PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hiro Takahashi (ranked 3836 p4p, 390 weight class) and Bruce King (ranked 4739 p4p, 454 weight class). Bruce King is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Takahashi
vs
King

180 cm
20
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

183 cm
26
185 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Bee Krazy
Sin City Allstars

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Hiro Takahashi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Bruce King!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Steven Brown and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
King smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Takahashi shoots for a double leg takedown but King sprawls well. He's pushed Takahashi's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
King lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Takahashi fails with the takedown
and King counters with a nice uppercut.
King's coach down at FIERCE - {{$750}} - 15 Elite Coaches was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on King's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
King stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and King wants it to stay on the feet.
King lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hiro Takahashi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
King misses with a hook.
King misses with a straight right.
The fighters circling - King throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

Takahashi takes the fight into the clinch.
Takahashi has King pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. King manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takahashi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Takahashi has picked King up - he's going for a ride! Takahashi dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
King wants to control but Takahashi is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Takahashi seems to be working for a kimura but King defends the submission attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura here.
King trying to hold on to Takahashi's head to control him but Takahashi postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
King is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Takahashi is staying active.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Takahashi wants to free his trapped foot but King is holding on for dear life with his legs.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
King has hold of Takahashi's hands but Takahashi slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Takahashi tries to pass to full mount but King defends it.
King wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi thows a huge punch but King dodges it nicely.

Takahashi seems to be working for a kimura but King defends the submission attempt.
Takahashi throwing shots but King is blocking nicely.
Takahashi controlling the action here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Hiro Takahashi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Takahashi closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Takahashi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Takahashi is working King over against the cage.

Takahashi has picked King up - he's going for a ride! Takahashi dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
King is looking to control Takahashi's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can King avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is looking to take a break and control but King is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Takahashi is looking to advance position but King won't allow it.
Takahashi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. King defending well though.

Takahashi seems to be looking for submissions.
King wants to control but Takahashi is keeping busy.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Takahashi is keen to just control but King is a slippery customer.
King wants to get back to his feet.
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 Hiro Takahashi will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Takahashi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Takahashi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Takahashi avoids the body shot from King.
Takahashi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
King stuffs the takedown.
King misses with a hook.

Takahashi clinches with his opponent.

Takahashi gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Hiro Takahashi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
King trying to control from the bottom.
King controlling the position for now.
Takahashi moves nicely into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
King tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, King has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Takahashi easily slips into full mount!
King wants to hold on but Takahashi pushes him away.
King is looking to get to half guard.
Takahashi wants to control the pace but King is squirming around nicely.
King wants to control but Takahashi is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Takahashi looking for a guillotine from mount but King is having none of it.
Takahashi wants to control the pace but King is squirming around nicely.
King is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Takahashi throwing strikes here but King is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
King tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Takahashi with the ground and pound from mount.
King wants to hold on but Takahashi pushes him away.
Takahashi looking to control and managing it successfully.
King keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Takahashi tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Takahashi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that King can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
King prevents Takahashi from taking his back.
King holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Takahashi tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

Takahashi is working for a guillotine from mount but King frees his head quite easily.
Takahashi takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
King is bucking up trying to escape but Takahashi cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
King tries to hold on but Takahashi postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiro Takahashi dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

King tries to sprawl but Takahashi drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Takahashi seems to be working for a kimura but King defends the submission attempt.
King wants to control but Takahashi is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Takahashi missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Takahashi working the head and body with strikes.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura but King is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Takahashi to get the leverage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
King moves into full guard.
King keeping moving, preventing Takahashi from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi stops King from standing up.
King is trying to keep Takahashi in close.
Takahashi looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
King is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Takahashi is controlling him.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Takahashi's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bruce King has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
King slaps away a takedown attempt from Takahashi, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Takahashi goes for a double leg but King avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as King continues to drive forward.
King is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Takahashi.
Takahashi is looking to counter the offense by King and move into the clinch.
King scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Takahashi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
King throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
King throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
King might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

Takahashi drives through with a takedown into guard.
Takahashi stopping the sweep attempt from King.
Takahashi throws an elbow that misses. King uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Takahashi's guard. Nice move by King!

Takahashi kicks King off and gets to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Takahashi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of King backwards.
Takahashi has King pressed against the cage, preventing King from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Takahashi has King pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Takahashi pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending King tumbling to the mat - Takahashi dives into King's guard.
King is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Takahashi dives into side control.

King is looking to regain half guard here but Takahashi keeps moving and retains side control.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, King has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is looking to take a break and control but King is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Takahashi taking a breather here.
Takahashi postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
King tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Takahashi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hiro Takahashi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Takahashi, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hiro Takahashi!
Hiro Takahashi decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.