PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Gathii Kumanda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Junior Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pacquiao is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Thunderstruck. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kumanda
vs
Pacquiao

179 cm
21
157 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

173 cm
28
160 lbs
15 - 10 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Great low kicks
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gathii Kumanda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Junior Pacquiao!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shirou Masuda and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good work by Pacquiao as he checks the leg kick.
Kumanda gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Pacquiao counters with a two punch combo.
Kumanda misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kumanda misses with a kick to the body.
Pacquiao stuns Kumanda with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Pacquiao lands a nice looking body shot.
Kumanda moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Kumanda doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Kumanda fails with the takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gathii Kumanda. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kumanda swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Pacquiao pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pacquiao lands a nice shot that snaps Kumanda's head back.
Pacquiao fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kumanda manages to avoid it.
Kumanda shoots and misses
and Pacquiao counters with a straight right hand.
Kumanda shoots and misses
and Pacquiao counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kumanda with a lazy takedown attempt
letting Pacquiao counter with a right hand.
Kumanda closes the distance but Pacquiao moves to the side
and Pacquiao counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao misses with a double jab.
Pacquiao keeps the fight on the outside.
Kumanda lands a high kick!
Kumanda fails with the takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a stiff right hand.
Pacquiao scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Kumanda throws a lazy head kick
and Pacquiao counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kumanda has his takedown stuffed
and Pacquiao counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Kumanda thinking.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Kumanda at a distance.
Pacquiao circles away from the clinch attempt
and Pacquiao counters with a one-two to the body.
Pacquiao wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Pacquiao is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Kumanda rather than just go for the knockout.
Pacquiao lands with a shot to the body.
Pacquiao scores with a jab to the body.
Kumanda misses with a takedown
and Pacquiao cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao lands a jab to the head.
Kumanda gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Pacquiao counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Kumanda fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Kumanda darts in trying to clinch
and Pacquiao counters with a right hand to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kumanda throws a push kick but Pacquiao slaps the foot to one side.
Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior Pacquiao dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a left to the body.
Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a straight right hand.
Gathii Kumanda seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick by Kumanda misses
and Pacquiao counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Kumanda throws a nice head kick!
Junior Pacquiao seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Pacquiao dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Pacquiao tries a low kick but Kumanda avoids it.
Pacquiao scores with a nice head shot.
Kumanda moves to clinch but Pacquiao breaks away
and Pacquiao counters with a left and a right that stings Kumanda.
Kumanda shoots and misses
and Pacquiao counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gathii Kumanda. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pacquiao avoids the head kick by Kumanda.
Pacquiao connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Pacquiao scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Kumanda doesn't seem bothered though.
Gathii Kumanda is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kumanda wants to clinch but Pacquiao slips to the side
letting Pacquiao counter with a right hand.

Kumanda shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Pacquiao is doing well to control the position and prevent Kumanda from advancing to side control.
Pacquiao moves into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kumanda advances position into side control!
Pacquiao manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pacquiao is concentrating on defense, preventing Kumanda from advancing position.
Kumanda is trying to control the action in half guard but Pacquiao is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Pacquiao wants to improve his position but Kumanda is controlling well.
Kumanda trying to pass the guard but Pacquiao defending well.
Pacquiao wants to improve his position but Kumanda is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Pacquiao manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Kumanda won't allow Pacquiao to sweep him here.
Kumanda looking to pass the guard.
Kumanda wants to control from the top but Pacquiao keeps moving.
Kumanda won't allow Pacquiao to sweep him here.
Kumanda postures up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Junior Pacquiao is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kumanda doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Pacquiao connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Kumanda on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Pacquiao swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Pacquiao fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kumanda blocks a head kick by Pacquiao.
Kumanda turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kumanda fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Kumanda shoots and misses
and Pacquiao counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kumanda misses with a takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior Pacquiao showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Pacquiao scores with a punch to the head.
Pacquiao scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Kumanda doesn't seem bothered though.
Pacquiao showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kumanda.
Kumanda takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Pacquiao lands a body shot.
Kumanda looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Kumanda misses with a takedown
and Kumanda takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao thuds a left hand into Kumanda's body.
Pacquiao fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kumanda manages to avoid it.
Kumanda darts in trying to clinch
and Pacquiao counters with a left to the body.
Kumanda doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Pacquiao counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gathii Kumanda. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pacquiao avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kumanda wants to clinch but Pacquiao slips to the side
and Kumanda takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao lands a jab to Kumanda's midsection.
Kumanda avoids the head kick by Pacquiao.
Pacquiao lands with a right hand.
Pacquiao lands a body shot.
Pacquiao misses with a body shot.
Pacquiao connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Kumanda momentarily.
Kumanda tries to clinch but Pacquiao moves out of range.
Kumanda with a poor takedown
and Pacquiao cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Pacquiao changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kumanda shoots and misses
and Pacquiao counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kumanda is looking to clinch but Pacquiao is avoiding it.
Kumanda with a lazy takedown attempt
enabling Pacquiao to counter with a crisp jab.
Kumanda tries to clinch up
and Pacquiao counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kumanda takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Kumanda has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Pacquiao finds it's way round the side to connect with Kumanda's head.

Kumanda shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao wants to improve his position but Kumanda is controlling well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pacquiao moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Pacquiao looking for a sweep. Not yet Pacquiao, not yet.
Junior Pacquiao is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Pacquiao working a defensive guard here.
Kumanda stopping the sweep attempt from Pacquiao.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Kumanda got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pacquiao has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Kumanda has managed to get both his arms back between Pacquiao's legs - danger averted.
Gathii Kumanda has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Pacquiao kicks Kumanda off and gets to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Junior Pacquiao comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Pacquiao has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Junior Pacquiao!
A relieved looking Junior Pacquiao thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.