PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Katsuro Sato (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Leighty (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Leighty comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Cowboy Dan kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Sato
vs
Leighty

187 cm
30
196 lbs
21 - 10 - 0

185 cm
27
193 lbs
17 - 7 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

KAISER Nutrition (160!)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Katsuro Sato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Dan Leighty!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, James Ackerman and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sato throws a solid leg kick but Leighty takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Sato.
Sato fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Leighty throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Leighty pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sato thows a leg kick but Leighty checks it
and Leighty counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Leighty throws a nice outside leg kick.
Leighty lands a right hook to the body.
Sato buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
A swing and a miss from Leighty.
A bone on bone clash there as Sato blocks the leg kick.
Sato misses with a looping left.
Leighty throws a big shot that misses.
Sato moves out of range of the leg kick from Leighty.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato shoots in looking for a takedown but Leighty manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Sato's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Nice body kick there by Leighty.
Sato is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Sato lands with a good body shot.
Sato gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sato waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Leighty.
A jab from Leighty does it's job there.
Sato connects with a body shot that sends Leighty's belly button to the back.
Sato fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Leighty avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Katsuro Sato. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sato just misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leighty throws the kick towards the body but Sato avoids it.
Sato misses with a wild body shot.
A jab from Sato misses.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Leighty lands a nice leg kick that just misses Sato's sensitive parts.
Dan Leighty is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sato dips to his left and cracks Leighty with an uppercut!
Sato throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Sato throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Leighty moves out of range of the strikes.
Sato throws a hook but Leighty avoids it easily.
Leighty checks a leg kick.
Sato misses with a wild body shot.
Leighty throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sato takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leighty throws a leg kick but Sato sees it coming and moves out of range.
Leighty works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Sato misses with an uppercut. Leighty saw that one coming.
Leighty ducks under a wild hook from Sato.
A big left from Sato misses.
Sato fails with a takedown attempt.
Sato throws a leg kick
and Leighty cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Leighty takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
The fighters circling - Leighty throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sato shoots in for a takedown but Leighty shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Sato shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Leighty defends it nicely.
Leighty throws a shot from downtown. Sato moves away and avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leighty throws a leg kick but Sato sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Sato wants to land a leg kick but Leighty is out of range.
Donk. Leighty catches Sato right on the button with a cross.
Sato shoots in and drives through. Leighty sprawls well.
Sato uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Leighty.
Sato checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Sato moves out of range of the body kick from Leighty.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Leighty doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sato ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
The fighters circle momentarily. Leighty darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Dan Leighty will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

A low kick from Sato is predictable there
and Leighty counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
The fighters circle momentarily. Leighty darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Sato throws a hook to the side of Leighty's head but Leighty sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sato checks a low kick from Leighty.
Sato throws a low kick but it's checked well by Leighty.
Leighty misses with a body kick.
Sato scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Dan Leighty seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Crunch! Sato slams his shin into Leighty's torso.
Sato takes a swing at Leighty's ribcage but misses.
The fighters circling - Sato throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Leighty doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Leighty avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato ducks under a wild hook from Leighty.
Leighty scores with a hook to the body. Sato takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Leighty lands with a kick to the ribs.
Sato moves away from the strike by Leighty.
Nice straight punches there by Sato. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Sato.
Sato fails with a takedown attempt.
Leighty fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Sato checks it well.
Sato connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Sato tries to score with a low kick but Leighty moves his leg out of the way.
Leighty waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sato lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Leighty at a distance.
Sato throws a low kick but Leighty moves out of range easily.
Leighty wants to slow Sato down by chopping away at his legs.
Leighty misses with a wild body shot.
Leighty with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
An inside leg kick from Leighty misses.
Sato goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Sato misses the shot to the body.
Left hook, right uppercut from Leighty.

It looks like Katsuro Sato has been cut.
Leighty tries to bum rush Sato with a series of wild strikes but Sato uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Sato shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sato showed some decent athleticism there.
Sato is pressing down on Leighty's thigh, looking to free his foot. Leighty is holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sato trying to control from half guard but Leighty is working away.
Sato is pressing down on Leighty's thigh, looking to free his foot. Leighty is holding on for now.
Sato not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sato is looking to take a break and control but Leighty is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sato thows a huge punch but Leighty dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leighty is trying to maintain the position but Sato is very close to passing his half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Leighty manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Sato connects with a couple of short punches.
Sato stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Leighty swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Leighty wants to hit a switch here but Sato passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Leighty there!
Sato throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sato scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Leighty?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsuro Sato dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Katsuro Sato's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Sato lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Leighty has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Leighty and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Leighty punishes Sato's body with a nice straight punch.
Sato throws a lazy uppercut
and Leighty connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Leighty waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sato.
Sato looks to score with a jab to the body but Leighty is just out of range.
Good leg kick by Leighty there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Leighty misses the shot to the body.
A decent looking cross lands there for Leighty.
Leighty tries to land a front kick but Sato steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Donk. Sato catches Leighty right on the button with a cross.
Leighty fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Sato has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Sato throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Leighty sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato thows a leg kick but Leighty checks it
and Leighty connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Leighty misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sato.
Sato avoids the body shot from Leighty.
A big left from Leighty misses.
Leighty attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Leighty throws a hook to the side of Sato's head but Sato sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sato lands a nice looking body kick.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Sato checks a leg kick.
Leighty is looking to clinch but Sato is avoiding it.
Sato misses with a hook. Leighty ducked under it nicely.
Sato keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Leighty.
Sato connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leighty tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sato was well out of range. Poor timing from Leighty.
Sato lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Leighty does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
A thudding body kick lands there by Leighty!
Leighty misses with a looping right.
Leighty thumps Sato with a low kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sato fails to land the takedown.
Sato with a jab.
Sato throws a push kick but Leighty slaps the foot to one side.
Leighty just misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sato fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sato throws a big shot that misses.
Leighty lands a lovely overhand right.
Sato shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Katsuro Sato. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leighty checks a leg kick.
Leighty throws a one two combo.
Sato throws a hook to the side of Leighty's head but Leighty sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sato fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Leighty avoids it really well and circles away.
Leighty turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sato tests Leighty's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Leighty staying out of range there.
Sato scores with a nice right hand.
That kick from Leighty tenderised Sato's leg. Sato is trying to keep his angry face on.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Leighty, as that shot connected.
Leighty throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sato cracks a nice hook into Leighty's ribs.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Leighty checks a leg kick.
Sato tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dan Leighty.
I think Leighty 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 28:29
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Leighty!
During a confident post fight interview, Dan Leighty thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.