PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Charlie Runkle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Magatsu Taito (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Runkle comes to the cage accompanied by Californication theme . Charlie Runkle has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Runkle
vs
Taito

177 cm
26
147 lbs
20 - 9 - 0

164 cm
27
140 lbs
13 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Charlie Runkle !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Magatsu Taito!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Jonathan Paton and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Runkle keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Taito ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Runkle displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Taito throws out the jab.
Runkle uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Taito.
Taito moves out of range as Runkle throws a body kick.
A head kick misses from Runkle .
Magatsu Taito seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taito lands a nice looking kick to the body. Runkle takes a step back to recover.
Runkle wants to clinch but Taito slips to the side
and Taito cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Decent striking displayed by Runkle there.
Taito misses with a takedown attempt - Runkle sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Taito tries a head kick but it misses.
Taito throws an off balance right hand
and Runkle counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taito throws a half hearted mid kick.
Runkle slips a jab from Taito.
Runkle is looking to clinch.
Runkle looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Taito throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Runkle ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Taito throws a sloppy head kick
and Runkle makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Runkle swats away the attempt to clinch by Taito.
Taito is looking to land body kicks.
Taito avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Runkle throws a sloppy head kick
and Taito counters with a left to the body.
Taito buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Taito misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Runkle gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Runkle utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Runkle looking to control.
Taito postures up in Runkle 's guard and throws a big left but Runkle blocks it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Taito forces his way into half guard.
Taito missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Taito is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Taito is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Taito misses with a head shot. Runkle uses the momentum to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taito wants to pass the guard but Runkle is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taito in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Taito tries to free his leg and advance position but Runkle is retaining full guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Taito drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Runkle manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Taito has Runkle in his guard.

Taito is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Runkle looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Taito fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Runkle takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Runkle throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Taito stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Taito blocks the body kick.
Taito shoots in for a takedown but Runkle shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Taito throws a leg kick but Runkle sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Runkle tries to clinch there but Taito circles away.
Runkle lands the left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taito fails to land the takedown.
Charlie Runkle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Magatsu Taito.
Runkle blocks a leg kick.
Runkle avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Taito blocks a jab.
Taito fails with a takedown attempt.
Taito thows a left - swing and a miss!
Taito fails with the takedown.
Runkle tries to bum rush Taito with a series of wild strikes but Taito uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taito showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Runkle .
Runkle tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Runkle takes a kick to the side of the head.
Some bone on bone action there as Taito checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Taito looks to land a left hand but Runkle moved out of range nicely.
Taito misses with a looping left.
Taito checks a low kick from Runkle .
Taito takes a swing at Runkle 's ribcage but misses.
That kick from Taito tenderised Runkle 's leg. Runkle is trying to keep his angry face on.
A slow jab from Taito misses its intended target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taito fails with a takedown attempt.
Runkle misses the shot to the body.
Taito throws a lazy body kick
and Runkle counters with an inside leg kick.
Runkle stuffs the takedown.
Runkle misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Taito misses the target.
Taito is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Runkle fails in his attempt to clinch.
Runkle misses the shot to the body.
Taito tried to score with a low kick but Runkle checks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Runkle loads up on a big right hand but Taito slips the punch.

Taito shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Runkle napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Taito working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Taito tries to score with some ground and pound. Runkle controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Sloppy strikes there by Taito.
Taito working the strikes but Runkle uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Taito thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Taito takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Magatsu Taito showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Runkle 's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Runkle misses with a few strikes there.

Runkle tries to keep at a distance but Taito has taken the fight into the clinch.
Runkle blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Taito looking for a takedown.
Taito tries a body shot but Runkle blocks it.
Runkle goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Taito misses with a body punch.
Runkle lands a nice shot to the body.
Runkle tries to throw a body punch but Taito avoids it by throwing Runkle back against the cage.
Taito blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Runkle blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taito tries for a takedown. No joy.
Runkle misses with a punch to the body.

Taito has picked Runkle up - he's going for a ride! Taito dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

Runkle has one foot on Taito's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Runkle is looking to wear down Taito with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Runkle moves out of range as Taito strikes.
Taito throws a jab but it's blocked by Runkle .
Taito lands with a cross.
Taito throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Runkle lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Runkle thows a body shot but no joy.
Taito fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Charlie Runkle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Magatsu Taito.
Runkle lands a jab.
Taito looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Runkle slips under a jab from Taito.

Taito closes the distance and pushes Runkle back into the cage.
Runkle throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Runkle lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Charlie Runkle has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The referee is keeping an eye on Runkle - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Runkle prevents a body shot from Taito.
Taito misses with some punches.
Runkle tries a knee to the head but Taito blocks it.
Runkle controlling the action here for a moment.
Taito blocks a body shot from Runkle .

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taito tries to score a body lock takedown but Runkle shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Runkle lands a nice shot to the body.
Runkle misses with a hook to the ribs.
Runkle tries to land knees in the clinch but Taito avoids the damage to the body.
Taito tries to work over Runkle 's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Runkle tries to land knees in the clinch but Taito avoids the damage to the body.
Runkle lands a body shot in the clinch.
Runkle managing to block the knees to the body from Taito.
Runkle tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Taito avoids it.
Taito blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taito drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Runkle gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Runkle is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Taito is keeping busy.
Taito doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Taito gets control of Runkle 's arms and successfully pulls guard. Taito will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Taito isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Runkle stacks Taito on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Runkle !
Runkle is looking to take a break and control but Taito is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Taito tries to improve position but can't.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Taito is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Magatsu Taito is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Taito moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Charlie Runkle .
I think Taito has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 28:29
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Magatsu Taito!
After winning the bout, Magatsu Taito thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.