PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Inoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Wolverine (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Inoki
vs
Wolverine

178 cm
27
180 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

180 cm
20
175 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Experienced

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Antonio Inoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thomas Wolverine!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shirou Masuda and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Inoki throws a looping overhand right but Wolverine ducks down to avoid it.
Inoki thuds his right hand into Wolverine's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Sloppy strikes from Inoki. Those never looked like landing.
Inoki lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Wolverine circles away quickly and effectively.
Wolverine shoots in looking for a takedown. Inoki tries to sprawl out of it but Wolverine keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Inoki manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Inoki fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Inoki tries to bum rush Wolverine with a series of wild strikes but Wolverine uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Inoki ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Wolverine moves away.
Inoki misses with a jab, cross combination.
Wolverine doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Inoki counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wolverine ducks under a wild hook from Inoki.
A punch combination from Inoki misses.
Inoki throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Inoki misses with a wild combination.
Inoki throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Wolverine avoids a punch combination nicely.

Inoki gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Good body shot from Inoki.
Wolverine goes for a takedown attempt but Inoki pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Antonio Inoki has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Wolverine.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Inoki scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Inoki dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Inoki is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Wolverine.
Inoki tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Inoki tries to clinch up but Wolverine circles away and keeps his distance.
Some wild striking there from Inoki.
Wolverine avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wolverine shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Inoki pinned against the cage. Inoki gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Wolverine doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Inoki counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nice takedown defense from Inoki. No joy for Wolverine on that attempt.
Inoki looks to land a combination but Wolverine avoids it well.

Inoki gets a clinch.

Inoki pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Inoki works the jab nicely.
A slow jab from Inoki misses its intended target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Inoki stuffs the takedown attempt from Wolverine. Wolverine gets slowly back to his feet.
Inoki throws a hook to the side of Wolverine's head but Wolverine sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Wolverine misses with a takedown attempt
and Wolverine takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Inoki swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Wolverine shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Inoki as he jumps to the side.
Wolverine avoids a punch combination nicely.
Inoki is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Inoki looks to throw the jab but Wolverine is out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Inoki dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Inoki, as that shot connected.
A looping hook to the body misses from Inoki. Wolverine does a little dance to reset his feet.
Wolverine moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Antonio Inoki is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Inoki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Wolverine manages to avoid it.
Wolverine slips a jab and a cross from Inoki.
Wolverine will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wolverine tries to score a power double leg takedown but Inoki sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Wolverine somewhat.
Inoki is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Wolverine.
Wolverine tries to score a power double leg takedown but Inoki sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Wolverine somewhat.
Antonio Inoki has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Wolverine.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Inoki falls off balance throwing a combination

and Wolverine counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Inoki is looking for a sweep. Wolverine is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Wolverine throwing shots but Inoki is blocking nicely.

Wolverine is looking for a kimura but Inoki is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Wolverine to get the leverage.
Inoki blocking the ground and pound attempt from Wolverine.
Wolverine thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Inoki's head.
Inoki is looking to improve his position.
Inoki trying to control here.
Inoki on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Inoki tries to get out of the position.
Wolverine throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Inoki knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Wolverine on the ground.

Wolverine is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Inoki has managed to free his arm - good work.
Wolverine looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Inoki with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Wolverine is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Inoki wants to get back to full guard.
Wolverine working Inoki over with strikes.
Wolverine thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Wolverine is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Inoki defends it well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Inoki is trying to get back to full guard.
Inoki keeping hold of Wolverine's head, controlling as best he can.
Wolverine thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Inoki's head.

Wolverine is looking for a kimura here.

Wolverine is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Inoki sees it coming and defends easily.
Wolverine is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wolverine sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Inoki defending well though.

Wolverine is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Inoki has managed to free his arm - good work.
Inoki is looking to escape.

Wolverine is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Inoki sees it coming and defends easily.
Inoki tries to get to full guard but Wolverine has control of the leg.
Inoki is working hard here to advance position.
Inoki trying to control here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wolverine is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Inoki is trying to control but can't.
Inoki is trying to get back to full guard.
Inoki avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Wolverine.
Wolverine thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Wolverine scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Inoki wants to control but Wolverine is keeping busy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wolverine lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Wolverine is working for a submission of some sort.

Wolverine has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Inoki defend it? Wolverine steps over the head and cranks it - Inoki is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Wolverine!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Thomas Wolverine!