PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rod De Minaur (ranked 3 p4p, 20 weight class) and Ryoto Takahashi (ranked 1 p4p, 4 weight class). De Minaur comes to the cage accompanied by Seek and Destroy . Takahashi has chosen SMOKING & THINKING as his entrance music. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

De Minaur
vs
Takahashi

177 cm
29
157
28 - 5 - 0

175 cm
30
155
17 - 6 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

HELLBENT
Voodoo Nutrition

Conviction
Conquer

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Rod De Minaur!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ryoto Takahashi!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, James Ackerman and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Takahashi throws a leg kick
and De Minaur counters with a lovely straight right hand!
De Minaur tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Takahashi was well out of range. Poor timing from De Minaur.
Takahashi fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and De Minaur has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Takahashi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Takahashi wants to slow De Minaur down by chopping away at his legs.
De Minaur misses with a looping right.
Takahashi rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and De Minaur counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Takahashi moves out of range of the body kick from De Minaur.
A little jabbing left from Takahashi on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takahashi throws a low kick but it's checked well by De Minaur.
De Minaur misses with a hook
and Takahashi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A slow jab from Takahashi misses its intended target.
De Minaur feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Takahashis jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Minaur misses with a low kick.
Takahashi is trying to counter with his kicks.
De Minaur throws a shot from downtown. Takahashi moves away and avoids it.
De Minaur loads up on a big right hand but Takahashi slips the punch.
De Minaur works the jab nicely.
De Minaur blocks the body kick.
De Minaur fires out a quick counter leg kick but Takahashi just manages to avoid it.
Takahashi throws a lazy right hand but De Minaur sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
De Minaur scoring well with a low kick there.
Rod De Minaur seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Minaur connects with a nice looking jab.
De Minaur lands a nice leg kick that just misses Takahashi's sensitive parts.
De Minaur lands a nice looking kick to the body. Takahashi takes a step back to recover.
Takahashi throws a combination that misses
and De Minaur counters with a nice body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from De Minaur misses.
Takahashi has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
De Minaur ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Takahashi misses with an uppercut.
A swing and a miss from Takahashi.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Minaur slips a jab from Takahashi.
Takahashi fakes a jab and throws a low kick but De Minaur checks it well.
Takahashi scores with a push kick.
De Minaur moves out of range of the leg kick from Takahashi.
A looping hook to the body misses from De Minaur. Takahashi does a little dance to reset his feet.
A shot to the liver by De Minaur. Beautiful body shot.
Takahashi misses with a wild combination.
De Minaur throwing a counter right hand but Takahashi manages to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Takahashi takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
De Minaur swings away with a body shot that misses
and Takahashi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

It looks like Rod De Minaur has been cut.
De Minaur fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Takahashi manages to avoid it.
A good leg kick by Takahashi.
De Minaur lands the left hand.
De Minaur looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Takahashi walks into a left hand.
De Minaur lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Jab from De Minaur.
De Minaur is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Takahashi misses with a straight left.
De Minaur connects with a solid leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Minaur blocks a jab.
De Minaur throws a shot from downtown. Takahashi moves away and avoids it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
De Minaur moves out of range as Takahashi strikes.
De Minaur misses with a looping right.
De Minaur lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
De Minaur cracks Takahashi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Jab from Takahashi.
Takahashi has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from De Minaur.
Takahashi throws a sloppy head kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
De Minaur ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
De Minaur throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rod De Minaur dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rod De Minaur's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

De Minaur jabs Takahashi right on the nose. Takahashi blinks but takes it well.
Takahashi misses with a right hand
and De Minaur counters with an outside leg kick.
De Minaur tried to score with a low kick but Takahashi checks it.
Takahashi scores with the left hand. De Minaur knows he should have avoided that one.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Takahashi.
Takahashi defending well as De Minaur loads up on a big left hand.
Takahashi throws a solid leg kick but De Minaur takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Takahashi.
Takahashi blocks the body kick.
Rod De Minaur is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Minaur lands with a thumping leg kick.
Takahashi's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
De Minaur dips to his left and cracks Takahashi with an uppercut!
De Minaur is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Takahashi.
Takahashi throws out a counter right but De Minaur avoids it with no problem.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with each other but Takahashi might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, De Minaur has got the better of the exchanges.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Minaur scores with a punch to the head.
De Minaur bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Takahashi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De Minaur.
De Minaur appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Takahashi lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Nice defenses there by De Minaur.
Takahashi misses with a head kick.
De Minaur's jab looks to have found its range, popping Takahashi under the eye.
De Minaur avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Takahashi listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
De Minaur moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Takahashi pushes De Minaur away with a front kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Minaur ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Minaur dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Takahashi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Minaur.
De Minaur sizes up Takahashi with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
De Minaur misses with a body kick.
Takahashi on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by De Minaur. De Minaur obviously looking to wear him down.
De Minaur scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Takahashi takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
De Minaur attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Takahashi shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - De Minaur throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Takahashi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Takahashi throws a leg kick
and De Minaur counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A big left from Takahashi misses.
De Minaur missing with a left hand there. Takahashi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
De Minaur scores with a hook to the body. Takahashi takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
De Minaur staying out of range there.
Takahashi misses the shot to the body.
Takahashi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by De Minaur.
Nice uppercut lands for De Minaur. That snapped Takahashi's head back.
Nice shot lands for De Minaur.
De Minaur defending well as Takahashi loads up on a big left hand.
Takahashi has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Minaur throws a leg kick
and Takahashi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Takahashi tries to move into range but De Minaur moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
De Minaur looks to land a right hand but Takahashi moved out of range.
Takahashi unleashes a big counter combination but De Minaur bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Takahashi takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Nice uppercut lands for De Minaur. That snapped Takahashi's head back.
De Minaur scores with a jab. Takahashi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
De Minaur slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
De Minaur throws a nice inside leg kick.
De Minaur checks the leg kick.
A jab lands there for De Minaur.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rod De Minaur dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rod De Minaur's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A looping hook to the body misses from Takahashi. De Minaur does a little dance to reset his feet.
De Minaur looks to throw the jab but Takahashi is out of range.
A little jabbing left from Takahashi on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
De Minaur throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Takahashi to counter with a crisp jab.
Takahashi throws a hook but De Minaur avoids it easily.
Takahashi throws a body shot but no joy.
De Minaur fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Takahashi has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Takahashi stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from De Minaur.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A chopping leg kick lands by De Minaur.
De Minaur throws a low kick, looking for Takahashi's leg but Takahashi calmly moves out of range.
Takahashi throws out a counter right but De Minaur avoids it with no problem.
Takahashi moves out of range of the strikes.
De Minaur misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Takahashi counters with a crisp one two that drops De Minaur! Takahashi thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves De Minaur to his feet! De Minaur is in big trouble!

De Minaur is rocked!

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Minaur tried to score with a low kick but Takahashi checks it.
Takahashi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
De Minaur was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
A nice leg kick lands there from De Minaur.
Takahashi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but De Minaur was well out of range. Poor timing from Takahashi.
A lazy body kick from Takahashi
and De Minaur counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
De Minaur throws a low kick but it's checked well by Takahashi.
De Minaur fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Takahashi on the side of the head.
Takahashi misses with a body kick.
Takahashi throws a head kick but De Minaur moves out of range.
Takahashi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from De Minaur.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi misses with an uppercut
and De Minaur counters with a nice uppercut.
De Minaur lands a jab to Takahashi's midsection.
Takahashi swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and De Minaur counters with a nice low kick that buckles Takahashi's knee momentarily.
Takahashi shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Takahashi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but De Minaur moves away.
De Minaur dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De Minaur bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
An attempted straight right counter from De Minaur misses the target.
Takahashi throws a low kick, looking for De Minaur's leg but De Minaur calmly moves out of range.
De Minaur cracks Takahashi with an open hand slap.
Takahashi throws a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Minaur with a hook.
De Minaur feints and then cracks Takahashi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Takahashi down.
Nice cross by De Minaur.
De Minaur tests Takahashi's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Takahashi scores with a leg kick.
De Minaur with a body punch. A glancing blow.
De Minaur misses with a body shot.
De Minaur slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Takahashi throws a solid leg kick but De Minaur takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Takahashi.
De Minaur lands a nice looking body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from De Minaur. Takahashi shrugs it off though.
De Minaur takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
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!
De Minaur listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Takahashi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by De Minaur.
De Minaur lands a leg kick that knocks Takahashi off balance momentarily.
De Minaur throws a leg kick which misses Takahashi's front leg but catches the back leg as Takahashi tries to avoid it.
De Minaur listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
De Minaur misses with a low kick.
Takahashi looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Takahashi shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Jab by De Minaur.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rod De Minaur clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Rod De Minaur's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

De Minaur throws a low kick but Takahashi moves out of range easily.
A shot to the body from De Minaur misses
and Takahashi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A bone on bone clash there as De Minaur blocks the leg kick.
Takahashi does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
De Minaur throws a quick inside leg kick.
De Minaur scores with a sloppy right hand. Takahashi should have avoided that one.
De Minaur rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Takahashi counters with a straight right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A thudding body kick lands there by Takahashi!
De Minaur connects with a looping right hand.
A swing and a miss from De Minaur.
De Minaur wants to slow Takahashi down by chopping away at his legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi looks for the body kick but De Minaur saw that one coming.
A telegraphed right hand from Takahashi misses the target.
De Minaur was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Takahashi pivots, looking for a leg kick but De Minaur is out of range and Takahashi settles back down.
De Minaur smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Takahashi has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from De Minaur.
A nice inside leg kick there by De Minaur. That's going to slow Takahashi down.
Takahashi looks to score with a jab to the body but De Minaur is just out of range.
Takahashi closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
De Minaur throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Takahashi flicks out a counter leg kick but De Minaur steps away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Takahashi attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
An inside leg kick lands from De Minaur.
De Minaur misses with a body shot.
De Minaur throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Takahashi on the side of the head.
De Minaur throws a leg kick but Takahashi checks it.
De Minaur is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Takahashi can do to turn this around?
That kick from Takahashi tenderised De Minaur's leg. De Minaur is trying to keep his angry face on.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De Minaur lunges at Takahashi with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Takahashi's hand.
Takahashi throws a lazy body kick
and De Minaur counters with a nice uppercut.
A low kick lands for De Minaur.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A left lands for De Minaur.
De Minaur slips under a jab.
De Minaur half committed to a counter leg kick.
De Minaur lands with an overhand left.
Takahashi misses with a looping left.
Takahashi throws a body punch but De Minaur moves out of range.
De Minaur uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Takahashi.
De Minaur checks a leg kick.
Takahashi is looking to land body kicks.
De Minaur appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Takahashi ducks right into an uppercut from De Minaur.
Takahashi cracks a nice hook into De Minaur's ribs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Minaur throws a big shot that misses.
De Minaur throws a leg kick but Takahashi sees it coming and moves out of range.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Takahashi.
De Minaur swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
De Minaur keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Takahashi.
A little feinted left hand from De Minaur on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Takahashi looks to land a right hand but De Minaur moved out of range.
De Minaur was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
De Minaur misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Takahashi.
Takahashi thinks about the counter body kick.
Takahashi misses with a lunging right hand
letting De Minaur counter with a right hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Takahashi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from De Minaur.
Takahashi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Takahashi is looking to chop away at De Minaur's legs.
De Minaur ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rod De Minaur had his way with Ryoto Takahashi in that round.
The cut man is working on Rod De Minaur's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

A clash of legs there as De Minaur blocks the low kick.
Takahashi closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Takahashi takes one to the side of the head.
An inside leg kick lands from De Minaur.
Takahashi looks to land a right hand but De Minaur moved out of range.
De Minaur looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Takahashi scores with a kick to the midsection.
Takahashi will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takahashi throws a leg kick
and De Minaur counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
De Minaur scores with a sloppy right hand. Takahashi should have avoided that one.
Takahashi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice cross by De Minaur.
De Minaur lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
De Minaur displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Takahashi throws out the jab.
De Minaur moves out of range of the strikes.
Takahashi throws the left hand but De Minaur avoids the punch easily.
Takahashi throws a hook to the side of De Minaur's head but De Minaur sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Takahashi motions for De Minaur to come forward. Takahashi throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Takahashi throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
De Minaur misses with a looping right.
De Minaur lands a head shot.
Ryoto Takahashi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rod De Minaur is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick from De Minaur misses.
Takahashi on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
De Minaur throws a hook but Takahashi blocks it.
Takahashi has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Takahashi there as he acknowledges the shot.
Takahashi has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Takahashi there as he acknowledges the shot.
Takahashi misses with a leg kick
and De Minaur counters with a leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
De Minaur cracks a nice hook into Takahashi's ribs.
De Minaur lands with a thumping leg kick.
Takahashi takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Takahashi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De Minaur.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Takahashi thows a left - swing and a miss!
Takahashi gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Takahashi misses with a body kick.
De Minaur appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
A left lands for De Minaur.
De Minaur misses the jab.
De Minaur throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
De Minaur moves out of range as Takahashi throws a body kick.
Takahashi tests De Minaur's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi throws an overhand right that lands on De Minaur's shoulder, as De Minaur tries to avoid the shot.
Takahashi throws a leg kick but De Minaur moved away.
Nice shot by De Minaur.
Takahashi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from De Minaur.
Takahashi let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Takahashi tries to work over De Minaur's front leg with a kick but De Minaur checks it.
A little feinted left hand from De Minaur on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
De Minaur waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Takahashi.
Jab from De Minaur.
De Minaur lands a slapping body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Minaur checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
De Minaur has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Takahashi.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rod De Minaur showed his dominance in that final round.
Well De Minaur 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 50:45
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 50:45
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 50:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rod De Minaur!
Rod De Minaur retains his lightweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Rod De Minaur thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.