PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight kickboxing rules bout between Makunouchi Ippo (ranked 12923 p4p, 433 weight class) and Mike Van Rijn (ranked 1236 p4p, 123 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Ippo might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Indestructible. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Ippo
vs
Van Rijn

173 cm
42
153 lbs
36 - 16 - 0

180 cm
27
159 lbs
20 - 19 - 0

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Granite chin

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 36 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Makunouchi Ippo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mike Van Rijn!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Paulo Santos and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Rijn throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Van Rijn misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ippo.
Ippo misses with a looping left.
Ippo chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Van Rijn is looking to clinch but Ippo is avoiding it.
Ippo definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ippo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Rijn has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Ippo avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Van Rijn blocks a jab.
Ippo lands a jab to Van Rijn's midsection.

Van Rijn has managed to clinch.
Van Rijn works on Ippo's body with a couple of short punches.
Ippo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ippo scores with a nice hook to the head.
Ippo lands a nice knee to the body.
Van Rijn misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ippo blocks a body shot from Van Rijn.
Van Rijn struggles to land a body shot inside as Ippo controls his hands.
Ippo trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ippo misses with a knee strike.
Ippo softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Van Rijn lands a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ippo throws a punch but it's blocked by Van Rijn.
Van Rijn working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Ippo tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Van Rijn avoids it.
Van Rijn swings wildly with an uppercut but Ippo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Van Rijn tries to throw a body punch but Ippo avoids it by throwing Van Rijn back against the ropes.
Van Rijn throws a punch but it's blocked by Ippo.
Ippo working aggressively here.
A head punch on the inside from Van Rijn fails to land.
Van Rijn tries to work over Ippo's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ippo lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Ippo looking to throw knees to the head but Van Rijn is blocking nicely.
Ippo lands with a light punch inside.
Van Rijn lands a hook to the side of the head.
Van Rijn tries a body shot but Ippo blocks it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ippo.
Ippo throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Van Rijn blocks it with crossed arms.
Ippo lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Ippo landing knees to the head.

It looks like Mike Van Rijn has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Rijn goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ippo.
Ippo looking to throw knees to the head but Van Rijn is blocking nicely.
Ippo with a knee to the head.
Ippo lands a hook that snaps the head of Van Rijn backwards.
Van Rijn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Van Rijn tries a body shot but Ippo blocks it.
Van Rijn lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ippo backwards.
Ippo lands a right hand that snaps the head of Van Rijn backwards.
A right hook to the body lands for Van Rijn.
Van Rijn tries to throw a body punch but Ippo avoids it by throwing Van Rijn back against the ropes.
Van Rijn misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ippo utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
A short left from Van Rijn.
Ippo fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Rijn can't find room to land a body shot as Ippo controls the action.
Van Rijn tries a body shot but Ippo blocks it.
Van Rijn misses with a body punch.
Van Rijn lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Ippo or not.
A nice left hand lands by Van Rijn.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Makunouchi Ippo dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Van Rijn's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

A bone on bone clash there as Van Rijn blocks the leg kick.
Van Rijn wants to counter the offense by Ippo and move into the clinch position.
Van Rijn swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ippo is looking to counter punch.
Van Rijn lands a body shot.
Ippo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Rijn.
Van Rijn looks to score with a jab to the body but Ippo is just out of range.
Van Rijn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ippo works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Van Rijn misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ippo.
Van Rijn connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Ippo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Van Rijn scores with a decent looking hook.
Van Rijn thows a leg kick but Ippo checks it
and Ippo counters with a nice uppercut.
Ippo keeps the fight on the outside.
Ippo jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Makunouchi Ippo is winning the standup battle so far.
Ippo throws a body kick that misses.
A punch combination from Ippo misses.
Ippo moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Rijn misses with a low kick.
Ippo seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Van Rijn throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Van Rijn circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ippo looks to land a left hand but Van Rijn moved out of range nicely.
Ippo pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Van Rijn is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Ippo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Rijn with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Ippo misses with a looping left.
Van Rijn connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Van Rijn has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Ippo.
Van Rijn misses with a series of wild punches.
Ippo swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A jab from Ippo misses.
Ippo tries to clinch but Van Rijn moves out of range.
A jab from Van Rijn does it's job there.
Van Rijn pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ippo was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Van Rijn throws a series of punches but Ippo moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ippo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Van Rijn is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Ippo loads up on a big right hand but Van Rijn slips the punch.
Van Rijn just misses with a punch to the body.
Van Rijn misses with a body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ippo throws a good cross that connects.
Van Rijn tries to clinch up but Ippo circles away and keeps his distance.
Ippo misses with an uppercut. Van Rijn saw that one coming.
Ippo is looking to slow Van Rijn down with leg kicks.
Ippo throws a leg kick that misses.
Van Rijn ducks under a wild hook from Ippo.
Ippo fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Van Rijn has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Van Rijn is looking to clinch.
Van Rijn throws a jab but it's blocked by Ippo.
Ippo rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Van Rijn moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Van Rijn checks a leg kick.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Van Rijn is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Ippo rather than just go for the knockout.
Van Rijn is looking to clinch but Ippo is avoiding it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Makunouchi Ippo will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Mike Van Rijn's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Van Rijn misses with a wild body shot.
Van Rijn throws a body shot but no joy.

Ippo moves into the clinch successfully.
A knee to the head by Ippo.
Van Rijn can't find room to land a body shot as Ippo controls the action.
A short uppercut from Ippo.
Ippo with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Ippo lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Van Rijn working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Ippo lands with a light punch inside.
Van Rijn lands with a light punch inside.
Van Rijn struggles to land a body shot inside as Ippo controls his hands.
A short body shot lands from Van Rijn as the two fighters clinch.
Van Rijn throws a punch but it's blocked by Ippo.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ippo misses with a punch on the inside.
Van Rijn misses with some punches.
Van Rijn lands a hook to the side of the head.
Van Rijn is working Ippo over against the ropes.
A head punch on the inside from Ippo fails to land.
Van Rijn tries a body shot but Ippo blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Rijn blocks an uppercut.
Ippo lands a nice uppercut.
Van Rijn cracks Ippo with a nice body shot.
Van Rijn tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ippo tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ippo swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Rijn uses good head movement to avoid it.
Van Rijn goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Ippo blocks a body shot from Van Rijn.
A head punch on the inside from Ippo fails to land.
Ippo landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Van Rijn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ippo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van Rijn can do to turn this around?
Ippo with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Ippo looking to throw knees to the head but Van Rijn is blocking nicely.
A short uppercut from Van Rijn.
A short right from Ippo on the inside.
Ippo throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Van Rijn blocks it with crossed arms.
Van Rijn tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Van Rijn swings wildly with an uppercut but Ippo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Mike Van Rijn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Rijn misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ippo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Van Rijn swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ippo looking to throw knees to the head but Van Rijn is blocking nicely.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Van Rijn misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ippo tries to land a knee to the head but Van Rijn blocks with his arms.
Ippo misses with some punches.
Van Rijn struggles to land a body shot inside as Ippo controls his hands.
Van Rijn fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Van Rijn lands with a light punch inside.
Van Rijn misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ippo prevents a body shot from Van Rijn.
Ippo misses with the head strike.
Ippo blocks a body shot from Van Rijn.
Van Rijn tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ippo's elbow.
Van Rijn tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ippo's elbow.
Van Rijn lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
Van Rijn doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Makunouchi Ippo.
Well Ippo 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Makunouchi Ippo!