PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between LeBron James (ranked 4410 p4p, 0 weight class) and Krzysztof Kothciushco (ranked 4839 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Krzysztof Kothciushco enters the cage!

James
vs
Kothciushco

203 cm
16
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

200 cm
44
250 lbs
26 - 34 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, LeBron James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 34 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Krzysztof Kothciushco!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Summer Carpenter and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James is trying hard to land a takedown here. Kothciushco sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
James fails with the takedown
and Kothciushco counters with a lovely straight right hand!

James gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kothciushco utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

James is trying to trip Kothciushco. He has hold of a leg but Kothciushco is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. James persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Kothciushco wants to sweep but no luck.
James trying to control but Kothciushco is working from the bottom.
Kothciushco striking off his back but it's not causing James any problems.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James trying to control but Kothciushco is working from the bottom.
James tries to free his leg and advance position but Kothciushco is retaining full guard.
James 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James wants to control from the top but Kothciushco keeps moving.
Kothciushco bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in James's guard.

Kothciushco must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Kothciushco decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on James, up you get!

James instigates a clinch.
James can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for LeBron James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
James tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
James looking for a takedown.
A nice right hand lands inside from Kothciushco.
Kothciushco lands with a short shot to the head.
James tries to score a body lock takedown but Kothciushco shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Kothciushco lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like LeBron James has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kothciushco lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Kothciushco is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
James tries to score a body lock takedown but Kothciushco shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
James has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kothciushco is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
James is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Kothciushco is defending well.
Kothciushco content to slow the pace in the clinch.
James drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kothciushco gets the underhooks and prevents it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
James has Kothciushco pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Kothciushco manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
James is breathing heavily.

James gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.

James is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Kothciushco is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Kothciushco has escaped and now he's on top!

James trying to keep a closed guard but Kothciushco is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kothciushco tries to free his leg and advance position but James is retaining full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

James is working an open guard so Kothciushco takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Kothciushco keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
James looks for a takedown but Kothciushco sprawls well.
Kothciushco fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
LeBron James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

James looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Kothciushco!

James looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
James looking to control but instead Kothciushco has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Krzysztof Kothciushco dominated that round.
The cut man is working on LeBron James's cut.
That's time! James's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

James ducks under a wild hook from Kothciushco.
James tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kothciushco swivels and escapes.
Kothciushco smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Kothciushco cracks the inside of James's front leg.
James takes one on the button.

James gets a double leg takedown into Kothciushco's guard.
James wants to pass the guard but Kothciushco is keeping the position.
James trying to control the position from guard on top but Kothciushco is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kothciushco has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James tries to free his leg and advance position but Kothciushco is retaining full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kothciushco is breathing heavily.
Kothciushco keeping moving, preventing James from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James wants to pass the guard but Kothciushco is keeping the position.
James looking to sit in guard and control but Kothciushco gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kothciushco won't allow James to sweep him here.
James is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Kothciushco wanted to stand there but James had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kothciushco stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. James swivels though and keeps the full guard.
James is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

James is looking for a kimura but Kothciushco is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for James to get the leverage.
Kothciushco is looking to improve his position.

James is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kothciushco doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time James.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James is trying to control the action in half guard but Kothciushco is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Kothciushco keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Kothciushco is looking for a sweep. James is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
James passes to side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

James wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Kothciushco, who protects the arm well.
James trying to control the action but Kothciushco is working from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

James looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
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 LeBron James will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on LeBron James's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

James shoots in for a takedown but Kothciushco shows good takedown defense.

Kothciushco has closed the distance and engaged James in a clinch.

James lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Kothciushco kicks James off and gets back to his feet.

Kothciushco tries to keep at a distance but James has taken the fight into the clinch.
James with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kothciushco lands a hook to the side of the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
James has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kothciushco is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Kothciushco throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kothciushco working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
James tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for LeBron James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kothciushco pushes James back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A shot in the inside from Kothciushco.
Kothciushco pushes James back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kothciushco pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
James misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kothciushco has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as James is landing a low percentage of strikes.
James has his takedown stuffed
and Kothciushco counters with a one-two to the body.
Kothciushco scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Kothciushco lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as James backs up against the cage.
No luck with that takedown attempt from James.
A little jabbing left from Kothciushco on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
That kick from Kothciushco tenderised James's leg. James is trying to keep his angry face on.

Kothciushco tries to keep at a distance but James has taken the fight into the clinch.
James has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kothciushco avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kothciushco lands a nice uppercut.
A nice left hand lands by Kothciushco.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kothciushco is pressed up against the cage. James has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Kothciushco down to the mat. Kothciushco avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Kothciushco gets tackled into the cage by James. James maintains the clinch.
Kothciushco pushes James back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
James wants to take the fight to the mat but Kothciushco manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Kothciushco connects with a nasty looking knee right to James's face.

James is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Kothciushco can't fight it off and eventually James manages to take the fight to the floor. Kothciushco looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kothciushco keeping moving, preventing James from controlling successfully.
Kothciushco lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James looking for a sweep. Not yet James, not yet.
LeBron James overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
James pulls Kothciushco in close to his closed guard and prevents Kothciushco from doing any damage or advancing position.
James not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Kothciushco scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
James is trying to keep Kothciushco in close.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Krzysztof Kothciushco seems to be getting the better of the standup.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
James is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Kothciushco gets through James's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
James is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Kothciushco gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Krzysztof Kothciushco comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kothciushco has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 28:29
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Krzysztof Kothciushco!
A victorious Krzysztof Kothciushco thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.