PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight kickboxing rules bout between Gar Diu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rich Franklin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Diu might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Pulse. Franklin is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Nas- Ether. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Diu
vs
Franklin

188 cm
31
190 lbs
21 - 14 - 1

196 cm
30
198 lbs
12 - 13 - 1

Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Gar Diu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 13 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Rich Franklin!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Franklin misses with a double jab.
Franklin throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Diu.
Franklin looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Franklin is looking to land body kicks.
Franklin tries to bum rush Diu with a series of wild strikes but Diu uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Both fighters circling a little - Diu finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Rich Franklin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Diu will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Franklin misses with a wild combination.
Diu showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Franklin.
Franklin has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Diu.
Franklin shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Diu eats them both and turns towards Franklin to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Franklin lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Diu circles away quickly and effectively.
Diu delivers a nice body kick.
Franklin misses with a double jab
and Diu counters with a good low kick that Franklin was not able to check.
Franklin looks winded!
Franklin throws a series of punches but Diu avoids them all with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franklin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Diu clobbers Franklin with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Diu moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Diu slips a jab from Franklin.
Diu throws a front kick that sends Franklin stumbling back into the ropes.
Diu looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Franklin swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Diu counters with a nice uppercut.
Diu scores with a decent looking hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diu lands a leg kick that knocks Franklin off balance momentarily.
Diu scores with a kick to the body.
Franklin takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A head kick from Diu lands but Franklin takes it in his stride.

It looks like Rich Franklin has been cut.
Franklin swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Diu counters with a big head kick but Franklin shrugs it off.
Diu scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Diu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Franklin connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franklin misses with the combination.
Diu thumps Franklin with a low kick.
Diu keeps Franklin at a distance using the push kick.
Franklin falls off balance throwing a combination
and Diu counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Franklin has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Diu.
Diu scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Diu smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Diu throws a head kick that Franklin semi-blocks.
Franklin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Diu scores with a hook to the body. Franklin takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Diu jabs at Franklin's body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Franklin takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Franklin avoids the head kick by Diu.
Diu connects with a leg kick. Franklin looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Good leg kick by Diu there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gar Diu dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rich Franklin's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Diu goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Rich Franklin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Franklin with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Diu to score with a decent uppercut.
Diu moves out of range as Franklin throws a body kick.
Boom! Diu lands a massive head kick that sends Franklin crashing into the ropes, followed by a classic face plant on the canvas! He's up to his knees but he's not going to beat the count - this one is all over! Diu is jumping around like a lunatic, extatic with the win!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:17 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Head Kick). Gar Diu!
Gar Diu took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, [CBK] LEGAL HIGHS « SFL ↑ 5x160Q for their support in the buildup to the fight.