PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Chris To Short (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jon Manuel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Manuel comes into a darkened arena with his song building.
Seek and Destroy – Metallica Song Lyrics
target=blank>Seek and Destroy kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Jon Manuel will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

To Short
vs
Manuel

168 cm
23
159 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

180 cm
22
163 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp (95% quick laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chris To Short !
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jon Manuel!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
To Short misses with a takedown
and Manuel counters with a two punch combo.
To Short moves in looking to clinch but Manuel pushes him off.

To Short pushes Manuel up against the cage in a clinch.
To Short goes for a takedown attempt but Manuel pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
To Short looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Manuel is fending him off so far but To Short persists. Nope, Manuel circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris To Short . That's going to take a lot out of him.
To Short shoots in but no luck this time.
To Short tries to clinch there but Manuel circles away.
To Short wants to clinch up but Manuel keeps it at a distance.
Sloppy strikes from Manuel. Those never looked like landing.
To Short tries to clinch up
and Manuel counters with a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manuel will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
To Short showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Manuel.

To Short dives in and scores a takedown into Manuel's guard.
To Short trying to control the position from guard on top but Manuel is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
To Short throws a big elbow that misses.
To Short is looking to work some ground and pound but Manuel has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
To Short trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Manuel utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
To Short working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

To Short is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells To Short 's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
To Short throws a strike but Manuel rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now To Short is on top in guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as To Short accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Manuel has his feet on To Short 's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
To Short throws a head kick but Manuel moves out of range.
To Short tries to clinch but Manuel is having none of it.

To Short has managed to clinch.
Manuel blocks a body shot from To Short .

That's four minutes gone in the round.
To Short lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
To Short tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Manuel avoids it.
To Short comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Jon Manuel has been cut.
Manuel is pressed up against the cage. To Short has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Manuel down to the mat. Manuel avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Manuel swats away the attempt to clinch by To Short .
Manuel throws a nice looking combination but To Short bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
To Short doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Manuel counters with a three punch combo that has To Short backing up. To Short nods at Manuel to acknowledge the strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Manuel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

To Short closes the distance and clinches.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Manuel prevents a takedown attempt there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris To Short dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jon Manuel's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

To Short gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Manuel counters with a one-two to the body.
To Short moves in looking to clinch but Manuel pushes him off.
To Short is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
To Short tries for a takedown but Manuel circles away easily
and Manuel counters with a two punch combo.
To Short is looking to clinch but Manuel is avoiding it.
Manuel throws a nice looking combination but To Short bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Manuel keeps the fight on the outside.
Manuel stuffs the takedown attempt from To Short . To Short gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris To Short . That's going to take a lot out of him.
To Short fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Manuel avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
To Short wants to clinch but Manuel slips to the side
and Manuel counters with a series of strikes. To Short will be more careful next time no doubt.
To Short is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Manuel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
To Short misses with a head kick.
To Short is looking to clinch.

To Short closes the distance and clinches.
To Short goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
To Short lands a left hand that snaps the head of Manuel backwards.
Manuel avoiding damage as To Short throws knees to the body.
Manuel is defending well against a takedown attempt.
To Short misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Manuel.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
To Short holding his opponent close, against the cage.
To Short throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Manuel blocks it with crossed arms.
To Short tries to score a body lock takedown but Manuel shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
To Short tries to pull guard but Manuel holds him up against the cage and eventually To Short drops back down to his feet.
To Short pressing his opponent against the cage.
To Short misses with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
To Short looks to throw an elbow but misses.

To Short tightens his grip and picks Manuel up, before dumping him to the ground. Manuel manages to land in guard.
To Short throws a strike but Manuel rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Manuel tries to free his leg and advance position but To Short is retaining full guard.
Manuel slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
To Short parries the strikes from Manuel easily there. Manuel is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable To Short to escape.
To Short tries to improve position but can't.
To Short prevents Manuel from moving into mount.
To Short throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
To Short manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
To Short is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
To Short looks to land a strike but Manuel avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

To Short postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Manuel is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of To Short , into his guard.
Manuel wants to pass the guard but To Short is keeping the position.

To Short escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Manuel gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
To Short might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Manuel pushing down on To Short 's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Manuel is thwarting To Short 's attempts to control the position.
Manuel trying to mount his opponent but To Short defends it.
Manuel passes to full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris To Short dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Jon Manuel's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

To Short shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Manuel counters with a one-two to the body.
Manuel defends well against a solid takedown attempt from To Short .

To Short closes the distance and pushes Manuel back into the cage.
To Short tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Manuel smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris To Short . That's going to take a lot out of him.
To Short shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Manuel pinned against the cage. Manuel gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
To Short fails in his attempt to clinch.
To Short tries to clinch but Manuel moves away
and To Short takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
To Short throws a body kick that misses.
Manuel takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Manuel swats away the attempt to clinch by To Short .
To Short fails with a takedown attempt.
To Short throws a head kick but Manuel moves out of range.

To Short gets a double leg takedown into Manuel's guard.
Manuel avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
To Short postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
To Short throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Manuel works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

To Short drops back, looking for a kneebar! Manuel looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Manuel looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Manuel!
Manuel tries to score with some ground and pound. To Short controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Manuel tries to score with some ground and pound. To Short controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
To Short gets back to half guard.
Manuel trying to mount his opponent but To Short defends it.
Manuel is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Manuel prevents To Short from standing back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
To Short is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
To Short is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Manuel's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Manuel's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
To Short throws strikes from the back but Manuel rolls nicely and manages to end up in full guard. Nice work by Manuel.
To Short trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
To Short scoring with some ground and pound.
To Short has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Manuel keeping moving, preventing To Short from controlling successfully.
To Short postures up in Manuel's guard and throws a big left but Manuel blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

To Short thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Manuel working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from To Short .
To Short throwing strikes but missing.
Manuel really doesn't want to stay on the ground with To Short . If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Manuel keeping moving, preventing To Short from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris To Short clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Jon Manuel's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

To Short gets in close and instigates a clinch.
To Short comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Manuel prevents the takedown attempt.
To Short throws a knee to the head but misses.

To Short tightens his grip and picks Manuel up, before dumping him to the ground. Manuel manages to land in guard.
To Short throwing strikes but missing.
To Short controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Manuel pushes To Short off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manuel keeps the fight on the outside.
To Short goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
To Short fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

To Short fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Manuel, pushing him back against the cage.
To Short wants a takedown.
Manuel avoiding damage.

To Short escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
To Short tries to clinch up but Manuel circles away and keeps his distance.
To Short doesn't manage to clinch there - Manuel circles away.

To Short has managed to clinch.
Manuel stalling in the clinch but To Short improves position.
A quick uppercut on the inside from To Short .
Manuel trying to control the position but instead, To Short has worked for underhooks and has pushed Manuel into the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
To Short is struggling to control the position.
To Short comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That has opened up Jon Manuel's cut even more.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
To Short has Manuel pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Manuel manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris To Short . That's going to take a lot out of him.
To Short is trying to drag Manuel to the mat but Manuel just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Manuel slows down the pace here.
To Short goes for a takedown in the clinch but Manuel prevents it.
Chris To Short has scored more points in the clinch so far.
To Short throws a punch but it's blocked by Manuel.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manuel leaning his opponent against the cage.
Manuel receives a warning from the referee for stalling.

To Short escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
To Short tries to clinch up but Manuel circles away and keeps his distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
To Short with a lazy takedown attempt
and Manuel counters with a three punch combo that has To Short backing up. To Short nods at Manuel to acknowledge the strikes.
Chris To Short is winning the standup battle so far.

To Short drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
To Short postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris To Short had his way with Jon Manuel in that round.
The cut man is working on Jon Manuel's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

The fight stays on the outside here - To Short looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
To Short wants to clinch.
Manuel avoids the head kick by To Short .
To Short misses with a leg kick.
To Short is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Manuel can do to turn this around?
To Short lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

To Short gets the takedown into side control.
Manuel is trying to escape the position but To Short is controlling the position.

To Short tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
To Short tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
To Short throwing shots but missing, from side control.
To Short sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Manuel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
To Short fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manuel is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Chris To Short overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
To Short postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

To Short tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no To Short has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

To Short is trying to get an arm triangle but Manuel is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manuel is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
To Short working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
To Short prevents Manuel from escaping the position.
Manuel is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
To Short sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Manuel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
To Short working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
To Short misses with the ground and pound.
The strikes coming from To Short are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
To Short throws a strike aimed at the side of Manuel's head but Manuel avoids it well.
To Short trying to control the action but Manuel is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
To Short throwing shots but missing, from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chris To Short showed his dominance in that final round.
Well To Short has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 50:45
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 50:45
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 50:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chris To Short !
Chris To Short retains his lightweight title!
Chris To Short very nearly forgot to thank Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp (95% quick laundry) amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.