PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Xi Lim (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kuroda Atsushii (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Lim
vs
Atsushii

175 cm
22
158 lbs
3 - 1 - 1

172 cm
21
144 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Xi Lim!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kuroda Atsushii!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Atsushii thuds his right hand into Lim's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

It looks like Xi Lim has been cut.
Lim lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Atsushii circles away quickly and effectively.
Atsushii scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Atsushii with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Atsushii avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Atsushii throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Lim tried to counter with a leg kick but Atsushii avoided it.
Atsushii has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Atsushii misses the shot to the body.
A solid body kick from Atsushii.
Lim throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Lim lands a nice leg kick that just misses Atsushii's sensitive parts.
Lim throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Atsushii counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Atsushii keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Atsushii moves out of range of the strikes.
Atsushii slips under a jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lim moves out of range as Atsushii throws a body kick.
Lim looks to land a right hand but Atsushii moved out of range.
Lim throws a looping overhand right but Atsushii ducks down to avoid it.
Atsushii tries a low kick but Lim avoids it.
Atsushii lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lim misses with an uppercut. Atsushii saw that one coming.
Atsushii looks to land a body kick but Lim moved away.
Atsushii throws a low kick but Lim avoids it.
Atsushii lands a really nice looking cross but Lim seems unphased.
A big right from Atsushii misses.
Atsushii lands with a cross.
Atsushii misses with a looping right.
Lim misses with a shot to the body
enabling Atsushii to counter with a crisp jab.
Lim fails with an attempt to clinch.
Atsushii takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Lim lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Atsushii jabs at Lim's body.
Lim tries to close the distance and clinch up but Atsushii swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Atsushii throws a fast counter high kick but Lim manages to duck under it in time.
Lim tries a head kick but it misses.
Lim moves out of range of the leg kick from Atsushii.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Atsushii looks to throw the jab but Lim is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atsushii throws a jab but it's blocked by Lim.
Lim cracks Atsushii with a good jab.
Atsushii lands with a nice body kick.
Atsushii thows a left - swing and a miss!
We've been told by Lim's head coaches at The Skating Rink that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Atsushii throws the kick towards the body but Lim avoids it.
Lim half committed to a counter leg kick.
Atsushii scores with a shot to the body.
Atsushii lands with an overhand left.
Lim cracks Atsushii with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

Lim darts in and clinches Atsushii up against the cage.
Lim lands an uppercut.
Lim working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Lim swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Lim lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Atsushii breaks from the clinch.
Lim looks to land a right hand but Atsushii moved out of range.
Lim misses with an uppercut. Atsushii saw that one coming.
Atsushii uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lim.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lim tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Atsushii manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lim misses with a hook. Atsushii ducked under it nicely.
Lim lands the left hand.
Lim misses with a looping left.
Atsushii keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Lim.
The fighters circle momentarily. Atsushii darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Lim thows a left - swing and a miss!
A little jabbing left from Atsushii on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Lim misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A big left from Lim misses.
Atsushii takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Lim jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Lim throws a low kick, looking for Atsushii's leg but Atsushii calmly moves out of range.
Lim throws a leg kick but Atsushii sees it coming and moves out of range.
Atsushii thuds a left hand into Lim's body.
Atsushii avoids the body shot from Lim.
Lim throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Atsushii counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Lim with a nice cross.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lim takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Lim misses with an uppercut
and Atsushii counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Lim with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Atsushii misses with a low kick.
Atsushii throws a leg kick but Lim moved away.
The fighters circling - Lim throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Lim throws a body punch but Atsushii moves out of range.
A big left from Lim misses.
Atsushii looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Lim checks a low kick from Atsushii.
Atsushii lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Lim walks into a stiff left hand from Atsushii.
Atsushii avoids the body shot from Lim.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lim avoids the head kick by Atsushii.
Atsushii lands a slapping body shot.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Lim, right into the meat.
Atsushii throws the kick towards the body but Lim avoids it.
Lim is looking to counter punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Kuroda Atsushii will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Xi Lim's cut.
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.

A big left from Lim misses.
Lim fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Atsushii manages to avoid it.
Lim attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Atsushii scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Lim doesn't seem bothered though.
Atsushii scores with a nice right hand.
Lim throws a jab but it's blocked by Atsushii.
Atsushii is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Atsushii keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Lim staying out of range there.
Lim defending well as Atsushii loads up on a big left hand.
Lim looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Atsushii displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lim throws out the jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lim takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Lim scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Atsushii goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Lim swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Lim jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Lim throws a leg kick
and Atsushii counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Lim thinking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lim with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Atsushii to score with a decent uppercut.
Lim checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A little feinted left hand from Lim on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Lim is looking to score with low kicks.
Jab from Atsushii.
Atsushii lands a nice looking body kick.
Atsushii misses with an uppercut. Lim saw that one coming.
Lim takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Atsushii scores with a spinning back kick!
Atsushii moves out of range of the strikes.
Atsushii appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Lim needs to keep his hands up - Atsushii had a free shot at his head there.
Atsushii connects with an inside leg kick.
Lim moves out of range of the body kick.
Lim slips a straight right by Atsushii.
Atsushii throws an overhand right that lands on Lim's shoulder, as Lim tries to avoid the shot.
Atsushii has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Atsushii uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lim.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lim goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Atsushii throws an overhand right that lands on Lim's shoulder, as Lim tries to avoid the shot.
Atsushii takes one on the button.
Atsushii throws a leg kick but Lim sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Lim tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Atsushii manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lim has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Lim misses the shot to the body.
Lim scores with a nice right hand.
Atsushii is looking to score with low kicks.
Xi Lim seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lim swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Atsushii scores with a hook.
Atsushii swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Atsushii jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Atsushii looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Good leg kick by Lim there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Lim keeps Atsushii at a distance using the push kick.
Atsushii throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Lim on the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lim ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
A low kick from Atsushii is predictable there
and Lim counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Lim looks to score with a jab to the body but Atsushii is just out of range.
Atsushii throws the kick towards the body but Lim avoids it.
Atsushii scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Lim takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Atsushii tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Lim was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Lim misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Atsushii.
Lim misses the jab.
Atsushii tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Lim swings for the body but Atsushii moves out of range.
Atsushii appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Lim throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Lim fails with an attempt to clinch.
Atsushii follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Lim will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Lim throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Atsushii sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atsushii tries to work over Lim's front leg with a kick but Lim checks it.
Lim swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Lim on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Atsushii lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Lim has taken the fight to the clinch.
Lim avoids the elbow strike from Atsushii, against the cage.
Lim misses with a short punch on the inside.
Lim has a couple of punches blocked by Atsushii.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Lim.
Lim tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Atsushii's elbow.
Lim lands a left hand that snaps the head of Atsushii backwards.
Lim tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Lim misses with a hook from the clinch.
Atsushii with an attempt at a knee that misses.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Atsushii.
Lim scores with a shoulder strike.
Atsushii blocks an uppercut.
Lim working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kuroda Atsushii will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Xi Lim'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. This is the final round!

Lim takes a jab right on the kisser.
Atsushii throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Lim counters with a nice uppercut.
Atsushii misses with the combination.
Lim is looking to counter punch.
Lim scores with a hook to the body. Atsushii takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Lim looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Atsushii throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A little feinted left hand from Lim on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Atsushii misses with a low kick.
Lim fires out a quick counter leg kick but Atsushii just manages to avoid it.
Atsushii uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lim.
Atsushii displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lim throws out the jab.
Lim darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Atsushii is rocked!

It looks like Kuroda Atsushii has been cut.
Lim drops Atsushii with a straight right hand, right on the button! Lim follows him down to the mat and pounds him out with hammerfists until the referee jumps in to end the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:48 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Xi Lim!
In his post fight interview, Xi Lim started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.