Fight Recap: Macai vs Azula

This fight recap involves commentary from the four fight pundits who conducted the Macai vs Azula battle breakdown and will address their prior opinions of said showdown. This fight also considers commentary made by several AMJ and ATLA characters.

**Battle Description:**

Macai took on Azula at the Fire Nation city Nyrocknin as he strived to protect Eastern Water Tribe speaker Hadayco Ramin at a United Way backed event. Azula and her followers attempted to kill Hadayco but were met with starch resistance from Macai and Rosh. Rosh defeated Azula's shadows while Macai routed his ex-girlfriend. After having a chance to kill Azula, Macai refused and proclaimed his love for her. This gave the rogue princess the chance and momentum to drop Macai. As Azula looked to finish her old companion, Rosh immobilized her with a sneak attack.

Unofficial Fight Background Intro

## Post-Fight Analysis

Uvanis: "We are back with a fight analysis of Macai and Azula's showdown at Hadayco. It all started with an attempt from Azula to terrorize a public speaker but ended with Azula on her back."

Pamo: "WOW, that was one of the greatest fights I've ever read about."

Ivanko: "I'm so proud to say that my prediction was the most accurate. I had the most confidence in Macai's ability to win."

Pamo: "My prediction was pretty true overall. I believed Azula's cold heart and brutal nature would give her a distinct advantage in this fight. While Macai kept it altogether against Azula and managed to break her down, he was nearly taken out when he professed his love for her."

Uvanis: "That's true Pamo, but you know we don't view that is honorable. If we did, we'd have counted Azula's agni kai against Zuko at the Fire Nation Capital as a victory."

Ivanko looks at Jakki, "And what do you have to say about Azula's defeat? You were adamant that she would outclass Macai."

Jakki: "First of all, I respect Macai as a fighter. Second, Macai had the element of surprise, Azula didn't seem to expect his arrival."

Ivanko: "How do you know Macai did?"

Jakki: "It is obvious, otherwise how would he know to go to that specific town with only Rosh and to counter her just in the nick of time to protect that VIP. I don't need intel to recognize that elephant in the room."

Pamo interjects, "Azula isn't unfamiliar with Macai's fighting style. She dated him, read about his fights, and probably studied his style anyway on her own free time. Azula is very manipulative and I'd bet she has a plan for if ANYONE betrays her."

Jakki: "Having a plan in general is different than specifically planning for a fight with him within a short timeframe. Azula was distracted by her quests to reform her brother Zuko. I just know and still believe that she is the greatest firebender in the world."

Ivanko: "It's pretty difficult to say that off the back of a loss don't you think? Especially when another firebender has also beaten her. Do you really think she could take Iroh?"

Jakki: "YES, I do, Iroh is old and past his prime. He's now even older than he was when he Liberated Ba Sing Se."

Uvanis: "It's only been a couple of years since then."

Jakki: "Time can change many things and Iroh has been completely inactive since the war ended. That makes a major difference. The former general isn't even the type who's known to zealously train when no competition is around. He loves to eat, drink tea, sit, talk, and sleep. None of that will help him in a fight."

Pamo: "Let's talk about why we think the fight went down as it did."

Uvanis: "Well, there are a lot of reasons Macai won but one is because of his experience. Macai has fought for a year longer while Azula is only on the start of her second year."

Ivanko: "The type of experience Macai gained is also different. The commander fought in a lot more battles against guerrillas and Water Tribe warriors who were desperate for their freedom. People may laugh at disciplined warriors like Jarue but they were crafty and adaptive. That level of survival isn't something I've seen in members of the Fire Nation. People in the Water Tribe have always been great hunters and known how to get by with very little. Even in the 31st military accounts, the Water Tribe were described by him as the 'most skilled' soldiers he ever faced."

Uvanis: "What I love about Water Tribe warriors is their skillset and tactics are less standardized than that used in the Fire Nation. This naturally makes them less predictable. That's part of the reason Katara gave her such a hard time."

Pamo: "I think a large reason Macai was able to have so much success against Azula was because he was able to close the gap. While they were bending, the fight was 50/50. Macai knew that if they continued to strike at a distance, Azula might figure his fight patterns out and neutralize him. While both are creative and can make adjustments, I'd say Azula's style is so much more fluid. Macai uses the same combos and tricks after a while but tries to mix it up by switching between his powers."

Ivanko: "That's true, the young combatant used his timing and skill to close the gap. Because Macai's fast but he doesn't move as quick as Zuko or Ty Lee. Playing with him is like playing chess. Every strike he made, was performed in a way that gave him more ground against Azula. The princess didn't even realize he would overwhelm her up close and partially due to overconfidence in her own abilities did not fear his close-range game. Had she spent more time studying him, the fight might have turned out differently."

Pamo: "And Macai's white fire was an issue. His flames are naturally blinding, and it forced Azula to fight more cautiously. Azula had the skill to fight in a way that kept herself in the game without being blinded but that's less time that she had to think of how she was engaging him."

Ivanko: "Once Macai got close, he started landing bodyshots, overhands, hooks, and whatnot. One thing Macai does makes him stand out from others. You'll notice most firebenders and strikers always aim for the head when they fight. Zuko kicks and punches at the face probably 90 percent of the time. The only punches he throws, are usually jabs. While he's fast and has excellent footwork that means Azula only needs to look in a few directions to block most of his physical attacks. Most people Azula fought in Agni Kais did the exact same."

Ivanko continues, "But Macai would hit Azula in her stomach when her guard was up. As she turned to adjust, he hit her in the right shoulder, and then Macai would send another shot to the face. Most of Macai's attacks were concentrated at a different part of the body and his guard could adjust to block incoming shots while doing this. If you tried to kick him, his knees were on point for blocks. The more Macai landed, the more steam Azula lost."

Pamo adds, "That's why I love Macai, he fights like an earthbender. When Azula felt Macai's pressure, she knew she needed to think fast so she began to counter with her own sharp kicks and hits. She landed a few times but then Macai dug in and countered. Macai turned out to be more resilient which I think is due to his more physical and strength based conditioning as well as his battle-hardened physique. Macai started throwing overhands, hard hooks, and uppercuts which rocked Azula. Even when she looked to block, Macai's pure strength made her body shutter."

Uvanis: "That's a dangerous aspect of Macai, he punches so hard that even blocks will wear your arms. As Azula grew sore her attacks slowed down slightly but she used her legs to stay active and start evading strikes."

Ivanko: "Still after that, she grew desperate and started to panic. Perhaps that were her at that moment or because she isn't used to fighting someone who can so closely match her skill but then she switched to her fire daggers."

Pamo: "That was my favorite part of the fight. Azula attacked Macai with strikes that he wouldn't be able to block, that was of course until Macai generated his white fire wrist gauntlets then used them and his grappling skills to disarm her."

Uvanis: "I believe his skills with grappling were bolstered by his time working with Kett, someone who was a known grappler and even wrestler."

Pamo: "It was, Kett had taught Macai some tricks to sharpen his abilities during their first year in the war."

Ivanko smirks, "The power of friendship is remarkable. Anyway, once Azula got desperate, she started frantically shooting lightning."

Pamo: "That was my FAVORITE part of the entire fight!"

Ivanko: "But to fire her lightning though she was doing it faster in about two seconds, she still needed those two seconds to pull back and charge. When she fired, Macai dodged it both times then countered with his own bending attacks which got her busy and forced her on the defensive."

Pamo: "And honestly, Macai isn't the first one who's done that. Mai and Suki have dodged Azula's lightning before."

Ivanko: "That's true, Azula has begun to over-rely on her lightning when things go wrong. I preferred when she was more tactical with it when she first came to prominence. Now that she's gotten better at quickly charging it, she likes to fire it immediately, but that ability should be reserved for when her opponents are most vulnerable or their guard is down."

Jakki: "Lightning is a nightmare for waterbenders."

Ivanko: "Never stopped Katara though."

Jakki: "Next time it might."

Pamo: "Straying back to topic, after that Macai got back to work. I think one thing that helped him close the distance is they were fighting at nighttime, Azula's visibility was already limited. Macai's white fire more greatly distorted things. While his flames are a hinderance for his opponents they actually make it easier for him to see at night. They can give away his location if he's fighting in battle but in a 1 vs 1, I think it is a unique advantage. One I wouldn't have considered before."

Ivanko: "And after a bit of desperation, Macai started hitting her again. Azula clearly did not want that to continue and Macai went right back to his grappling and started to tie her up."

Pamo: "Then when Azula tried to use rocket propulsion, it was obvious she was just look for a way out. Macai tightened his grip and she began to lose oxygen as they both flew several feet in the air. They didn't get too high before she fell back down and landed on her face."

Uvanis: "That was ugly, at that point the fight needed to stop but Azula wanted to fight to the death."

Jakki: "That's because she's a true warrior. Macai was beyond saving in her eyes."

Uvanis: "Fortunately for her, he didn't have the same sentiment. However, he put himself at risk by doing what he did."

Ivanko: "I am so impressed with Macai, he did everything almost perfectly. Another factor of this fight is that Azula is used to having much hotter and more powerful flames than everyone else. While her blue fire is still hotter than Macai's, it wasn't enough of an advantage to make as much of a difference as she could have hoped. For the typical bender with orange fire, extra attention must be paid to form, stance, and the potency of strikes to simply match and depend against blue flames. If both users charge up, someone with normal fire will usually need to run or get out of the way. With Macai, his flames are a bit larger than Azula's anyway and they more so seem to balance out."

Pamo: "That made it all the more impressive when Zuko with normal flames matched Azula."

Uvanis: "Though to be fair, Zuko has some gigantic flames, even larger than Macai's."

Pamo: "Zuko is different, while he doesn't have the physical feats or hand-to-hand break-em-down skills of Macai, I think his movements are enchanting. When Zuko fights, it's like he's dancing. That's something he has that I don't even think Azula surpasses him in. As said before, styles make fights."

Uvanis: "Let's get to final remarks. I'll start, I think Macai deserves all praises here, he worked hard for this one."

Pamo: "Macai did even better than I initially expected but Azula is still dangerous. This should just be a reminder that anyone can win at the top level."

Ivanko: "I knew Macai would defeat her. Azula's big name in fighting has inflated and unrealistically elevated people's impression of her. Everyone is vulnerable and everyone can be touched."

Jakki: "Azula will be back. She has never let defeat stop her growth or momentum. I believe she is still young and has a lot more to display. When that time comes, many will be left in utter awe at the ability of a disciplined, determined, and dynamic firebender. She is a legend by all accounts and a part of greatness is rising from the ashes of defeat."