Son of a Legend

Part 32: End of the Rivalry Pt.2

(Through the Fire and the Flames by Dragon Force. It's just here to help you imagine training montages.)

The rest of the training camp goes by without a hitch for both Mkali and Koda. It is the day of the fight. They have to do official weigh-ins, and then the fight is four hours later.
Mkali's crew arrives in the Pridelands. They see that there is a huge outdoor stadium that has been set up outside of Priderock.
"You remember watching your dad fight Kovu in that stadium?" Vitani asks her children.
"Yeah, 1st row seats. It was awesome when he jumped out of the cage to grab Laika and I and bring us into the cage after he won." Mkali says.
"I still remember it like it was yesterday," Laika says.
They make their way to the Lion Guard lair, which is where the weigh-ins are scheduled to take place.
"So, looks like you might make weight after all, huh?" Koda jokes when he sees Mkali walk in. Mkali and Koda bumb fists.
"If I were you, I'd choose what you say to me more carefully. Otherwise, that kid might grow up without a dad," Mkali warns and teases.
Koda and Mkali laugh. "So how was training camp for you?" Koda asks his former leader.
"Aww, I ain't ever doing that again. My mom made me use dad's training regime." Mkali replies.
There is a look of slight worry on Koda's face when he hears this, but when he hears the giggle of his daughter from behind him, it goes away.
"There's my little girl!" Koda exclaims when he turns around and sees Kamani in Kasi's arms. The rest of the Night Pride came over to see her, as none of them had actually seen her before.
"Awww! She's adorable!" Rani and Taji say at the same time.
"She's a good-looking cub. Congrats, you two!" Baliyo compliments Koda and Kasi. The two groups talk for a bit, but then they are told that weigh-ins are about to begin.
Koda walks out, takes off his shirt and sweats, and then he steps on the scale.
"205 on the dot!" Makini tells everyone. Koda flexes his arms, and then he steps off of the scale.
It's Mkali's turn now. His muscles are more defined than they have ever been before. When he takes off his shorts and sweats, the crowd applauds him. Mkali steps on the scale.
"203.7!" Makini tells everyone. Mkali flexes his arms. He receives a standing ovation. Mkali steps off of the scale, puts his clothes back on, and then he has a staredown with Koda. After about 10 seconds, the two high-five, then wish each other good luck in the fight that will occur in four hours.

10 minutes before the fight...
Koda is ready to do his walkout. He has done some warm-ups in the locker room, so now he just needs to get into the Octagon and fight. His song plays, and he walks to the ring.

(Legendary by Skillet)
He attempts to hype the crowd up while he walks to the ring, which succeeds. The crowd is feeding off of Koda, who is also feeding off of them.
It's now Mkali's turn to walk out.

(Thunderstruck by AC/DC)
Mkali is more focused on the task at hand when he walks out and is more locked in than Koda was.
They get into the ring, and Makini, the referee, explains the rules. It's a 5 round fight. Each round is 5 minutes. Koda and Mkali go back to their corners.
"You need to win this, Mkali. If you don't, then Taji will leave you to find someone better!" Mkali tells himself.
"What is this kid going to think about you if you lose? It's not going to happen because you're going to give this kid a father that she can be proud of!" Koda tells himself.
The bell rings to signal the start of the fight. Koda and Mkali touch gloves, and then they start their war. Koda throws some jabs at Mkali. Mkali is forcing Koda to the outside of the ring. When Koda throws another jab, he leaves himself too open for Mkali to not take advantage of, so Mkali throws a roundhouse kick to the body, then a right hook to the head. Koda takes both hits and acts like nothing happened. Koda lands a few leg kicks on Mkali's right calf, which causes it to start swelling up. Mkali switches stances so that he can protect his leg. Mkali ducks under a hook that is thrown by Koda and pulls Koda into his clinch. Mkali lands a few body shots before Koda is able to break free and land another leg kick to Mkali's right leg. Koda is able to land a combo of left hook, right upper cut, left knee to the oblique before the first round ends.

Mkali's corner...
The Night Pride comes in, and Taji puts an ice pack on Mkali's leg, then another one on his ribs on the other side of his body. Baliyo squirts some water into Mkali's mouth.
"Alright, pretty good first round, but I think Koda took it with that last combo. Start checking some of those kicks. He telegraphs the leg kick every time, so start checking it, and he'll stop throwing it. He leaves his midsection open every time he throws the left hook, so capitalize on that if you can." Vitani says to Mkali. Mkali nods.

Koda's corner....
"Good first round, kid! You hurt him with that last combo, so keep attacking his body, and once he starts getting too overprotective of his body, then start attacking the head. If he tries to go southpaw again, then attack that leg again. Keep this fight standing, and don't let him get you into clinch." Kovu says to his son. Kasi is holding an ice pack to his ribs.
"Time's up!" Makini tells both corners.
The two corner crews leave the ring, and Mkali and Koda start round two.
Mkali picks up the aggression a little bit and lands a few 1-2 combos. Koda tries to slow him down with a front kick, but Mkali catches it and sweeps Koda's other leg, landing the first takedown of the fight. Koda tries to scramble away, put Mkali pins Koda on his back. Mkali punishes Koda on the ground, hitting him with multiple punches to the face and body before Koda is able to slip out from under Mkali and stand back up.
Koda's nose is broken and bleeding, and his ribs are bruised slightly. Koda fakes a leg kick, and Mkali bites on it and picks his leg up to check it. This allows Koda to hit Mkali with an uppercut. Mkali, being on only one leg, stumbles backward. Koda chases after Mkali and lands kicks, knees, and punches to Mkali's head. Mkali is only able to take so much punishment before he collapses. Koda follows Mkali to the ground and hits Mkali with multiple hooks to the face. The round ends right before Makini stops the fight.
The fighters return to their corners.

Koda's corner...
Kasi puts the ice pack on Koda's ribs again, and Kiara starts trying to stop the bleeding in Koda's nose so that she can put it back in place.
"Great job, Koda!" Kovu tells his son again.

Mkali's corner...
"Mkali! What's going on out there!?" Vitani asks.
"I can't see out of my right eye," Mkali pants. Vitani gasps when she sees that her son's right eye is swollen shut.
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There's Part 32 for you guys! I know you probably hate me for ending this chapter early, but trust me. It's worth it. If you guys want, I can put in some terminology definitions for you guys because not everyone knows MMA terms. There are going to be two more parts of this story. Thanks so much for reading, and I'll get the next chapter up as fast as I can! Have a good one!