PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Toktogulovich Bakiyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Miguel Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lopez has chosen Vamos as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bakiyev
vs
Lopez

171 cm
28
163 lbs
14 - 11 - 0

181 cm
44
162 lbs
50 - 19 - 2

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 14 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Toktogulovich Bakiyev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 50 - 19 - 2, fighting out of New York, Miguel Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jab from Bakiyev.
Bakiyev takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Lopez throws a leg kick but Bakiyev moved away.
Bakiyev misses the body punch
and Lopez counters with a left to the body.
Lopez looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Lopez walks into a jab.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Lopez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lopez stalks Bakiyev and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Bakiyev's face. Bakiyev staggers backwards, shaken.
Lopez bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Bakiyev throws a lazy right hand but Lopez sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Lopez misses with a low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez fails to land with a series of punches.
Bakiyev takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Bakiyev displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lopez throws out the jab.
Bakiyev swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Bakiyev smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Lopez misses with a hook
and Bakiyev counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Lopez takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A slow jab from Bakiyev misses its intended target.
Lopez is trying to counter with his kicks.
Lopez misses with a wild combination.
Bakiyev appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Lopez walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopez misses the jab.
It looked like Bakiyev was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Lopez.
Lopez moves out of range of the strikes.
Lopez raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Sloppy strikes from Lopez. Those never looked like landing.
Bakiyev misses with an uppercut.
Lopez misses with a jab, cross combination.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Bakiyev scores with a hook to the body. Lopez takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Bakiyev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lopez.
Bakiyev changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Bakiyev bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Lopez's head.
It looks like Bakiyev has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Lopez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Bakiyev moves away.
Bakiyev throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez misses with a hook
and Bakiyev counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Lopez pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Lopez keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
As Bakiyev backs off Lopez throws a huge counter combo but Bakiyev manages to avoid it all.
Lopez lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Lopez at a distance.
Bakiyev avoids the head kick by Lopez.
Bakiyev was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Lopez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Lopez misses with a body shot.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Lopez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Lopez misses with a wild body shot.
A counter left hand to the body from Bakiyev misses its target.
Bakiyev cracks Lopez with a good jab.
Lopez throws a head kick that misses.
Bakiyev checks the leg kick nicely there.
A little feinted left hand from Bakiyev on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Bakiyev throws a lazy right hand but Lopez sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Bakiyev moves out of range of the body kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice uppercut there from Bakiyev.
Lopez is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Bakiyev rather than just go for the knockout.
Bakiyev is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Lopez.
Lopez throws a body punch but Bakiyev moves out of range.
Bakiyev throwing a counter right hand but Lopez manages to avoid it.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Toktogulovich Bakiyev dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Lopez misses with a left hand
and Lopez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Lopez looks to land a combination but Bakiyev avoids it well.
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Bakiyev cracks a nice hook into Lopez's ribs.
Lopez steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bakiyev.
Lopez digs a good hook to Bakiyev's body.
Lopez scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Lopez moves away from the strike by Bakiyev.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bakiyev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Lopez was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Lopez might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Bakiyev has got the better of the exchanges.
Bakiyev avoids the body shot from Lopez.
Bakiyev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bakiyev thows a left - swing and a miss!
Lopez unleashes a big counter combination but Bakiyev bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bakiyev missing with a left hand there. Lopez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bakiyev showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lopez.
Lopez takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Bakiyev misses the shot to the body.
Lopez throws a big counter head kick but Bakiyev avoids it with no problem.
Bakiyev lands a body shot.
Lopez throws a leg kick but Bakiyev moved away.
Bakiyev appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Bakiyev lands a nice looking body shot.
Bakiyev avoids the body shot from Lopez.
It looked like Bakiyev wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev lands with a shot to the body.
Lopez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bakiyev punishes Lopez's body with a nice straight punch.
Bakiyev avoids the body shot from Lopez.
Bakiyev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lopez can do to turn this around?
Bakiyev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lopez.
Bakiyev looks to score with a jab to the body but Lopez is just out of range.
Lopez throws a sloppy head kick and Bakiyev moves out of range easily.
Lopez moves out of range as Bakiyev strikes.
Lopez looks for the body kick but Bakiyev saw that one coming.
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bakiyev takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez misses with a wild combination.
Lopez shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Bakiyev keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Miguel Lopez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bakiyev misses with a right hand
and Lopez counters with a left and a right that stings Bakiyev.
Lopez throws a sloppy head kick and Bakiyev moves out of range easily.
No joy there for Lopez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Bakiyev scores with a hook to the body. Lopez takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Lopez stuns Bakiyev with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Bakiyev lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Bakiyev tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lopez was well out of range. Poor timing from Bakiyev.
Lopez is trying to counter with his kicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev looks to throw the jab but Lopez is out of range.
Bakiyev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lopez manages to avoid it.
A slow jab from Bakiyev misses its intended target.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lopez just misses with a punch to the body.
The crowd cheers as Bakiyev lands an impressive looking overhand right. Lopez doesn't seem phased though.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev avoids a kick to the body.
Lopez ducks under a wild hook from Bakiyev.
Bakiyev swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Lopez unleashes a big counter combination but Bakiyev bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Bakiyev throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
The fighters circling - Lopez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Toktogulovich Bakiyev dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Lopez throws a head kick but Bakiyev moves out of range.
Bakiyev throws a predictable looking body shot
and Lopez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Lopez swings widly with a right hand
enabling Bakiyev to counter with a crisp jab.
Lopez misses with a double jab
and Bakiyev counters with a nice uppercut.
Bakiyev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lopez.
Bakiyev blocks the body kick.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Lopez in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Bakiyev keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Toktogulovich Bakiyev is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lopez misses with a few strikes there.
Bakiyev swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Bakiyev swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lopez tries a quick counter leg kick but Bakiyev is wise to it.
Bakiyev fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez swinging wildly here.
Bakiyev scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Lopez looks to land a combination but Bakiyev avoids it well.
Bakiyev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Lopez on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Bakiyev fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Lopez swings for the body but Bakiyev moves out of range.
Bakiyev listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Lopez on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopez throws a front kick aimed at Bakiyev's knee but Bakiyev avoids it well.
Bakiyev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bakiyev jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Lopez throws a nice looking combination but Bakiyev bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
A counter left hand to the body from Bakiyev misses its target.
A slow jab from Bakiyev misses its intended target.
Lopez shapes to counter with a head kick.
Lopez takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bakiyev misses with a wild body shot.
Bakiyev uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lopez.
Bakiyev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bakiyev throws an overhand right that lands on Lopez's shoulder, as Lopez tries to avoid the shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bakiyev throws out the jab.
Lopez throws a big counter head kick but Bakiyev avoids it with no problem.
Bakiyev checks a leg kick nicely.
Bakiyev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lopez.
Bakiyev tests Lopez's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Bakiyev throws a shot from downtown. Lopez moves away and avoids it.
A telegraphed right hand from Bakiyev misses the target.
A left and a right from Lopez both land. Nice combination.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev swings for the body but Lopez moves out of range.
Bakiyev just misses with a punch to the body.
Bakiyev lands an overhand right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lopez pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bakiyev misses with a wild body shot.
Lopez throws a wild body kick that Bakiyev sees coming a mile off.
Miguel Lopez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bakiyev listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Nice defenses there by Lopez.
Bakiyev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lopez manages to avoid it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lopez throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Bakiyev.
Bakiyev looks to land a left hand but Lopez moved out of range nicely.
Nice cross by Bakiyev.
Toktogulovich Bakiyev is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Bakiyev lands an overhand right.

And that's the end of the fight!
Toktogulovich Bakiyev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bakiyev has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Toktogulovich Bakiyev!
An out of breath Toktogulovich Bakiyev thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
In defeat, Miguel Lopez stepped up to the mic, saying 'no plan to retire! gonna clean up this division '.