PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Neidhart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hakuin Ekaku Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Neidhart
vs
Ekaku Jr

174 cm
29
166 lbs
6 - 12 - 0

175 cm
23
165 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 6 - 12 - 0, fighting out of London, Thomas Neidhart!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Hakuin Ekaku Jr!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Robert Douchet and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good standup being displayed there by Ekaku Jr as he connects with a hook.
Neidhart misses with a low kick.
Ekaku Jr is looking to clinch.
Neidhart throws a sloppy head kick and Ekaku Jr moves out of range easily.
Ekaku Jr blocks the body kick.
Ekaku Jr connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ekaku Jr blocks a head kick by Neidhart.
Neidhart fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ekaku Jr manages to avoid it.
Neidhart throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ekaku Jr's waist but Ekaku Jr gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Neidhart off to one side.
Ekaku Jr fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Neidhart.

Ekaku Jr clinches up with Neidhart and pushes him back against the cage.
Neidhart has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A nice left hand lands by Ekaku Jr.
A nice left hand lands by Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ekaku Jr struggles to land a body shot inside as Neidhart controls his hands.
Neidhart prevents a body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Neidhart has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Neidhart is looking for a takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ekaku Jr has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Neidhart is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Neidhart working hard to break the clinch.
Ekaku Jr lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Neidhart backwards.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ekaku Jr misses with a body punch.
Neidhart is trying to push Ekaku Jr away but Ekaku Jr has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Neidhart looking to stall.

Neidhart escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Neidhart throws a nice looking combination but Ekaku Jr bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ekaku Jr throws a head kick that misses.

Neidhart looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Neidhart trying to control the position from guard on top but Ekaku Jr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neidhart controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Neidhart tries to free his leg and advance position but Ekaku Jr is retaining full guard.
Neidhart wants to control from the top but Ekaku Jr keeps moving.
Ekaku Jr seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Neidhart trying to control but Ekaku Jr is working from the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Ekaku Jr takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

It looks like Hakuin Ekaku Jr has been cut.
Ekaku Jr works Neidhart's body with a nice hook.
Neidhart closes the distance and clinches up with Ekaku Jr, looking for a takedown. Neidhart pushes Ekaku Jr against the cage but Ekaku Jr circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
It seemed like Ekaku Jr was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Neidhart. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Neidhart falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ekaku Jr counters with a head kick. That will keep Neidhart thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook. Neidhart ducked under it nicely.
Neidhart throws a sloppy head kick
and Ekaku Jr counters with a two punch combo.

Neidhart is rocked!
Neidhart shoots in looking for a takedown. Ekaku Jr tries to sprawl out of it but Neidhart keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ekaku Jr manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Oh Neidhart is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Ekaku Jr shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Neidhart's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ekaku Jr sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Neidhart's guard.
Neidhart seems to have got his legs back now.
Neidhart blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ekaku Jr.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Neidhart looking for submissions off his back.
Ekaku Jr throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ekaku Jr drops an elbow to the side of Neidhart's head.
Ekaku Jr is trying to control. Neidhart wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Neidhart looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ekaku Jr wants to take a breather but Neidhart is having none of it.
Neidhart is looking to improve his position.
Ekaku Jr takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ekaku Jr frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Ekaku Jr cracks Neidhart with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hakuin Ekaku Jr dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hakuin Ekaku Jr's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Jab by Ekaku Jr.
Neidhart throws a body punch but Ekaku Jr moves out of range.
Ekaku Jr drops a shoulder and throws an uppercut that cracks Neidhart right on the button. Neidhart goes down! Ekaku Jr follows him to the mat and finishes the job with more strikes! Ekaku Jr gets the win via TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:12 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Hakuin Ekaku Jr!
As Hakuin Ekaku Jr got his breath back, he grabbed the microphone and managed to blurt out the following: Thank you to my inspiration, my father, THE GREATEST EVER Hakuin "Zen" Ekaku.'.