PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ryoto Takahashi (ranked 3 p4p, 76 weight class) and Gunnar Bloodaxe (ranked 1 p4p, 12 weight class). Takahashi comes to the cage accompanied by SMOKING & THINKING. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Takahashi
vs
Bloodaxe

175 cm
33
160
27 - 8 - 0

179 cm
30
162
21 - 9 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Fast

Conviction
Conquer

Hoarse Pills
Bondi MMA 🏝️

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ryoto Takahashi!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 9 - 1, fighting out of New York, Gunnar Bloodaxe!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Bloodaxe misses with a straight left.
Takahashi throws a leg kick
and Bloodaxe counters with a stiff right hand.
Takahashi wants to clinch up but Bloodaxe keeps it at a distance.
Bloodaxe misses the jab.
Takahashi moves to clinch but Bloodaxe breaks away
and Bloodaxe counters with a left and a right that stings Takahashi.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takahashi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bloodaxe looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bloodaxe takes a swing at Takahashi's ribcage but misses.
An attempted straight right counter from Takahashi misses the target.
Takahashi dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Bloodaxe. That did some damage!
The fight stays on the outside here - Takahashi looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bloodaxe moves out of range of the body kick.
Bloodaxe rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Takahashi counters with an inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bloodaxe misses with a straight right.
Bloodaxe moves out of range of the leg kick from Takahashi.
Bloodaxe appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Bloodaxe. Takahashi shrugs it off though.
Bloodaxe throws an overhand right that lands on Takahashi's shoulder, as Takahashi tries to avoid the shot.
Bloodaxe misses with a body shot
and Takahashi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Takahashi slips a jab from Bloodaxe.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Bloodaxe let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Takahashi seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.

Takahashi fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Bloodaxe, pushing him back against the cage.

Bloodaxe manages to break the clinch.
Bloodaxe throws a half hearted mid kick.
It looked like Takahashi was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Bloodaxe.
Bloodaxe stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Takahashi.
Takahashi tries to land a body kick
and Bloodaxe counters with a nice uppercut.
Bloodaxe pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi avoids the body shot from Bloodaxe.
Takahashi throws a front kick that sends Bloodaxe stumbling back into the cage.
Takahashi takes one to the chin there.
Takahashi moves away from the strike by Bloodaxe.
Takahashi tried to counter with a leg kick but Bloodaxe avoided it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bloodaxe takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Takahashi closes the distance and clinches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Gunnar Bloodaxe will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Bloodaxe throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Takahashi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bloodaxe will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
As Bloodaxe looks to move away, Takahashi throws a big counter combo but Bloodaxe just gets out of the way.
Bloodaxe tries a head kick but it misses.
Takahashi was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Bloodaxe misses with an uppercut. Takahashi saw that one coming.
Takahashi is looking to counter with head kicks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takahashi swings for the body but Bloodaxe moves out of range.
Bloodaxe throws a push kick but Takahashi slaps the foot to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bloodaxe throws the left hand but Takahashi avoids the punch easily.
Takahashi thinks about countering with a body kick.
Bloodaxe waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Takahashi.
Takahashi throws a body punch but Bloodaxe moves out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Bloodaxe! But no joy.
Bloodaxe misses with a left hand
and Takahashi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

It looks like Gunnar Bloodaxe has been cut.
Takahashi scores with a punch to the head.
Takahashi moves out of range as Bloodaxe strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Takahashi has managed to clinch.
Takahashi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Takahashi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Takahashi misses with a punch on the inside.
Takahashi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Takahashi misses with some punches.
Bloodaxe tries to circle away but Takahashi has him pinned against the cage.
Bloodaxe blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Takahashi misses with a body punch.
Bloodaxe wants to break free but Takahashi has control.
Bloodaxe blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi scores with a shot to the side of Bloodaxe's head.
Takahashi tries to pull guard but Bloodaxe won't allow it.

Takahashi has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Bloodaxe uses from the top position.

Bloodaxe sitting in guard doing not very much at all here. Takahashi doesn't need a second invitation though! He's locked up a guillotine and he's squeezing tight! That is tiiiiiiiiight! Bloodaxe paying the price for stalling here - he's pushing hard on the arm trying to free himself but it's no use! He's tapped! WOW, quick submission from Takahashi - great work!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:33 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Ryoto Takahashi!
Ryoto Takahashi retains his lightweight title!
In his post fight interview, Ryoto Takahashi started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.