after bomb. And when Iskra throws one back it seems Ashley replies with one twice as heavy. A haymaker right collides with Iskra’s cheek and she spins, barely catching the ropes as the bell rings.

Graham’s power clearly outshining Lawrence’s as she goes up 20-18.

R3:

The way Lawrence is moving indicates she’s in a great deal of pain. She’s favoring the right side of her body and her face is already getting puffed up. Still, she refuses to deviate from the plan. She continues to go straight at Ashley. And the big brunette is happy to let her try it.

Iskra with a few nice combos. She ducks another blow. Blocks another. Then follows up with a nice left cross to the chin. Ashley stumbles a bit. Here comes Lawrence, trying to get in close to the body. She gets off a right to the ribcage, but then Ashley’s left comes flying forward with an uppercut to Iskra’s body. The blonde fully bent over now as she backs off. Clutching her side.

Ashley slams a right cross the cheek then quickly follows with a left uppercut to the chin. Iskra’s feet nearly leave the mat as she flops backwards onto her shoulders. The combo looked particularly brutal and there are murmurs in the crowd over whether Lawrence is out cold. Whether she’s dead even?

The blonde does begin to stir though, and eventually finds her way to the ropes, which she crawls up. Her hands look heavy. Shoulders slouch forward. Jaw hanging low. The ref allows the fight to go on, but Ashley comes in and delivers some more punishment. Brutally working Iskra’s body. Again her feet are nearly leaving the canvas with every blow. She’s hunched over, but Ashley continues to just wail uppercuts straight into the blonde’s midsection. She could go for the knockout, but now it’s Ashley who seems to be making a point.

The round ends as Lawrence’s eyes begin to well up. Ashley strides back to her corner confident, sure in her mind that round four will be the decider. Especially if Lawrence is stubborn enough to come right at her again.

Graham up 30-26.

R4:

Ashley comes out and expects Iskra to come at her again, but now the blonde seems weary to get anywhere close. It’s clear Iskra has conceded that she simply can’t meet Ashley head-to-head. But is the change in strategy too little too late?

Graham charges after her. Earlier in the fight Iskra might have been able to escape without any damage, but she’s slow on her feet after three rounds of beatdowns. So while she does manage to slip away from the charging brunette, she does leave with a few more shots to her ribs.

The body blows really taking their toll on Iskra who’s form is still compromised. She’s still leaning forward way too much. Her mouth open and in danger of dropping her mouthguard. Ashley comes forward again, trying to catch her with a right hook. Iskra is able to step back and fire off two jabs that connect. Then she slips away.

The rest of the round continues in a similar fashion. Ashley gets in close, lands a few blows that seem to hurt Iskra even more, but then takes two or three punches in the process. The end result is satisfactory for Ashley. The bell rings with Lawrence probably getting the round, but Ashley continuing to deliver more damage to a fading Iskra.

Graham up 39-36.

R5:

Ashley keeps waiting for Iskra to throw caution to the wind, but once more the blonde comes out and plays the perimeter. Ashley can’t keep up with her and it seems Iskra is getting her footing again. She’s moving better than the previous round. She even leads Ashley into a nice left hand that stuns her.

Iskra is a little gun shy to mix it up inside, and that is going to be a problem. She can dance all she wants, but sooner or later Ashley is going to connect with something big. Iskra winning the punch ratio, but clearly fighting intimidated.

Midway through the round Iskra finds herself in a bit of trouble as Ashley finally gets her to a corner. The brunette bullies the blonde backwards and begins throwing haymakers back and forth. Crushing Iskra’s defense as the blonde is battered around. While they’re the same height and Ashley “only” has fifteen pounds on her, the brunette seems like a mountain compared to a hill. Her gloves hammering right and left, right and left at Iskra’s guard.

The blonde is savvy enough to wrap her arms around Ashley through and get into a clinch. When the ref breaks them apart, Ashley goes for a huge right hand that misses. Iskra pops her with a left. Ducks. Then pops her with a right. Ashley almost forgot how much power Iskra has.

Now it’s Ashley who is dazed and Lawrence has to make a move here. She gets in close, weary of the brunette’s strength, but is able to land a few bodyshots with the right. Then she woks upstairs. Ashley in full defense mode now. Iskra with a sweeping left, then right, she breaks through the defense! Graham in trouble!

The brunette is against the ropes and Iskra has no plans on stopping. She continues to swing wildly, connecting with almost everything when the bell rings.

A wild round as Iskra went from almost getting knocked out to almost knocking Ashley out.

Graham’s lead shrinks again 48-46.

R6:

Lawrence comes out with the confidence she hasn’t shown since the beginning of the first round. She still plays her distance, but now she takes more chances. Weaving in and out of Graham’s range. Firing off quick combos. Her hands are quicker than Ashley’s. Her feet quicker than Ashley’s. She’s simply out boxing the brunette now. The entire crowd agrees that this should have been the strategy from the beginning.

Iskra isn’t the fleetest of foot, but she moves incredibly well for her size. And she has the power to put anyone… yes, anyone… on their back with a single punch. As she shows when she dodges a right from Ashley and follows up with a pivoting left hook that sends the bigger woman down in a heep.

The ref standing over Ashley. The big brunette struggling to pull herself up to her feet. She’s on her knees by the time he gets to ten and it’s all over!!! A come from behind victory for the ages!

WINNER VIA KO IN ROUND 6: ISKRA LAWRENCE

Post-Fight:

“Okay so, I guess I should eat a little crow,” admits a slightly loopy Iskra. “She’s strong. Okay? Is that what you all want to hear? She beat me up inside. But guess what? She’s probably the only girl who can do that. And I still out-boxed her. I’m a problem for this weight class. So the top girls better be ready for me. I think I showed I can take anyone out with one punch!”

“Well it’s a wasted opportunity,” says Ashley. “Thinking back at it I let my pride get in the way of that third round. There’s no reason she should have left that round still conscious. I had her and I went to try to humiliate her instead. But, I proved that I’m way stronger than her. And she’s in for a long day with our bearhug battle coming up soon…”