PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Reginald Leslie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rikiya Sonoda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rikiya Sonoda has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Leslie
vs
Sonoda

195 cm
24
241 lbs
16 - 9 - 0

192 cm
31
272 lbs
16 - 10 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

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 16 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Reginald Leslie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rikiya Sonoda!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Robert Twigg and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sonoda lands a front kick.
Sonoda throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Sonoda looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Leslie seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Leslie on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Sonoda. Sonoda obviously looking to wear him down.
Leslie jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sonoda fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Leslie has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Sonoda pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Leslie is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sonoda.
Leslie throws a series of punches but Sonoda moves out of range.
Rikiya Sonoda seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sonoda tries to clinch up.
A bone on bone clash there as Sonoda blocks the leg kick.
Sonoda looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Leslie lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

It looks like Rikiya Sonoda has been cut.
Sonoda tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Leslie was well out of range. Poor timing from Sonoda.
Sonoda staying out of range there.
Sonoda tries to counter by closing the distance.
Leslie throws a body shot but no joy.
A big left from Sonoda misses.
Leslie has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Woodhouse's in the buildup to the fight.
Leslie pivots, looking for a leg kick but Sonoda is out of range and Leslie settles back down.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Leslie takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Sonoda misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sonoda tries a head kick but it misses.
Leslie tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Sonoda manages to circle out of the way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonoda defending well as Leslie loads up on a big left hand.
Sonoda throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Sonoda throws a head kick but Leslie moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Leslie. Sonoda does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sonoda looks for the body kick but Leslie saw that one coming.
Leslie wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Leslie misses with a few strikes there.
Leslie moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromSonoda.
A slow jab from Leslie misses its intended target.
Sonoda tries to close the distance and clinch up but Leslie swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sonoda lands a nice shot to the body.

Sonoda has taken the fight to the clinch.
Leslie takes a knee right on the jaw!
Leslie using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sonoda has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Leslie misses with a knee to the head.
Leslie throws a punch but it's blocked by Sonoda.
Leslie throws a punch but it's blocked by Sonoda.
Sonoda with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Leslie looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Leslie on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leslie blocks the elbow strike.
With the fighters up against the cage, Leslie throws an elbow but misses.
Leslie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sonoda avoids it.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Sonoda tries to land a knee to the head but Leslie blocks with his arms.
Sonoda landing knees to the head.
Leslie wants to stall.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sonoda.

It looks like Reginald Leslie has been cut.
Sonoda blocks an elbow strike from Leslie.
Leslie avoiding damage as Sonoda throws knees to the body.
Sonoda throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sonoda avoiding damage as Leslie throws knees to the body.
Sonoda avoiding damage as Leslie throws knees to the body.
Leslie tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Sonoda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leslie avoids it.
Leslie is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sonoda is keeping busy.
Sonoda lands an elbow just above Leslie 's eye.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonoda lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sonoda trying to land knees to the body.
Leslie lands an elbow inside that Sonoda shrugs off.
Leslie lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Sonoda avoiding damage as Leslie throws knees to the body.
Leslie blocks the elbow strike.
Sonoda scores with a knee to the head.
Sonoda misses with an elbow over the top.
Leslie looking to throw knees to the head but Sonoda is blocking nicely.
Leslie works on Sonoda's body with a couple of short punches.
Leslie stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Leslie.
Sonoda tries to land knees in the clinch but Leslie avoids the damage to the body.
A nice right hand lands inside from Leslie.
Sonoda blocking some punches.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Leslie misses with a knee strike.
Leslie avoiding damage as Sonoda throws knees to the body.
Leslie creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Sonoda's defenses.
Leslie looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonoda prevents a body shot from Leslie.
Leslie managing to block the knees to the body from Sonoda.
A right hook to the body lands for Leslie.
Sonoda looks winded!
A short right from Leslie on the inside.
Leslie connects with a nasty looking knee right to Sonoda's face.
Leslie pushes Sonoda back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A short right from Leslie.

That has opened up Rikiya Sonoda's cut even more.
Leslie scores with a hook to the body.
Leslie working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Sonoda tries to land knees in the clinch but Leslie avoids the damage to the body.
Sonoda using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Leslie has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sonoda managing to block the knees to the body from Leslie.
Leslie throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Leslie lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Sonoda letting Leslie take a breather here.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sonoda avoids a wild elbow strike from Leslie.
Leslie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Leslie obliges.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Reginald Leslie will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sonoda wants to clinch.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Leslie ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
No joy there for Leslie, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Leslie looks to land a left hand but Sonoda moved out of range nicely.
Sonoda throws a sloppy head kick and Leslie moves out of range easily.
Sonoda throws a head kick that misses.
Leslie throws a body shot but no joy.
Sonoda appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Leslie steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Sonoda. That one must have hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sonoda rushes Leslie and presses him up against the cage.
Leslie avoiding damage as Sonoda throws knees to the body.
Leslie is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sonoda is defending well for now.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Leslie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sonoda blocks it with crossed arms.
Reginald Leslie has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Leslie blocks an elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leslie misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sonoda.
Sonoda looking to throw knees to the head but Leslie is blocking nicely.
Leslie lands an elbow inside that Sonoda shrugs off.
Sonoda unloads a knee to the mid-section. Leslie lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Leslie tries to work over Sonoda's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sonoda lands an elbow inside.
Sonoda using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Leslie has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sonoda landing knees to the body.
Sonoda lands a damaging elbow.
Sonoda lands a good knee to the midsection. Leslie won't want to take too many of those.
Leslie managing to block the knees to the body from Sonoda.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow.
Leslie using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sonoda has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Sonoda just misses with a elbow thrown towards Leslie's brow.
Sonoda with a knee to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sonoda throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Leslie blocks it with crossed arms.
Sonoda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leslie avoids it.
Leslie takes an elbow to the temple.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leslie blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Leslie throws a punch but it's blocked by Sonoda.
Leslie misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sonoda looking to throw knees to the head but Leslie is blocking nicely.
Leslie lands a damaging elbow.
Leslie dodges an elbow strike from Sonoda.
Sonoda with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sonoda trying to land knees to the body.
Sonoda looking to throw knees to the head but Leslie is blocking nicely.
Leslie putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Sonoda in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Leslie digs a right hand into Sonoda's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Sonoda's gas tank.
Leslie misses with a knee to the head.
Leslie is leaning against Sonoda and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Leslie lands an elbow inside that Sonoda shrugs off.
Leslie throws an elbow that misses.
Leslie blocks an elbow strike.
Leslie blocks the elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonoda lands a nice knee to the body.
Leslie with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Leslie misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sonoda.
Sonoda creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Sonoda using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Sonoda pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Sonoda missing with knees to the body.
Sonoda misses with an elbow strike.
Sonoda with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Leslie trying to land knees to the body.
Leslie doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sonoda landing knees to the body.
Sonoda lands an elbow just above Leslie 's eye.
Sonoda misses with an elbow over the top.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow.
Leslie tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leslie creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Leslie blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Leslie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sonoda blocks it with crossed arms.
Sonoda looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Sonoda throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sonoda misses with an elbow strike.
Sonoda throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Leslie blocks it with crossed arms.
Leslie unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Leslie blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sonoda tries a knee to the head but Leslie blocks it.
Leslie is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Leslie misses with a hook from the clinch.
Knees to the body from Leslie.
Sonoda prevents a body shot from Leslie.
Sonoda scores a nice knee to the body.
Leslie misses with an elbow strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rikiya Sonoda showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

A jab lands there for Leslie.
Nice body kick there by Sonoda.
Leslie fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sonoda manages to avoid it.
Sonoda looks for the body kick but Leslie saw that one coming.
Leslie is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sonoda.
Leslie looks to land a right hand but Sonoda moved out of range.

Sonoda clinches with his opponent.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow.
Leslie taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Leslie avoiding damage as Sonoda throws knees to the body.
Leslie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sonoda blocks it with crossed arms.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leslie tries a knee to the head but Sonoda blocks it.
Sonoda using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Sonoda misses with an elbow over the top.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sonoda landing knees to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sonoda.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonoda throws an elbow that misses.
Leslie misses with a knee to the head.
Sonoda lands an elbow inside that Leslie shrugs off.
Sonoda tries to land knees in the clinch but Leslie avoids the damage to the body.
Sonoda lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sonoda landing knees to the body.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Leslie blocks an elbow strike from Sonoda.
Sonoda blocks a body shot from Leslie.
Leslie doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Leslie using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sonoda has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sonoda throws an elbow but it misses.
Sonoda blocks the elbow strike.
Sonoda tries a knee to the head but Leslie blocks it.
Leslie pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Leslie misses with a knee strike.
Sonoda throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leslie avoiding damage as Sonoda throws knees to the body.
Sonoda managing to block the knees to the body from Leslie.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sonoda.
Sonoda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leslie avoids it.
Leslie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sonoda landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Leslie takes a knee to the side of the body.
Sonoda utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sonoda misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Leslie.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Sonoda landing knees to the body.
Sonoda lands an elbow that stopped Leslie in his tracks for a moment.
Sonoda lands a knee to the body.
Leslie on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sonoda landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Sonoda with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonoda landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Sonoda lands an elbow that stopped Leslie in his tracks for a moment.
Sonoda is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leslie is defending well for now.
Sonoda lands a knee to the body.
Sonoda working Leslie over with knees to the body.
Sonoda looking to throw knees to the head but Leslie is blocking nicely.
Nice elbow from Sonoda.
Leslie throws a knee to the head but misses.
Leslie blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sonoda lands a good knee to the midsection. Leslie won't want to take too many of those.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sonoda.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sonoda putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Leslie in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Sonoda has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Sonoda trying to land knees to the body.
Sonoda working Leslie over with knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonoda lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Leslie blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sonoda utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sonoda is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sonoda crunches a lovely knee into Leslie's ribcage.
Sonoda gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Sonoda blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sonoda looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Leslie blocks an elbow strike from Sonoda.
Sonoda lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Leslie comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Leslie misses with a body punch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Leslie blocks the elbow strike.
Leslie misses with a knee to the head.
Sonoda working Leslie over with knees to the body.
Sonoda tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leslie avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rikiya Sonoda comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sonoda has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rikiya Sonoda!
Rikiya Sonoda very nearly forgot to thank Kore Fight Nutrition [TG] amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.