PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Takeshi Naoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juunas Sikio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Takeshi Naoki has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Naoki
vs
Sikio

182 cm
23
201 lbs
9 - 1 - 0

175 cm
22
192 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Good kicks
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160
FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

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 9 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Takeshi Naoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Juunas Sikio!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Richard Clark and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sikio slips under a jab from Naoki.
Sikio ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Naoki moves away.
Naoki swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Naoki lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Naoki lands a head kick that stumbles Sikio and the fighters go to the mat.

Sikio is rocked!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Naoki scoring with some ground and pound.
Sikio is still in real trouble! Can Naoki finish him?
Sikio is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sikio seems to have recovered his senses.
Naoki chips away with some ground and pound.
Sikio working a defensive guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Naoki with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sikio really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Naoki. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sikio not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Naoki in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sikio can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Naoki controls the pace.
Sikio controlling the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Juunas Sikio wasn't active enough on the ground.
Sikio misses with a wild body shot.
Naoki throws a wild body kick that Sikio sees coming a mile off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sikio looks to throw the jab but Naoki is out of range.
Naoki tries to work over Sikio's front leg with a kick but Sikio checks it.
Sikio looks to score with a jab to the body but Naoki is just out of range.
Naoki will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Naoki shoots in but Sikio avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Sikio moves into range and clinches up with Naoki.
Sikio trying to stall but Naoki improves his position.
A head punch on the inside from Sikio fails to land.
Naoki tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sikio's elbow.
Naoki misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sikio fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short uppercut from Sikio.
Sikio makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sikio stalling in the clinch but Naoki improves position.
Sikio softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Sikio prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Takeshi Naoki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sikio throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Naoki.
Naoki stalls.
Sikio tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Naoki's elbow.
Sikio goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sikio has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. So far he's outscoring his opponent in the clinch so it seems to have been worthwhile.
Naoki misses with the head strike.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Naoki goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Naoki tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Naoki pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Naoki keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Naoki throws a chopping leg kick but Sikio manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Sikio ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Naoki moves away.
Sikio dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Naoki tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Sikio is able to avoid easily.
Sikio throws out a loose jab but Naoki uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sikio will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Naoki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sikio manages to avoid it.
Naoki seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Naoki defending well as Sikio loads up on a big left hand.
Naoki throws a leg kick but Sikio moved away.
Sikio defending well as Naoki loads up on a big left hand.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Naoki.
Takeshi Naoki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sikio throws a big shot that misses.
Sikio tests Naoki's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Sikio pushes Naoki up against the cage in a clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Sikio.
Naoki changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Sikio fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Naoki throws a front kick that sends Sikio stumbling back into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoki takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Naoki throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sikio sees it coming and avoids it easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A decent looking cross lands there for Naoki.
Naoki tests Sikio's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Naoki does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Naoki is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Sikio.

It looks like Takeshi Naoki has been cut.
Sikio misses the jab.
Sikio thows a body shot but no joy.

Naoki scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Naoki sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sikio defending well though.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sikio is trying to get back to full guard.
Naoki thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Sikio's head.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Naoki throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Naoki dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Takeshi Naoki'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.

Naoki lands with a thumping leg kick.
Sikio tries to close the distance and clinch but Naoki swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Sikio gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Naoki loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Sikio is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Naoki is in close to Sikio's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sikio trying to control the position.
Naoki chips away with some ground and pound.
Sikio trying to control the position.
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!
Naoki trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sikio not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Naoki cracks Sikio with a solid left hand.
Naoki trying to control but Sikio is working from the bottom.
Naoki throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Naoki 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.
Naoki 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.
Naoki lands a couple of elbows.
Naoki trying to control but Sikio is working from the bottom.
Naoki lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Sikio looking to control.
Naoki with a flurry of punches that miss.
Naoki wants to control from the top but Sikio keeps moving.
Sikio looking to control.
Sikio keeping moving, preventing Naoki from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Juunas Sikio.
Sikio throws a right hand that misses
and Naoki cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naoki lands with a thumping leg kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sikio takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Naoki ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Naoki throws a right and a left that Sikio avoids nicely.
Sikio cracks a nice hook into Naoki's ribs.
A low kick from Naoki is predictable there
and Sikio counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Naoki swings for the body but Sikio moves out of range.
The fighters circle momentarily. Sikio darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Naoki throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Sikio's waist but Sikio gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Naoki off to one side.
Sikio uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
A telegraphed right hand from Sikio misses the target.
Naoki tries a low kick but Sikio avoids it.
Sikio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sikio looks to score with a jab to the body but Naoki is just out of range.
Sikio uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Naoki.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sikio thows a body shot but no joy.
Naoki connects with a leg kick. Sikio looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sikio throws a big shot that misses.
A combination from Naoki does no damage.
A nice leg kick lands there from Naoki.
Sikio throws a big shot that misses.
Naoki throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
A combination from Naoki does no damage.
Sikio throws a big shot that misses.
Sikio throws the left hand but Naoki avoids the punch easily.
Naoki staying out of range there.
Naoki misses with a body kick.
Naoki just misses with a punch to the body.
Sikio is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Nice uppercut lands for Sikio. That snapped Naoki's head back.
Naoki takes a jab right on the kisser.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoki throws a jab but it's blocked by Sikio.
Sikio pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sikio takes one on the button.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Naoki takes a jab right on the kisser.
Naoki misses with a kick to the body.
Sikio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sikio lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Juunas Sikio is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sikio thows a body shot but no joy.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Naoki.
Sikio thows a body shot but no joy.
Sikio darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Naoki works Sikio's body with a nice hook.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sikio takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Naoki swats away the attempt to clinch by Sikio.
Takeshi Naoki is winning the standup battle so far.
Naoki moves out of range as Sikio strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Naoki dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Takeshi Naoki's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. 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.

Naoki keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sikio.
Naoki slips under a jab.
Naoki takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A jab from Sikio finds it's way through Naoki's defenses.
Sikio scores with a body shot.
Sikio tries to bum rush Naoki with a series of wild strikes but Naoki uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Sikio bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Naoki bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Sikio's head.
Naoki bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Naoki fails with the takedown.
Sikio keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Naoki.
Naoki avoids the body shot from Sikio.
Naoki wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Jab by Sikio.
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!
Naoki throws a leg kick
and Sikio counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naoki cracks the inside of Sikio's front leg.
Nice body kick there by Naoki.
Sikio takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sikio sizes up Naoki with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Sikio jabs at Naoki's body.
A jab from Sikio does it's job there.
Sikio misses with a looping left.
Naoki thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sikio moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Donk. Naoki catches Sikio right on the button with a cross.
Sikio walks into a straight right hand from Naoki.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A jab from Sikio misses.
Naoki misses with a body shot.
Naoki misses the shot to the body.
A big right from Naoki misses.
Sikio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Naoki manages to avoid it.
Juunas Sikio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naoki attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Naoki cracks Sikio with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Sikio throws a body punch but Naoki moves out of range.
Sikio uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Naoki.
Horrible takedown by Naoki or perhaps it was just good defense by Sikio which made him look bad.
Naoki takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

Sikio closes the distance and clinches.
Sikio tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Naoki lands with a short shot to the head.
Naoki throws a big uppercut that drops Sikio! More strikes from Naoki and the referee jumps in to stop the fight! Sikio lies dazed against the cage as Naoki celebrates with his cornermen!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:52 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Takeshi Naoki!
As Takeshi Naoki got his breath back, he grabbed the microphone and managed to blurt out the following: I wanna thank my opponent Vasili Zaytsev, this is a great win and I'm off to bigger challenges.'.