PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Manolito Tai Kung (ranked 151 p4p, 297 weight class) and Jensen Chelios (ranked 24 p4p, 42 weight class). Chelios has chosen Shabba as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Tai Kung
vs
Chelios

180 cm
32
170
25 - 8 - 0

179 cm
34
177
19 - 10 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Brooklyn Threads
Brooklyn Apothecary

HELLBENT

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Manolito Tai Kung!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jensen Chelios!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Sosuke Kotani and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Chelios. Tai Kung shrugs it off though.
Tai Kung fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Chelios manages to avoid it.
Tai Kung takes one to the chin there.
Chelios stuns Tai Kung with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Tai Kung throws a hook to the side of Chelios's head but Chelios sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Chelios throws a left and a right that both miss
and Tai Kung connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Chelios connects with a nice looking jab.
Tai Kung scores with a jab.
Tai Kung misses with a leg kick
and Chelios makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Chelios misses with a few strikes there.
And Tai Kung counters with a quick kick to the body but Chelios blocks it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chelios paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Chelios throws a lazy uppercut
and Tai Kung counters with a stiff right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chelios steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tai Kung.
Tai Kung throws a chopping leg kick but Chelios manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Tai Kung displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Chelios throws out the jab.
Tai Kung swinging wildly here.
Chelios attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Chelios just misses with a punch to the body.
Tai Kung throws a combination that misses
and Chelios counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Chelios's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Tai Kung connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Chelios scrambles back to his feet.
Chelios misses with a jab to the body
and Tai Kung counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chelios lands a leg kick that knocks Tai Kung off balance momentarily.
Chelios throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Chelios moves away from the strike by Tai Kung.
Tai Kung scores with a hook.
Chelios misses with an uppercut
and Tai Kung counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Chelios looks to score with a jab to the body but Tai Kung is just out of range.
As Chelios looks to move away, Tai Kung throws a big counter combo but Chelios just gets out of the way.
Tai Kung looks to score with a jab to the body but Chelios is just out of range.
Chelios throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Chelios moves out of range of the strikes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Tai Kung. Chelios does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice leg kick from Chelios, right into the meat of the thigh.
Chelios throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Chelios scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Chelios fails in his attempt to clinch.
Chelios misses with a series of wild punches.
Tai Kung throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Chelios counter with a right hand.
A low kick from Tai Kung misses
and Chelios counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Chelios connects with a jab.
Chelios scores with a jab. Tai Kung acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tai Kung moves away from the strike by Chelios.
It looked like Tai Kung wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Chelios scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A punch combination from Tai Kung misses.
Chelios cracks Tai Kung with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Chelios is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Tai Kung had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
Tai Kung lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Tai Kung fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Chelios is out of range.
Tai Kung fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Chelios on the side of the head.
Tai Kung throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Chelios throws an overhand right that lands on Tai Kung's shoulder, as Tai Kung tries to avoid the shot.
Chelios bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Tai Kung's head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jensen Chelios will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Chelios motions for Tai Kung to come forward. Chelios throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Chelios scoring well with a low kick there.
Nice cross by Tai Kung.
Tai Kung staying out of range there.
Chelios takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Tai Kung bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Chelios in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Tai Kung connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tai Kung uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Chelios.
Tai Kung is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Tai Kung might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Chelios misses with a looping left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tai Kung misses with a left hand
and Chelios connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Chelios throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Tai Kung sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Chelios clinches.
Tai Kung throws a head punch that misses.
Tai Kung working aggressively here.
Tai Kung lands with a left to the head.
Chelios misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tai Kung.
Chelios lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Tai Kung backwards.
Tai Kung lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Chelios lands a body shot.
Chelios gets through Tai Kung's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Chelios blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tai Kung wants to stall.
Chelios scores with a hook to the body.
Tai Kung works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Tai Kung scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chelios throws a head punch that misses.
Tai Kung lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Chelios or not.
Chelios lands a right hand that snaps the head of Tai Kung backwards.
Chelios landing knees to the body.
Tai Kung goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Chelios tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Tai Kung's elbow.
A head punch on the inside from Chelios fails to land.
Tai Kung lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Chelios fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tai Kung lands a right hand that snaps the head of Chelios backwards.
Chelios blocks a body shot from Tai Kung.
Tai Kung wants to stall.
Tai Kung misses with a short punch on the inside.
Tai Kung misses with a punch to the body.
Manolito Tai Kung has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Tai Kung working aggressively here.
Chelios scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Chelios scores with a shoulder strike.
Tai Kung taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tai Kung avoiding damage as Chelios throws knees to the body.
Good body shot from Tai Kung.
Tai Kung lands with a short shot to the head.
Tai Kung misses with a body punch.
Tai Kung misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tai Kung misses with the head strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tai Kung.
Tai Kung is working Chelios over against the cage.
Chelios tries to throw a body punch but Tai Kung avoids it by throwing Chelios back against the cage.
Tai Kung is pushing Chelios up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tai Kung.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Chelios.
Chelios misses with a body punch.
Chelios with a knee to the head.
A right hand to the body from Chelios.
Chelios throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tai Kung blocks it with crossed arms.
Tai Kung tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chelios lands a body punch in the clinch.
Tai Kung scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Tai Kung misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Chelios lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Tai Kung backwards.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tai Kung swings wildly with an uppercut but Chelios uses good head movement to avoid it.
A right handed body shot lands from Chelios.
Chelios tries to throw a body punch but Tai Kung avoids it by throwing Chelios back against the cage.
Chelios scores a nice knee to the body.
A right hand to the body from Chelios.
Chelios presses Tai Kung against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Chelios scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Chelios lands an uppercut.
A short right from Chelios.
Tai Kung throws a punch but it's blocked by Chelios.
A short left from Tai Kung.
Chelios misses with the head strike.
Chelios lands a right hand that snaps the head of Tai Kung backwards.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jensen Chelios showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Tai Kung swings away with a body shot that misses
and Chelios cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Tai Kung fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Chelios manages to avoid it.
Tai Kung scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Chelios misses with a hook.
Tai Kung throws a lazy uppercut

and Chelios counters with a nice right hand that sends Tai Kung toppling to the canvas! Tai Kung scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Chelios finish him?!

Tai Kung is rocked!
Chelios cracks Tai Kung with a nasty uppercut that draws ooohs from the crowd and sends Tai Kung tumbling backwards onto the mat. He tries to recover but Chelios pounces and lands a hail of unanswered strikes that forces the referee to step in to end the fight! Tai Kung is not happy but he gave the referee no choice!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:37 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jensen Chelios!
An out of breath Jensen Chelios thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.