PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Chris To Short (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Reggie Watkins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

To Short
vs
Watkins

168 cm
23
159 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

179 cm
26
160 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Tends to cut

Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp (95% quick laundry)

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chris To Short !
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Reggie Watkins!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice body kick there by To Short .

To Short rushes Watkins and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Watkins's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
To Short connects with a high kick.

To Short has Watkins up against the cage in a clinch.
Watkins is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
To Short is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Watkins is defending well.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Watkins stops a takedown attempt from To Short .

Watkins's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
To Short fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
To Short tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Watkins manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Watkins misses with a looping right.
Watkins misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

To Short forces Watkins back against the cage and clinches.
To Short prevents Watkins from breaking the clinch.
To Short is pushing Watkins up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watkins misses with a body punch.

To Short gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Watkins regains guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Watkins can do anything to dispel that myth.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
To Short throwing strikes but missing.
To Short throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
To Short working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
To Short is looking to work some ground and pound but Watkins has wrist control.
To Short working some strikes from top position.
To Short working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Watkins is trying to hold To Short in close to prevent damage but To Short has managed to pass into half guard.

To Short is working for a submission of some sort.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Watkins is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
To Short missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Watkins avoiding damage under a succession of punches from To Short .
To Short thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
To Short throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
To Short trying to control from half guard but Watkins is working away.
To Short frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
To Short thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
To Short throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
To Short thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
To Short landing strikes from the mount and Watkins is in trouble!
To Short sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
To Short has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
To Short lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Watkins hang on?

Watkins is rocked!

It looks like Reggie Watkins has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watkins takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! To Short 's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:28 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Chris To Short !
Chris To Short retains his lightweight title!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Chris To Short waved his t-shirt featuring Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp (95% quick laundry)'s logo in front of the cameras.