PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Matthew Emanuel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Craig Freese (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Emanuel might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to The Wizard by Black Sabbath. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Emanuel
vs
Freese

187 cm
24
185 lbs
11 - 3 - 0

178 cm
24
175 lbs
13 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

[CBK] The Smashwear Corporation

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 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Matthew Emanuel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Craig Freese!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Shigeki Sano and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Freese throws a nice outside leg kick.
Left hook, right uppercut from Freese.
Freese just misses with a punch to the body.
Emanuel misses with a straight left.
Freese misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Emanuel jabbing away but nothing is landing.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Emanuel.
Freese stalks Emanuel and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Emanuel's face. Emanuel staggers backwards, shaken.
Emanuel takes a swing at Freese's ribcage but misses.
Emanuel fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Freese misses with a body shot.
Freese swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Emanuel throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Freese misses with the combination.
Freese scoring well with a low kick there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emanuel fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Freese manages to avoid it.
Freese throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Emanuel throws a leg kick but Freese checks it.
Emanuel tries for a takedown but Freese sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Emanuel will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matthew Emanuel. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Freese looks to land a left hand but Emanuel moved out of range nicely.
Emanuel throws a nice head kick!
A decent looking cross lands there for Emanuel.
Emanuel walks into a left hand.
Freese scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Freese throws the left hand but Emanuel avoids the punch easily.
Freese tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Emanuel is able to avoid easily.
Emanuel fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Freese is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freese fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Emanuel chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Freese can pounce on him.
Emanuel is breathing heavily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Emanuel stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Freese.
Good shot there by Freese.
Freese misses with a right hand
and Emanuel counters with a nice uppercut.
Craig Freese is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Freese throws a leg kick but Emanuel moved away.
Freese throws a sloppy head kick and Emanuel moves out of range easily.
Emanuel moves out of range of the leg kick from Freese.
Emanuel moves away from the strike by Freese.
Freese fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Emanuel looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Emanuel will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Emanuel tries to bum rush Freese with a series of wild strikes but Freese uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Freese misses with a body shot.
Freese lands with a thumping leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emanuel keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Freese lands a nice looking body shot.
Emanuel stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Freese.
Emanuel needs to keep his hands up - Freese had a free shot at his head there.
Freese lands a slapping body shot.
Nice defenses there by Emanuel.
Craig Freese seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Freese scores with a decent looking hook.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Freese lands a jab.
Freese jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Emanuel has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Emanuel there as he acknowledges the shot.
Freese attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Emanuel avoids the head kick by Freese.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freese misses with the combination.
Nice defenses there by Emanuel.
Freese thows a body shot but no joy.
Freese is looking to land body kicks.
Freese is looking to slow Emanuel down with leg kicks.
Freese wants to land a leg kick but Emanuel is out of range.
Emanuel tries to close the distance and clinch up but Freese swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Freese.
Freese moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Freese misses the shot to the body.
Freese swings for the body but Emanuel moves out of range.
Freese throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Emanuel keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Freese scores with a decent looking hook.
Freese works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Emanuel throws a hook but Freese avoids it easily.
Freese throws a head kick but Emanuel moves out of range.
A slapping leg kick lands for Emanuel.
Emanuel wants to clinch up but Freese keeps it at a distance.
Freese misses with a body kick.
Freese scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Freese lands with a hook. Emanuel tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Emanuel walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Emanuel takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Freese takes a swing at Emanuel's ribcage but misses.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Freese ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Emanuel moves away.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Freese with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Freese thows a left - swing and a miss!
Freese lands a nice leg kick that just misses Emanuel's sensitive parts.
Emanuel takes a jab right on the kisser.
Emanuel avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Freese throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Freese thows a body shot but no joy.
Freese throws a looping overhand right but Emanuel ducks down to avoid it.
Freese with a jab.
A punch lands to the side of Emanuel 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Emanuel moves out of range of the body kick.
Freese lands a jab to the nose.
Emanuel is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Freese lands with a kick to the temple. Emanuel shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Freese throws a head kick but Emanuel moves out of range.
Emanuel blocks a head kick by Freese.
Freese moves out of range of the body kick.
Emanuel walks into a stiff left hand from Freese.
Freese tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Emanuel was well out of range. Poor timing from Freese.
Freese throws a hook to the side of Emanuel's head but Emanuel sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Emanuel throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Freese sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Freese throws a shot to the body.
Freese takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Emanuel scores a takedown into full mount!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Freese working to try and regain half guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Freese really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Emanuel. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Emanuel is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Freese holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Emanuel tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Emanuel wants to control the pace but Freese is squirming around nicely.
Emanuel tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Emanuel working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Emanuel avoids the attempt from Freese to control.
Emanuel tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Emanuel landing strikes from the mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Emanuel controlling from the full mount.
Freese wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Craig Freese dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Freese lands an overhand right.
Freese blocks a leg kick.
Freese throws a right hand that Emanuel ducks under and follows up with a left that Emanuel also avoids with ease.
Craig Freese seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Emanuel swings for the body but Freese moves out of range.
Freese fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Emanuel checks it well.
Emanuel swings for the body but Freese moves out of range.
A jab from Freese finds it's way through Emanuel's defenses.
Freese swinging wildly here.
Freese slaps away a takedown attempt from Emanuel, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Emanuel misses with an uppercut. Freese saw that one coming.
Freese scores with a nice strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emanuel misses with a double jab.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nice body punch from Freese.
Freese clobbers Emanuel with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Emanuel checks a low kick from Freese.
Freese swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Emanuel counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Freese throws a jab but it's blocked by Emanuel.
Freese lands an overhand right.
Freese with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Freese lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Emanuel at a distance.
Freese connects with a nice looking jab.
Nice cross by Freese.
Freese throws a leg kick which misses Emanuel's front leg but catches the back leg as Emanuel tries to avoid it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Emanuel avoids the body shot from Freese.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freese cracks Emanuel with an open hand slap.
Freese takes a swing at Emanuel's ribcage but misses.
Emanuel throws out a loose jab but Freese uses good head movement to avoid it.
Freese is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Both fighters circling a little - Freese finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Freese has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Freese scores with a jab to the head.
Freese pivots, looking for a leg kick but Emanuel is out of range and Freese settles back down.
Freese throws a head kick but Emanuel moves out of range.
Freese throws a low kick but Emanuel moves out of range easily.
Freese cracks a nice hook into Emanuel's ribs.
Emanuel on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Freese throws a body punch but Emanuel moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freese swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Emanuel.
Freese fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Emanuel manages to avoid it.
Freese scores with a nice strike.
Freese tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Freese throws a hook but Emanuel avoids it easily.
Emanuel uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Freese.
Freese throws the left hand but Emanuel avoids the punch easily.
Freese throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Freese lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A chopping leg kick lands by Freese.
Freese throws a quick inside leg kick.
Freese looks to score with a jab to the body but Emanuel is just out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freese slaps away a takedown attempt from Emanuel, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Freese looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Emanuel takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Freese goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Freese with a jab.
Nice shot by Freese.
A swing and a miss from Freese.
A nice inside leg kick there by Freese. That's going to slow Emanuel down.
Emanuel keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Emanuel has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Emanuel is rocked!
Freese throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Oh Emanuel is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Freese throws a right hand that Emanuel ducks under and follows up with a left that Emanuel also avoids with ease.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Freese lands with a cross.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Freese.
Ohhhhh! A huge head kick from Freese! Emanuel is out on his feet! Freese rushes in and throws more strikes. The ref is looking closely - Emanuel is covering up but the punishment is just too much and the ref steps in to stop the fight! Emanuel is staring into space, just thankful that the beatdown has ended. Brutal finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5:14 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Craig Freese!
A determined Craig Freese didn't want to dwell on this fight in his post fight interview. Instead he was more keen to state he wants a title shot. Let's see if he gets it!