PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Naoko Marui (ranked 2271 p4p, 2609 weight class) and Pull Plugger (ranked 244 p4p, 273 weight class). Pull Plugger has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Marui
vs
Plugger

167 cm
32
158
16 - 16 - 1

150 cm
26
150
11 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Basic striking
Fast

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 16 - 1, fighting out of London, Naoko Marui!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Pull Plugger!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Wagner Zegers and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Plugger throws a leg kick that misses.
Plugger ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Marui moves away.
Plugger is trying hard to land a takedown here. Marui sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Marui stuns Plugger with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Plugger misses with a jab to the body
and Plugger takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Marui thuds a left hand into Plugger's body.

Marui clinches up against the cage.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Plugger has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Marui working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Plugger goes for a takedown attempt but Marui pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Marui is looking to clinch but Plugger is avoiding it.
Plugger is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Plugger throws a sloppy head kick and Marui moves out of range easily.

Marui clinches.
Marui swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Plugger is trying to pull guard but Marui turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Naoko Marui has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pull Plugger.
Marui lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Plugger.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marui stalls.
Plugger has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Marui after a bit of a struggle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marui gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Plugger.
Marui misses with a hook to the ribs.
A right hand to the body from Marui.
Plugger has Marui pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Marui manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Our sources have told us that Marui has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
Marui lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Plugger takes a shot to the head.
Marui swings wildly with an uppercut but Plugger uses good head movement to avoid it.
Plugger is working for takedown but Marui is calmly controlling the position for now.
A right hand to the body from Marui.
Marui struggles to land a body shot inside as Plugger controls his hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marui scores with a nice hook to the head.
Marui lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Plugger backwards.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Marui.
Marui lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Plugger.
Marui misses with a punch to the body.
Plugger fails to pull guard.
Marui works on Plugger's body with a couple of short punches.
Marui struggles to land a body shot inside as Plugger controls his hands.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marui gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Plugger.
Marui lands an uppercut.
A short right from Marui.
Marui softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Marui presses Plugger against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marui makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Plugger blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Marui creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Marui lands a shoulder strike.
Plugger is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Marui to keep the fight standing.
A short right from Marui.
Marui lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Plugger drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Marui throws a head punch that misses.
Marui doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Nice body punch from Marui - that landed with a thud.
Marui prevents a takedown attempt there.
A short right from Marui.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marui escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Marui throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Plugger.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Marui cracks a nice hook into Plugger's ribs.
Marui misses with a wild body shot.
Plugger with a poor takedown
and Marui counters with a straight right hand.
Plugger shoots in but no luck this time.
A head kick misses from Plugger.
Marui throws a body punch but Plugger moves out of range.
Marui fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Nice shot lands for Marui.
Plugger tries for a takedown but Marui sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Pull Plugger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Marui stuns Plugger with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Marui scores with a sloppy right hand. Plugger should have avoided that one.
Plugger fails with a takedown attempt.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Naoko Marui 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.

Decent striking displayed by Marui there.
Marui is looking to wear down Plugger with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Plugger throws a poor cross that misses
and Marui cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Marui pushes Plugger up against the cage in a clinch.
Marui working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Marui tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Marui working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Marui lands with a light punch inside.

Plugger is rocked!
Plugger looking for a takedown.
Marui lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Plugger is still on wobbly legs! Can Marui finish him?
Marui scores with a nice hook to the head.
Marui tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Plugger's elbow.
Plugger seems to have recovered his senses.
Plugger drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marui lands with a left to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Marui.
Plugger is trying to pull guard but Marui has him pressed against the cage.
Naoko Marui has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pull Plugger.
Marui pushes Plugger back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Marui.
Plugger blocks a body shot from Marui.
Plugger is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Marui is defending well.
A shot in the inside from Marui.
Marui lands with a right to the head.
Marui misses with a hook to the ribs.
Marui scores with a shoulder strike.
Plugger is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Marui pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Marui lands an uppercut.
Plugger tries to score a body lock takedown but Marui shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marui swings wildly with an uppercut but Plugger uses good head movement to avoid it.
Marui lands a nice uppercut.
Marui works on Plugger's body with a couple of short punches.
Plugger goes for a takedown in the clinch but Marui prevents it.
Marui lands with a right to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Good body shot from Marui.
Marui lands a hook to the side of the head.
Still in the clinch, Marui scores with a nice short uppercut.
Marui lands a hook to the side of the head.
Marui makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Marui goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Marui lands with a short head shot on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marui lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Marui scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Marui misses with a hook to the ribs.
Plugger blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Marui digs a right hand into Plugger's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Plugger's gas tank.
Marui gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Plugger.
Marui scores with a shoulder strike.
Plugger's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Marui throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pluggers head.
Marui throws a punch but it's blocked by Plugger.
Marui struggles to land a body shot inside as Plugger controls his hands.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marui.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plugger is looking for a takedown.
Marui gets through Plugger's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Plugger is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A short left from Marui.
Plugger blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Plugger blocks a body shot from Marui.
Marui digs a right hand underneath Plugger's ribcage. Plugger let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Plugger is breathing heavily.
Marui lands a hook that snaps the head of Plugger backwards.
Marui is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Plugger can do to turn this around?
Plugger takes a shot to the head.
Marui throws a big uppercut that drops Plugger! More strikes from Marui and the referee jumps in to stop the fight! Plugger lies dazed against the cage as Marui celebrates with his cornermen!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:48 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Naoko Marui!
Naoko Marui was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.