PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kuroda Atsushi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Manny Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pacquiao has chosen Its Time for War as his entrance music. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Atsushi
vs
Pacquiao

170 cm
30
159 lbs
29 - 10 - 1

169 cm
34
155 lbs
24 - 22 - 0

Great wrestler
Great low kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Reaper Combatwear

Tokyo United Fightwear ($9 shirts)

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 29 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kuroda Atsushi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 22 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Manny Pacquiao!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Bruno Hogan and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Atsushi misses with a looping right.
Atsushi bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Pacquiao's head.
Pacquiao just misses with a punch to the body.
Atsushi fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Pacquiao.
Atsushi scoring well with a low kick there.
Atsushi connects with an inside leg kick.
Atsushi connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Atsushi throws a head kick that Pacquiao semi-blocks.

It looks like Manny Pacquiao has been cut.
Atsushi has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Pacquiao throws a body punch but Atsushi moves out of range.
Atsushi lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Some wild striking there from Pacquiao.
Atsushi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Atsushi, right into the meat.
Atsushi takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Atsushi ducks under a wild hook from Pacquiao.
Atsushi turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Manny Pacquiao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pacquiao swings away with a body shot that misses

and Atsushi counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Atsushi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pacquiao defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atsushi passes to side control.

Atsushi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Pacquiao, who protects the arm well.
Pacquiao is pushing Atsushi's head away, looking to escape. Atsushi manages to hold on to the position though.
Pacquiao is trying to escape the position but Atsushi is controlling the position.
Atsushi in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Atsushi looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Pacquiao is avoiding damage well.
Pacquiao is not content to let Atsushi control the position.
Atsushi has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi is trying to move to mount but Pacquiao reverses beautifully and ends up in Atsushi's guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Pacquiao is looking to advance position but Atsushi has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Pacquiao takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Pacquiao is squirming around, avoiding Atsushi's attempts to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi controlling the pace for now.
Atsushi wants to control the pace but Pacquiao is squirming around nicely.
Atsushi wants to control the action but instead Pacquiao gets a body lock and reverses into Atsushi's guard! Nice work!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pacquiao trying to control the position from guard on top but Atsushi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Atsushi is trying to keep Pacquiao in close.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kuroda Atsushi dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Manny Pacquiao's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Atsushi avoids the body shot from Pacquiao.
A chopping leg kick lands by Atsushi.
Atsushi throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Pacquiao lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Atsushi takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Pacquiao misses with an uppercut. Atsushi saw that one coming.
Pacquiao thows a body shot but no joy.
Atsushi digs a good body shot into Pacquiao's ribs.
Atsushi takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pacquiao lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Atsushi misses with a series of wild punches.
Jab from Pacquiao.

Atsushi fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Pacquiao to the ground. Atsushi is now in Pacquiao's guard.
Atsushi working some strikes from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atsushi works over Pacquiao with some ground and pound from guard.
Atsushi trying to control but Pacquiao is working from the bottom.
Pacquiao wants to get back to his feet but Atsushi passes into half guard.
Atsushi keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Atsushi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Pacquiao does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Atsushi stalling.
Atsushi tries to pass the half guard into mount. Pacquiao knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi is taking a breather. Pacquiao says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kuroda Atsushi wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Atsushi throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Pacquiao tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Atsushi is in Pacquiao's guard.
Atsushi trying to control the position from guard on top but Pacquiao is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pacquiao controls Atsushi momentarily but Atsushi frees himself.
Pacquiao wants to get back to his feet but Atsushi is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi trying to control the position from guard on top but Pacquiao is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Atsushi postures up in Pacquiao's guard and throws a big left but Pacquiao blocks it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Atsushi trying to control the position from guard on top but Pacquiao is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

We're going to have a standup here because Kuroda Atsushi wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A looping hook to the body misses from Atsushi. Pacquiao does a little dance to reset his feet.
Pacquiao jabs at Atsushi's body.
Atsushi needs to keep his hands up - Pacquiao had a free shot at his head there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Pacquiao. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Pacquiao.
Pacquiao's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Pacquiao lands a head shot.
Atsushi looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Atsushi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao takes a swing at Atsushi's ribcage but misses.
Atsushi connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pacquiao throws a right hand that Atsushi ducks under and follows up with a left that Atsushi also avoids with ease.
A swing and a miss from Pacquiao.
Atsushi connects with a solid leg kick.
Pacquiao tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Atsushi uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Pacquiao.
Atsushi walks into a jab.
Atsushi connects with an inside leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Atsushi lands a nice leg kick that just misses Pacquiao's sensitive parts.
Pacquiao leaves Atsushi with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Manny Pacquiao is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pacquiao throws a body punch but Atsushi moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kuroda Atsushi will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Manny Pacquiao's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Pacquiao throws a shot from downtown. Atsushi moves away and avoids it.
Atsushi shoots in looking for a takedown but Pacquiao manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Atsushi's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Pacquiao just misses with a punch to the body.
Pacquiao thuds a left hand into Atsushi's body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Pacquiao. Atsushi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Pacquiao throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Atsushi takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Nice shot by Atsushi.
Atsushi cracks the inside of Pacquiao's front leg.
Pacquiao throws a series of punches but Atsushi avoids them all with ease.
Pacquiao throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Pacquiao jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pacquiao takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Atsushi bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Pacquiao's head backwards.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Atsushi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Pacquiao throws a lazy right hand but Atsushi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Atsushi looks to throw the jab but Pacquiao is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Atsushi dives in and scores a takedown into Pacquiao's guard.
Atsushi is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Pacquiao tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Pacquiao utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Atsushi is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kuroda Atsushi.
Pacquiao throws an off balance right hand

and Atsushi counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Atsushi is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Pacquiao sees it coming and defends easily.
Pacquiao is looking to get back to is feet but Atsushi passes into side control.
Atsushi trying to control the position but Pacquiao is working away.
Pacquiao is letting Atsushi control him for a moment.
Pacquiao wants to control but Atsushi postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao is trying to work for a sweep but Atsushi has mounted him!
Atsushi trying to control but Pacquiao is having none of it.
Atsushi throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Manny Pacquiao has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pacquiao taking shots to the head.
Atsushi content just to control the position here.
Atsushi scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Pacquiao?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atsushi trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Pacquiao defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Atsushi.
Kuroda Atsushi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Atsushi lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Atsushi trying to control but he's not successful this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kuroda Atsushi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Atsushi 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kuroda Atsushi!
Kuroda Atsushi thanked the fans post fight for their support.