PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight kickboxing rules bout between Sitthichai Fairtex (ranked 4624 p4p, 6381 weight class) and Luan Mabunda (ranked 196 p4p, 219 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Fairtex
vs
Mabunda

174 cm
18
140
2 - 1 - 0

170 cm
19
140
3 - 1 - 0

Excellent MT
Very quick

Dangerous knees
Solid chin

Conviction
© Trap House

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sitthichai Fairtex!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Luan Mabunda!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mabunda bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Mabunda takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Fairtex works Mabunda's body with a nice hook.
Fairtex tests Mabunda's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Mabunda keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Fairtex misses with a shot to the body

and Mabunda counters by moving into the clinch.
Mabunda throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Fairtex blocks it with crossed arms.
Mabunda trying to land knees to the body.
Mabunda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Fairtex is defending well for now.
Mabunda misses with a knee strike.
Fairtex looking to throw knees to the head but Mabunda is blocking nicely.
Fairtex fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Fairtex trying to control the position but instead, Mabunda has worked for underhooks and has pushed Fairtex into the ropes.
Mabunda effectively controlling the action here.
Fairtex looking to stall.
Mabunda looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Mabunda.
Fairtex misses with some punches.
Mabunda tries a knee to the head but Fairtex blocks it.
A body shot lands from Fairtex.
Mabunda with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Fairtex tries to stall but Mabunda uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Fairtex fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Fairtex breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Fairtex jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Fairtex misses with a looping right.
Mabunda only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Mabunda throws a head kick but Fairtex moves out of range.
Fairtex lands a leg kick that knocks Mabunda off balance momentarily.
Mabunda misses with a straight left.
Fairtex throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mabunda counters with a good low kick that Fairtex was not able to check.
Nice shot by Fairtex.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mabunda uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Fairtex.
Mabunda was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Fairtex misses with a wild body shot.
Mabunda tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Fairtex is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Mabunda throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Fairtex misses with a body shot
and Mabunda counters with a big head kick but Fairtex shrugs it off.
Mabunda misses with a low kick.
Jab by Fairtex.
Mabunda slips a jab from Fairtex.

Mabunda has Fairtex up against the ropes in a clinch.
Mabunda misses with a knee to the head.
Mabunda using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Mabunda dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
Mabunda looking to throw knees to the head but Fairtex is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Sitthichai Fairtex will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Fairtex swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mabunda steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Mabunda throws a leg kick that is checked
and Fairtex counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Mabunda throws a front kick aimed at Fairtex's knee but Fairtex avoids it well.
Good work by Fairtex as he checks the leg kick.
Mabunda steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Fairtex.
Fairtex cracks Mabunda with an open hand slap.
Mabunda throws a low kick but Fairtex avoids it.
Fairtex is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Fairtex pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Mabunda back to the ropes. Fairtex follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Sitthichai Fairtex is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mabunda displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Fairtex throws out the jab.
Fairtex throws a body punch but Mabunda moves out of range.
Fairtex is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mabunda can do to turn this around?
Fairtex swings for the body but Mabunda moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mabunda closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Mabunda walks into a jab.
Mabunda gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Fairtex.
Fairtex moves out of range of the leg kick from Mabunda.
Mabunda scoring well with a low kick there.
Mabunda misses with a leg kick.
Fairtex scores with a head kick.
Mabunda uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Fairtex.
Mabunda throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Mabunda is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
A low kick lands for Mabunda.
Fairtex lands a right hook to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Fairtex throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Mabunda uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Fairtex.
Mabunda throws a fast counter high kick but Fairtex manages to duck under it in time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fairtex is looking to clinch but Mabunda is avoiding it.
Mabunda thuds his shin into the meat of Fairtex's side.
Mabunda keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Fairtex.
Fairtex lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Mabunda misses with a body kick.
Fairtex throws a looping overhand right but Mabunda ducks down to avoid it.
Fairtex lands a head kick!
Mabunda tries a head kick but it misses.
Mabunda takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

Fairtex gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Fairtex throws a knee to the head but misses.
Mabunda managing to block the knees to the body from Fairtex.

Mabunda manages to break the clinch.
Mabunda has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sitthichai Fairtex dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Mabunda attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Mabunda takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Fairtex throws out a leg kick but Mabunda moves out of range and Fairtex only half commits.
Mabunda is trying to counter with his kicks.
Mabunda connects with a leg kick.
Fairtex fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Mabunda is out of range.
Mabunda walks into a jab.
Fairtex lands a nice leg kick that just misses Mabunda's sensitive parts.
Fairtex looks to score with a jab to the body but Mabunda is just out of range.
Mabunda misses with a body kick.
Fairtex jabbing away but nothing is landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big right from Fairtex misses.
Fairtex scores with a nice head shot.
Fairtex ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mabunda moves away.
A shot to the liver by Fairtex. Beautiful body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mabunda darts in and clinches Fairtex up against the ropes.
Fairtex looking to stall.
Fairtex misses with some punches.
Fairtex struggles to land a body shot inside as Mabunda controls his hands.
Mabunda blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Fairtex.
Mabunda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Fairtex is defending well for now.
Mabunda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Fairtex avoids it.
Mabunda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Fairtex avoids it.
Mabunda with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Mabunda obliges.
Fairtex throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Fairtex misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Mabunda.
Mabunda throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Fairtex blocks it with crossed arms.
Fairtex misses with a short punch on the inside.
Mabunda misses with a knee strike.
Fairtex misses with a short punch on the inside.
Luan Mabunda has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sitthichai Fairtex is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mabunda utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Mabunda using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Fairtex has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Mabunda blocks a body shot from Fairtex.
Mabunda with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Mabunda holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
Fairtex lands a left hand that snaps the head of Mabunda backwards.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mabunda lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Mabunda misses with a knee strike.
Mabunda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Fairtex is defending well for now.
Mabunda prevents Fairtex from breaking the clinch.
Mabunda landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Luan Mabunda seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Fairtex using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Mabunda has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Mabunda blocking some punches.

Mabunda breaks from the clinch.
Mabunda misses with an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Luan Mabunda.
I think Fairtex has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Sitthichai Fairtex!