PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kenichi Misahawa (ranked 3887 p4p, 2955 weight class) and Melvin Van Dik (ranked 445 p4p, 359 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Melvin Van Dik enters the cage!

Misahawa
vs
Van Dik

183 cm
25
210
1 - 2 - 0

210 cm
25
215
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Good knees
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Kenichi Misahawa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Melvin Van Dik!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Santiago Holmes and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A decent looking cross lands there for Van Dik.
Van Dik cracks Misahawa with an open hand slap.
Misahawa on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Misahawa throws a body shot but no joy.
Jab by Misahawa.
Van Dik throws a solid leg kick but Misahawa takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Van Dik.
Van Dik is looking to chop away at Misahawa's legs.
Van Dik keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Misahawa.
Van Dik scores with a jab. Misahawa acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Misahawa looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Dik is just out of range.
Van Dik buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Van Dik jabs Misahawa right on the nose. Misahawa blinks but takes it well.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Misahawa checks a leg kick.
Misahawa tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Van Dik manages to circle out of the way.
Misahawa throws a body shot but no joy.
Misahawa takes one to the chin there.
Van Dik scores with the left hand. Misahawa knows he should have avoided that one.
Van Dik lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Van Dik is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Van Dik throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Misahawa.
Misahawa throws a big counter combination but Van Dik scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Van Dik fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Melvin Van Dik seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Misahawa ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Van Dik moves away.
Misahawa lands the left hand.
Misahawa fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Van Dik looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Misahawa lands with a straight right. Van Dik didn't see that one coming.
Van Dik tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Van Dik throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Misahawa counter with a right hand.
Van Dik swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Dik throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Van Dik takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Misahawa instigates a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Dik.
Misahawa lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A short left from Misahawa.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Van Dik pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Misahawa clinches up against the cage.
Van Dik misses with the head strike.
Van Dik has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Misahawa lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Dik.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Van Dik breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Van Dik throws an overhand right that lands on Misahawa's shoulder, as Misahawa tries to avoid the shot.
Van Dik ducks right into an uppercut from Misahawa.
Decent striking displayed by Misahawa there.
Misahawa looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Misahawa dodges the punch combination from Van Dik.
Van Dik lands with a thumping leg kick.
Misahawa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Dik.
Van Dik throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Misahawa counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Van Dik scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

Misahawa pushes Van Dik up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Dik has a couple of punches blocked by Misahawa.
Van Dik lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Misahawa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Van Dik avoids it.
Misahawa lands with a light punch inside.
Van Dik swings wildly with an uppercut but Misahawa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Misahawa tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Misahawa with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Misahawa scores with a nice hook to the head.
Van Dik misses with some punches.
Van Dik has a couple of punches blocked by Misahawa.

Van Dik breaks from the clinch.
Van Dik misses with a jab to the body

and Misahawa counters by clinching up.
Van Dik misses with some punches.
Misahawa tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Van Dik escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Van Dik connects with a jab.
Misahawa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Misahawa slips under a jab.
Van Dik connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Van Dik throws a body shot but no joy.
Misahawa throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Van Dik sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Van Dik throws a wild body kick that Misahawa sees coming a mile off.
Misahawa lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Van Dik at a distance.
Van Dik keeps the fight on the outside.
Misahawa tries to clinch but Van Dik moves out of range.
Van Dik ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

Misahawa gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Misahawa lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Dik backwards.
Misahawa blocking some punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Misahawa breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Misahawa throws a hook but Van Dik blocks it.
Misahawa takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Van Dik throws a low kick but Misahawa moves out of range easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Melvin Van Dik will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Van Dik throws a body kick that misses
letting Misahawa counter with a right hand.
Misahawa takes a swing at Van Dik's ribcage but misses.
Misahawa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
No joy there for Misahawa, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Misahawa avoids a punch combination nicely.
Van Dik lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Misahawa takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

Misahawa instigates a clinch.
Misahawa prevents Van Dik from breaking the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice left hand lands by Misahawa.
Misahawa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Van Dik pushes Misahawa back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Misahawa trying to land knees to the body.
Van Dik wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Misahawa has him pressed against the cage.
Misahawa stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Misahawa makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Van Dik misses with a short punch on the inside.
Van Dik lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Van Dik is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Van Dik fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Van Dik doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Van Dik escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Van Dik throws a leg kick that is checked
and Misahawa counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Misahawa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Van Dik throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Misahawa closes the distance and pushes Van Dik back into the cage.
Misahawa missing with knees to the body.
Misahawa has a couple of punches blocked by Van Dik.
Van Dik lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Van Dik misses with a punch on the inside.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Van Dik misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Dik wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Van Dik scores with a nice short uppercut.
Misahawa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Van Dik is defending well for now.
Van Dik is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Misahawa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Van Dik's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Misahawa.
Van Dik swings wildly with an uppercut but Misahawa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Misahawa looking to throw knees to the head but Van Dik is blocking nicely.
Misahawa blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Van Dik misses with a punch on the inside.
Van Dik takes a shot to the head.
Misahawa blocking some punches.

Misahawa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Van Dik shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Misahawa takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Van Dik fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Misahawa manages to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Dik throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Misahawa sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Misahawa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Van Dik misses with a body kick.
Misahawa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Misahawa tries to counter by clinching up but Van Dik breaks away and moves out of range.

Misahawa moves into the clinch.
Van Dik managing to block the knees to the body from Misahawa.
Van Dik wants to break free but Misahawa has control.
Misahawa tries to land knees in the clinch but Van Dik avoids the damage to the body.
Van Dik throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Misahawas head.
Van Dik working aggressively here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Dik.
Misahawa lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Van Dik's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Misahawa fails to land with a series of punches.

Misahawa closes the distance and pushes Van Dik back into the cage.
Misahawa lands a good knee to the midsection. Van Dik won't want to take too many of those.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Misahawa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Misahawa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Misahawa fails in his attempt to clinch.
Van Dik appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Van Dik on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Van Dik works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Misahawa gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Van Dik.

Misahawa fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Van Dik, pushing him back against the cage.
Misahawa manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Van Dik looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Van Dik is trying to stall.
Van Dik swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Van Dik swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Misahawa missing with knees to the body.
Van Dik misses with the head strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Melvin Van Dik will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Van Dik looks to land a combination but Misahawa avoids it well.
Misahawa keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Van Dik.
Van Dik throws a right hand that misses

and Misahawa counters by clinching up.
Van Dik swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Misahawa misses with a knee to the head.
Van Dik controlling the action here for a moment.
Misahawa scores with a shoulder strike.
Misahawa with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

Van Dik is rocked!

It looks like Melvin Van Dik has been cut.
Van Dik wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Van Dik is still on wobbly legs! Can Misahawa finish him?
Misahawa looking to throw knees to the head but Van Dik is blocking nicely.
Misahawa softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Misahawa lands a big right hand that drops Van Dik! The killer instinct kicks in and Misahawa finishes his opponent with a series of strikes from mount. A dominating finish by Misahawa!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:49 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Kenichi Misahawa!
During a confident post fight interview, Kenichi Misahawa thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.