PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ippo Makunouchi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Maxime Oppong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Ippo Makunouchi has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Makunouchi
vs
Oppong

170 cm
24
160 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

174 cm
20
165 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ippo Makunouchi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Maxime Oppong!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Franklyn Lucas and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Makunouchi misses with a double jab.
Ippo Makunouchi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Makunouchi misses with a body shot.
Makunouchi jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.

Oppong shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Makunouchi is trying to defend but Oppong finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Oppong sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Makunouchi defending well though.
Oppong thows a huge punch but Makunouchi dodges it nicely.
Makunouchi is trying to maintain the position but Oppong is very close to passing his half guard.
Oppong is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Oppong thows a huge punch but Makunouchi dodges it nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Oppong throwing shots but Makunouchi is blocking nicely.
Oppong missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oppong thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Makunouchi's head.
Makunouchi keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Makunouchi is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Oppong has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Oppong throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Oppong uses his free foot to push down on Makunouchi's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Makunouchi.
Oppong landing strikes from the mount.
Oppong is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Oppong landing strikes from the mount and Makunouchi is in trouble!
Oppong landing strikes from the mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Oppong landing strikes from the mount and Makunouchi is in trouble!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oppong unloading with bombs!
Oppong working the ground and pound effectively.
Oppong landing strikes from the mount and Makunouchi is in trouble!
Oppong with the ground and pound from mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Oppong cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
BOOM! Oppong connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Makunouchi knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Oppong on the ground.
Oppong breaks from Makunouchi's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Makunouchi is in a horrible position here. Oppong smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Oppong cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Oppong breaks from Makunouchi's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Makunouchi is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Makunouchi is breathing heavily.
Oppong working the ground and pound effectively.
Makunouchi is looking to get to half guard.
Oppong pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Makunouchi is trying desperately to improve position.
Oppong lands a big elbow.

Makunouchi is rocked!
Oppong drops a big elbow. That's hurt Makunouchi! More shots from Oppong and the ref steps in! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:01 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Maxime Oppong!