PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hakuin Ekaku Jr (ranked 149 p4p, 25 weight class) and Max Payne (ranked 494 p4p, 77 weight class). Ekaku Jr comes to the cage accompanied by Jiu Jitsu. Payne has chosen Bad Company as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ekaku Jr
vs
Payne

175 cm
31
165 lbs
27 - 10 - 2

174 cm
30
184 lbs
15 - 12 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Aspire Clothing
Venom Combat Sports

Urban Fighter
Project Mayhem

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 10 - 2, fighting out of Los Angeles, Hakuin Ekaku Jr!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 12 - 1, fighting out of New York, Max Payne!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Trevor Gratis and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ekaku Jr throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Payne feints and then cracks Ekaku Jr's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Ekaku Jr down.
Payne with a nice cross.
Payne throws a chopping leg kick but Ekaku Jr manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Hakuin Ekaku Jr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Payne throws a lazy right hand but Ekaku Jr sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Ekaku Jr connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ekaku Jr moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch but Payne is having none of it.
A little jabbing left from Payne on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Ekaku Jr looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Ekaku Jr throws a body punch but Payne moves out of range.
Payne appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Payne checks a leg kick.
Ekaku Jr checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Ekaku Jr throws a poor cross that misses
and Payne connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Ekaku Jr digs a good hook to Payne's body.
Payne connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ekaku Jr checks a leg kick.
Payne connects with a jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Payne connects with a body shot that sends Ekaku Jr's belly button to the back.
Ekaku Jr scores with a jab. Payne acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Payne keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ekaku Jr.
Payne is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Ekaku Jr with a body shot.
Ekaku Jr misses with an uppercut. Payne saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Ekaku Jr looks to land a right hand but Payne moved out of range.
Payne throws a low kick, looking for Ekaku Jr's leg but Ekaku Jr calmly moves out of range.
Payne missing with a left hand there. Ekaku Jr was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Payne misses with a body shot.
Payne keeps the fight on the outside.
Ekaku Jr lands with a nice body punch.
Payne lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Ekaku Jr throws a predictable looking body shot
and Payne counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Ekaku Jr tests Payne's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A solid leg kick lands there for Payne.
Payne checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Payne is looking to score with low kicks.
Payne misses with a wild combination.
Ekaku Jr connects with a jab.
Ekaku Jr lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A jab from Ekaku Jr misses.
Payne throws a leg kick but Ekaku Jr checks it.

Ekaku Jr moves into the clinch.
Ekaku Jr prevents Payne from breaking the clinch.

Payne pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Good shot there by Ekaku Jr.
Payne takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Ekaku Jr fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Payne waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr tries to work over Payne's front leg with a kick but Payne checks it.

Ekaku Jr darts in and clinches Payne up against the cage.

Payne's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Payne comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Ekaku Jr works Payne's body with a nice hook.
Payne fails to land with a series of punches.
Ekaku Jr fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Payne takes a swing at Ekaku Jr's ribcage but misses.
Ekaku Jr uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Payne.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr lands with a hook. Payne tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Ekaku Jr looks to land a left hand but Payne moved out of range nicely.
Ekaku Jr misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Payne.
Ekaku Jr walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Ekaku Jr swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Payne lands the left hand.
Ekaku Jr closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Ekaku Jr ducks under a wild hook from Payne.
Payne misses with an uppercut.
A punch combination from Ekaku Jr misses.
Payne thows a leg kick but Ekaku Jr checks it
and Ekaku Jr counters with a straight right hand.
Ekaku Jr looks to land a combination but Payne avoids it well.
Payne looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Ekaku Jr misses with a wild body shot.
Ekaku Jr misses the jab.
Payne throws an overhand right that lands on Ekaku Jr's shoulder, as Ekaku Jr tries to avoid the shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Payne defending well as Ekaku Jr loads up on a big left hand.
Payne connects with a leg kick. Ekaku Jr looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Ekaku Jr changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Payne slips under a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Payne appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Ekaku Jr wants to clinch
and Payne connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Some bone on bone action there as Ekaku Jr checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Payne takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
A bone on bone clash there as Ekaku Jr blocks the leg kick.
Ekaku Jr throws a jab but it's blocked by Payne.
Payne lunges at Ekaku Jr with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ekaku Jr's hand.
Ekaku Jr moves out of range as Payne strikes.
Ekaku Jr is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Ekaku Jr jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Payne chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Payne swinging wildly here.
Ekaku Jr scores with a leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook. Payne ducked under it nicely.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch but Payne is having none of it.
Ekaku Jr fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Payne checks it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Hakuin Ekaku Jr will probably get the nod.
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 punch lands to the side of Ekaku Jr 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Ekaku Jr blocks a jab.
Payne throws a leg kick which misses Ekaku Jr's front leg but catches the back leg as Ekaku Jr tries to avoid it.
Ekaku Jr will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Ekaku Jr thows a left - swing and a miss!
Ekaku Jr throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Ekaku Jr backing away here, and Payne unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Payne jabs Ekaku Jr to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Payne drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
A slow jab from Payne misses its intended target.
Ekaku Jr tried to counter with a leg kick but Payne avoided it.
Payne misses with a hook.
Ekaku Jr is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Ekaku Jr takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Payne swings for the body but Ekaku Jr moves out of range.
Payne on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Ekaku Jr swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Payne.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Payne manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ekaku Jr is looking to clinch.
Payne bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Ekaku Jr's head.
A good leg kick by Payne.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne looks to land a left hand but Ekaku Jr moved out of range nicely.
Payne keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Payne throws a looping overhand right but Ekaku Jr ducks down to avoid it.
Ekaku Jr moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Payne throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ekaku Jr closes the distance looking to clinch
and Payne counters with a good low kick that Ekaku Jr was not able to check.
Payne lands with a straight right. Ekaku Jr didn't see that one coming.
Ekaku Jr gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook. Payne ducked under it nicely.
Payne slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Ekaku Jr pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Payne misses with a looping left.
Ekaku Jr connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Payne uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ekaku Jr.
Payne appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Payne avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ekaku Jr throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Ekaku Jr closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Payne breaks from the clinch.
Payne throws a leg kick but Ekaku Jr sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Ekaku Jr is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Payne wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Ekaku Jr scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Ekaku Jr throws a lazy uppercut
and Ekaku Jr takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Payne blocks the body kick.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Payne looks to score with a jab to the body but Ekaku Jr is just out of range.
Ekaku Jr blocks a low kick nicely.
Payne misses with a straight left.
Ekaku Jr misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Payne looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook.
Payne looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Ekaku Jr does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Payne avoids the body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Payne scores with a nice strike.
Payne avoids the body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Payne takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Payne goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Ekaku Jr throws a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne walks into a straight right hand from Ekaku Jr.
Nice shot by Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr tries to land a leg kick but Payne saw it coming and moves away.
Payne looks to land a right hand but Ekaku Jr moved out of range.
Payne takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
A jab from Ekaku Jr misses.
Payne connects with a solid leg kick.
Ekaku Jr misses with a body punch
and Payne counters with a straight right hand.

Payne tries to keep at a distance but Ekaku Jr has taken the fight into the clinch.
Payne has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Ekaku Jr throws a punch but it's blocked by Payne.
Payne wants to break the clinch but can't.
Payne is trying to break free.
Ekaku Jr lands a hook to the side of the head.
Payne wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Ekaku Jr tries a body shot but Payne blocks it.

Payne breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payne fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Ekaku Jr looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch up but Payne circles away and keeps his distance.
Payne throws out a loose jab but Ekaku Jr uses good head movement to avoid it.
Payne throws a leg kick but Ekaku Jr checks it.
Ekaku Jr throws a series of punches but Payne avoids them all with ease.
Payne slips a jab from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr throws a shot from downtown. Payne moves away and avoids it.
Ekaku Jr defending well as Payne loads up on a big left hand.
Max Payne seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ekaku Jr looks to land a left hand but Payne moved out of range nicely.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Payne checks a leg kick.
Ekaku Jr slips a jab from Payne.
Ekaku Jr lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Payne throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ekaku Jr slips under a jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Payne does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Payne swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ekaku Jr finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Payne throws out a counter right but Ekaku Jr avoids it with no problem.
Payne throws out a loose jab but Ekaku Jr uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ekaku Jr tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Payne manages to circle out of the way.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Max Payne will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Ekaku Jr swings widly with a right hand
letting Payne counter with a right hand.
Payne looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Ekaku Jr takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Ekaku Jr takes the fight into the clinch.
Payne tries to break free but Ekaku Jr pushes him back against the cage.
Payne lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Payne looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A right hook to the body lands for Ekaku Jr.
Payne blocks a body shot from Ekaku Jr.
A short right from Ekaku Jr on the inside.
Ekaku Jr lands a right hand.
Nice body punch from Payne - that landed with a thud.
Ekaku Jr misses with a punch on the inside.
Payne blocks a body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr has Payne pressed against the cage, preventing Payne from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Payne is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Payne has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Ekaku Jr fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ekaku Jr throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Paynes head.

Payne manages to break the clinch.
Ekaku Jr doesn't manage to clinch there - Payne circles away.
Ekaku Jr displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Payne throws out the jab.
Ekaku Jr avoids the body shot from Payne.
Ekaku Jr is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Payne is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Ekaku Jr feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Payne's calf.
Payne is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ekaku Jr.
Payne's corner calls for a 1-2. Payne obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Ekaku Jr steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Payne.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Ekaku Jr lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Payne has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Payne and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Ekaku Jr swings for the body but Payne moves out of range.
It seemed like Payne was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Ekaku Jr misses with a body shot
and Payne counters with an inside leg kick.
Payne on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ekaku Jr. Ekaku Jr obviously looking to wear him down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Ekaku Jr.
Payne lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Ekaku Jr on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Payne lands a head shot.
Ekaku Jr ducks right into an uppercut from Payne.
Ekaku Jr dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ekaku Jr blocks a jab.
Ekaku Jr thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nice uppercut there from Payne.
Payne avoids the body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Payne swings for the body but Ekaku Jr moves out of range.
Ekaku Jr throws a shot to the body.
Payne throws a leg kick but Ekaku Jr moved away.
Payne on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Ekaku Jr throws a low kick but Payne moves out of range easily.
Ekaku Jr takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Payne connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Payne takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Payne, right into the meat.
Payne tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Ekaku Jr is able to avoid easily.
Payne misses with a body punch
and Payne takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Ekaku Jr lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Ekaku Jr throws a hook to the side of Payne's head but Payne sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Ekaku Jr just misses with a punch to the body.
Ekaku Jr tries to land a leg kick but Payne saw it coming and moves away.
Ekaku Jr scores with a sloppy right hand. Payne should have avoided that one.
Payne fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr throws a right hand that misses
and Payne makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Ekaku Jr pivots, looking for a leg kick but Payne is out of range and Ekaku Jr settles back down.
Ekaku Jr on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Payne blocks a jab.
Payne lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Payne misses with a low kick.
Ekaku Jr tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Payne paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Payne misses with a straight left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr checks the leg kick.
Ekaku Jr checks the leg kick.
Ekaku Jr pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Payne slips under a jab.
Ekaku Jr lands with an uppercut that bounces Payne off the cage and back into range.
Ekaku Jr needs to keep his hands up - Payne had a free shot at his head there.
Payne tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ekaku Jr was well out of range. Poor timing from Payne.
Payne throws an overhand right that lands on Ekaku Jr's shoulder, as Ekaku Jr tries to avoid the shot.
Payne with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Ekaku Jr avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Payne steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr scoring well with a low kick there.
Payne misses with a straight left.
Ekaku Jr tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Payne manages to circle out of the way.
Ekaku Jr misses with a looping left.
Payne doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Payne uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Ekaku Jr uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Payne.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close third round but Max Payne just about did enough to take it.
That's time! Back to the action!

Payne dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Ekaku Jr. That did some damage!
Some bone on bone action there as Ekaku Jr checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Ekaku Jr is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ekaku Jr has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Payne.
Payne lands a leg kick that knocks Ekaku Jr off balance momentarily.
A chopping leg kick lands by Payne.
Ekaku Jr lands with an overhand left.
Payne misses with a looping right.
Ekaku Jr fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Payne.
Payne attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Ekaku Jr moves out of range of the leg kick from Payne.
A leg kick checked by Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr tries to counter by clinching up but Payne breaks away and moves out of range.
Ekaku Jr moves out of range as Payne strikes.
Ekaku Jr goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne scores with a hook to the body. Ekaku Jr takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Ekaku Jr connects with a leg kick. Payne looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Ekaku Jr checks a leg kick.
Ekaku Jr misses with an uppercut.
A good leg kick by Ekaku Jr.
Payne tests Ekaku Jr's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ekaku Jr lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Ekaku Jr cracks Payne with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
A solid leg kick lands there for Payne.
Payne tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Ekaku Jr is able to avoid easily.
Payne throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Ekaku Jr looks to land a left hand but Payne moved out of range nicely.

Ekaku Jr darts in and clinches Payne up against the cage.
Payne is trying to break the clinch but Ekaku Jr is controlling him.
Ekaku Jr lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
A nice right hand lands inside from Payne.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Payne wants to break free but Ekaku Jr has control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Payne takes a shot to the head.
Payne tries to circle away but Ekaku Jr has him pinned against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ekaku Jr pushes Payne back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook from the clinch.
Payne lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Nice body punch from Ekaku Jr - that landed with a thud.
Still in the clinch, Ekaku Jr scores with a nice short uppercut.
Payne wants to get back to striking at distance but Ekaku Jr won't allow it.
Ekaku Jr lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Payne.
Ekaku Jr keeps control of Payne as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A short uppercut from Ekaku Jr.
Payne tries a body shot but Ekaku Jr blocks it.
Ekaku Jr lands a right hand that snaps the head of Payne backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne is looking to break free of the clinch but Ekaku Jr has double underhooks.
Ekaku Jr scores with a shot to the side of Payne's head.
Ekaku Jr holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Payne wants to break the clinch but can't.
Payne wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Payne pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Payne tries to score with a low kick but Ekaku Jr moves his leg out of the way.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch there but Payne circles away.
Payne fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ekaku Jr manages to avoid it.
Ekaku Jr is looking to clinch.
Ekaku Jr swings for the body but Payne moves out of range.
Payne avoids the body shot from Ekaku Jr.
As Ekaku Jr backs off Payne throws a huge counter combo but Ekaku Jr manages to avoid it all.
Ekaku Jr showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Payne.
Payne wants to slow Ekaku Jr down by chopping away at his legs.
Ekaku Jr is looking to clinch but Payne is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jab by Ekaku Jr.
Payne has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Ekaku Jr takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Payne bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

Ekaku Jr moves into the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ekaku Jr lands a body shot.
Ekaku Jr lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Payne's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Payne uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Payne stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Ekaku Jr lands a jab to the head.
Ekaku Jr throws a jab when Payne was well out of range.

Ekaku Jr rushes Payne and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Payne is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ekaku Jr misses with some punches.
Payne is looking to break free of the clinch but Ekaku Jr has double underhooks.
Payne tries to throw a body punch but Ekaku Jr avoids it by throwing Payne back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hakuin Ekaku Jr had his way with Max Payne in that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Ekaku Jr tries to clinch there but Payne circles away.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch but Payne moves out of range.
A jab from Ekaku Jr misses.
Payne misses with a hook. Ekaku Jr ducked under it nicely.
Payne keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Ekaku Jr feints and then cracks Payne's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Payne down.
Ekaku Jr is looking to slow Payne down with leg kicks.
Ekaku Jr lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
A decent looking cross lands there for Payne.
Payne fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Payne cracks a nice hook into Ekaku Jr's ribs.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ekaku Jr scores with a body shot.
A leg kick checked by Payne.
Payne has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Payne there as he acknowledges the shot.
Payne avoids the body shot from Ekaku Jr.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ekaku Jr connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Ekaku Jr misses with a left hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Payne lands a nice shot to the body.
Ekaku Jr takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Payne throws a series of punches but Ekaku Jr avoids them all with ease.
A quick step to the side and Ekaku Jr tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ekaku Jr tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Payne throws a leg kick that misses.
Ekaku Jr just misses with a punch to the body.
Payne moves forwards but Ekaku Jr connects with a nice, crisp jab.

Ekaku Jr gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ekaku Jr lands a left hand.
A head punch on the inside from Ekaku Jr fails to land.
Ekaku Jr can't find room to land a body shot as Payne controls the action.
Payne is trying to force a seperation but Ekaku Jr has the dominant position.
Payne wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ekaku Jr throws a head punch that misses.
Payne lands a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr tries a body shot but Payne blocks it.
Ekaku Jr is working Payne over against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Payne wants to get back to striking at distance but Ekaku Jr won't allow it.
A short right from Ekaku Jr on the inside.
Ekaku Jr scores with a hook to the body.
Payne is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
A bit of stalling here from Ekaku Jr.
Payne tries to break free but Ekaku Jr pushes him back against the cage.
Ekaku Jr scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch on the inside from Ekaku Jr fails to land.
Ekaku Jr throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Paynes head.
Ekaku Jr gets through Payne's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Payne tries to break free but Ekaku Jr pushes him back against the cage.
Ekaku Jr fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Payne blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Payne has had enough of the clinch but Ekaku Jr keeps him there for the moment.
Ekaku Jr lands an uppercut.
Ekaku Jr lands a body punch in the clinch.
Ekaku Jr goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr pushes Payne back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Payne wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Nice body punch from Ekaku Jr - that landed with a thud.
A short uppercut from Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr misses with a punch to the body.
Ekaku Jr lands a body punch in the clinch.
Payne is looking to break free of the clinch but Ekaku Jr has double underhooks.
Hakuin Ekaku Jr has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ekaku Jr fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ekaku Jr lands with a light punch inside.
A nice left hand lands by Ekaku Jr.
Ekaku Jr throws a punch but it's blocked by Payne.

Payne's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ekaku Jr wants to clinch.

Payne gets tackled into the cage by Ekaku Jr. Ekaku Jr maintains the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ekaku Jr tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Payne's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ekaku Jr lands a really nice looking cross but Payne seems unphased.
Payne misses the shot to the body.
Payne uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ekaku Jr.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Ekaku Jr moves into the clinch successfully.
Ekaku Jr misses with a short punch on the inside.

Payne breaks from the clinch.
Ekaku Jr throws a sloppy body shot
and Ekaku Jr takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Ekaku Jr gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ekaku Jr keeps control of Payne as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Ekaku Jr stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ekaku Jr tries to work over Payne's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ekaku Jr lands a body punch in the clinch.
Ekaku Jr misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ekaku Jr tries to work over Payne's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hakuin Ekaku Jr showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ekaku Jr has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 48:47
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 47:48
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Hakuin Ekaku Jr!
Hakuin Ekaku Jr retains his welterweight title!
Hakuin Ekaku Jr took to the mic in his post fight interview and said 'Thank you to my inspiration, my father, THE GREATEST EVER Hakuin "Zen" Ekaku.'.