PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Junji Kodama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Li (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kodama comes to the cage accompanied by Of Wolf and Man - Metallica. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kodama
vs
Li

176 cm
27
280 lbs
7 - 7 - 0

180 cm
22
230 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Kore Fight Nutrition [TG]

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Junji Kodama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Li!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Steve Montenegro and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kodama misses with a hook to the body
and Li counters with a straight right hand.
Li bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Kodama's head.
Kodama takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
We've been hearing reports that Kodama has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Kodama fails with a takedown attempt.
A combination from Li does no damage.
Li misses with a double jab.
Li lands a right hook to the body.
A jab from Li misses.
Li swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Li throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kodama ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Li moves away.

Kodama gets a double leg takedown into Li's guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Li has his hands on Kodama's head, controlling the position.
Kodama trying to control but Li is working from the bottom.
Li looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kodama trying to control but Li is working from the bottom.
Kodama won't allow Li to sweep him here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Kodama takes a swing at Li's ribcage but misses.
Kodama uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Li.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li thows a left - swing and a miss!
A nice combination there by Li.
Nice defenses there by Kodama.
Kodama takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kodama misses with a wild body shot.
Li misses with a looping left.
Kodama misses with a body shot.
Li is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Kodama takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Li tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kodama was well out of range. Poor timing from Li.
Li takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Kodama slips a straight right by Li.
Li's coach down at Valhalla:NY GYM was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Li's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Kodama misses with a low kick as Li jumps back.
Kodama throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Kodama misses with a low kick.
Kodama ducks under a wild hook from Li.
Li misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Li keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kodama throws a predictable looking body shot
and Li counters with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li throws a series of punches but Kodama moves out of range.
Li misses the jab.
Kodama tries to land a leg kick but Li saw it coming and moves away.
Junji Kodama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kodama slips a jab and a cross from Li.
Kodama throws a sloppy body shot
and Li counters with a straight right hand.
Li uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kodama has time to react.
Li misses with a double jab.
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!
Li scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Li is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Kodama had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kodama looks to score with a jab to the body but Li is just out of range.
Kodama misses with a wild body shot.
Kodama doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Li counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Li dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Li lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kodama circles away quickly and effectively.
Kodama with a poor takedown
and Li counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A leg kick checked by Li.
Kodama misses the shot to the body.
Li swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Li keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kodama. Li does a little dance to reset his feet.
Li stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Li wants it to stay on the feet.
Kodama ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Li moves away.
Li stuns Kodama with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Li. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Kodama displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Li throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kodama misses with a body shot.
Li throws a body shot but no joy.
Kodama is looking to wear down Li with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Kodama shoots in for a double leg but Li sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Junji Kodama. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kodama fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Li loads up on a big right hand but Kodama slips the punch.
Kodama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Li.
Li throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kodama throws a predictable looking body shot
and Li cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kodama throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Li's waist but Li gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kodama off to one side.
John Li is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A shot to the body from Kodama misses
and Li counters with a one-two to the body.
Li misses with a double jab.
Li lands with an overhand left.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kodama just misses with a punch to the body.
Kodama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Li.
Li scores with a punch to the head.
Li swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Li throws a right and a left that Kodama avoids nicely.
Li misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Li swings for the body but Kodama moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
A slow jab from Li misses its intended target.
Li checks a leg kick.
Kodama looks to score with a jab to the body but Li is just out of range.
Li cracks Kodama with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Li checks a low kick from Kodama.
Kodama looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Li is fending him off so far but Kodama persists. Nope, Li circles away and we're back to standing.
Kodama shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Li sprawls well. Li wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kodama gets slowly back to his feet.
A cross from Li lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li tries to bum rush Kodama with a series of wild strikes but Kodama uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Li checks a leg kick nicely.
Li will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kodama shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Li connects with a crisp jab.
Li lands a jab to Kodama's midsection.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice body punch from Li.
Kodama moves away from the strike by Li.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Li showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Kodama attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Kodama avoids a punch combination nicely.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kodama. Li does a little dance to reset his feet.
Li tests Kodama's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Li throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kodama fails to land the takedown.
Kodama just misses with a punch to the body.
Li pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kodama swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kodama avoids the body shot from Li.
Li looks to land a right hand but Kodama moved out of range.
Kodama showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Li.
Kodama just misses with a punch to the body.
Li's corner calls for a 1-2. Li obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Kodama swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Kodama shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Li manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Kodama preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Kodama controls the pace.
Kodama throws a big right hand that misses.
Li bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kodama's guard.
Li wants to control from the top but Kodama keeps moving.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Li must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kodama preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kodama will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kodama looking to hit a scissor sweep but Li is one step ahead there.

Li got a little sloppy there for a moment and Kodama has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Li has managed to get both his arms back between Kodama's legs - danger averted.
Li loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li throwing strikes from guard but Kodama blocks nicely.
Li missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Li wants to pass the guard but Kodama is keeping the position.
Li is stalling in the full guard.
Li preventing the sweep.
Kodama is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Li wants to pass the guard but Kodama is keeping the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Kodama lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kodama wants to control from the top but Li keeps moving.
Kodama is really struggling to control Li but he's trying to hold on to the position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kodama fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Li manages to avoid it.
Li checks the leg kick nicely there.
A left lands for Li.
Kodama doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kodama dives in for a single leg takedown but Li sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
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!
Li will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Kodama up against the cage.
Junji Kodama has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Li gets a trip takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Li comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Li winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Li!
John Li seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
Junji Kodama spoke after the fight, saying 'Team Goroshi - Kore Fight Nutrition -'.