Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 435 - 400: 20% Chance of Winning

Chapter 435: Chapter 400: 20% Chance of Winning

"Damn, did we just get jinxed?"

"Lost... Really?"

"It felt like we were about to win."

"Sigh, after all, there is such a big difference in weight, grappling on the ground is really too difficult."

...

Li San lost the match, which took everyone by surprise.

In the preparation area of the Hua Country Team, the atmosphere was tense. Everyone had thought that Li San would secure this round, and that tonight’s match would be over. Unexpectedly, they were dragged into the final round.

Li San walked down from the ring with an ugly expression, approached Wu Li, and hesitated to speak.

Wu Li waved his hand, "If it were me, I might have been complacent too. The opponent set a good pace."

Li San clenched his fists and silently walked away to sit down alone, his mood complex.

Ever since he became famous, he had never been defeated because in his world, losing a martial arts match usually meant death. This time, he joined the ring fight for the sake of Wu Li’s face and tasted the bitter flavor of defeat after a long absence.

Let’s not dwell on Li San’s feelings for now—the Hua Country Team needed to determine who would be the final contender in the light heavyweight round.

Zhao Lixin and Guo Dongyang were both injured and thus not listed in the roster for this match of the Hua Country Team. As for the light heavyweight category, the Hua Country Team had reported two names this time: one was Xu Zijia, and the other was Dong Yunfei.

Although Dong Yunfei had won in the last round, he suffered a ligament strain in his right shoulder and wasn’t in the best condition, so the original plan for tonight’s light heavyweight match was to let Xu Zijia fight.

Xu Zijia, a former member of the national boxing team and the light heavyweight champion of the Yanhuang Technique, was quite capable. However, since he was expelled from the National Team early on, his match experience was relatively limited. In this Combat World Cup, Xu Zijia was listed as an alternate and hadn’t had the chance to fight yet.

Upon learning there was an opportunity to fight tonight, Xu Zijia was both nervous and excited. Representing the Hua Country Team in such a contest was a great honor and opportunity for an athlete like him!

However, when the fight order was set, Xu Zijia’s feelings turned to anxiety; because if he had to fight tonight, it meant that he would represent the Hua Country Team in the deciding match. He would determine whether the Hua Country Team would advance or be eliminated. Just the thought of bearing such pressure made it suffocating!

As the match progressed round by round, when Xu Zijia saw Li San take a commanding lead and was about to win, he found himself relieved and relaxed inside, because he wouldn’t have to handle that tremendous pressure.

However, the development of events was unexpected to all—Li San lost, and the Hua Country Team had to fight in the deciding match.

Xu Zijia had once fantasized about a similar scenario: the Hua Country Team being forced into a deciding match with himself representing and winning the game, leading the Hua Country Team into the finals, and winning cheers from everyone, becoming the most dazzling figure of the event.

But when the situation actually happened, Xu Zijia found no excitement, only an uncontrollable nervousness: If I lose, then all the efforts of the Hua Country Team and my teammates would have been in vain. How would they view me? How would the audience view me? I might not even be able to forgive myself...

These thoughts inevitably surfaced in Xu Zijia’s mind, his legs trembled slightly, his hands and feet were cold, and his heartbeat accelerated...

"Xu Zijia, you..."

Li Tongyun walked up to Xu Zijia, and seeing his demeanor, she hesitated to speak.

With her experience, she could tell at a glance that Xu Zijia was extremely nervous, a state that was very detrimental to the competition—his reaction would be slow, his muscles not relaxed enough, and his body not sufficiently aroused... He might not even be able to exert half of his full strength.

"Coach..."

Xu Zijia looked up at Li Tongyun, feeling his mouth dry and his speech shaky.

He wasn’t a rookie with poor mental strength—otherwise, he wouldn’t have won the light heavyweight championship of the Yanhuang Technique. But competing on behalf of oneself is completely different from competing for a team, and the pressure and mental state would change accordingly.

"Coach, please let me fight this round."

A voice came through. It was Dong Yunfei who approached and spoke.

Xu Zijia was startled and was about to say something, but Dong Yunfei smiled and said to him first, "Little Xu, I’m forty-one this year. After this World Combat Cup, I might have to consider retirement, so, would you give me this opportunity, please?"

Dong Yunfei’s honest expression looked at Xu Zijia, leaving him speechless. He wasn’t foolish, and he knew that Dong Yunfei was saying it that way to save his face. If he had directly said, "You’re too nervous, let me do it," or if Li Tongyun had initiated the switch, it would have been embarrassing for Xu Zijia.

"Dong Ge, your shoulder..." Xu Zijia hesitated.

In terms of strength, Dong Yunfei was stronger than Xu Zijia and had more experience, but he was older and it might take months to fully recover after a fight. Moreover, after the last match, Dong Yunfei had a shoulder ligament strain, and that’s why Li Tongyun planned to have Xu Zijia fight tonight.

"I’ve recovered for a few days now, there’s no big problem, it won’t affect my fighting," said Dong Yunfei, chuckling while swinging his right arm around in circles then turned to Li Tongyun, "Coach Li, please let me take this round."

Li Tongyun looked at Xu Zijia and then turned to Dong Yunfei. After a moment, she nodded, "Okay, you’re on."

"Alright, thanks, Coach. Thanks, little Xu."

Dong Yunfei chuckled as he took off his coat and walked towards the check-in area in a relaxed manner. He didn’t seem like he was about to fight in a match that would decide the fate of the Hua Country Team, but rather like he was headed to a demonstration match.

"This match won’t be easy."

Watching Dong Yunfei’s retreating figure, Wu Li said with some worry.

Li Tongyun nodded, "Probably a 20% chance of winning."

Dong Yunfei’s Overall Score was A- (65%), while the Brazil Team’s player Robinho had an S- (37%). The gap in paper strength between the two was quite evident, so Li Tongyun saying Dong Yunfei had only a 20% chance of winning wasn’t an underestimation.

Wu Li sighed. If Zhao Lixin hadn’t been injured, the match would have had a much higher chance of winning with him participating, but there were no "ifs" in reality, and the fact that Hua Country Team lacked depth in their lineup was undeniable.

"The player sent out by the Brazil Team is Robinho, the reigning champion of the men’s 85 kg category at this year’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and he’s only twenty-three years old, very young. There were reports from UFC before, stating they had already signed Robinho. If it wasn’t for this world cup, UFC had planned to arrange a match between Robinho and Walker, the fifth-ranked fighter in the Light Heavyweight class. The fact that his first match would have been against a top five ranked opponent shows just how much UFC values Robinho."

"Alright, we see that the Hua Country Team’s player entering the field is now confirmed to be Dong Yunfei."

"...Dong Yunfei is a veteran, forty-one years old this year, with his best result being runner-up in the Yanhuang Technique Light Heavyweight class."

Inside Hua Country, in the Penguin Sports Live Room, the commentator was introducing the information of the players entering the field to the audience.

"It feels like it might be hard for Dong Yunfei to win, with such an age difference."

"I don’t quite understand, Dong Yunfei was only the runner-up in the Yanhuang Technique Light Heavyweight class, but there are champions on the Hua Country Team, why didn’t they let Xu Zijia play?"

"Dong Yunfei’s skills are above Xu Zijia’s. He only lost to Xu Zijia previously because of consecutive high-intensity matches, which left him not in peak physical condition; otherwise, the champion should have been him."

"Ah, I’m a bit anxious, that Robinho is judged by UFC to be capable of fighting a top five opponent. So you can imagine his strength. Can Dong Yunfei really handle it?"

"We have to win at all costs, losing here would be too disappointing."

"Go Hua Country Team!!"

...

After the commentator had roughly finished introducing the information of the two players, many comments in the comment section were expressing concern for Dong Yunfei.

There was no helping it, purely looking at the records, the gap between Dong Yunfei and Robinho was indeed significant: one a world champion, the other a national runner-up; one in his prime, the other nearing retirement age.

"The match starts, and Robinho throws some probing punches, which Dong Yunfei avoids with quick short steps," said the male commentator.

"...Still in the probing phase, Robinho constantly throws Jab punches, and Dong Yunfei keeps retreating and dodging."

The female commentator added, "Both are being very cautious at the start of the match."

The male commentator agreed, "That’s right, after all, this is the deciding match; winning or losing will directly determine whether their teams advance or are eliminated, so I think the athletes from both sides are under a lot of pressure."

The female commentator exclaimed, "...Robinho has sped up! He lunges forward... and he’s dodged!"

The male commentator reported, "Dong Yunfei counters with a punch, and Robinho takes a hit but tries to get close to grab Dong Yunfei, whom Dong Yunfei promptly breaks free from!"

The female commentator analyzed, "As a Jiu Jitsu champion, Robinho’s tactical intent is quite clear, he wants to get close and take Dong Yunfei down, then move to ground fighting."

The male commentator added, "That’s correct. And Dong Yunfei is a typical stand-up fighter, if it goes to ground fighting, it will be very disadvantageous for him."

The female commented observed, "...Robinho has tried several times to grab Dong Yunfei but has been shaken off, and instead has been hit by several of Dong Yunfei’s punches, it seems like he’s becoming a bit impatient."

The male commentator noted, "Indeed, Robinho looks somewhat impatient, while on the other hand Dong Yunfei is fighting very calmly."

The female commentator pointed out, "The records show that Dong Yunfei started fighting in matches at the age of twenty, a full fifteen years of competition experience, he is a true veteran."

...

On the field, Robinho kept launching attacks, repeatedly trying to get close to entangle Dong Yunfei, only to be forced back with punches and kicks. Just as the Penguin Sports commentator had mentioned, he seemed a bit impatient, while Dong Yunfei remained composed, making almost no mistakes.

Even though the current situation on the field seemed more favorable to Dong Yunfei, Li Tongyun’s brow furrowed below.

"What’s wrong?" Wu Li noticed the change in Li Tongyun’s expression and asked.

Li Tongyun responded, "Robinho also has a lot of match experience, he’s just being hasty for the moment, Dong Yunfei can cope with it for now, but once the opponent adjusts and gradually gets into a rhythm, Dong Yunfei will be in danger."

Upon hearing this, Wu Li couldn’t help clenching his fists, anxiously watching the field.