PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Masa Mune (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Benjamin Nichols (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benjamin Nichols will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Mune
vs
Nichols

160 cm
20
158 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

191 cm
22
157 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Masa Mune!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Benjamin Nichols!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Hirohito Nitta and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nichols avoids the body shot from Mune.
Nichols is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Nichols scores with a jab. Mune acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Nichols cracks Mune with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Masa Mune seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nichols avoids the body shot from Mune.
Mune swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mune moves forwards but Nichols connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Nichols uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Mune.
Mune tries a low kick but Nichols avoids it.
Nichols lands with a nice body kick.
No joy there for Mune, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Mune thumps Nichols with a low kick.
Nichols bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Mune defending well as Nichols loads up on a big left hand.
Nichols gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Mune.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mune fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Mune takes one to the side of the head.
Nichols lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mune chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Nichols can pounce on him.
Mune swings for the body but Nichols moves out of range.
Nichols keeps the fight on the outside.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mune. Nichols does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nichols throws a hook to the side of Mune's head but Mune sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mune ducks right into an uppercut from Nichols.
Mune misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nichols.
Nichols has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Good standup being displayed there by Nichols as he connects with a hook.
Nichols scores with a nice body kick.
Mune takes a shot to the body in his stride.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Nichols enables Mune to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Nichols manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Nichols being controlled here, momentarily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mune working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mune trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mune is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Mune throwing strikes from guard but Nichols blocks nicely.
Nichols manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Mune manages to get himself to full guard.

Mune has his foot on Nichols's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Nichols works his way back into a safe position though.
Nichols controls from within his opponent's guard.
Nichols pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Mune is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mune keeping moving, preventing Nichols from controlling successfully.
Mune 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.
Nichols showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Nichols.
Mune jabs Nichols to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Nichols is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Mune takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Mune looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Nichols is trying to keep Mune in close.
Mune stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nichols swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benjamin Nichols dominated that 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.

Mune misses with an uppercut
and Nichols counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Mune connects with a jab.
Mune shoots in for a takedown but Nichols shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Mune throws the left hand but Nichols avoids the punch easily.
A nice inside leg kick there by Nichols. That's going to slow Mune down.
Mune just misses with a punch to the body.
Mune is looking to wear down Nichols with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Nichols slips under a jab from Mune.
Mune throws a body shot but no joy.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Nichols.
Mune misses with an uppercut. Nichols saw that one coming.
Mune stuns Nichols with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Nichols throws a sloppy head kick and Mune moves out of range easily.
Mune with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Nichols to score with a decent uppercut.
Mune misses with a low kick.
Mune moves out of range of the body kick.
Mune waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nichols.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mune shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Nichols throws out a loose jab but Mune uses good head movement to avoid it.
Mune fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Nichols looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Some bone on bone action there as Mune checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Nichols lands a slapping body shot.
Mune checks a leg kick.
Nichols slips under a jab.
Mune throws a low kick but Nichols moves out of range easily.
Nichols uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Mune.
Benjamin Nichols seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sloppy strikes from Mune. Those never looked like landing.
Mune misses with a body punch
and Nichols counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nichols tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Nichols fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mune manages to avoid it.
Nichols has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mune throws a right and a left that Nichols avoids nicely.
Mune swings for the body but Nichols moves out of range.
Nichols ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mune moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Mune.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mune avoids the head kick by Nichols.
Mune misses with an uppercut.
Mune looks to score with a jab to the body but Nichols is just out of range.
Nichols throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Mune on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Nichols. Nichols obviously looking to wear him down.
Mune throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nichols slips under a jab.
Nichols tries to land a front kick but Mune steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Nichols fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Mune.
Nichols scores with a crisp jab that stopped Mune in his tracks.
Nichols jabs at Mune's body.
Mune throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Nichols stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A chopping leg kick lands by Nichols.
Mune ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nichols moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nichols fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mune manages to avoid it.
Nichols misses with a leg kick.
Nichols has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Mune throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Benjamin Nichols is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A big left from Mune misses.
Mune throws an off balance right hand
and Nichols counters with a leg kick.
Nichols lands with a shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mune. Nichols does a little dance to reset his feet.
Mune fails with a takedown attempt.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Mune crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Nichols - the referee stops the clock and Mune gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Nichols. Mune manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Nichols lands a nice looking kick to the body. Mune takes a step back to recover.
Mune chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Nichols can pounce on him.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Nichols enables Mune to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Nichols manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mune lands a couple of digs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mune trying to control but Nichols is working from the bottom.
Nichols keeping full guard, as Mune tries to pass.
Mune postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mune stopping the sweep attempt from Nichols.
Nichols is trying to control the position but Mune postures up.
Nichols pulls Mune in to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Nichols lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benjamin Nichols showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Mune checks a low kick from Nichols.
Nichols scores with a kick to the body.
Nichols wants to land a leg kick but Mune is out of range.
Mune tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nichols was well out of range. Poor timing from Mune.
Mune looks to score with a jab to the body but Nichols is just out of range.
Mune tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nichols listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Nichols fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Mune checks it well.
Mune is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Mune looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Mune fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nichols manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nichols tries to land a leg kick but Mune saw it coming and moves away.
Nichols throws a sloppy head kick and Mune moves out of range easily.
Nichols fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Mune misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nichols's jab looks to have found its range, popping Mune under the eye.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mune. Nichols does a little dance to reset his feet.

Mune shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Nichols is trying to defend but Mune finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Mune is controlling the pace.
Nichols trying to hold on to Mune's head to control him but Mune postures up.
Nichols wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nichols keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Mune thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Mune thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Nichols is not content to let Mune control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A nice inside leg kick there by Nichols. That's going to slow Mune down.
Nichols fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mune manages to avoid it.
Mune misses with a jab, cross combination.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Nichols.
Mune lands a slapping body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mune. Nichols does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nichols wants to land a leg kick but Mune is out of range.
Mune misses with a straight right.
Mune misses with a wild body shot.
Mune just misses with a punch to the body.
Nichols with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Mune throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Nichols's waist but Nichols gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Mune off to one side.
Mune defending well as Nichols loads up on a big left hand.
Nichols misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mune.
Nichols just misses with a punch to the body.
Mune throws a low kick but Nichols moves out of range easily.
Mune shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Nichols goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Mune throws a body shot but no joy.
Mune just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nichols pivots, looking for a leg kick but Mune is out of range and Nichols settles back down.
Mune misses the shot to the body.

Mune is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Nichols's half guard.
Mune is just content to waste time from the top position. Nichols takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Mune throwing strikes but missing.
Masa Mune has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mune passes into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mune prevents Nichols from improving his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Masa Mune.
I think Nichols has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benjamin Nichols!
A victorious Benjamin Nichols thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.