Dove Cameron versus Camila Mendes

BEFORE:

Interesting flyweight matchup sees one of he division's hottest fighters, Cameron, stepping up to former champ Mendes in a bout that will certainly have rankings and, perhaps, title shot implications. But, Dove's been in with former champions before...and beaten them, so she's not sweating Camila. "This girl had a cup of coffee with the belt after a title shot she had no business getting. I'm not impressed. Not at all."

"You know what's great," says Camila with a devastating smile. "I don't HAVE to impress Dove Cameron. I just have to beat her arrogant a**, which is EXACTLY what I plan to do."

ROUND ONE:

No doubt this one is going to be a war of movement. Both blonde and brunette are plenty athletic. Both move very well and both like to range around the ring. So, no one can be surprised when both fighters start the contest on their toes and spend the entire round there. They're slippin' and dippin', bouncin' and misbehavin', but also finding plenty of time to put punches together. There's plenty of action in this stanza, with blonde and brunette getting to their spots and getting off in combination. Hard shot is landed, though nobody's hurt, and, despite the best efforts of both Dove and Camila, no one can gain much of an advantage. There's almost nothing in it into the final half minute, but that's when Dove turns it on, putting together a some sharp flurries that put Mendes on the back foot and keep her there to the bell. When it rings, it's close, but it's Cameron and Dove is up 10-9.

ROUND TWO:

More of the same. Blonde and brunette ranging around the ring using the feet extremely well. And, for the second round in a row, the ladies are on even terms. Until. BOOM! Right hand, CAMILA and DOVE IS HURT! Cameron all wobbly butt as Camila lets the hands go in the middle of the ring and DROPS THE BLONDE TO HER BACK! Mendes stomps to a neutral corner to watch and wait. Dove clearly buzzed, but she's able to get to her feet at seven, and, after the mandatory, ON COMES CAMILA. Mendes impressing some people now, as she batters Cameron into the ropes and has at her, firing off everything in the arsenal in an effort to get the blonde out of there. A vain effort. When the bell rings. Cameron is plenty unsteady, but still standing. As for Camila, she's grabbed the round 10-8 to lead 19-18.

ROUND THREE:

Mendes in control. Cameron with no legs under her, and the brunette's taking full advantage of that. She's battering Dove around the ring, landing hard shot to the head and even a little to the body, all in the service of trying to get the blonde out of there. For her part, Cameron's just trying to ride this out. She's keeping the guard high, playing defense, running clock, trying to play for time to get her legs back. And, while it's Dove who gets much the worst of things in this stanza, she's also the one who gets what she wants out of it. Because, while Camila dominates the round completely and gives Dove an absolute THUMPING, Cameron, once again, is still standing when the bell rings. Camila's pitched the shutout and extended her lead to 29-27, but the blonde is still alive.

ROUND FOUR:

Camila continuing to take the fight to Dove. Mendes hasn't gotten Cameron out of there, but she's piling up damage that won't easily be shaken off...and doing it all by staying sound, setting up her punches, never getting sloppy. It's, dare we say, an "impressive" display by the former champion, and one that builds her a solid lead over the first two minutes of the stanza. By the third minute, Dove's moving better, the legs coming back, and she's able to get some offense going for the first time since early in the second round. But, all of that comes much, much too late to make a difference in the fourth. Camila's built an insurmountable lead, and so it is that, when the bell sounds ending the round, Mendes has taken her third straight, this one wide, to extend her lead to 39-36.

ROUND FIVE:

Back to the war of movement we saw in round one. Cameron's got the legs now, and she and Mendes range around the ring, playing angles, getting off in combination when the opportunity presents. It's good stuff and the same stuff we saw in the opening stanza, with neither fighter gaining a large advantage, but both getting plenty of work done. Late stages of the round see Cameron upping the ante, getting after Mendes aggressively. Camila willing to play defense in this situation, sitting on a solid lead as she is, and that allows Dove to gain a measure of control in the waning seconds, as the blonde gets off in combination and piles up enough points to pull out ahead of the brunette. When the bell rings, Cameron's got the points and she's cut the lead to 48-46.

ROUND SIX:

Blonde and brunette on the move with Dove the more aggressive of the two. Cameron sitting down on punches more often, leading to both good, more hard shot on target, and bad, more hard counters from Mendes landing. But, it's a tradeoff the blonde is willing to make, as she's down on the cards in the second half of the bout. And, it's a tradeoff that PAYS off. BOOM! Right hand, CAMERON and Mendes is HURT! And the blonde, smelling blood in the water, GOES ALL IN! She sends the brunette stumbling backward with a series of combinations and then DROPS HER with a NASTY straight right hand. Mendes spilled to her back. Cameron quickly to a neutral corner. Camila staring all wide-eyed up at the ref as he counts down on her. She makes an effort to rise at seven, but STUMBLES BACK TO THE CANVAS and it's OVER! And your winner by KO6 is Dove Cameron!

AFTER:

Dove STILL not impressed. "She caught me a good one, yeah," the blonde says. "But, I shook it off, got back after her, and then I caught HER a good one. And the difference is, I got UP. But, that's the PAST. Let's talk the FUTURE. Let's talk 2022. Let's talk FLYWEIGHT BELTS. Because, I'm COMING for those in 2022. And, anybody who gets in my way is going to end up JUST like Camila did."