PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ichiro Ippo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and TJ Dillinger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). TJ Dillinger struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 136.4lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Ippo
vs
Dillinger

165 cm
19
134 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

168 cm
19
148 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Urban Fighter
Voodoo Nutrition

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ichiro Ippo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, TJ Dillinger!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ippo scores with a jab to the body.
Dillinger throws the kick towards the body but Ippo avoids it.
Danga de danga de dang - Ippo scores with a four punch combination!
Ippo scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Dillinger throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Dillinger walks into a left hand.
Dillinger throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Dillinger on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Dillinger has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Dillinger throws a leg kick that misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ippo throws a body shot but no joy.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Dillinger! But no joy.

Dillinger darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Dillinger throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ippo is looking for a sweep. Dillinger is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dillinger is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Ippo doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Dillinger.
Dillinger has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Dillinger scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dillinger not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Dillinger missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Dillinger is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Dillinger winds up and cracks Ippo with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ippo definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Dillinger is nestled in close to Ippo, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ippo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Dillinger on the ground.
Dillinger not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ippo is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Dillinger scores with a couple of nice shots.
Dillinger missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Ippo is defending against the submission attempts here by Dillinger.
Dillinger missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Dillinger looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Ippo with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Dillinger looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Ippo with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Dillinger landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Dillinger frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The referee warns Ippo that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dillinger pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

Ippo is rocked!

It looks like Ichiro Ippo has been cut.
Ippo is breathing heavily.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Dillinger cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Oh Ippo is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Dillinger postures up and lands a whopping elbow - oh that's hurt Ippo bigstyle! Two more strikes land for Dillinger and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). TJ Dillinger!
A victorious TJ Dillinger thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.