PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight kickboxing rules bout between Riku Yamato (ranked 4152 p4p, 2628 weight class) and Dado Mata (ranked 388 p4p, 267 weight class). Mata has chosen 和楽器バンド / 千本桜 as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Yamato
vs
Mata

172 cm
26
148
2 - 2 - 0

172 cm
52
145
18 - 8 - 1

Decent elbows
KO power

Basic striking
Powerful

Perkele!
Conquer

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Riku Yamato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 8 - 1, fighting out of New York, Dado Mata!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Sosuke Kotani and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch combination from Yamato misses.
Mata avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mata swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Yamato throws a nice head kick!
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Mata paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Yamato tries to clinch but Mata moves out of range.
Yamato tries to clinch up.
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.
Yamato seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mata. Yamato does a little dance to reset his feet.
A jab from Mata misses.
Yamato doesn't manage to clinch there - Mata circles away.
Dado Mata seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mata throws a poor cross that misses
and Yamato counters with a two punch combo.
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mata swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Mata paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mata throws the left hand but Yamato avoids the punch easily.
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mata throws a lazy body kick
enabling Yamato to counter with a crisp jab.
Mata ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yamato moves away.
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.
Mata looks to land a right hand but Yamato moved out of range.
Mata thows a left - swing and a miss!
Mata takes a swing at Yamato's ribcage but misses.
Yamato steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Mata. That one must have hurt.
Yamato tries to clinch up but Mata circles away and keeps his distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Yamato looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mata looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Yamato fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Yamato lands with a slapping head kick.
Riku Yamato is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mata takes a swing at Yamato's ribcage but misses.
Yamato lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamato throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Yamato tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mata! But no joy.
Yamato avoids the body shot from Mata.
Mata throws a predictable looking body shot
and Yamato counters with a two punch combo.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.
Yamato tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Mata manages to circle out of the way.
Yamato ducks under a wild hook from Mata.
Mata looks to score with a jab to the body but Yamato is just out of range.
Mata throws a body shot but no joy.
Mata rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Yamato counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Mata swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Yamato counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Yamato is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Mata misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yamato.
Yamato is looking to counter with head kicks.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Riku Yamato dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Yamato lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mata circles away quickly and effectively.
Yamato throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Mata fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Yamato checks it well.
Yamato takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Mata is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Yamato rather than just go for the knockout.
Yamato tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Yamato fails with an attempt to clinch.
Mata takes a kick to the side of the head.
Yamato tries to clinch there but Mata circles away.
Mata swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
A jab from Mata misses.
Mata ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yamato moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mata lands a jab to Yamato's midsection.
Mata fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Yamato manages to avoid it.
Yamato avoids the body shot from Mata.
Yamato throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamato uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Mata.
Mata misses with a straight right.
Mata throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Mata missing with a left hand there. Yamato was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Yamato is looking to clinch but Mata is avoiding it.
Mata swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mata tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yamato was well out of range. Poor timing from Mata.
A left and a right from Yamato both land. Nice combination.
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Mata paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Yamato moves out of range of the body kick.
Mata misses with a hook. Yamato ducked under it nicely.
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Mata paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mata throws a jab when Yamato was well out of range.
Mata throws an overhand right that lands on Yamato's shoulder, as Yamato tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Yamato. Mata shrugs it off though.
Mata misses with a hook.
Yamato seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Mata looks for the body kick but Yamato saw that one coming.
Mata throws a push kick but Yamato slaps the foot to one side.
Yamato throws a big counter combination but Mata scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Riku Yamato is winning the standup battle so far.
Mata looks to score with a jab to the body but Yamato is just out of range.
A head kick from Yamato lands but Mata takes it in his stride.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mata throws the kick towards the body but Yamato avoids it.
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.
Yamato walks into a straight right hand from Mata.
Yamato tries to close the distance and clinch but Mata swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mata avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mata keeps the fight on the outside.
Mata throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dado Mata showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Yamato keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Yamato went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Mata keeps the fight on the outside.
Yamato keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mata throws a body punch but Yamato moves out of range.
Yamato throws a series of punches but Mata avoids them all with ease.
Mata misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Yamato counters with a three punch combo that has Mata backing up. Mata nods at Yamato to acknowledge the strikes.
Yamato is looking to clinch.
Riku Yamato is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mata takes a swing at Yamato's ribcage but misses.
Mata misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yamato.
Mata takes a swing at Yamato's ribcage but misses.
Yamato seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A jab from Mata misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Yamato looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mata punishes Yamato's body with a nice straight punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mata throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Mata misses with a kick to the body
and Yamato counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mata misses with an uppercut.
Mata tries a head kick but it misses.
It looked like Yamato was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Yamato tries to clinch but Mata moves out of range.
Mata swings for the body but Yamato moves out of range.
A decent looking cross lands there for Mata.
Yamato uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Mata.
Mata looks to land a right hand but Yamato moved out of range.
Yamato seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Mata tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yamato was well out of range. Poor timing from Mata.
Mata misses with a low kick.
Yamato lands a nice looking kick to the body. Mata takes a step back to recover.
Mata swats away the attempt to clinch by Yamato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamato slips under a jab.
Mata swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mata misses with a straight left.
Good leg kick by Yamato.
Mata throws a hook but Yamato blocks it.
Yamato throwing a counter right hand but Mata manages to avoid it.
Yamato avoids the body shot from Mata.
Mata swats away the attempt to clinch by Yamato.
Mata tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yamato was well out of range. Poor timing from Mata.
The fight stays on the outside here - Yamato looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mata misses with a two punch combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dado Mata comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mata has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dado Mata!
An out of breath Dado Mata thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.