PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Marko Hanttonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hideki Matsuyama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matsuyama has chosen Eminem feat. Nate Dogg - Till I Collapse as his entrance music. Hideki Matsuyama will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Hanttonen
vs
Matsuyama

171 cm
23
204 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

188 cm
33
204 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

World class boxer
Granite chin

World class MT
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Marko Hanttonen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Hideki Matsuyama!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Sosuke Kotani and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hanttonen looks to land a body kick but Matsuyama moved away.

Matsuyama drives through and clinches with Hanttonen against the ropes.
Hanttonen on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Matsuyama pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Matsuyama misses with a right hand
and Hanttonen counters with a two punch combo.
Hanttonen misses with a few strikes there.
Matsuyama scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Hanttonen doesn't seem bothered though.
Hanttonen scores with a nice body kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Matsuyama tries to clinch but Hanttonen moves out of range.
Hanttonen throws a hook but Matsuyama blocks it.
Matsuyama jabs Hanttonen to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Matsuyama tries to clinch
and Hanttonen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Matsuyama jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Hanttonen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Matsuyama.
Hanttonen lands an overhand right.
Hideki Matsuyama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Matsuyama is looking to slow Hanttonen down with leg kicks.
Hanttonen attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Matsuyama fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Hanttonen has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Hanttonen works Matsuyama's body with a nice hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matsuyama scores with a three punch combo!
Matsuyama lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Hanttonen stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Matsuyama.
Hanttonen works Matsuyama's body with a nice hook.
Matsuyama misses with a straight right.
Matsuyama changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Hanttonen moves out of range of the leg kick from Matsuyama.
Matsuyama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Matsuyama just misses with a punch to the body.
Matsuyama lands a body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hanttonen moves out of range as Matsuyama strikes.
Matsuyama catches Hanttonen with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

Matsuyama instigates a clinch.
Hanttonen misses with a punch to the body.

Hanttonen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Matsuyama misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanttonen avoids the head kick by Matsuyama.
A jab lands there for Matsuyama.
Matsuyama lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Matsuyama ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hanttonen moves away.
Hanttonen misses with a straight right.
Matsuyama looks to land a body kick but Hanttonen moved away.
Matsuyama feints and then cracks Hanttonen's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hanttonen down.
Matsuyama connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Hanttonen's hands.

It looks like Marko Hanttonen has been cut.
Matsuyama moves out of range as Hanttonen strikes.
Hanttonen scores with a head kick. Matsuyama tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

It looks like Hideki Matsuyama has been cut.
Matsuyama moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Matsuyama misses with the body kick
letting Hanttonen counter with a right hand.
Hanttonen cracks a nice hook into Matsuyama's ribs.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Matsuyama connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Hanttonen takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Matsuyama fails in his attempt to clinch.
Matsuyama lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Hideki Matsuyama will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Matsuyama looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Hanttonen throws a jab but it's blocked by Matsuyama.
Matsuyama avoids the body shot from Hanttonen.
Matsuyama jabs Hanttonen right on the nose. Hanttonen blinks but takes it well.

Hanttonen moves into the clinch.
I was talking to Hanttonen's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Matsuyama throws a head punch that misses.
Hanttonen misses with a body punch.
Matsuyama missing with knees to the body.
Hanttonen blocking some punches.
Hanttonen trying to stall but Matsuyama improves his position.
Matsuyama misses with a punch to the body.
Hanttonen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Matsuyama doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hanttonen struggles to land a body shot inside as Matsuyama controls his hands.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Matsuyama.
Hanttonen tries a body shot but Matsuyama blocks it.
Matsuyama blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matsuyama connects with a knee to the head.
Hanttonen throws a knee to the head but misses.

Hanttonen breaks from the clinch.
Hanttonen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Matsuyama.
Matsuyama misses with a body punch
and Hanttonen counters with a solid body kick.
Matsuyama throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Matsuyama misses with a wild combination.

Matsuyama gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Matsuyama blocking some punches.
Matsuyama blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hanttonen.
Hanttonen tries to work over Matsuyama's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Matsuyama tries to throw a body punch but Hanttonen avoids it by throwing Matsuyama back against the ropes.
Hanttonen unloads a knee to the mid-section. Matsuyama lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Matsuyama tries to work over Hanttonen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matsuyama throws a head punch that misses.
Matsuyama has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
A head punch on the inside from Matsuyama fails to land.
Matsuyama blocking some punches.
Matsuyama throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Hanttonen blocks it with crossed arms.
Matsuyama wants to break free but Hanttonen has control.
A short left from Hanttonen.
Hanttonen lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Matsuyama dodges an elbow strike from Hanttonen.
Hanttonen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hanttonen digs a right hand underneath Matsuyama's ribcage. Matsuyama let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Hanttonen blocking some punches.
Hanttonen working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hanttonen managing to block the knees to the body from Matsuyama.
Hanttonen keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Matsuyama's efforts to push away.
Hanttonen looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marko Hanttonen dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Hanttonen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Matsuyama ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hanttonen moves away.
Matsuyama thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Hanttonen if he has to take too many more of those.
Matsuyama is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Matsuyama throws a body punch but Hanttonen moves out of range.
Hanttonen jabs Matsuyama to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Hanttonen wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Hanttonen throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Matsuyama on the side of the head.
Matsuyama throws out a loose jab but Hanttonen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hanttonen blocks a low kick nicely.
Matsuyama tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Matsuyama connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Hanttonen's hands.

Hanttonen moves into range and clinches up with Matsuyama.
Matsuyama misses with a punch on the inside.
A nice right hand lands inside from Hanttonen.
Hanttonen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Matsuyama lands an uppercut.
Matsuyama throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Hanttonens head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matsuyama has a couple of punches blocked by Hanttonen.
Matsuyama avoiding damage as Hanttonen throws knees to the body.
Matsuyama misses with a body punch.
Hanttonen unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Matsuyama takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hanttonen misses with the head strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Matsuyama.
Hanttonen lands a shoulder strike.
Matsuyama tries a knee to the head but Hanttonen blocks it.
Matsuyama is looking to break free of the clinch but Hanttonen has double underhooks.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Matsuyama.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hanttonen manages to break the clinch.
A punch lands to the side of Matsuyama 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Matsuyama throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Marko Hanttonen is winning the standup battle so far.
Hanttonen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Hanttonen fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Matsuyama has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
The fighters circling - Hanttonen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matsuyama misses with a straight right.
Hanttonen misses with a looping right.
Matsuyama takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Matsuyama misses with an attempted mid kick.
Matsuyama tries to close the distance and clinch but Hanttonen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Matsuyama throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hanttonen stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Hanttonen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Matsuyama is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Hanttonen scores with a jab to the jaw.
Matsuyama thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Hanttonen if he has to take too many more of those.
Matsuyama swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Hanttonen counters with a nice low kick that buckles Matsuyama's knee momentarily.
Hanttonen jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Hanttonen avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nice shot lands for Hanttonen.
Matsuyama blocks a head kick by Hanttonen.
Hanttonen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Matsuyama is looking to land body kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marko Hanttonen clearly takes that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Hanttonen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Hanttonen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Matsuyama stalks Hanttonen and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Hanttonen's face. Hanttonen staggers backwards, shaken.
Matsuyama is looking to chop away at Hanttonen's legs.
Matsuyama blocks a leg kick.
Hanttonen tries a head kick but it misses.
Hanttonen tries to clinch but Matsuyama is having none of it.
A thudding body kick lands there by Matsuyama!
Matsuyama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hanttonen.
Hanttonen swats away the attempt to clinch by Matsuyama.
Hanttonen connects with a body shot.
Matsuyama is looking to slow Hanttonen down with leg kicks.
Matsuyama tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Hanttonen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Matsuyama misses with a few strikes there.
Hanttonen tries a head kick but it misses.
No joy there for Hanttonen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanttonen throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Matsuyama motions for Hanttonen to come forward. Matsuyama throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Matsuyama throws a wild body kick that Hanttonen sees coming a mile off.
Hanttonen moves to clinch but Matsuyama breaks away
and Matsuyama counters with an outside leg kick.
Hanttonen gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Matsuyama counters with a one-two to the body.
Matsuyama misses with a body shot.
Matsuyama scores with a kick to the midsection.
Matsuyama pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Hanttonen keeps the fight on the outside.
Matsuyama misses with a body kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Matsuyama. That's going to slow Hanttonen down.
Matsuyama is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Hanttonen.
Matsuyama misses with a kick to the body.
Matsuyama swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Hanttonen counters with a nice uppercut.
Hanttonen lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Matsuyama misses with a kick to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Matsuyama looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Matsuyama avoids the head kick by Hanttonen.
Hanttonen scores with a nice strike.
Hanttonen misses with a wild body shot.
Hanttonen throws a nice looking combination but Matsuyama bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hanttonen throws a sloppy head kick and Matsuyama moves out of range easily.
Hanttonen throws out a loose jab but Matsuyama uses good head movement to avoid it.
Matsuyama's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Hanttonen connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Matsuyama scrambles back to his feet.
Hanttonen looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hanttonen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Matsuyama takes a swing at Hanttonen's ribcage but misses.
A punch lands to the side of Hanttonen 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Matsuyama on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Hanttonen. Hanttonen obviously looking to wear him down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Hideki Matsuyama will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Hanttonen pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Matsuyama takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Matsuyama takes a swing at Hanttonen's ribcage but misses.
Hanttonen gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Hanttonen moves out of range of the leg kick from Matsuyama.
Matsuyama lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Matsuyama stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Hanttonen is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

Hanttonen moves into the clinch successfully.
Hanttonen misses with a punch on the inside.
Matsuyama swings wildly with an uppercut but Hanttonen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hanttonen is working Matsuyama over against the ropes.
A nice right hand lands inside from Hanttonen.
Hanttonen misses with a punch to the body.
Matsuyama swings wildly with an uppercut but Hanttonen uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanttonen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Matsuyama avoids it.
Hanttonen tries a body shot but Matsuyama blocks it.
Hanttonen makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Hanttonen breaks the clinch.
Matsuyama stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Hanttonen dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Matsuyama. That did some damage!
Matsuyama misses the shot to the body.
Matsuyama misses with a body kick.
Hanttonen connects with a body shot that sends Matsuyama's belly button to the back.
Matsuyama misses with a looping left.
Matsuyama takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Matsuyama is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Hanttonen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hanttonen, right into the meat.
Matsuyama throws out a leg kick but Hanttonen moves out of range and Matsuyama only half commits.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hanttonen is looking to land body kicks.
Hanttonen fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hanttonen throws a hook to the side of Matsuyama's head but Matsuyama sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Matsuyama keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nice defenses there by Matsuyama.
Hanttonen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Matsuyama looks for the body kick but Hanttonen saw that one coming.
Hanttonen takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
A nice leg kick lands there from Hanttonen.
Sloppy strikes from Hanttonen. Those never looked like landing.
Hanttonen walks into a left hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hanttonen blocks a leg kick.
Matsuyama staying out of range there.
Matsuyama lands a head kick!

Hanttonen rushes Matsuyama and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marko Hanttonen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Hanttonen has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 48:47
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 48:47
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marko Hanttonen!
A very excited looking Marko Hanttonen made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.