PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Joao De Santo Cristo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matsui Takamatsu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Santo Cristo comes to the cage accompanied by Que país é esse?. Takamatsu has chosen Dogs of War as his entrance music. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

De Santo Cristo
vs
Takamatsu

174 cm
25
165 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

165 cm
24
146 lbs
11 - 9 - 1

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao De Santo Cristo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Matsui Takamatsu!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Radbod Blank and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jab by De Santo Cristo.
Takamatsu connects with an inside leg kick.
Takamatsu takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
De Santo Cristo wants to clinch
letting Takamatsu counter with a right hand.
De Santo Cristo blocks a jab.
De Santo Cristo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Takamatsu moves away from the strike by De Santo Cristo.
Takamatsu dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
De Santo Cristo lands a head shot.
Takamatsu pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
De Santo Cristo tries to counter by clinching up but Takamatsu breaks away and moves out of range.
De Santo Cristo digs a good hook to Takamatsu's body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Takamatsu throws a low kick but De Santo Cristo avoids it.
Takamatsu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
De Santo Cristo throws the left hand but Takamatsu avoids the punch easily.
Takamatsu was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
De Santo Cristo closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Joao De Santo Cristo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Santo Cristo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Takamatsu.
Takamatsu throws an overhand right that lands on De Santo Cristo's shoulder, as De Santo Cristo tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Takamatsu misses the target.
Takamatsu's hands are dropping dangerously low here and De Santo Cristo connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Takamatsu scrambles back to his feet.
Donk. Takamatsu catches De Santo Cristo right on the button with a cross.
A big right from Takamatsu misses.
Takamatsu keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Takamatsu! But no joy.
De Santo Cristo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Matsui Takamatsu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
De Santo Cristo fails to land with a series of punches.
Takamatsu throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Takamatsu uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo scores with a jab.
De Santo Cristo misses with a body shot.
Takamatsu only half commits to the counter leg kick.
De Santo Cristo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

De Santo Cristo clinches up with Takamatsu and pushes him back against the cage.
A short right from Takamatsu.
Takamatsu wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but De Santo Cristo has him pressed against the cage.
De Santo Cristo is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
De Santo Cristo scores with a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
De Santo Cristo blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

De Santo Cristo gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
De Santo Cristo pushing down on Takamatsu's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
De Santo Cristo prevents Takamatsu from improving his position.
Takamatsu told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
De Santo Cristo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Takamatsu tries to roll over but De Santo Cristo keeps him under control.
Takamatsu blocking the ground and pound attempt from De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo prevents Takamatsu from improving his position.
Takamatsu wants to get back to full guard but De Santo Cristo has passed into side control.

De Santo Cristo looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Takamatsu is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

De Santo Cristo is trying to get an arm triangle but Takamatsu is defending well.
We've been hearing good reports from De Santo Cristo's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Takamatsu tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but De Santo Cristo wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Takamatsu keeps trying to improve his position.
De Santo Cristo is working Takamatsu over with some ground and pound from side control.
Takamatsu tries to get back to half guard but can't.

De Santo Cristo tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

De Santo Cristo thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Takamatsu manages to work his way to half guard, despite De Santo Cristo's best efforts.
Takamatsu is looking for a sweep. De Santo Cristo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo wants to take a breather but Takamatsu is having none of it.
Takamatsu moves into full guard.
De Santo Cristo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Takamatsu 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.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Takamatsu is on top in guard.

De Santo Cristo has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Takamatsu can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Takamatsu must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as De Santo Cristo holds on and takes a little breather.
Takamatsu wants to pass the guard but De Santo Cristo is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao De Santo Cristo dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Takamatsu will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
De Santo Cristo stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
De Santo Cristo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
De Santo Cristo waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Takamatsu.
De Santo Cristo looks for a takedown but Takamatsu sprawls well.
De Santo Cristo uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
De Santo Cristo has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Takamatsu.
De Santo Cristo shoots in looking for a takedown. Takamatsu tries to sprawl out of it but De Santo Cristo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Takamatsu manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takamatsu moves away from the strike by De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo throws the left hand but Takamatsu avoids the punch easily.
De Santo Cristo works the jab nicely.
De Santo Cristo avoids a kick to the body.
As Takamatsu tries to get set, De Santo Cristo tries to push him back and clinch up but Takamatsu manages to avoid the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from De Santo Cristo misses the target.
Takamatsu throws a leg kick that is checked
and Takamatsu takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
De Santo Cristo throws out a loose jab but Takamatsu uses good head movement to avoid it.
De Santo Cristo tries to clinch up but Takamatsu circles away and keeps his distance.
De Santo Cristo throws a jab but it's blocked by Takamatsu.
Takamatsu wants to land a leg kick but De Santo Cristo is out of range.
Takamatsu uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Takamatsu circles away quickly and effectively.
Takamatsu misses with a leg kick.
Takamatsu takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Takamatsu misses with a jab to the body
enabling De Santo Cristo to counter with a crisp jab.
A jab from Takamatsu misses.
Takamatsu with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
De Santo Cristo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Takamatsu.
De Santo Cristo misses with a hook to the body
and Takamatsu connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
De Santo Cristo throws a hook to the side of Takamatsu's head but Takamatsu sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takamatsu slips a straight right by De Santo Cristo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De Santo Cristo throws a looping overhand right but Takamatsu ducks down to avoid it.
Takamatsu swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Takamatsu wants to slow De Santo Cristo down by chopping away at his legs.
De Santo Cristo loads up on a big right hand but Takamatsu slips the punch.
Takamatsu throws a body kick that misses.
De Santo Cristo throws a poor cross that misses
and Takamatsu counters with a lovely straight right hand!
De Santo Cristo connects with a good right hand that stumbles Takamatsu. Takamatsu circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
A leg kick checked by De Santo Cristo.
Takamatsu misses with a hook
and De Santo Cristo counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Takamatsu is rocked!
Takamatsu walks straight into a right hand from De Santo Cristo - that's dropped him! De Santo Cristo jumps into mount and starts pounding away - can he finish?! More strikes go undefended and the referee has to dive in to save Takamatsu from any more punishment! Takamatsu complains about the stoppage but falls over as he tries to stand back up, so it was clearly a good stoppage.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:45 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Joao De Santo Cristo!
Our winner, Joao De Santo Cristo, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.
In defeat, Matsui Takamatsu stepped up to the mic, saying '“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.” *I KEEP moving* emotes a forehead SLAP'.