PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Temitope Obama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Peter Taphorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Temitope Obama had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Obama
vs
Taphorn

196 cm
30
141 lbs
17 - 15 - 0

170 cm
35
138 lbs
25 - 12 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Bos Energy MMA159.4

Victory Fight Wear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Temitope Obama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 12 - 1, fighting out of London, Peter Taphorn!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Sosuke Kotani and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Obama fails to land with a series of punches.
Taphorn ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Obama 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.
Taphorn throws a right and a left that both miss.
Taphorn looks to score with a jab to the body but Obama is just out of range.
Obama tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taphorn swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Temitope Obama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Obama throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Taphorn jabs at Obama's body.
Good shot there by Obama.
Obama throws out a loose jab but Taphorn uses good head movement to avoid it.
Taphorn tries to counter by closing the distance.
Obama looks to land a body kick but Taphorn moved away.
Obama jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Taphorn lands a nice shot to the body.
Obama throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Taphorn tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Obama manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Obama looks to score with a jab to the body but Taphorn is just out of range.
Taphorn misses with a body kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Obama pushes Taphorn up against the cage in a clinch.
Taphorn blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Taphorn on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Taphorn.
Taphorn pushes Obama back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Taphorn.
A nice right hand lands inside from Taphorn.
Obama slows down the pace here.

Taphorn breaks the clinch.
Horrible takedown attempt by Taphorn or perhaps it was just good defense by Obama, which made it look bad.
A slapping body kick lands there for Taphorn.
Obama checks a low kick from Taphorn.
Taphorn avoids a punch combination nicely.
Taphorn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Obama circles away quickly and effectively.
A decent looking cross lands there for Taphorn.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Obama throws a jab when Taphorn was well out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obama misses with a body punch
and Taphorn counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Obama lands a nice leg kick that just misses Taphorn's sensitive parts.
Obama walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Taphorn scores with a nice head shot.
Obama misses with a double jab.
Obama misses with a straight right.
Obama looks to land a body kick but Taphorn moved away.
Obama misses with a hook to the body
and Taphorn counters with a thumping low kick.
Taphorn fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Obama throws a quick inside leg kick.
Obama tries a head kick but it misses.
Obama blocks a jab.
Taphorn fails in his attempt to clinch.
Taphorn comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Obama misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taphorn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taphorn scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Taphorn tries to throw a body punch but Obama avoids it by throwing Taphorn back against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Obama scores with a nice short uppercut.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Taphorn obliges.
Taphorn taking a breather.
Taphorn tries to stall but Obama uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Taphorn on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Taphorn blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Taphorn prevents Obama from breaking the clinch.
Obama pushes Taphorn back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Taphorn tries a body shot but Obama blocks it.
Obama lands a hook that snaps the head of Taphorn backwards.

Taphorn gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Taphorn drops an elbow to the side of Obama's head.
Obama is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Taphorn slips a nice elbow through Obama's hands, connecting with Obama's forehead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obama throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Obama is controlling Taphorn's trapped leg to prevent Taphorn from advancing to side control.
Obama wants to control but Taphorn is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Taphorn is controlling the pace.
Obama 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.
Obama is trying to maintain the position but Taphorn is very close to passing his half guard.

Taphorn is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Obama controlling the position well.
Obama trying to control but Taphorn postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Peter Taphorn 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.

Obama throws a head kick that misses.
Obama goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Obama thumps Taphorn with a low kick.
Taphorn lands a leg kick that knocks Obama off balance momentarily.
Taphorn cracks Obama with a good jab.

Taphorn gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Taphorn tries to work over Obama's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Taphorn tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Obama's elbow.
Taphorn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taphorn is looking to control Obama's arms but Obama gets an underhook and turns him. Now Taphorn has his back to the cage.
Obama prevents a body shot from Taphorn.
Taphorn tries to stall but Obama uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taphorn is looking to control Obama's arms but Obama gets an underhook and turns him. Now Taphorn has his back to the cage.

Obama manages to break the clinch.

Obama darts in and clinches Taphorn up against the cage.
Peter Taphorn seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Taphorn blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A hook to the body from Taphorn.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Taphorn fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obama tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Taphorn effectively controlling the action here.
The referee is keeping an eye on Taphorn - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Taphorn working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Obama stalling the fight.
A shot in the inside from Obama.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Obama obliges.
Obama lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Taphorn working aggressively here.
Taphorn effectively controlling the action here.
Taphorn takes a knee right on the jaw!
Taphorn misses with a hook from the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
A short left from Obama.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Obama breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taphorn waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Obama.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Taphorn has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Obama throws a right and a left that both miss.
Obama staying out of range there.
Obama takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
The fighters circling - Taphorn throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Obama misses with the combination.
Taphorn throws out a loose jab but Obama uses good head movement to avoid it.
Temitope Obama is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Obama keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Peter Taphorn seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Obama lands a jab-cross combination.
Obama fails to land with a series of punches.
Obama blocks a jab.
Obama moves out of range of the strikes.

Obama tries to keep at a distance but Taphorn has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taphorn blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Taphorn creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Taphorn on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Obama takes a shot to the head.
Taphorn throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Obamas head.
Taphorn scores with a nice hook to the head.

Obama breaks from the clinch.
Obama really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Taphorn scoring well with a low kick there.
Taphorn tries to clinch but Obama moves out of range.
Obama's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Taphorn connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Obama scrambles back to his feet.
Obama checks a leg kick.
Taphorn lands a jab to Obama's midsection.
Taphorn lands a glancing blow to the side of Obama's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Obama looks to land a combination but Taphorn avoids it well.
The fight stays on the outside here - Obama looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taphorn scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Taphorn misses with a two punch combination.
Obama on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Taphorn. Taphorn obviously looking to wear him down.
Obama fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Taphorn is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Taphorn fails to land with a series of punches.
Obama misses the shot to the body.
Taphorn fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Obama has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Obama keeps the fight on the outside.
Temitope Obama is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Obama scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Obama tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Taphorn manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Obama misses with a wild combination.
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 Temitope Obama will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Obama scores with a jab to the head.
Obama throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Taphorn tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Obama is able to avoid easily.
Obama will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Taphorn misses the shot to the body.
Taphorn ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Obama misses with a few strikes there.
Taphorn avoids a punch combination nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taphorn throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Obama moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Obama throws a body shot but no joy.
Taphorn tries to score with a low kick but Obama moves his leg out of the way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obama slaps away a takedown attempt from Taphorn, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Taphorn shoots in and gets a takedown into Obama's guard.
Obama utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Taphorn throwing strikes but missing.
Obama looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Obama is trying to keep Taphorn in close.
Obama is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Taphorn is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Taphorn throws a big right hand that misses.
Taphorn stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Obama swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obama will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Taphorn sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Obama's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Obama has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Taphorn is working away from the top position though.

Obama looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Obama preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Obama is looking to control Taphorn's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Obama avoid being mounted?
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Taphorn lands a nice short elbow.
Obama is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obama is refusing to be controlled, as Taphorn sits in half guard.
Obama trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Taphorn fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Obama is desperately trying to improve his position but Taphorn has a good base and remains in mount.
Taphorn lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Taphorn lands a heavy elbow.
Obama is working to get back to half guard.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Taphorn cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Obama is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Taphorn breaks from Obama's wrist control and lands an elbow.

Taphorn is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Obama is surviving well by controlling Taphorn's body position as best he can.
Taphorn landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Obama wants to control but Taphorn is having none of it.
Taphorn looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

Obama is rocked!
Taphorn prevents Obama from getting the reversal.
Oh Obama is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Taphorn looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Obama really wants to buck Taphorn off and get back to his feet.
Taphorn lands with some strikes.
Taphorn controlling from the full mount.
Taphorn loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Obama scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Taphorn land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Taphorn stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Peter Taphorn!
Peter Taphorn seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.