PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight kickboxing rules bout between Patrick McGuire (ranked 22429 p4p, 733 weight class) and Ezekel Rage (ranked 21244 p4p, 777 weight class). McGuire comes to the ring accompanied by Dropkick Murphys - The Warrior's Code . These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

McGuire
vs
Rage

187 cm
23
174 lbs
11 - 4 - 1

195 cm
25
196 lbs
8 - 4 - 1

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Freebok (85% Laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 1, fighting out of New York, Patrick McGuire!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ezekel Rage!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Ren Mimura and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McGuire throws a one two combo.

It looks like Ezekel Rage has been cut.
McGuire has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Rage finds it's way round the side to connect with McGuire's head.
McGuire throws a leg kick but Rage sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Ezekel Rage seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rage is looking to chop away at McGuire's legs.
Rage attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Rage lands with a nice body punch.
Rage uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by McGuire.
We've been informed that Rage has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Rage buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Rage tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but McGuire was well out of range. Poor timing from Rage.
Rage slips a straight right by McGuire.
Rage lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Rage fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from McGuire. Rage does a little dance to reset his feet.
McGuire thuds his shin into the meat of Rage's side.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rage keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
McGuire cracks the inside of Rage's front leg.
McGuire misses with a wild body shot.
Rage cracks the inside of McGuire's front leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McGuire lands a jab to Rage's midsection.
Rage connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Rage lands with a shot to the body.
Rage keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from McGuire.
Rage takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Rage checks the leg kick nicely there.

McGuire instigates a clinch.
McGuire blocks an uppercut.
McGuire tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short right from McGuire.
Rage misses with a punch to the body.
Rage blocks a body shot from McGuire.
McGuire has a couple of punches blocked by Rage.
Rage blocks a body shot from McGuire.
Rage misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rage gets through McGuire's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A shot in the inside from McGuire.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McGuire throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
McGuire lands with a right to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McGuire looking to slow down the pace here.
McGuire is trying to maintain a safe position but Rage gets an underhook and turns McGuire into the ropes.
Rage gets through McGuire's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

McGuire breaks the clinch.
McGuire with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rage on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
McGuire takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Rage wants to clinch but McGuire slips to the side
and McGuire counters with an inside leg kick.
McGuire throws a hook but Rage blocks it.
Rage throws a jab when McGuire was well out of range.
McGuire connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Rage swings for the body but McGuire moves out of range.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rage's jab looks to have found its range, popping McGuire under the eye.
McGuire throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
McGuire misses with a hook
and Rage counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
McGuire just misses with a punch to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick McGuire dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ezekel Rage's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

McGuire circles away from the clinch attempt.
McGuire throwing a counter right hand but Rage manages to avoid it.
McGuire misses with a wild body shot.
Rage uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before McGuire has time to react.
Rage has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
McGuire lands a front kick.
McGuire lands a leg kick that knocks Rage off balance momentarily.
Good work by Rage as he checks the leg kick.
McGuire scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Rage looks to throw the jab but McGuire is out of range.
Rage throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
McGuire misses with a head kick.
Patrick McGuire is winning the standup battle so far.
A bone on bone clash there as McGuire blocks the leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big right from McGuire misses.
Rage throws a leg kick but McGuire sees it coming and checks it nicely.
McGuire looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Rage looks to throw the jab but McGuire is out of range.
Rage tries to clinch but McGuire moves out of range.
Rage keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rage on the wrong end of a kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McGuire walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Rage throws a leg kick
and McGuire counters with an inside leg kick.
McGuire ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rage moves away.
Rage throws a body shot but no joy.
McGuire appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Rage throws a leg kick
and McGuire counters with a nice leg kick.
McGuire is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rage can do to turn this around?
Jab, jab by Rage - just one landing.
McGuire is looking to wear down Rage with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
McGuire throws the left hand but Rage avoids the punch easily.
Rage checks a leg kick nicely.
McGuire pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
A shot to the body from Rage misses
and McGuire counters with a body kick that stops Rage in his tracks momentarily.
McGuire misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rage.
Rage tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

McGuire drives through and clinches with Rage against the ropes.
McGuire is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Rage's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
A head punch on the inside from Rage fails to land.
McGuire tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rage's elbow.
McGuire trying to control the position but instead, Rage has worked for underhooks and has pushed McGuire into the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by McGuire.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rage.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting McGuire here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McGuire can't find room to land a body shot as Rage controls the action.
McGuire throws a punch but it's blocked by Rage.

McGuire breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rage cracks the inside of McGuire's front leg.
Rage throws a hook but McGuire avoids it easily.
Rage steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McGuire.
Rage takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
McGuire sets himself, and Rage steps forward looking for the clinch! McGuire avoids it this time.
Rage looks to land a right hand but McGuire moved out of range.
A low kick from Rage is predictable there
and McGuire finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Rage throws a solid leg kick but McGuire takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Rage.
McGuire throws a solid leg kick but Rage takes the impact on his shin and smiles at McGuire.
McGuire fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rage.
McGuire throws out a loose jab but Rage uses good head movement to avoid it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick McGuire dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ezekel Rage's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Rage swings for the body but McGuire moves out of range.
A leg kick checked by Rage.
Rage throws a low kick but it's checked well by McGuire.
McGuire is looking for a counter combo.
A swing and a miss from Rage.
McGuire tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rage was well out of range. Poor timing from McGuire.
McGuire throws a nice outside leg kick.
McGuire throws a hook but Rage blocks it.
McGuire lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rage misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McGuire.
McGuire moves out of range of the body kick from Rage.
Rage throws a body shot but no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McGuire swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Rage.
McGuire is looking to clinch but Rage is avoiding it.
Rage lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Rage scores with a hook.
Rage fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from McGuire misses.
Rage throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
McGuire half committed to a counter leg kick.
Rage avoids the body shot from McGuire.
McGuire takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Rage misses with a body shot.
McGuire throws a half hearted mid kick.
Rage ducks under a wild hook from McGuire.
McGuire works Rage's body with a nice hook.
Rage walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. McGuire checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Rage misses with a leg kick
and McGuire counters with an inside leg kick.
McGuire swings and misses with a hook to the body.
It seemed like Rage was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
McGuire misses with a wild body shot.
McGuire throws a sloppy head kick and Rage moves out of range easily.
Rage attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
McGuire is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Rage.
A slapping leg kick lands for McGuire.
McGuire scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
McGuire misses with a low kick.
A shot to the body from Rage misses
and Rage takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A swing and a miss from Rage.
Rage thows a left - swing and a miss!
A jab from Rage misses.
McGuire half committed to a counter leg kick.
McGuire stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Rage steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McGuire.
An inside leg kick lands from Rage.
Rage checks a leg kick.
Rage slips under a jab from McGuire.
McGuire misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
McGuire attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
McGuire drops his hands momentarily and Rage takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Ezekel Rage has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Patrick McGuire is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McGuire connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Patrick McGuire showed his dominance in that final round.
Well McGuire has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Patrick McGuire!
After the big win, Patrick McGuire made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Freebok (85% Laundry) and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.