PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Billy West (ranked 441 p4p, 64 weight class) and Katsu Laoka (ranked 145 p4p, 19 weight class). West comes to the cage accompanied by Rebelution - So High. Laoka has chosen The Bell Tolls as his entrance music. Katsu Laoka has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

West
vs
Laoka

192 cm
29
226 lbs
15 - 5 - 0

188 cm
38
205 lbs
30 - 14 - 5

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

THE END 32

Urban Fighter
IniTech Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Billy West!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 14 - 5, fighting out of Las Vegas, Katsu Laoka!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Frank Antenori and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laoka throws a half hearted mid kick.
Laoka loads up on a big right hand but West slips the punch.
West scores with a sloppy right hand. Laoka should have avoided that one.
Laoka bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
And Laoka responds with a good body kick, but West manages to step out the way in time.
West lands a jab to the nose.
Laoka on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Laoka fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches West on the side of the head.
West has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Death Valley Training Facility in the buildup to the fight.

West rushes Laoka and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
West is looking to control Laoka's arms but Laoka gets an underhook and turns him. Now West has his back to the cage.
West digs a right hand into Laoka's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Laoka's gas tank.
West throws a head punch that misses.
Laoka takes a knee to the side of the body.
Laoka struggles to land a body shot inside as West controls his hands.
West lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Laoka with an attempt at a knee that misses.

West breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laoka tests West's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Laoka cracks West with an open hand slap.
Laoka misses with a hook.
West is looking to counter punch.
Laoka connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
West wants to land a leg kick but Laoka is out of range.
Katsu Laoka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Laoka jabbing away but nothing is landing.
West lands a really nice looking cross but Laoka seems unphased.
Laoka thumps West with a low kick.
Laoka throws out a loose jab but West uses good head movement to avoid it.
Good standup being displayed there by West as he connects with a hook.

West lands a big shot that drops Laoka! Can he finish him?

Laoka is rocked!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Laoka wants to stand but West is controlling the position.
Laoka is still in real trouble! Can West finish him?
West stays in close to Laoka's body and controls the position.
Laoka avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Laoka seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laoka keeping full guard, as West tries to pass.
West in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Laoka working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from West.
West trying to control but Laoka is working from the bottom.
West lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Laoka preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
West stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Laoka swivels though and keeps the full guard.
West is looking to work some ground and pound but Laoka has wrist control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
West postures up in Laoka's guard and throws a big left but Laoka blocks it.
West working some strikes from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West with a flurry of punches that miss.
West scoring with some ground and pound.
West trying to control but Laoka is working from the bottom.
Laoka wants to get back to his feet but West is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
West 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.
West throws a big elbow that misses.
West wants to control from the top but Laoka keeps moving.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
West throwing strikes but missing.
Laoka is looking to stand up but West isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
West comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laoka throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
West jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Laoka swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
West is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Laoka looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Laoka scores with a jab to the jaw.
Laoka misses with a body shot.
West throws a series of punches but Laoka moves out of range.
Laoka misses with a straight right.

Laoka tries to keep at a distance but West has taken the fight into the clinch.
West tries to work over Laoka's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Laoka is trying to stall.
A short right from Laoka.
Laoka tries a body shot but West blocks it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A short body shot lands from Laoka as the two fighters clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Billy West dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Laoka cracks West with a right hand to the side of the head.
West throws an overhand right that lands on Laoka's shoulder, as Laoka tries to avoid the shot.
A swing and a miss from West.
Laoka throws a head kick that misses.
Laoka misses with a lunging right hand
and West counters with a stiff right hand.
A slow jab from Laoka misses its intended target.
West lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
West tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Laoka was well out of range. Poor timing from West.
A decent looking cross lands there for Laoka.
Laoka swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by West.
West moves out of range of the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
West throws out a loose jab but Laoka uses good head movement to avoid it.
West misses with a hook.
West ducks under a wild hook from Laoka.
Laoka attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Laoka tries a low kick but West avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

West drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Laoka bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Laoka 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.
West throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab from West misses.
Laoka ducks under a wild hook from West.
A jab from West misses.
Laoka pushes West away with a front kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laoka throws a looping overhand right but West ducks down to avoid it.
Laoka slips a straight right by West.
A jab lands there for Laoka.
Laoka throws a leg kick but West sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Laoka defends well against a solid takedown attempt from West.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laoka with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Laoka swinging wildly here.
West pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
West swinging wildly here.
Nice cross by Laoka.
Billy West is winning the standup battle so far.
West throws a jab but it's blocked by Laoka.
West looks to land a body kick but Laoka moved away.
Laoka feints the counter takedown.
Katsu Laoka is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
West uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Laoka.
Laoka listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
West moves out of range as Laoka strikes.
Laoka swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by West.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laoka ducks under a wild hook from West.
Laoka throws a body punch but West moves out of range.
A telegraphed right hand from West misses the target.
Laoka throws a leg kick but West sees it coming and moves out of range.
West swings for the body but Laoka moves out of range.
Laoka misses with a low kick as West jumps back.
West slips a straight right by Laoka.

West drives through with a takedown into guard.

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

West wants to sweep but no luck.

West is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Laoka is aware though and is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
West wants to stand but Laoka is controlling the position.
West has a closed guard, preventing Laoka from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Laoka stands up from West's guard - Laoka perhaps looking for a knockout.
Laoka throws a body punch but West moves out of range.
Laoka lands with a cross.
Nice shot lands for Laoka.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

West closes the distance and clinches.
West lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A head punch on the inside from West fails to land.
West prevents a body shot from Laoka.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Laoka tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsu Laoka showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! West's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

West moves out of range of the strikes.
Laoka scores with a crisp jab that stopped West in his tracks.
Laoka takes a swing at West's ribcage but misses.
It appears West was looking to counter with a kick there.
West misses with a right hand
and Laoka counters with a nice uppercut.
Laoka looks to score with a jab to the body but West is just out of range.
West was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Laoka lands with a cross.

West is rocked!
West slips under a jab.
Laoka tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A little feinted left hand from West on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
West missing with a left hand there. Laoka was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Laoka throws a good cross that connects.
Oh West is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Laoka misses with a body kick.
West was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
West cracks Laoka with an open hand slap.
West seems to have got his legs back now.
Laoka fakes high and swings low for a body shot but West manages to avoid it.
West stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laoka lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
West takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
West pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Laoka pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces West back to the cage. Laoka follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

West throws a head kick that lands with a deafening thwack! The crowd roars as Laoka stumbles backwards and falls to the mat. West follows into mount!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Laoka is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Laoka is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Laoka is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
West pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Laoka is in a horrible position here. West smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
West won't let Laoka get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West unloads with some shots from mount but Laoka bucks and avoids them well.
Laoka is squirming around, avoiding West's attempts to control the action.
West throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Laoka is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
West scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Laoka is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
West postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Laoka in real trouble here! The ref calls for Laoka to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Billy West!
Billy West seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.