Over the hour, Adam and Connor lock hands and practice more ground defense, and during their spar, Adam manages to escape or successfully defend himself against Connor over thirty percent of the time.
This percentage is astronomical if you take into consideration that Adam is a complete newbie, and he is going up against someone who has given most of his life to grappling martial arts.
During the spar, Connor also learned that if he tried the same thing twice on Adam, he will fail as Adam very quickly picks up on his previous mistakes and improves them in a matter of moments, plus his superior strength help him get out of tough position even if his technique is not on part with Connor’s.
Connor learned that to continue defeating Adam, he needs to reach down very deep into his bag of tricks, forcing him to use some very rare grappling moves that most fighters never use in their entire career.
Because of this decision, the last few rounds were all in Connor’s favor, but they were also the hardest and most exhausting rounds he participated in.
Adam’s defense was getting too good, very fast, and Connor begins to realize that it’s not just his superior strength that gives Adam a severe advantage, it’s his ability to learn instantly.
With how much Adam has progressed in ground defense, Connor believes no intermediate-level grappler can take down Adam and submit him.
After one last spar, Lamai calls for the end of the session.
Connor looks exhausted; he is sweating all over the place, taking in deep breaths, and his muscles are shaking from exhaustion. Connor knows his body is going to be very sore tomorrow.
Lamai gives Connor a look of pity, as she understands what Connor is going through. She was also very exhausted after her practice session with Adam yesterday, and today her body is sore all over the place.
She then looks at Adam, who still looks completely fine. Even though the sweat on his body might not actually be his, but Connor’s.
"We will continue tomorrow, that’s it for today," Lamai says.
Adam nods with a smile before heading to the locker room to take a shower. As Adam leaves, Connor and Lamai stand there staring at him.
"You weren’t kidding when you said he’s a monster," Connor says.
"I still can’t believe he managed to even push you so much," Lamai says.
Connor is a big dude, with similar height and weight to Adam. It was understandable that Adam could easily overpower Lamai, as she is a woman and weighs about half as much as Adam.
But for him to even overpower Connor, says something about Adam.
"It felt like wrestling a bear. I needed to be perfect. A single mistake from me, and he easily overpowered me and threw me off him," Connor evaluates Adam’s strength. "And it’s not just his strength. It’s how fast he is able to improve his previous mistakes and apply them to his next fight, making it even harder for me to tap him out. Those last few rounds were brutal," Connor says.
Lamai laments over what Connor said and wonders how long it will take for Adam to actually become an elite-level fighter.
"How long do you think it will take for him to become an elite-level fighter?" Lamai couldn’t help but ask. "With what I saw today, max two years. You have a world champion prospect in your hands..." Connor says with a hint of jealousy.
He has been in this game for twenty years now. He started training at the age of 10, so he knows how hard it is to become a world champion in the sport of MMA. Not only is it hard to get the world champion title, it’s even harder to keep it, as MMA is a brutal sport, and it chips away at a fighter after every fight.
But with what he experienced with Adam, he realizes that there are people in this world who are made for this sport, someone who can dominate and remain at the very top for years and years, and Connor believes Adam is one of them.
He wonders how the current world of MMA would have been if Adam had started training from a very young age, like him and Lamai, and was an active fighter in the scene. He believes that Adam would already be the world champion whom people like him could only look up to.
Connor is a very talented fighter, but being very talented won’t get you the world champion title; for that, you need to be the best, and Adam, in his eyes, is the best prospect he has ever seen.
"Train him good, and one day you might actually be in the corner of a world champion," Connor says, and leaves as well. He is exhausted. So the only thing he can think of right now is to go and sleep for the rest of the day.
Lamai feels a little complicated hearing Connor’s words. It’s only been a few days since she started training Adam, and Connor is already hailing him as a world champion prospect, putting more pressure on Lamai.
She also begins to wonder if Adam has any plan to pursue MMA as a career, because it would be a complete waste of his talent not to participate. But who is she to tell someone to step into the cage and risk their life?
No matter how strong or talented Adam might be, there is always the chance of death.
Lamai sighs and decides to put this matter to the side. This is just the beginning. She doesn’t know what the future holds. Adam might just get bored in a few months and leave, like most newcomers. It’s better not to have any hope or expectations right now.
If Adam is still with her over a year and has improved a lot, she might approach him with the idea.
Done with the shower, Adam bids farewell to Lamai and leaves the gym. He feels great about today’s session, as he learned a lot more than he thought he would.
Today’s lessons were far more advanced and managed to push him a little, but he also learned that his strength is off the charts, enough to rip someone’s flesh from their bones. His stamina and endurance also seem to have no limits, as even after grappling with someone as skilled and strong as Connor for hours, he doesn’t even feel a bit fatigued.
Adam is also very happy with his advancements in his skills. Now he doesn’t have to just rely on his superior strength to overpower others. He can use his skills to make the most efficient move.
But there is still more to learn. Adam only knows how to defend himself during a grapple; there is still the offensive aspect of it that he needs to learn.
He did take notes of every way Connor attacked him today, and in theory, he should be able to execute them, but he needs to know if he can do them in practice.
And then there is also the striking aspect of the game. Punches, Kicks, Elbows, Knees, Combos, Defending strikes, Footwork, Head movement, Predicting moves, and so much more.
Adam is excited to learn them all. He can’t wait for the day when he will master all and see what heights he can take them with his superior body.
______________________
Adam returns to the restaurant and starts working the evening service with Leila and Cassie.
During the evening service, Cassie tries to stick close to Adam. She was clearly very affected by the talk between Adam and Leila during the afternoon lunch.
She didn’t want to lose to Leila, so she became even bolder with her actions, showing Adam that she, too, is interested.
Leila is, of course, a smart girl and notices Cassie’s blatant attempt to get Adam’s attention, which begins to annoy her. She didn’t mind Cassie before and was good friends with her, but seeing her change her colors before Adam annoyed her a lot.
Of course, what Leila doesn’t want to accept is that it is not the change in attitude of Cassie around Adam that annoys her, but jealousy.
Adam is one of the few guys in Leila’s life she didn’t find disgusting; he is one of the few guys in her life she liked hanging around with, talking, bantering, and teasing. She wouldn’t admit it, but she is very attracted to Adam. So seeing Cassie all over Adam’s business pisses her off.
The evening service ends, and it’s time for everyone to leave. Adam bids farewell to his coworkers and Ellie before driving away.
On his way, he slows down his car as he sees Leila walking alone.
Leila turns her head as she hears a car approaching her. She sees it’s Adam. "Get in," Adam says, unlocking the door.
Leila locks eyes with him as he is in the car for a second before getting in.
Adam smiles and starts driving again. They sit in silence as sensual R&B music plays on the radio.
"So, are you just going to sit in silence?" Adam asks.
"Don’t you get annoyed?" Leila asks, immediately getting to the point now that Adam has decided to break the silence.
"Regarding what?" Adam asks.
"With Cassie following around like a lamb, being touchy with you, smiling and giggling at every word you say as if everything is funny," Leila says.
Adam smirks. He can tell that Leila is clearly jealous.
"You don’t think I am funny?" Adam asks, trying to turn the tables on her, catch her off guard.
He is going to have fun messing with Leila now that she is showing her vulnerability to him.