PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Takeshi Kusimuki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Nut (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kusimuki's entrance music is National Anthem Of Japan. A fine choice. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kusimuki
vs
Nut

180 cm
23
190 lbs
13 - 3 - 0

190 cm
25
197 lbs
15 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Crashforce Nutrition (Authentic 159Q Recovery $79)
Gilop®

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Takeshi Kusimuki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sam Nut!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksandr Martynov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kusimuki tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nut was well out of range. Poor timing from Kusimuki.
A swing and a miss from Kusimuki.
Nut scores with a nice body kick.
Kusimuki tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Nut goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Nut moves into range and clinches up with Kusimuki.
Kusimuki softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Nut scores with a knee to the head.
Nut pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

Kusimuki's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Nut wants to clinch.

Nut darts in and clinches Kusimuki up against the cage.
Kusimuki blocks an elbow strike.
Kusimuki misses with a punch to the body.
Kusimuki pushes Nut back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Kusimuki presses Nut against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Kusimuki tries to throw a body punch but Nut avoids it by throwing Kusimuki back against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Kusimuki.
Kusimuki misses with a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kusimuki breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kusimuki on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Sam Nut is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nut moves in looking to clinch but Kusimuki pushes him off.
Nut throws a low kick, looking for Kusimuki's leg but Kusimuki calmly moves out of range.

Nut rushes Kusimuki and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Kusimuki.
Kusimuki controlling the action here for a moment.
Nut tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Nut using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Kusimuki has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Nut comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Nut looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Kusimuki lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Nut or not.
Kusimuki pushes Nut back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kusimuki manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Kusimuki blocks a body shot from Nut.
Nut is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Kusimuki is defending well for now.
Nut with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Kusimuki scores with a shot to the side of Nut's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kusimuki lands a hook that snaps the head of Nut backwards.
Nut crunches a lovely knee into Kusimuki's ribcage.
Kusimuki lands with a light punch inside.
Nut misses with an elbow over the top.
A body shot lands from Kusimuki.
Knees to the body from Nut.
Kusimuki trying to stall but Nut improves his position.
Nut throws an elbow that misses.
Kusimuki misses with a body punch.
Kusimuki wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kusimuki lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Nut.
Nut lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Nut putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Kusimuki in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Nut comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Kusimuki scores with a shoulder strike.
Nut misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kusimuki.
Kusimuki blocks an elbow strike from Nut.
Nut looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Kusimuki escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nut looks to clinch
and Kusimuki counters with a straight right hand.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Nut. Kusimuki shrugs it off though.
Nut tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kusimuki manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kusimuki throws a good cross that connects.
Nut tries to clinch up.
Kusimuki with a jab.
Nut misses with a head kick.
Kusimuki jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Nut is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kusimuki.
Kusimuki fails to land the takedown.
Nut moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Nut throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Takeshi Kusimuki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nut with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Kusimuki digs a good hook to Nut's body.
Kusimuki lands a glancing blow to the side of Nut's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nut rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Kusimuki counters with a one-two to the body.
Nut misses with a low kick.
Kusimuki avoids a kick to the body.
Kusimuki swinging wildly here.
Kusimuki dives in and grabs Nut's left leg, looking for a takedown. Nut pushes down on Kusimuki's head and hops out.
Kusimuki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice shot lands for Kusimuki.
Kusimuki lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Nut fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nut ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Good shot there by Kusimuki.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kusimuki jabbing away but nothing is landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sam Nut will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Nut throws a head kick but Kusimuki moves out of range.
A jab from Kusimuki finds it's way through Nut's defenses.
Kusimuki uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Nut.
Kusimuki misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nut.
A low kick from Nut misses
and Kusimuki connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kusimuki checks a leg kick.
Kusimuki throws an overhand right that lands on Nut's shoulder, as Nut tries to avoid the shot.
Kusimuki looks to land a left hand but Nut moved out of range nicely.

Nut gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kusimuki to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kusimuki looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Kusimuki trying to control the position from guard on top but Nut is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nut looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kusimuki sitting in guard, not really doing much.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Takeshi Kusimuki wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Nut is looking to slow Kusimuki down with leg kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
A left lands for Kusimuki.
Nut is looking to score with low kicks.
Kusimuki misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nut.
Nut buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Nut pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kusimuki fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Nut scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Takeshi Kusimuki is winning the standup battle so far.
Nut misses with a hook

and Kusimuki counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Nut's guard now.
Nut wants to sweep but no luck.
Kusimuki looking to sit in guard and control but Nut gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Nut trying to control the position from guard on top but Kusimuki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nut preventing the sweep.
Nut trying to control the position from guard on top but Kusimuki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kusimuki is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kusimuki looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Nut is in trouble now - Kusimuki has advanced to mount!
Nut bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kusimuki is on top in guard.
Kusimuki trying to control but Nut is working from the bottom.
Nut is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Kusimuki is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Kusimuki dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Nut connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Nut misses with a kick to the body.
Nut slips under a jab.
Kusimuki throws a right and a left that Nut avoids nicely.
Nut throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Nut tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kusimuki swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kusimuki throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nut tries to close the distance and clinch but Kusimuki swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nut throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nut looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Kusimuki ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kusimuki moves out of range as Nut strikes.
Nut lands a glancing blow to the side of Kusimuki's head.
Kusimuki is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Nut throws a leg kick

and Kusimuki counters with a nice double leg into side control. Nut won't be happy with that.
Nut wants to control but Kusimuki postures up.
Nut is trying to get back to half guard.
Kusimuki controlling the position from side mount.
Kusimuki trying to control the position but Nut is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Kusimuki stalls from top position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Takeshi Kusimuki.
Nut throws a wild body kick that Kusimuki sees coming a mile off.
Kusimuki misses with a shot to the body
letting Nut counter with a right hand.
Kusimuki misses with a right hand

and Nut holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Kusimuki breaks the clinch.
A shot to the body from Kusimuki misses
and Nut counters with a straight right hand.
Nut tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Kusimuki is able to avoid easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kusimuki scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Kusimuki tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nut was well out of range. Poor timing from Kusimuki.
Kusimuki throws a poor cross that misses
and Nut finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Kusimuki's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Nut connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Kusimuki scrambles back to his feet.
Kusimuki fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Nut looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Nut tries to land a front kick but Kusimuki steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Kusimuki moves out of range as Nut throws a body kick.
Nut walks into a straight right hand from Kusimuki.
Nut wants to clinch up but Kusimuki keeps it at a distance.
Nut takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Nut enables Kusimuki to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Nut manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Kusimuki slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Kusimuki trying to control the position from guard on top but Nut is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kusimuki postures up.
Nut is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Kusimuki is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Takeshi Kusimuki.
Nut pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kusimuki throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

And that's the end of the fight!
Takeshi Kusimuki showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kusimuki has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:28
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Takeshi Kusimuki!