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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Matt Kuchar (ranked 735 p4p, 74 weight class) and Riza Rakija (ranked 840 p4p, 86 weight class). Kuchar comes into the arena with 21 Savage - No Heart blaring out of the sound system. Rakija has chosen Rakija as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Matt Kuchar had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business
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| 170 cm
37
158 lbs
17 - 8 - 0 |
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174 cm
33
167 lbs
16 - 12 - 1 |
Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank |
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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
17 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Matt Kuchar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
16 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Riza Rakija!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Daniel Bishop and Andrew Berry.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kuchar ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kuchar paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Kuchar throws a head kick that misses.
Kuchar lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rakija circles away quickly and effectively.
Kuchar misses with a lunging right hand
and Rakija connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rakija shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Rakija drops his hands momentarily and Kuchar takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Rakija staying out of range there.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rakija! But no joy.
Kuchar bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Rakija throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuchar scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
No luck for Rakija with that takedown attempt.
Kuchar lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Rakija at a distance.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuchar misses the shot to the body.
Kuchar backing away here, and Rakija unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Kuchar looks to land a right hand but Rakija moved out of range.
Rakija looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Matt Kuchar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rakija tries to clinch but Kuchar moves away
and Kuchar connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kuchar scores with a sloppy right hand. Rakija should have avoided that one.
Kuchar throws a jab when Rakija was well out of range.
Kuchar lands with a thumping leg kick.
Kuchar lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Rakija has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Kuchar is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rakija.
Kuchar throws a jab but it's blocked by Rakija.
Kuchar connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Kuchar cracks the inside of Rakija's front leg.
Kuchar throws a low kick but Rakija moves out of range easily.
Rakija blocks a jab.
Rakija now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rakija tests Kuchar's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuchar connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Rakija slips under a jab.
Rakija tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kuchar manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kuchar jabs at Rakija's body.
Rakija shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Rakija throws a leg kick but Kuchar moved away.
Kuchar avoids the body shot from Rakija.
Rakija shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Kuchar looks to land a left hand but Rakija moved out of range nicely.
Kuchar misses with a looping left.
Rakija counters with a body kick.
Kuchar tries to score with a low kick but Rakija moves his leg out of the way.
Rakija tries a quick counter leg kick but Kuchar is wise to it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rakija shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kuchar pinned against the cage. Kuchar gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kuchar swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Rakija slips under a jab from Kuchar.
Rakija now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Kuchar takes a jab right on the kisser.
Rakija tries for a takedown but Kuchar circles away easily
and Kuchar counters with a stiff right hand.
Matt Kuchar has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Riza Rakija.
Rakija staying out of range there.
Rakija looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kuchar takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Kuchar throws a head kick that misses.
Rakija takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Kuchar scores with a jab to the head.
Kuchar tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rakija was well out of range. Poor timing from Kuchar.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rakija moves away from the strike by Kuchar.
Kuchar misses with an uppercut.
Kuchar keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rakija has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kuchar.
Nice defenses there by Rakija.
Rakija shapes to counter with a head kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rakija throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Kuchar.
A clash of legs there as Kuchar blocks the low kick.
An attempted straight right counter from Kuchar misses the target.
Rakija throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
A bone on bone clash there as Kuchar blocks the leg kick.
Kuchar connects with a solid leg kick.
Kuchar lands with a cross.
Rakija lands with a kick to the ribs.
Matt Kuchar is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rakija blocks a jab.
Rakija ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Rakija feints a counter leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Matt Kuchar dominated that round.
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.
Kuchar looks to land a right hand but Rakija moved out of range.
Kuchar lands the left hand.
Rakija misses with a body kick.
Rakija thumps Kuchar with a low kick.
Kuchar looks to throw the jab but Rakija is out of range.
Rakija looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Rakija throws a sloppy body shot
letting Kuchar counter with a right hand.
Rakija ducks under a wild hook from Kuchar.
Rakija takes one to the side of the head.
Rakija dives in and scores a takedown into Kuchar's guard.
Kuchar keeping moving, preventing Rakija from controlling successfully.
Kuchar has his hands on Rakija's head, controlling the position.
Kuchar is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakija is trying to maintain the position but Kuchar is very close to passing his half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kuchar is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Rakija reverses the position - he's now on top in Kuchar's guard.
Kuchar controlling the position.
Rakija trying to control but Kuchar is working from the bottom.
Kuchar wants to sweep but no luck.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Kuchar is working hard here to advance position.
Rakija is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kuchar pulls Rakija in close to prevent any damage.
Rakija pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kuchar is keeping the position for now.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rakija stopping the sweep attempt from Kuchar.
Rakija wants to pass the guard but Kuchar is keeping the position.
Kuchar is adopting a defensive guard.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Rakija misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kuchar.
Kuchar throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rakija counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kuchar throws the left hand but Rakija avoids the punch easily.
Kuchar uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rakija.
Kuchar has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Rakija.
Matt Kuchar is winning the standup battle so far.
Rakija defending well as Kuchar loads up on a big left hand.
A little jabbing left from Rakija on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
A chopping leg kick lands by Rakija.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuchar throws an overhand right that lands on Rakija's shoulder, as Rakija tries to avoid the shot.
Rakija slips a jab from Kuchar.
Rakija stuns Kuchar with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Kuchar takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kuchar jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kuchar misses with an uppercut.
Rakija throws a body shot but no joy.
Rakija uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kuchar.
Kuchar looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Rakija with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kuchar counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rakija feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kuchar's calf.
Rakija uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kuchar.
A countering left hand to the body from Rakija misses.
Rakija pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kuchar throwing a counter right hand but Rakija manages to avoid it.
Kuchar wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close second round but Riza Rakija will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!
Rakija dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kuchar. That did some damage!
Rakija shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kuchar throwing a counter right hand but Rakija manages to avoid it.
Kuchar ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rakija moves away.
Kuchar on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A solid leg kick lands there for Rakija.
Rakija throws a leg kick
and Kuchar counters with a right hand to the body.
Kuchar throws an overhand right that lands on Rakija's shoulder, as Rakija tries to avoid the shot.
No joy there for Rakija, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kuchar scores with a sloppy right hand. Rakija should have avoided that one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rakija throws a low kick but Kuchar avoids it.
Rakija throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kuchar tries to land a front kick but Rakija steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Kuchar throws a shot from downtown. Rakija moves away and avoids it.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakija throws a head kick that misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Kuchar misses the target.
A telegraphed right hand from Kuchar misses the target.
Rakija is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Kuchar rather than just go for the knockout.
Rakija fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kuchar feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Rakija's calf.
Kuchar swings widly with a right hand
enabling Rakija to counter with a crisp jab.
Kuchar misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Rakija finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Rakija keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kuchar lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rakija drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Rakija motions for Kuchar to come forward. Rakija throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rakija uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kuchar.
Rakija misses with a body shot.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rakija defending well as Kuchar loads up on a big left hand.
Kuchar blocks a jab.
An attempted straight right counter from Kuchar misses the target.
Kuchar digs a good body shot into Rakija's ribs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kuchar works the jab nicely.
Rakija tries to score with a low kick but Kuchar moves his leg out of the way.
Rakija has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Kuchar throws a big shot that misses.
Kuchar lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
A slow jab from Kuchar misses its intended target.
Rakija looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
A nice leg kick lands there from Rakija.
Rakija tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rakija takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuchar misses with an uppercut. Rakija saw that one coming.
Kuchar misses with a wild combination.
A jab from Kuchar finds it's way through Rakija's defenses.
Kuchar throws a head kick that misses.
Rakija throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Kuchar is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Kuchar tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rakija lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Kuchar throws out a loose jab but Rakija uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rakija slips a jab from Kuchar.
Kuchar staying out of range there.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuchar throws a predictable looking body shot
and Rakija counters with a leg kick.
A left lands for Rakija.
Rakija misses with a low kick.
Rakija throws a leg kick but Kuchar sees it coming and moves out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Kuchar on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kuchar misses with a lunging right hand
and Rakija counters with a straight right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuchar rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rakija makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Jab from Kuchar.
A telegraphed right hand from Rakija misses the target.
Kuchar swings widly with a right hand
and Rakija counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Kuchar throws an off balance right hand
letting Rakija counter with a right hand.
Rakija misses with a wild body shot.
A quick step to the side and Kuchar tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rakija throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Riza Rakija.
I think Rakija 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 Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:29
The fight is ruled a majority draw!
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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
54% |
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