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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between TJ Crawford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Takeshi Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Crawford comes to the cage accompanied by John Legend - Who Do We Think We Are . Watanabe has chosen The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road as his entrance music. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!
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| 179 cm
36
155 lbs
19 - 20 - 0 |
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175 cm
31
135 lbs
13 - 15 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick |
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BJJ Blue Belt
World class boxer
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
19 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, TJ Crawford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
13 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Takeshi Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Timothy Bukovac.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Watanabe.
Crawford closes the distance and pushes Watanabe back into the cage.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Watanabe is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Watanabe manages to break the clinch.
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
Watanabe throws a series of punches but Crawford avoids them all with ease.
Crawford moves out of range of the body kick from Watanabe.
Crawford closes the distance and clinches.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
Crawford scores with a knee to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Watanabe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Watanabe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Crawford gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Crawford scores with a knee to the head.
Crawford lands a knee to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watanabe avoiding damage as Crawford throws knees to the body.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
Crawford misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Watanabe.
Crawford has Watanabe pressed against the cage, preventing Watanabe from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Watanabe managing to block the knees to the body from Crawford.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe avoiding damage as Crawford throws knees to the body.
Watanabe breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Watanabe swinging wildly here.
Crawford moves into the clinch.
Crawford with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Watanabe managing to block the knees to the body from Crawford.
Watanabe working hard to break the clinch.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Crawford has Watanabe pressed against the cage, preventing Watanabe from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Watanabe breaks the clinch.
Watanabe tries to bum rush Crawford with a series of wild strikes but Crawford uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
And Watanabe tries to counter it with a takedown but Crawford pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Watanabe paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Watanabe throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Crawford.
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Watanabe moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Watanabe moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Crawford moves out of range as Watanabe throws a body kick.
Watanabe throws a right hand that Crawford ducks under and follows up with a left that Crawford also avoids with ease.
No joy there for Watanabe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Crawford closes the distance and clinches.
Knees to the body from Crawford.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Crawford with a knee to the head.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
Watanabe wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Watanabe breaks from the clinch.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Crawford pushes Watanabe up against the cage in a clinch.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
Watanabe escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Crawford dodges the punch combination from Watanabe.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe throws a right and a left that Crawford avoids nicely.
Watanabe throws a series of punches but Crawford moves out of range.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Crawford tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Watanabe manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Watanabe swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Crawford counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Crawford.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Watanabe lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Watanabe on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Crawford is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Watanabe is defending well for now.
Crawford working Watanabe over with knees to the body.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Watanabe avoiding damage as Crawford throws knees to the body.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Watanabe avoids it.
Watanabe tries to break free but Crawford pushes him back against the cage.
A knee to the head by Crawford.
Watanabe working hard to break the clinch.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Crawford throws a knee to the head but misses.
Watanabe breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe misses with a double jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Watanabe is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Watanabe tries to bum rush Crawford with a series of wild strikes but Crawford uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Crawford drives through and clinches with Watanabe against the cage.
Watanabe working hard to break the clinch.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
Watanabe managing to block the knees to the body from Crawford.
Watanabe breaks from the clinch.
Watanabe misses with a series of wild punches.
Sloppy strikes from Watanabe. Those never looked like landing.
Crawford clinches with his opponent.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Watanabe avoids it.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Crawford unloads a knee to the mid-section. Watanabe lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Watanabe avoiding damage as Crawford throws knees to the body.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch but Crawford keeps him there for the moment.
Crawford throws a knee to the head but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Watanabe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that TJ Crawford will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.
Watanabe misses with a few strikes there.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Watanabe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Watanabe wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Crawford has him pressed against the cage.
Watanabe takes a knee right on the jaw!
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe tries to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling the position.
A frustrated look appears on Watanabe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks with his arms.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Watanabe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Watanabe misses with a series of wild punches.
Watanabe throws a nice looking combination but Crawford bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Sloppy strikes from Watanabe. Those never looked like landing.
Takeshi Watanabe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
That's one minute gone in the round.
No joy there for Watanabe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Watanabe throws a right hand that Crawford ducks under and follows up with a left that Crawford also avoids with ease.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe swinging wildly here.
Watanabe looks to land a combination but Crawford avoids it well.
Crawford rushes Watanabe and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
TJ Crawford has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Crawford misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Watanabe.
Watanabe can't break the clinch.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Watanabe is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Crawford prevents Watanabe from breaking the clinch.
Watanabe misses with the head strike.
Crawford throws a knee to the head but misses.
Watanabe tries to break free but Crawford pushes him back against the cage.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe is trying to force a seperation but Crawford has the dominant position.
Crawford with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Crawford keeps control of Watanabe as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Knees in the clinch landing for Crawford.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A frustrated look appears on Watanabe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Watanabe manages to break the clinch.
TJ Crawford is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Watanabe.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Watanabe throws a right and a left that both miss.
Watanabe is breathing heavily.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Watanabe swats away the attempt to clinch by Crawford.
Watanabe changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Watanabe lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Crawford circles away quickly and effectively.
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
Watanabe tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Watanabe.
Crawford moves into range and clinches up with Watanabe.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Watanabe.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
Crawford misses with a knee strike.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Crawford has Watanabe pressed against the cage, preventing Watanabe from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Crawford using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Crawford with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Watanabe working hard to break the clinch.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Watanabe wants to break the clinch but can't.
A knee to the head by Crawford.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Crawford with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Watanabe breaks the clinch.
Watanabe misses with a wild combination.
Crawford avoids a punch combination nicely.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe keeps the fight on the outside.
And Watanabe tries to counter it with a takedown but Crawford pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Some wild striking there from Watanabe.
Watanabe fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Watanabe misses with the combination.
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Crawford wants to clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Crawford doesn't manage to clinch there - Watanabe circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Watanabe misses with a few strikes there.
Crawford tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Watanabe manages to circle out of the way.
Takeshi Watanabe seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Watanabe scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Watanabe keeps the fight on the outside.
Watanabe fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Takeshi Watanabe showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Crawford pushes Watanabe up against the cage in a clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Watanabe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Crawford crunches a lovely knee into Watanabe's ribcage.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Watanabe tries to break free but Crawford pushes him back against the cage.
Watanabe managing to block the knees to the body from Crawford.
Crawford with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Watanabe looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Watanabe pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Watanabe displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
It looks like TJ Crawford has been cut.
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Watanabe looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Watanabe rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Crawford moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Crawford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford moves in looking to clinch but Watanabe pushes him off.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Watanabe lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Watanabe looks to land a combination but Crawford avoids it well.
Watanabe throws a right and a left that Crawford avoids nicely.
Watanabe fails to land with a series of punches.
Watanabe throws a right hand that Crawford ducks under and follows up with a left that Crawford also avoids with ease.
Crawford pushes Watanabe up against the cage in a clinch.
Crawford crunches a lovely knee into Watanabe's ribcage.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Watanabe is trying to force a seperation but Crawford has the dominant position.
Crawford with a knee to the head.
Crawford connects with a knee to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Crawford lands a knee to the body.
Watanabe is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Crawford scores with a knee to the head.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe is looking to break free of the clinch but Crawford has double underhooks.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe breaks the clinch.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Crawford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Watanabe looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Watanabe misses with the combination.
Watanabe swinging wildly here.
A punch combination from Watanabe misses.
Crawford clinches.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford has him pressed against the cage.
Crawford lands a knee to the body.
A knee to the head by Crawford.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Watanabe wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Crawford lands a knee to the head.
Watanabe is trying to force a seperation but Crawford has the dominant position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe gets through Crawford's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Watanabe wants to get back to striking at distance but Crawford won't allow it.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Watanabe looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Crawford prevents Watanabe from breaking the clinch.
A short right from Watanabe on the inside.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
Crawford missing with knees to the body.
Crawford trying to land knees to the body.
Crawford with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Watanabe is trying to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling him.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Watanabe breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Watanabe paws at him with a jab and circles away.
No joy there for Watanabe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Watanabe throws a right and a left that both miss.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Watanabe is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Watanabe lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Crawford circles away quickly and effectively.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Watanabe swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Watanabe throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Watanabe misses with a series of wild punches.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
Watanabe lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close third round but Takeshi Watanabe just about did enough to take it.
The cut man is working on TJ Crawford's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Watanabe swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Watanabe throws a one two combo.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Crawford moves into the clinch successfully.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch but Crawford keeps him there for the moment.
Crawford misses with a knee strike.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Watanabe avoids it.
Watanabe tries to break free but Crawford pushes him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Crawford looking to throw knees to the head but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe wants to break the clinch but can't.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Watanabe. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Watanabe tries to break the clinch but Crawford is controlling the position.
Watanabe working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Watanabe is trying to force a seperation but Crawford has the dominant position.
Crawford misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Watanabe.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch but Crawford keeps him there for the moment.
Watanabe is trying to force a seperation but Crawford has the dominant position.
Watanabe is looking to break free of the clinch but Crawford has double underhooks.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Watanabe wants to get back to striking at distance but Crawford won't allow it.
Watanabe wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Crawford has him pressed against the cage.
Watanabe looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks with his arms.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch but Crawford keeps him there for the moment.
Watanabe working hard to break the clinch.
Crawford connects with a nasty looking knee right to Watanabe's face.
Watanabe is looking to break free of the clinch but Crawford has double underhooks.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Crawford misses with a knee strike.
Crawford trying to land knees to the body.
Watanabe avoiding damage as Crawford throws knees to the body.
Watanabe wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crawford misses with a knee strike.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Crawford tries a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks it.
Watanabe working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Watanabe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Watanabe scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Crawford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Watanabe misses with a wild combination.
Watanabe swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Watanabe fails to land with a series of punches.
Crawford seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Watanabe swats away the attempt to clinch by Crawford.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe keeps the fight on the outside.
Crawford wants to clinch.
Watanabe throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Watanabe fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
Watanabe throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Watanabe swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.
Watanabe misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Watanabe throws a right and a left that Crawford avoids nicely.
No joy there for Watanabe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Watanabe misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crawford avoids a punch combination nicely.
Crawford tries to clinch up but Watanabe circles away and keeps his distance.
Watanabe misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Watanabe misses with a two punch combination.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Watanabe misses with a few strikes there.
Watanabe misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Crawford tries to clinch up but Watanabe circles away and keeps his distance.
Watanabe misses with a few strikes there.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Watanabe with the counter takedown but Crawford avoids it easily.
Watanabe misses with a body kick.
Watanabe goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Watanabe.
Crawford is looking for a counter combo.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Crawford clinches up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Takeshi Watanabe dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on TJ Crawford's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Watanabe.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Watanabe misses with a body kick.
Watanabe looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Watanabe will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Watanabe misses with a wild combination.
Watanabe looks to land a combination but Crawford avoids it well.
Watanabe is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Crawford tries to clinch but Watanabe moves out of range.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Crawford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Watanabe throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Watanabe looks to land a combination but Crawford avoids it well.
Watanabe avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Watanabe with the counter takedown but Crawford avoids it easily.
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Crawford tries to clinch there but Watanabe circles away.
Watanabe with the counter takedown but Crawford avoids it easily.
Crawford takes the fight into the clinch.
Crawford misses with a knee strike.
Crawford lands a nice knee to the body.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Watanabe wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Watanabe wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crawford is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Watanabe is defending well for now.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Crawford obliges.
Watanabe can't break the clinch.
Crawford with a knee to the head.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks with his arms.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Crawford with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Watanabe wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Crawford has him pressed against the cage.
Watanabe is looking to break free of the clinch but Crawford has double underhooks.
Crawford prevents Watanabe from breaking the clinch.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Crawford obliges.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Crawford is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Watanabe is defending well for now.
Crawford tries to land a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks with his arms.
Crawford prevents Watanabe from breaking the clinch.
Watanabe has had enough of the clinch but Crawford keeps him there for the moment.
Crawford missing with knees to the body.
Watanabe breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Watanabe misses with a double jab.
Crawford avoids a kick to the body.
Watanabe throws a right and a left that Crawford avoids nicely.
Crawford wants to clinch up but Watanabe keeps it at a distance.
Watanabe misses with a double jab.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
No joy there for Watanabe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Watanabe throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Crawford.
Crawford is looking to counter the offense by Watanabe and move into the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
TJ Crawford has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Watanabe paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Watanabe swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Watanabe throws a nice looking combination but Crawford bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Watanabe keeps the fight on the outside.
Watanabe misses with a double jab.
Crawford instigates a clinch.
Crawford throws a knee to the head but misses.
Crawford lands a good knee to the midsection. Watanabe won't want to take too many of those.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Crawford using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Watanabe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Watanabe wants to break the clinch but can't.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Watanabe's efforts to push away.
Watanabe wants to get back to striking at distance but Crawford won't allow it.
Crawford utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Crawford throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Watanabe blocks it with crossed arms.
Crawford misses with a knee to the head.
Crawford keeps control of Watanabe as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Watanabe escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Watanabe swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Crawford throws a head kick that Watanabe semi-blocks.
And that's the end of the fight!
Takeshi Watanabe comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Watanabe 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight for Takeshi Watanabe!
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Takeshi Watanabe!
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight for Takeshi Watanabe!
Takeshi Watanabe wins by unanimous decision!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
70% |
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