PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sun Ra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Riki Machida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ra kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Space is the place by Sun Ra. Riki Machida has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Ra
vs
Machida

191 cm
19
205 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

191 cm
19
205 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sun Ra!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Riki Machida!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Vladimir Khabensky and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A swing and a miss from Machida.
Machida moves out of range of the body kick.
The fighters circling - Machida throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ra has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Sun Ra and his Arkestra's training camp in the buildup to the fight.
Machida dodges the punch combination from Ra.
Ra takes one to the side of the head.
Machida throws a hook but Ra blocks it.
Sun Ra seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ra scores with a kick to the body.
Ra moves to clinch but Machida breaks away
and Machida connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Ra sizes up Machida with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.

Ra clinches up against the cage.
Ra stalling in the clinch.
Ra is looking to control Machida's arms but Machida gets an underhook and turns him. Now Ra has his back to the cage.
Ra scores with a shot to the side of Machida's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ra blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ra is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Machida is keeping busy.
A nice left hand lands by Machida.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ra lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Machida.
Machida misses with a punch on the inside.
Ra is trying to push Machida away but Machida has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Machida stalls.
Machida lands with a short shot to the head.
Ra blocking some punches.

Ra breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ra blocks a jab.
Machida misses with a body shot.
Ra throws out a loose jab but Machida uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ra looks to score with a jab to the body but Machida is just out of range.
Ra swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Machida swats away the attempt to clinch by Ra.
Machida connects with a good right hand that stumbles Ra. Ra circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Machida thows a left - swing and a miss!
Ra throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Machida's head.
Machida connects with a looping right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ra throws a head kick that misses.
Machida on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Machida throws a hook but Ra avoids it easily.
Machida throws a hook to the side of Ra's head but Ra sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Machida throws a looping overhand right but Ra ducks down to avoid it.

Machida cracks Ra with a big right hand that sends him crashing to the floor. Machida has the opportunity to follow him to the ground but instead he's beckoning Ra to stand back up!

Ra is rocked!
Machida throws a hook but Ra blocks it.
Oh Ra is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Machida blocks a head kick by Ra.
Machida throws an off balance right hand

and Ra moves into the clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A frustrated look appears on Ra's face as he tries to break the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Machida fails to land.
Ra tries to break free but Machida pushes him back against the cage.
Machida lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Ra backwards.
Machida misses with the head strike.
Machida digs a right hand underneath Ra's ribcage. Ra let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Machida holding his opponent close, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Machida fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ra seems to have got his legs back now.
Machida tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Machida gets through Ra's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ra fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Machida taking a breather.
Machida has a couple of punches blocked by Ra.
Machida misses with a body punch.
Machida misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ra tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Machida's elbow.
Ra lands a nice uppercut.
Machida swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Machida has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Ra seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Machida can turn it around.
Machida keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Ra's efforts to push away.
Good body shot from Machida.
Machida lands a nice uppercut.
Ra wants to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ra lands a hook that snaps the head of Machida backwards.

Ra breaks the clinch.
Ra throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Machida's head.

It looks like Riki Machida has been cut.
Ra connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Machida gets a clinch.
Machida stalls.
Machida lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Machida scores with a shot to the side of Ra's head.
Ra is trying to break free.
Machida lands a right hand that snaps the head of Ra backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Machida misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ra taking a breather.
Machida just leaning against Ra, taking a breather.
A head punch on the inside from Machida fails to land.
The referee calls for Machida to work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riki Machida dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Riki Machida'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.

Machida clinches up against the cage.
Machida can't find room to land a body shot as Ra controls the action.

Ra's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ra tries to close the distance and clinch but Machida swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Machida waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Ra.
Machida jabs Ra right on the nose. Ra blinks but takes it well.
Machida is looking to clinch but Ra is avoiding it.
Riki Machida seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Machida connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Ra's hands.
Machida avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ra scores with a nice strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A looping hook to the body misses from Machida. Ra does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ra slips a straight right by Machida.
Ra misses with a body shot.

Machida moves into the clinch successfully.
Machida lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ra backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ra pushes Machida back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ra misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Machida.
Machida fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ra blocks a body shot from Machida.
Machida swings wildly with an uppercut but Ra uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ra wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Machida has him pressed against the cage.
Ra is trying to stall.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Ra lands a nice uppercut.
Machida misses with a punch to the body.
Machida lands a left hand.
Machida presses Ra against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ra.
Ra blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Machida misses with a punch on the inside.
Machida working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Machida misses with some punches.
Ra tries to land knees in the clinch but Machida avoids the damage to the body.
Ra is trying to break the clinch but Machida has him pressed against the cage.
Ra blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Machida prevents a body shot from Ra.
Machida misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ra prevents a body shot from Machida.
Ra blocks a body shot from Machida.
Machida slows down the pace here.
Machida misses with a hook from the clinch.

Ra pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ra with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Ra tries to clinch but Machida moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Ra misses.
Ra cracks the inside of Machida's front leg.
Machida tries to clinch there but Ra circles away.
Machida throws a shot from downtown. Ra moves away and avoids it.
Ra throws a head kick but Machida moves out of range.

Machida moves into range and clinches up with Ra.

Ra breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Machida throws a lazy right hand but Ra sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Machida throws a jab when Ra was well out of range.
Machida misses with a wild body shot.
Ra ducks under a wild hook from Machida.
Ra tries to clinch there but Machida circles away.
Machida tries to clinch up.
Machida lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Ra ducks under a wild hook from Machida.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ra fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

Ra closes the distance and clinches.
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!
Ra wants to break free but Machida has control.
Ra misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Machida.
Machida tries to work over Ra's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Machida has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Machida swings wildly with an uppercut but Ra uses good head movement to avoid it.
Machida misses with a body punch.
Machida working aggressively here.
Machida lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Ra backwards.
Ra lands a nice shot to the body.
Ra blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Machida.
A right hook to the body lands for Machida.
Machida doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ra blocks a punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riki Machida showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Riki Machida's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Machida thows a left - swing and a miss!
Machida might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Ra cracks Machida with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Ra walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Machida checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Ra misses with a body punch
and Machida connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Machida misses with a straight right.
Machida walks straight into a right hand from Ra - that's dropped him! Ra jumps into mount and starts pounding away - can he finish?! More strikes go undefended and the referee has to dive in to save Machida from any more punishment! Machida complains about the stoppage but falls over as he tries to stand back up, so it was clearly a good stoppage.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:27 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Sun Ra!
Sun Ra retains his light heavyweight title!
Post fight, Sun Ra stared into the camera and said 'I see them as they are to is And not the seeming isness of the was'.