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8. Changgong in a Pinch! <2>
Changgong resumed listening to Dongsub’s scolding after he resolved his issue in the restroom. The trainer had the responsibility to watch over his fighter’s biological functions, so Dongsub didn’t scold him for too long.
“Okay, we should watch your opponent’s match now. It’s most likely going to be Sanghyeon Kim who makes it to the finals.”
Dongsub pointed to one of the fighters on the monitor in the waiting room.
Changgong had briefly looked over Sanghyeon’s profile before.
At age 28, Sanghyeon was ranked 7th in the Golden Glove welterweight class with an okay record of 13 wins and 4 losses. He had won 3 consecutive matches before making it into the grand prix and was full of confidence.
“He really isn’t the type of fighter to enter this kind of tournament.”
He was ranked 7th. If he was at a place where if he just managed his career a little bit, he could challenge the champion. He wasn’t some small fish that would take interest in something like the interleague.
“This is just some rumors floating around, but it seems he made a deal with the Golden Glove to publicize the Grand Prix, and he’ll get a shot at the next title match if he wins.
“

”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. He probably thinks he’ll win easily.”
Sanghyeon’s opponent came into the octagon not much later. The fighter, Junsu Kang, had a bit of a belly and had a pretty round feel in general.
Changgong secretly looked at Dongsub. He seemed to be around the same age, and Junsu would look a lot like Dongsub if he gained about 10 kg.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“No, it’s just

 Anyways, it seems as if the opponent is a bit out of shape. He’ll probably fall over from a few body hits.”
“You’ll get hurt if you jump to conclusions from someone’s appearance. Even if he looks like that, he has a 10-1 no contest (a fight that ends for special reasons such as an accidental illegal strike). He’s undefeated.”
“But that’s just in the amateur league

”
“If we went by the rules, you would be rotting in that league right about now, you twerp.”
“Whatever.”
“Sigh. This guy. We should have grilled him through the amateur league.”
“What are you saying, Dongsub. I was just kidding. Let’s just watch. They’re both grapplers so I don’t know how the match will turn out. Oh, they’re starting.”
Saying that, Changgong closed in on the monitor.
Dongsub could only laugh at his antics.
Junsu Kang’s match began shortly.
The match began with a boring exchange of hits. They must have been putting in an effort, but the impact was a lot weaker than Changgong’s match.
As 40 seconds were about to pass just like that, the ground battle finally started with Sanghyeon’s tackle.
Sanghyeon’s foundation was in judo. Junsu’s balance wasn’t bad, but against Sanghyeon’s fancy footwork, he couldn’t stop himself from being taken down.
But Junsu didn’t give up there.
He quickly trapped Junsu’s head under his armpit and wrapped his legs around Junsu’s leg, putting pressure on his throat.
It was a jiu jitsu technique, the guillotine choke.
Sanghyeon’s neck looked like it could break at any moment.
Woah!
The audience cheered at the unexpected turn of events.
Sanghyeon defended well himself.
He had taken control of Junsu’s left wrist with his left arm the moment he got caught in the technique, opening up a small space to breathe.
Sanghyeon wrapped his right arm behind Junsu as if he was hugging him and relieved himself from the pressure on his throat by raising his hips.
The choke was useless as simply as that.
Sanghyeon continued by pulling on Junsu’s shoulder and stuffing his knee into Junsu’s side.
Then, using that knee as the axis, Sanghyeon quickly spun, releasing himself from Junsu’s grip and getting into a side mount.
The movements were a bit crude, but it was overall a good sweep, completely switching their positions.
Now in an advantageous position, Sanghyeon continually threw light punches before grabbing onto Junsu’s right wrist with his right hand.
This grip would allow him to perform the high key lock, an arm joint technique.
Junsu hastily tried to get out of Sanghyeon’s grasp.
Using that as an opening, Sanghyeon changed his stance and stuffed his left arm under Junsu’s left armpit before pressing down on his head with his chest.
“It’s the 69 position!”
Changgong shouted out as he monitored the match.
“

It’s the north south position.”
Dongsub replied.
In that time, Sanghyeon performed the north south choke by tying up Junsu’s arm and head together. Junsu twisted his body in the opposite direction and wrapped his legs around Sanghyeon’s waist, grabbing onto his left wrist.
“Kimura!”
Changgong shouted.
The kimura grip was a jiu jitsu technique twisting the arm up and behind the back.
Junsu tightened both of his legs around Sanghyeon’s waist and bent his arm further up his back. Sanghyeon’s left arm looked like it was going to break at any moment.
Sanghyeon suddenly rolled in the direction of his arm and got out of the technique. Then he dived at Junsu as he tried to get up and continued the ground fight.
Two sweeps in a row. It was a confusing onslaught of techniques. This was way above the level of the interleague.
The audience was naturally excited.
-This is an amazing match! It feels like we’re watching an intense jiu jitsu match. Fighter Junsu Kang is holding up a lot better than expected against the Sanghyeon, the favorite of the tournament!
-Junsu is quite amazing! He isn’t getting overwhelmed by the jiu jitsu expert Sanghyeon. This is a great battle. How can a fighter like this still be in the amateur league?
It could only be called a great battle. If you asked any expert, 9 out of 10 of them would predict Sanghyeon to be the winner. Nobody had expected Junsu to hold up this well.
He wasn’t just holding up either.
-Just as we speak, Sanghyeon uses the cage to get into a full mount! Pounding! Pounding! Junsu’s bridge! Oh! Sanghyeon! He’s gotten a hold of Junsu’s left arm! Will we see an armbar!
-His grip is firm! Sanghyeon controls his breath! He’s preparing to pull out Junsu’s arm! Will he do it! He is

! What! What is this!
-This time it is a great sweep by Junsu! He can’t mess up here! Sanghyeon, you can’t break down here!
One of the commentators took Sanghyeon’s side by instinct.
That was how intense the match was.
The match continued to unfold like so.
Continuing to throw light punches, Sanghyeon pushed off of the cage with both legs and suddenly got into a handstand before jumping off and getting back into a full mount.
As Sanghyeon pounded down from that position, Junsu got into a bridge and twisted sideways. As if he had been waiting for that, Sanghyeon grabbed Junsu’s arm and prepared to do an armbar, while Junsu clenched his hands together in defense.
Sanghyeon then lied backwards, pulling Junsu’s arm out, but right at that moment, Junsu rolled backwards in the direction of Sanghyeon and got on top of him.
They were in the north south position again, and Junsu had one of Sanghyeon’s leg in between his armpit.
A sudden sweep. And one of his legs were caught. Sanghyeon could only pull on Junsu’s arm for life.
But he was no longer in a position to pull off an armbar.
If he let go of even that arm, however, he could easily be put into a ankle twisting toe hold or a leg twisting kneebar.
Junsu shone at that moment.
-Oh! Is this a technique!? He’s going for it! Sanghyeon Kim! His face crinkles in pain!
Everyone had expected him to go for the lower body, but Junsu wrapped his left ankle behind Sanghyeon’s neck and his right shin on Sanghyeon’s throat to choke him.
It was a neck choke using his legs.
With one of his legs caught and his hands clenched together, Sanghyeon could do nothing. After suffering for a short moment, he tapped out with a shout, and the referee pushed Junsu off of him.
The match ended like that.
-Another rising star! I don’t think anyone questioned Sanghyeon’s win! But Junsu Kang with a

 Is it called a leg neck choke? He has defeated Sanghyeon Kim!
-This is surprising. That isn’t a standard technique. Even if he had kept his guard up, would Sanghyeon have been able to beat Junsu and his creative maneuvers?
Round 1 — 2 minutes and 21 seconds. Junsu Kang’s win by submission with a neck choke.
Dongsub’s prediction that Sanghyeon would easily make it to the finals completely fell apart.
Changgong, Dongsub, and Doyoon who had all been watching the monitor, fell silent.
Click. Changgong turned off the monitor.
“He’s not much. You guys will coach me, right?”
“

”
“

Guys?”
Dongsub was taken aback.
He had researched all of the opponents’ data.
Out of his ten wins, seven were by decision. On top of that, Junsu had never fought on a pro stage, and none of his matches in this league had been eye-opening.
For him to be this skilled in grappling


-Here are the results. The Golden Glove Final Grand Prix Match 4, round 1 — 2 minutes and 21 seconds, Junsu Kang wins by submission with a variation choke.
Words that weighed down on Changgong’s mind flowed through the speakers of the waiting room.
“I believe in you, Dongsub.”
“Why are you believing in me when you’re going to be fighting.”
“Come on. Are you mad? I was only like that before because I had to go poo poo. Tell me it’s going to be alright.”
“It is going to be for me. I’m not the one fighting.”
“Come on

 don’t be like this.”
“I don’t want to be like this, either

”
***
The lightweight finals and follow up interview and awarding of the winner soon passed.
It was Changgong’s turn to get back into the octagon. Junsu soon followed, and both fighters briefly talked to their seconds.
“Don’t think about anything else. Just do it like we practiced.”
Dongsub spoke.
“Yes.”
“Don’t lose confidence. You’ve done a lot of image training against grapplers.”
“Yes.”
“Be calm. Don’t panic even if you get caught. And always keep your ears open.”
“Yes.”
Changgong was as stiff as a corpse.
Dongsub couldn’t help but sigh.
This wasn’t good.
Fighters as young as Changgong or didn’t have much experience were easily swayed by their mood or condition. If he stayed as stiff as he was, Changgong most likely wouldn’t be able to fight to his full potential.
“Fighters, to the center!”
The referee shouted.
Changgong took a deep breath and walked towards the center of the octagon.
“Do you think he will be okay, that Changgong?”
Doyoon spoke.
“I’m not sure.”
Dongsub replied in a voice lacking confidence.
***
50 seconds passed since the start of the match.
Changgong and Junsu had only walked in circles. Changgong was extremely cautious of Junsu’s grappling, while Junsu was wary of Changgong’s strikes.
A few punches and kicks had been exchanged, but they were only used to keep the opponent in check.
Boos started to leak out from the audience.
Perhaps because he had more experience, Junsu was the first to calm down.
‘You’re scared of me, aren’t you.’
Junsu took position in the center of the octagon, forcing Changgong back into the fence. Changgong was busy backing up and reacting to every movement Junsu made.
“Move sideways! The octagon is wide!”
Dongsub shouted.
Changgong listened to Dongsub and started rounding the edges of the octagon.
‘The octagon is wide. The octagon is wide

’
Shit, even if it’s wide, a few steps brought him back to the fence. No matter which direction he went in, Junsu was still in front of him.
Junsu’s eyes went down to Changgong’s legs.
‘Tackle!’
Changgong lowered his guard in surprise.
Smack! Changgong’s eyes spun.
Junsu’s punch had hit him straight in the face.
“Don’t lose confidence! Counter! You just have to keep your balance!”
Dongsub yelled. ‘Fuck, I didn’t lose confidence. I was just tricked by his eyes!!’
‘This is crap.’
Changgong was annoyed.
His mind raced even when he was simply trying to punch. It would have been better if he hadn’t seen Junsu’s match.
Junsu continuously threw punches at Changgong’s guard, pushing him into the fence where he grabbed behind Changgong’s knees.
Changgong pressed down on Junsu’s head in surprise.
“That’s it, good! Spread your legs!”
Dongsub shouted at that moment. Changgong twisted his body to the side and spread his legs front and back.
Junsu immediately changed tactics with Changgong’s change. He raised his upper body and threw an underhook to Changgong’s left side before throwing a few light punches into Changgong’s face with his left hand.
Changgong grabbed onto Junsu’s biceps. Junsu wouldn’t be able to punch anymore.
‘So he knows how to defend.’
Junsu used his head to bash Changgong’s jaw.
“Don’t let your chin up! Fight with your head!”
Dongsub shouted.
‘I know that much!’
Changgong might have lost a little bit of confidence, but he was born tough. He rubbed his head this way and that way until finally, it was lower than Junsu’s.
At that moment, as if he had been waiting for it, Junsu pulled Changgong’s head and put him straight into a headlock.