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It’s kind of an open secret that almost all rivalries are exaggerated to sell the fights, and that there’s usually no bad blood once the fight is over and the two fighters had punched each other silly. There’s something about hitting someone while they try to strike you back that oddly bonds people. Kelley and Alex would be the exception to this unwritten rule.
Kelley wasn’t quite sure why Alex annoyed her so much. It could have been the confidence that bordered on arrogance Alex carried. Maybe it was because Kelley thought Alex was ducking her: Kelley was 9-0, dominantly beating whoever the UFC put in front of her, including the number two and three ranked fighters in the flyweight division. However, Alex told a reporter that Kelley was still “green” and needed more experience before a title shot.
Or it could have been jealousy. Alex boasted a solid record of 19-0 with 8 championship title defenses - and it made her quite a star. The media loved Alex “The Maestro” Morgan’s cute face and killer instinct that drove her to knock out her opponents quickly with brutal kicks. Her highlight-reel worthy KOs and total dominance of her weight class made her so popular that she had won the ESPY for best fighter of the year three years in a row. She also had starred in a few action movies, mostly trashy racing movies, but an acting career was definitely a possibility for her future after fighting.
Kelley “KO” O’Hara wasn’t nearly as popular as Alex, but she was gaining a dedicated fanbase. Her flashy strikes and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu base made her a force to be reckoned with.
“You like the spinning shit, huh?” She yelled into the mic after knocking out her opponent with a spinning back-fist. After that, fans begged for her to meet Alex in the octagon. When the official matchmaker called Kelley to offer her a title shot, she was elated. She knew this was her chance to dethrone the woman who annoyed her. Hitting Alex in the face was only a bonus.
Whatever the reason for her dislike for Alex, it only grew when the champion posted a picture promoting their upcoming fight with the caption: “let’s make it 9 defenses! easy work.” Kelley certainly didn’t think of herself as easy work, and she vowed to make Alex eat her words.
The dislike slowly grew into straight hatred after Alex appeared on a late-night show claiming, “My opponent likes to use showy moves, but honestly, that stuff is just amateur. You definitely can’t beat me spinning around like a drunk and I’m going to make her regret signing the contract.”
Their first face to face meeting was less than stellar. It was media day and after hours of answering boring questions, the two had to face-off and look menacingly at each other. Some fighters liked to use the face-off as a way to try and get into the head of their opponent, and Alex was the master of the technique. She sauntered carelessly into the room with the championship belt hanging over her shoulder. When she turned to face Kelley she was all business and rushed into the younger woman’s space. Alex stood as tall as she could and her eyes bore into Kelley’s, trying to intimidate with her confidence.
Their foreheads touched for a split second before Kelley shoved Alex as hard as she could. She could get in trouble for touching her before they were in the cage, but Kelley didn’t care. Alex was just so proud - she clearly needed to be humbled.
“Fuck you!” Kelley shouted as the security held the two back from throwing hands at each other.
“Real professional, O’Hara,” Alex replied calmly, “You’re gonna look great on my highlight reel.”
By the time Kelley was ushered out of the room, she was fuming. Her coaches had to calm her down; being this emotional before a fight was never good. She just couldn’t understand why Alex frustrated her so much. She had never had issues with sportsmanship with her past opponents. Hell, she barely even trash-talked previously, but she had spent the entire day venting to journalists about Alex’s character and obvious evil nature.
Kelley’s weight cut helped her regain her focus. She didn’t have to lose that much weight, but the time in the sauna sweating out the pounds seemed to last forever. When she finally made it to 125lbs, she heard rumors that Alex may have had a tough weight cut. This was the confirmation that she needed to know that she would come out of the octagon a champion.
The night of the fight, she was all nerves. After throwing up twice, Kelley was able to complete her warm up and have a quick pep talk with her coaches before it was time to walk out to the octagon. Walking out was surreal - the only other feeling that could compare was winning. Hearing a sold-out arena scream her name, even though she was the underdog, that’s what she lived for. After she stepped up into the octagon and Alex’s walkout began, she felt the adrenaline surge and all her worries faded away. It was time to work.
Of course Alex hammed it up while Bruce Buffer announced the main event, the annoying attention whore she was. Kelley rolled her eyes but tried to look as scary as possible during the last few moments of peace. The referee motioned for them to walk towards each other.
“I’ve gone over the rules to each of you in the back. Fight clean, fight hard. You may touch gloves if you wish,” He said to them.
“Nah,” Alex said with a smirk as she backed up to her corner. Kelley surprisingly wasn’t mad, she wasn’t planning on touching gloves either.
The first round was amazing. Kelley had dropped Alex with a quick right hook about thirty seconds in and had taken her down with a beautiful sweep a minute later. The entire rest of the round Kelley showed off her ground and pound skills, laying on top of Alex, slowly peppering her with annoying strikes. She may have hit her in the back of the head a few times when Alex tried to escape side control, which was definitely illegal, but the ref didn’t see it. Kelley wouldn’t feel bad about it later; the bitch deserved it.
Her coaches urged her not to get too excited. She had won the first round, sure, but there were four rounds left. However, Kelley did as well in the second as she did in the first. She landed a beautiful flying knee early on, which opened a massive cut on Alex’s eyebrow. Blood streamed down her face, painting the octagon canvas dark red. The referee stopped the fight momentarily to see if it was safe to continue the fight since she was bleeding so heavily.
The doctor smeared some vaseline over the giant gash and the fight resumed. Kelley quickly shot a double-leg and smoothly took Alex down to the ground. She worked for a rear-naked choke when Alex gave up her back, sliding her arm around her neck and squeezing, but the blood made everything slippery and the champion escaped. Kelley managed to hold onto her on the ground until the horn sounded, signaling the end of the round.
As she walked back to her corner, Kelley felt extremely tired. She couldn’t have gassed already. Not in a fight this monumental. Her coaches managed to give her a burst of energy, however, with their encouragement. Or maybe that was the ice-cold water they dumped on her back.
The third round is where it all went bad. Alex was clearly frustrated and in a dirty move, poked Kelley in the eye. The referee called it, and Kelley was given a short break to recover, but it reversed the momentum of the fight. Alex found her rhythm and dodged almost every single one of Kelley’s strikes. The champion strung together beautiful combos and started searching for the perfect setup to a head kick KO. The round ended with Kelley swollen and having lost her motivation.
The last two rounds didn’t go much better than the first. MMA experts would call the show Alex put on a “striking clinic.” Kelley only managed to not be knocked out. For Alex, it may not have been a highlight reel finish, but Alex had a dominant victory to boast about. She had been scared to lose her belt after the first two rounds and had made adequate changes to keep it. As the final horn sounded, Alex moved to try and shake Kelley’s hand, but Kelley refused, angry and embarrassed.
After Alex was declared the winner by unanimous decision, Joe Rogan walked up to Alex with a mic and said, “Wow, what an amazing fight! The fact that you lost the two rounds but made the adjustments to take back the fight speaks to your skill. What was going through your mind during the second round?”
“Kelley may have tried to stall during those first two rounds by wrestlefucking - Sorry! Err, wrestlehumping, but I don’t think she won those rounds. She was just stalling. Once I tired her out, it was easy work to put on a show for you guys,” Alex said as she stood proudly with the belt around her waist.
“Oh fuck off!” Kelley shouted from behind her coaches who held ice to her swollen face.
Joe shifted uncomfortably and said, “You guys really seem to hate each other. What started this rivalry?”
“She made some comments in the past about how I wasn’t going to be the champ for much longer. The belt is my livelihood - when you threaten my belt you threaten me. But also, she’s just not on my level. O’Hara is immature and inexperienced. She should’ve expected her tricks would work on me.”
“Would you be willing to fight her again?”
“Of course! Sadly I didn’t knock her out, but I think I could make her sleep next go around.”
Joe turned to Kelley, “Kelley, you just stole two rounds from Alex Morgan. That’s the closest she’s ever come to defeat. How are you feeling right now?”
Kelley had a large hematoma under her right eye and held an ice pack to it as she spoke, “Well obviously this wasn’t the result I was looking for. But I think this just goes to show that I am the person who will defeat her. Let’s run this back so I can get my belt.”
Kelley retreated back to the locker room as soon as the interview was over. She was humiliated. She should’ve been proud, she had put the undefeated champion in the most danger she had ever been in. But Kelley didn’t care about that, she cared that Alex had taken her own undefeated status and the chance of being a champion.
Losing sucked. If Kelley was being extra-dramatic, she might even say it hurt worse than the time she broke a rib from a particularly heated sparring match. Kelley’s hurt and embarrassment only fed into her hatred of Alex. Alex was the one thing in the way of her career becoming legendary, and anytime Kelley was reminded of Alex, her mood was ruined. Her friends knew not to mention the champion in front of her. Kelley vowed to train even harder so that the next fight would be less disappointing.
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A rematch was a no-brainer. Six months after the first fight the president of the UFC himself called Kelley to ask her to fight Alex again. The first fight had sold amazingly, and a second would do even better. The fans could see that the two weren’t faking their hatred for each other and ate up the drama.
Kelley agreed immediately to the contract. It was safe to say that in the months after the first fight Kelley had become utterly obsessed with beating Alex. Her friends and teammates at the gym called her “psycho,” because Kelley was solely focused on training. What little time that wasn’t spent working out was spent studying Alex’s past fights for flaws in her style. No one could convince the young contender to cheat on her diet and after every workout she spent 20 minutes in an ice bath, swearing by it.
The UFC wanted to break some pay-per-view record, so the promotion for their fight started early. Kelley was required to attend a press conference and bicker with Alex, which would make for great advertising. She didn’t want to take time out of her training camp but knew that this was how she got paid, so it was a necessary evil.
The UFC flew Kelley out to Las Vegas to promote the fight a month before it would take place. Kelley was interviewed by radio stations and local news - each time attempting to say something that would piss off Alex.
“When you’re in as many trashy action movies as she is, you lose focus on what really matters. Of course, maybe all the punches she’s absorbed is clouding her judgement. My dedication is the reason I’m going to put her to sleep on December 7th at the T-Mobile Arena,” she replied when asked how she thought she could win the fight.
The press conference was a disaster. Kelley and Alex were seated at a long table, only about ten feet apart, and the tension between them was palpable.
One of the main MMA journalists known for riling up drama decided to ask, “Kelley, is it true that you have been putting pictures of Alex’s face on the heavy bags at your gym?”
“Yeah, I may not like to look at her annoying face, but it’s what motivates me to do better and work harder so I can humiliate her and take her belt while she’s unconscious,” Kelley said while smirking towards Alex.
Alex’s eyebrows knit together, “You’re lucky I even accepted the fight. You’re a nobody. No one had heard of you before you fought me. You should be thanking me.”
“Oh please, you don’t even care about fighting anymore - all you care about is your next paycheck and your next crappy movie role.”
“Well, that’s pretty fitting then, because you are nothing but a paycheck to me,” Alex countered.
Kelley who was growing increasingly frustrated said, “The paycheck will be the only thing you have left after I make you my bitch.”
Kelley huffed as Alex simply stated back to her, “I’d honestly like to see you try.”
The last part of the press conference was the face-offs. Kelley should have known Alex would try something dirty. As they walked towards each other while camera shutters clicked rapidly in the background, Kelley smirked at Alex.
“Nice scar,” Kelley said, taunting. The cut Kelley had opened on Alex’s forehead had healed into a lengthy mark that divided her eyebrow into two parts. If Kelley didn’t hate Alex, she would’ve thought it looked badass.
“I’m going to make you pay for fucking up my eyebrow,” Alex responded, irked that Kelley had left a permanent mark on her.
“I’m gonna fuck up your nose next,” Kelley continued with a bloodthirsty grin, “How does it feel knowing every time you look into the mirror you see what I did to you?”
Alex just stared back at her, trying to control her rage.
“You gonna do something about it, pussy?” Kelley spoke again, trying to get a reaction out of the champion.
Alex jerked forward and spat at her, hitting Kelley’s right cheek. That’s when all hell broke loose. Kelley roared in anger and swung at Alex’s head, but the security was too quick to drag her back for her fist to make its intended target. Kelley glanced over and grabbed an energy drink can from the table and lobbed it at Alex’s head. The Monster can flew straight into Alex’s nose, instantly causing a gush of blood to squirt out.
Alex, not one to back down, also threw a can, but her aim was a little off and hit some poor security worker right in the throat. Extra security mobbed the stage and dragged the two to separate rooms backstage.
Kelley wanted to shrink into herself when she saw her manager. She knew she was about to get yelled at for her poor behavior, and while some part of her was glad she got to see Alex’s look of shock after she got hit in the face, she was somewhat ashamed of causing such a scene.
“You have no idea what you just did! You’re so lucky Alex isn’t going to press charges for you assaulting her.”
“Come on, she’s the one who started it by spitting on me!” Kelley replied half-heartedly.
“The UFC could cancel your fight! You know they don’t like the sport to look barbaric,” her manager said to her, but he sounded unconvinced.
“Nothing’s going to happen. You know they love pre-fight tussles. It’s great advertising.”
The UFC would be stupid to cancel the fight, but she did get a stern lecture from some of the higher-ups about making the company look unprofessional, and she got fined a whopping 10k by the state athletic commission for causing a dangerous situation.
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The day of the rematch came all too soon. Thanks to Kelley’s determination to keep her diet, the weight cut was a breeze. She couldn’t focus on anything other than the upcoming fight - she felt like she was going to explode the closer it got to Saturday night. Her parents wanted to take her out to eat at a fancy restaurant after she weighed in, but Kelley opted to stay in the hotel and watch some of Alex’s earliest fights. Her coaches told the media that this was the most focused she had ever been and that there was no way she would be defeated.
Kelley didn’t feel nervous like she did the first fight, she just felt pure anger. She finished her warmup and impatiently waited for her time to walk out. She didn’t think about the fans cheering her on this time as she walked to the cage, instead setting her eyes on the octagon and visualizing knocking Alex into the shadow realm.
Before she knew it, Bruce Buffer was finished announcing their names and the fight had begun. It was surreal - the moment she had been looking forward to was finally here, and she was going to do everything within her power to make the night her own.
They both fought extremely dirty. Rules didn’t matter when emotions ran that high. Alex kicked Kelley right in the boob. Kelley poked Alex in the eye, which filled her with a sick satisfaction for getting her back. When Kelley tried to take Alex down, the champion curled her fingers into the cage fence, stuffing the takedown attempt. The two were lucky the referee was blind, because they both could have easily lost decision points for the illegal moves.
The first round was a constant back and forth. Alex would land a nice jab-cross-liver shot combo, but then Kelley would land a hook and uppercut. The commentators could only describe the fight as a “war.” The two fought like the loser would be executed after the fight. So much was at stake - neither girl wanted to give up any advantage to her opponent.
The second round produced more blood than the first. The two women’s faces each looked like they fought a horror movie villain and won, swollen and leaking blood. The white canvas of the octagon quickly speckled crimson. The brutal clash demonstrated the animosity between the two women. The round was as even as the last, with the women walking back to their corners with their chests heaving after the horn rang out.
Kelley managed to shift the momentum of the fight in the third. Alex was slowing and Kelley’s youth gave her an edge. The veteran fighter still posed a threat, but she needed to preserve her energy. Kelley pulled Alex into the clinch position - holding her against the cage while digging her feet into the ground and using her torso to keep her immobile. Kelley stomped on Alex’s toes a few times, a legal move that most fighters did not condone because it never finished a fight and only caused sharp pain. Alex attempted to reverse her position, but Kelley held firm. Kelley swept her to the ground with a loud thud echoing across the octagon.
She slowly worked Alex with small strikes and occasional position changes. Alex pushed her arm out to defend her face and Kelley latched on to it. She swung her legs around Alex’s body, one leg on Alex’s chest and one on her face - the arm in between. Kelley yanked on the arm in an effort to secure an armbar, but the horn sounded just in time to save Alex from dislocating her arm.
At the start of the fourth round, Kelley had one thing on her mind. She needed to end this. Alex’s energy was wearing thin; the explosive first and second round required too much energy. She was gassing.
Kelley’s coaches screamed at her to close the distance and finish the champion. She was hesitant, worried about the threat of the deadly headkick, but she feinted a right cross and shot for a single-leg takedown. Kelley grabbed Alex’s right thigh and held on for dear life, slamming Alex to the ground and quickly assuming the half guard position. Kelley punched her a few times with her left hand and then used that distraction to move into full mount. She straddled Alex’s waist, an amazing position to finish the fight with strikes. Alex quickly became flustered by the shots to the face, and as if she was almost seeking a way out of the fight, turned her body around, making her neck vulnerable.
Kelley pounced. She slid her arm around Alex’s neck and rapidly locked in the rear-naked choke. She wrapped her legs around the champion’s stomach and arched her back, pulling Alex’s body with her legs and squeezing as hard as she could.
Time seemed to slow to a complete stop. Alex fought Kelley’s hands to try and get out of the choke. She refused to tap to Kelley. She wasn’t going to lose her belt to the infuriating woman.
Alex promptly passed out, her arms flailing in front of her with the grace that only someone unconscious could possess. The referee quickly forced Kelley to release the choke and waved his hands in the air, signaling that the fight was over. Kelley dumped the limp body onto the octagon canvas and shouted in unadulterated passion. The new champion ran up the fence and straddled the top of the cage, cheering along with the thunderous crowd.
She did it. She was now the champion. Nothing would ever compare to what she was feeling at this moment. All the days she spent in the gym, all the nights she went to bed at 8:30 PM so she could wake up early and workout, all the times she refused to cheat on her diet, all the time she spent hunched over the gym toilet, throwing up from exerting herself way past her limits, it was all worth it.
As Bruce Buffer shouted the words, “And new! Undisputed UFC flyweight champion of the world, Kelley “KO” O’Hara!” Kelley thought she could just curl up right there and die happily.
Joe walked over with the mic in a state of shock and asked, “Wow. You just defeated the most dominant women’s champion ever. How do you feel right now, especially with your heated rivalry?”
Kelley took a second to look around the arena and grin before responding, “Karma’s a bitch, and I’m the bitch who works for Karma.” She had to wait for the crowd to quiet down before she spoke again, “I think this just goes to show what hard work and determination can get you. Never give up, because you can defeat even your biggest challenges, even if your biggest challenge is a giant bitch. Now who’s gonna buy me a beer?”
The crowd roared and she managed to see a forlorn Alex stumble out of the octagon. After taking pictures with as many fans as possible, she made it back to her locker room where the party officially started. Her coaches and teammates shotgunned beers with her until she got tired of smelling like a brewery that doubled as a crossfit gym and showered off all the blood from the fight.
After a brief post-fight press conference, she was free to go to a local club to celebrate with fans. After several hours of inebriated dancing and partying, the club announced it was closing and Kelley realized it was 4 AM. Her coaches and family had long since left, so she decided to make her way back to the hotel and try to rest. As she walked back, she realized how exhausted she was. By the time she made it back, she had mostly sobered up.
She drank a glass of water and downed a couple of Tylenols to help ease the pain she knew was awaiting her in the morning. She laid down to sleep, but she could not get her body to calm down. Even then, hours after the fight, adrenaline coursed through her veins. She was going to have a hell of a crash tomorrow. She was still staring at her room’s ceiling trying to sleep when she heard a sharp knock on her door.
Curious, she walked over and opened the door. Kelley’s mouth dropped open when she saw Alex in the hallway.
“What the hell do you even want?” Kelley spat, irritated Alex would try to ruin her high.
Alex surged forward and shoved Kelley into the wall, kicking the door closed behind her. Kelley was about to fight back when Alex kissed her with such a hunger that she gasped. She grabbed Alex’s ponytail and yanked her head away, before she followed and bit her in the neck. Alex shrieked but calmed when Kelley began to trace the red mark with her tongue.
Kelley tilted her head up and kissed Alex again. It was sloppy, and not gentle whatsoever. Her hands gripped Alex’s hips, pulling them together - she needed the contact. Kelley wasn’t sure who bit whose lip, but the kiss suddenly turned bloody. She could taste the iron, and it just aroused her more.
They were bruised and bloody and swollen but that doesn’t matter. It was all passion and bruising force. Kelley felt like she was about to explode if Alex didn’t touch her right then.
“Fucking do something!” she grumbled, and then regretted it when Alex slapped her in the face.
“Don’t talk to me like that,” it was less intimidating than it should be because Alex immediately kissed her gently after. She shoved Kelley onto the hotel bed and mounted her, quickly undressing her. Alex took control, and Kelley was all too eager to give it up. The sex was animalistic and rough, it was a symbol of how the two felt about each other, malice mixed with desire. As Alex pressured Kelley over the edge, she stared at the new champion with a crazed look in her eyes.
Kelley’s chest heaved and there was a moment when Alex looked apologetic before the clothed woman turned her back and hurried out of the room, leaving the naked woman confused and spent. She drifted to sleep, wondering what the hell just happened.
In the morning after she padded into the bathroom, she gawked at her naked form in the mirror. Her body had never looked this beaten after a fight before. Kelley couldn’t tell what bruises where from the fight and which were from the sex. Determined to not let her weird night ruin her high spirits from the winning belt, she resolved to try and forget what had happened between the two of them.
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Kelley didn’t see or hear from Alex for months after the fight. She wondered if Alex might message her to tell her to never speak of that night, but the former champ had dropped out of the spotlight and ghosted all social media.
Kelley took a long vacation to Bermuda to surf and relax with her family before heading back to her gym to prepare for her first title defense. She hadn’t signed any contracts yet, but it looked like she may fight Tatiana Suarez, a former strawweight champion who had moved up to flyweight when the weight class had gotten too difficult for her to manage.
Suarez was an All-American wrestler, which was a dangerous match-up for Kelley’s less advanced wrestling skills. She knew she would have to spend a lot of time training on stuffing takedowns and reversing positions so that she would be adequately prepared come fight night.
Kelley was taking a quick water break during wrestling practice when she spotted her. Alex was at her gym, invading her territory. Kelley shot up from the bench and barreled into her striking coach.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Kelley demanded.
“Oh! Kelley! About that… We were hoping to sit you down and tell you in a formal setting, but she moved here a week early.” He responded.
“What do you mean, moved here?” Her voice had risen to octaves she hadn’t even known possible.
“Alex was unsatisfied by her previous coaches Jiu Jitsu training, and along with the altitude benefits our location provides, decided to switch camps.”
She seethed, furious that Alex didn’t even have the decency to warn her that she was tainting the gym that Kelley had called home for years. This was her gym and she couldn’t let Alex ruin it. She determined to avoid her rival at all costs, she just couldn’t have that distraction when she needed to prepare for her first defense.
Kelley proved successful at avoidance for an entire month. By that time, she had signed the contract to fight Suarez, which meant that she needed to start sparring again to build up to the fight. On her first day designated for sparring, one of her coaches pulled her aside.
“Look, Alex is your teammate now and you need to use that to benefit you in your upcoming fight with Suarez. I know you two do not get along, but you have to put aside your past and work together. I want you two to spar today,” He ordered her.
Kelley rolled her eyes and agreed, knowing that he was right. Alex would be an incredible asset if she could just shut up and not act so irritating. Kelley was wrapping her hands when Alex walked up to her.
“I don’t want to do this and neither do you. Let’s just get it over with. I won’t fight dirty if you don’t fight dirty,” Alex said to her.
Kelley nodded and stood, making her way into the padded octagon her gym used for sparring. She tightened her head gear and put in her mouthguard, ready to train. She hoped the good mood sparring gave her would kick in soon.
“Alright you two, only strikes, no takedowns, 20% power, 80% speed. I don’t want to see anything dirty. Five-five minute rounds with a two minute break in between. Your first round starts now.”
Kelley tried to view Alex as just a normal sparring partner as she slowly tried to find her striking distance, stringing together basic combos. It had been a while since she had sparred, and it was great to feel that rush that only getting hit in the face brought her.
Until the third round when she accidentally caught Alex with a hook that had maybe a little bit too much force. She saw Alex’s face scrunch together for a second before she smiled and said, “So that’s how you want it to be? Ok then.”
Alex transferred her weight to her front leg and with break-neck speed, she swung her shin into Kelley’s gut, definitely using more than 20% power. Kelley gasped and doubled over, but not for long - she used the time as a distraction and darted in and connected to Alex’s chin with an uppercut as hard as she could.
The two exchanged blows back and forth until Kelley’s nose was bleeding and Alex had a lump forming on her cheek. Their coach who was distracted by watching some amateur fighters suddenly realized what was happening and shouted towards them.
“What the hell are you two doing? This is the type of behavior I expect from amateurs, but absolutely not from champions! You’re done for today. Don’t come back to the gym until you deal with your drama.”
Alex glanced at Kelley and walked out of the cage looking like a punished child. Kelley ripped her mouthguard out and stomped over to her coach, protesting his orders.
“Coach, I just don’t think-”
“Save it, O’Hara. You are teammates now and you need to be able to act like adults in each other’s company. Go apologize to her right now.”
Kelley dragged herself into the locker room, dreading what she had to do. Alex was already half undressed and in the ice bath trough. Kelley walked over to her and Alex looked up.
“Get in,” she said with a hesitancy.
Kelley stripped her shirt and shorts off, leaving her in only in her sports bra and spandex shorts. She climbed into the tub in the opposite direction of Alex, having to stretch her legs out so they touched the former champions side. They sat in the tub shivering for about five minutes until Alex finally spoke.
“This sucks”
“Are you serious right now?” Kelley spat out.
“No, I meant the ice…”
“Oh.”
They didn’t speak until a few minutes later when they both started to speak but interrupted each other.
“I think I-”
“I should have-”
“Uh, you go first,” Kelley said hesitantly.
“I’m sorry. That got out of hand, and I didn’t mean for it to. I don’t normally act like this, I don’t want to be that kind of person,” Alex said, not looking up to Kelley’s eyes.
Kelley sighed, “I’m sorry too. I’ll admit I wasn’t the happiest when you moved here, but I’ve been a bitch.” It was strange looking at Alex across from her. She almost looked small, like if Kelley yelled at her she might start crying.
Alex lifted her head and spoke slowly, “I know it’s weird between us, but maybe we should try and maybe start over? If that’s even possible?
Kelley stared at her for a second. If she was being honest with herself, it was a lot harder to feel hatred for the former champion than it used to be, especially after they slept together.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
Alex smiled at her and she gave her a half a smile back. They sat in silence for a little bit until Alex shivered again. The timer beeped and they both stood on shaky legs.
“You know, ice baths are a lot easier if you do a breathing exercise right before. I used to hate them before I learned the Wim Hof method,” Kelley said to her.
“Oh? Maybe you can teach me some time?” Alex asked, passing a towel to her.
“I could do that. Are we uh, gonna talk about what happened after the fight?”
“No. Nope, we are definitely not.”
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In the weeks leading up the Suarez fight, Kelley and Alex worked on a tentative friendship. Kelley showed Alex how to take ice baths like an ancient Swedish shaman, and Alex showed Kelley a drill to improve her sprawl, which would help her avoid takedowns. Kelley let the former champion try her favorite protein supplement, and Alex lent her a pair of wraps after Kelley forgot hers at home one day.
Whenever they trained together, they always ended the session sharing an ice bath. Alex had signed a contract to fight a young prospect as a sort of “gimme” fight, but she took her training seriously.
“Do you really think Maycee Barber will put up that much of a threat?” Kelley asked her while they sat opposite in the tub. She rested her left leg against Alex’s, telling herself it was only because she was trying to remain warm.
“She may not have too impressive of a record, but I can’t look past her knockout power. The last thing I want is two losses in a row.”
“Sorry,” Kelley sheepishly said.
“Oh shut up, no you’re not,” Alex laughed.
“You’re right. I’m not. That 50k finish bonus was pretty sweet,” Kelley responded, grinning back at her.
It was easier to joke about now that they weren’t opponents anymore. There was less tension between them. Or at least, less aggressive tension. Kelley still felt a pull in her stomach when Alex smiled at her sometimes. She brushed it off as just gratefulness that they no longer hated each other.
It turned out that they were going to fight on the same card. It was nice to have someone to cut with on weigh-in week. They sat in the sauna for hours talking about what they would do with the money if they won the 50k fight of the night bonus. Alex wanted to buy a new car, and Kelley wanted to get a house in Bermuda.
Kelley shared a picture of the two of them sweating it out to her story on Instagram, which brought her many questions on media day.
When asked about it, she said, “With Alex moving to my gym, we decided to put the past behind us and actually try to act like adults. I’ll admit we didn’t decide that on our own. My coach had to yell at me a bit before I opened up to the idea. And we may have had a bit of a spat during sparring, but it’s all good now.”
The night of the fight, they shared a locker room to warm up in. The UFC management was hesitant to allow them to be in the same room together, but their coach had asked, insisting they wouldn’t kill each other.
Before Alex left to walk out, Kelley paused her pad session to call “Good luck! Beat her silly.”
By the time she had finished her warm up, Alex’s fight had already begun and was halfway into the first round. Kelley sat and watched the feed from a laptop one of her coaches had set on the floor. Alex seemed to be doing good, finding her distance and avoiding Barber’s heavy overhand strikes.
When one of the telegraphed punches connected, Kelley gasped. She hunched over, trying to get closer to the screen. Alex recovered and managed to pop Barber in the nose with a jab. Barber backed up and Kelley let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Kelley looked towards one of her coaches to ask a question, but her eyes shot back to the screen when she heard the commentators screaming, “OH! She’s out!”
Kelley cursed, having missed Alex’s perfect question mark kick, but she and her coaches started shouting, celebrating her teammate’s highlight-worthy win. For a second she laughed, thinking how odd it was to be celebrating a win she would’ve been mad at 6 months ago.
Her coaches started talking over each other and she joined in until she heard her name come through the speakers.
“Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without her help. O’Hara has been extremely helpful to me this camp. I’ve been having issues with my weight cut lately, but her company in the sauna helped me get through the suck.”
Kelley grinned, filled with a sense of pride. But she couldn’t relish in the feeling for too long, as management arrived at her locker room telling her it was time for her to walk.
She saw Alex in the hallway, who ran over to her and hugged her, whispering “good luck” in her ear.
Somewhat shocked, Kelley was gently pushed by a worker to get in position to make her entrance. She shook her head and focused on Suarez. She couldn’t be a one hit wonder. This is when she cemented her legacy.
She took her time to enjoy the crowd as she walked out. This time she was the champion, and she could revel in the cheers. She high-fived a couple of kids on her way to the octagon. Kelley was in a great mood. Hearing her name and the word “champion” together never got old.
By the time Suarez had entered the cage, Kelley had grown stoic, focused on her next challenge. The two touched gloves and the fight began.
Kelley ran towards Suarez and shot her knee upwards, anticipating the takedown attempt. Her knee collided with Suarez’ head mid-air, and Suarez tumbled over, out cold.
The crowd roared as the ref pushed her away from Suarez. Kelley jumped onto the top of the cage and roared. She jumped off the cage and ran into the crowd, celebrating with the fans. Some random person handed her a beer and she chugged it, health risks be damned.
After Suarez regained consciousness, Kelley entered the cage again to hug her and shake her hand. Rogan informed her that she had broken the record for the fastest knockout ever, and she just grinned.
“Now is my time, baby! It’s only the beginning!”
After signing autographs and taking hundreds of selfies, she finally made it back to her locker room to shower off, even though she barely got sweaty. Alex was sitting in a chair, waiting for her. She shot off the chair and hugged Kelley again.
“That was so fucking awesome!”
“You were so right that she would try and take me down right away. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Kelley couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.
“Anytime,” Alex said back to her.
After cleaning up, the two along with their coaches and family went to a club and celebrated fully, chugging beers and champagne until the early hours of the morning. Alex couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this happy.
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Their friendship hit its first road bump 3 months later. Kelley had just finished a BJJ training session when her head coach puller her aside.
“The UFC called me and they wanted to know if it would be possible to set up a trilogy fight with Alex. Since the last one broke the PPV record, they want another big card and you two are the best fight for it. Are you willing to fight her again?”
Kelley shouldn’t have been shocked. In the back of her mind, she knew she might have to fight Alex again, but it seemed so soon. She had kind of hoped that Alex wouldn’t be given a title shot, but that was irrational.
“What did Alex say?” Kelley asked.
“Alex already signed the contract.”
Kelley’s face grew red, and it wasn’t because she had just worked out, “Fine. Where’s the contract?”
She didn’t see Alex in the gym much after that. It felt odd to not end her session in the freezing bath next to the former champion, and she would never admit it, but she missed her. However, Kelley was still mad at Alex for taking the fight without even discussing it with her, so she just used that negative energy to focus on training.
The coaches scheduled the two opponents training sessions at different times, so neither would have an unfair advantage. As much as Kelley begged, her striking coach would not spill about what Alex’s strategy was.
“Come on, you’ve known me for way longer, Coach. I’ve been supporting the gym for ages - you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything, chica. You’re not getting any secrets out of me.” Kelley huffed and stomped away.
Her entire training camp felt off. Maybe it was because she wasn’t allowed to be at the gym at certain times, or maybe it was because Alex wasn’t training alongside her, offering small tips on improvement. No, it was definitely the first one. The gym had been her home for as long as she could remember and now she felt like an outsider.
She spent more time with the amateur fighters, much to their delight. A young blonde named Emily seemed to idolize her, and the champion found it cute, so she helped Emily with her BJJ.
“It was so cool when you hit her with that Monster. I’m totally team Kelley by the way. Alex is a major bitch for spitting on you,” She said as Kelley helped her up after a takedown drill.
“Oh, it’s not like that with us anymore. We’re teammates now.”
“No? You aren’t mad that she is trying to steal your belt?”
“Ok, maybe I’m a little mad.”
Kelley’s time with Emily helped distract her enough to get through the camp without angrily confronting Alex. By the time fight week rolled around, she hadn’t talked to Alex for at least six weeks.
On media day a reporter asked her, “So your last fight you seemed to be pretty chummy with Alex. How has this fight affected that dynamic?”
“Well obviously it’s not ideal to fight a friend, but our coaches have worked hard to ensure there have been no conflicts. I would still consider Alex a good friend,” she lied through her teeth, not wanting Alex to know how angry she was. It was an advantage to her in the cage.
Later that week, Kelley made her way to the hotel sauna, ready to start cutting. She pushed open the door, but when she saw that Alex was already inside, she started to leave.
“Wait! There’s enough space for the two of us,” Alex said quickly.
Kelley sighed and walked in, placing her towel as far away from Alex as possible. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine that she was somewhere cool and breezy. She thought Alex might just be ignoring her, which made her happy. She didn’t want to hash out their issues while half-naked and dripping with sweat.
“Look Kelley, I didn’t realize you’d be so angry at me for signing the contract.”
“Really? That didn’t occur to you that I’d be mad that you didn’t even have the guts to mention it to me before you made it official?”
“Ok, you caught me. I knew it would make you mad, but I didn’t want to face you. I thought you would tell me to say no.”
“Well clearly you don’t know me at all. I’m not mad about the fight. I know how the fight game is. You could’ve at least discussed it with me.”
Alex lifted her head from staring at her feet and said, “Kelley, I really am sorry. I act rashly sometimes and don’t think about the consequences.”
“Clearly.” Kelley huffed, thinking about the night they slept together.
“Do you think you can forgive me?”
“I’m mad right now, yeah, but I’ll probably be over it by the time I beat you on Saturday night,” She said, smirking.
“Yeah right. Wisdom triumphs youth. Always,” Alex laughed.
“We’ll see about that.”
The sauna was filled with a comfortable silence as they sweat the rest of the pounds off. Kelley hoped that after the fight they might be able to repair their friendship.
Nervous energy consumed the champion the night of the fight. She was unsure about how the outcome would affect her relationship with Alex. She wanted to win so badly, but she also didn’t want to ruin Alex’s career.
Once she was in the octagon, she let her competitive nature take over. Alex took her place across her and winked at Kelley. The champion rolled her eyes as her coach yelled at her to focus. The crowd cheered at the two touched gloves.
The first round was tentative. Not a boring round, but there was an essence of hesitancy in the both of them. They worked to find their range, jabs testing the distance. Near the end of the round, Alex threw a textbook roundhouse, which Kelley dodged expertly. They knew each other too well to catch each other with anything significant this early in the match. The round could’ve gone to either fighter.
During the sixty-second break in between rounds, her striking coach told her, “She’s hesitating with the strikes. She doesn’t fight backwards well. Move forward and cut her off when she tries to get away. You’ve got this!”
The second round Kelley rushed in, attempting to push her opponent backwards. She managed to catch Alex with a hook, but then the former champion started attacking her legs with annoying and painful leg kicks, causing her to slow down. Alex pulled her into a clinch against the fence of the cage, hitting her stomach with low strikes. Kelley threw Alex over her hip and onto the canvas, but only had a few seconds before the bell rang. Kelley figured the judges gave the round to Alex.
In the third, Kelley finally hit her stride. She exploded forward and landing a jab-hook-cross combo that left Alex slightly stunned. Alex was determined not to get knocked out, but Kelley continued to mix up her striking, even adding a couple of body kicks that winded her opponent. At the end of the round, she walked back to her corner with her head high, knowing that she owned those five minutes.
Alex came back with a vengeance in the fourth. Alex kept chipping at Kelley’s legs with kicks, leaving angry red welts. Kelley grew frustrated and shot a sloppy takedown attempt, but Alex easily sprawled and escaped. Alex kept searching for the perfect setup to a head kick, but Kelley knew better and never let her defenses down.
The fifth round was an all-out war. Both women knew this would be the deciding round. They were losing energy and throwing sloppy strikes. Blood splattered onto the canvas when an elbow from Alex opened a cut on Kelley’s forehead. Kelley wiped the blood out of her eyes and threw strikes until she felt like she was going to vomit, but still kept going. She was determined to win the fight. The crowd was buzzing, excited by the battle. The last thirty seconds Alex and Kelley traded shots in an amazing fashion. One would hit the other and stun her, and then she would come back with another brutal strike.
When the final bell sounded, Kelley collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving. She tried not to throw up. Alex was barely standing, leaning against the fence, her arms holding onto the top of it, holding herself up. Neither had the energy to celebrate. Kelley’s coach wiped the blood off her face with a towel and helped her stand. Once she finally sucked in enough air to think again, she hobbled over to Alex who turned and hugged her. They didn’t say anything, only smiling.
The referee pulled the two to the middle of the cage where Buffer was ready to announce the winner.
“After five rounds, the judges have scored the fight. The judges score the contest 48-48, 48-47, and 48-47, for the winner by unanimous decision, Kelley “KO” O’Hara!”
Kelley raised her arms in triumph for a moment before taking Alex’s arm and raising it as well. The crowd cheered as they hugged again. Alex smiled at her when the president of the UFC placed the championship belt around Kelley’s waist.
Joe shoved the microphone into her face after he said, “The new queen of the flyweight division! Thank you for that amazing fight. How are you feeling right now?”
She chuckled and said, ”My legs hurt and I think I’m going to have a new scar, but I feel awesome. I want to thank Alex - I’m grateful that we can call ourselves friends now even though we have had some pretty major ups and downs. She put everything into this fight, and honestly, the judges could have given the fight to her.”
Joe turned to Alex, “What do you have to say about that?”
“No, no. Kelley won this fight. She’s the new era of this division. That’s for sure.”
After Kelley had gotten stitches to close up her cut and showered off, she went back to her hotel to get changed before the club event she was required to attend. She bumped into Alex on the elevator. Alex’s eye was swollen and she was holding ice against her jaw.
Alex grinned at her and said, “Good fight. I guess youth does triumph sometimes.”
Kelley laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.”
“You willing to forgive me now?”
“Wait, you didn’t throw the fight just so I would forgive you, did you?” Kelley asked, teasing.
“Ha! You won fair and square. Quit bragging.”
The elevator dinged, the doors opening Kelley’s floor.
“Look, I kinda have this thing, I’m being sponsored by this club and I have to make an appearance.”
“I know, go on. We can talk later.”
Kelley smiled at her one last time before heading towards her room.
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Kelley woke up smiling. You just couldn’t beat the feeling of waking up as a champion. She looked at her clock and saw it was just after noon. She had taken it easy with the beers for once, not wanting to have to deal with a hangover as well as the gigantic bruises on her legs. She groaned as she stood up - she hurt everywhere. She pulled on some clothes and stumbled into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She spat out her toothpaste when she heard a knock on her door.
Alex was on the other side. She had a black eye and was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, a different look from her usually put-together self.
“Hey, come in, I was just getting ready to go get breakfast,” Kelley said.
Alex walked in and sat on the edge of Kelley’s bed. She didn’t speak, only staring at the fake plant on the desk.
“Uh-” Kelley said as stood across from her, confused.
Alex looked up suddenly and said, “I decided I’m gonna move up a weight class.”
Kelley’s eyebrows knit together for a second as she thought, “Is this because of me ore because of your weight cut?”
Alex stared at her for a second before standing and gently putting her hand on Kelley’s cheek. She hesitated, but then pulled her forward, pressing their lips together. It was so much softer than the last time they had done this.
Kelley pulled back, looking at Alex for a moment before speaking, “So we’re really gonna do this, huh?”
Alex suddenly looked self-conscious, “I mean, uh - only if you want to.”
“Trust me, I like this way more than fighting.”
Kelley moved forward, kissing her again, slowly taking the lead. They were tender with each other, both sore from the previous night’s violence. She pushed on Alex’s shoulders gently and followed her down to the bed. Alex deepened the kiss, as Kelley’s hands gripped her waist. The sex was slow and somewhat gentle. It was definitely not making love, but it was somewhere damn close.
Later, breakfast forgotten, Kelley was curled around Alex, legs intertwined. Alex’s eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. Kelley contently drew circles on Alex’s back with her finger. She was wrong before. About never feeling anything better than winning the championship. Winning Alex was better.