PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Leo Vuce (ranked 2133 p4p, 4084 weight class) and Mamoru Takamura (ranked 129 p4p, 213 weight class). Takamura has chosen Pay Money To My Pain - Weight Of My Pride as his entrance music. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Vuce
vs
Takamura

180 cm
26
145
8 - 6 - 0

175 cm
29
144
6 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Core Combat

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 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Leo Vuce!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Mamoru Takamura!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Percy O'Donnell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vuce defending well as Takamura loads up on a big left hand.
Takamura misses with a hook.
Vuce tries to counter with a takedown but Takamura is quick to defend against it.
Takamura fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Vuce manages to avoid it.
Vuce moves out of range of the strikes.
Vuce shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Takamura sprawls well. Takamura wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vuce gets slowly back to his feet.
Takamura looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Takamura takes a swing at Vuce's ribcage but misses.

Takamura gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Vuce to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Takamura working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takamura trying to control the position here.
Takamura looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vuce throwing strikes but missing.
Takamura has Vuce pulled in close to control his posture.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vuce's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Takamura working a defensive guard here.
Takamura is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Takamura looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vuce working some strikes from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Takamura controlling Vuce's posture.
Vuce won't allow Takamura to sweep him here.
Vuce being controlled here momentarily.
Takamura tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Takamura pulls Vuce in close to prevent any damage.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Vuce postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Vuce has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takamura wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Takamura wants to sweep but no luck.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vuce's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vuce's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Vuce really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Takamura is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Vuce postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Vuce working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Takamura is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Vuce in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Vuce lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takamura looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Vuce stands and throws Takamura's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Vuce is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Takamura has escaped the position, nice work there.
Takamura is looking to regain half guard here but Vuce keeps moving and retains side control.

Vuce tries for a kimura but Takamura is defending well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Vuce misses with the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Vuce fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Takamura sprawls well initially but Vuce persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Takamura is looking for a sweep. Vuce is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Leo Vuce overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Vuce is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Vuce is looking for a kimura here.
We've been informed that Takamura has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Vuce prevents Takamura from improving his position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vuce is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Takamura sees it coming and defends easily.
Vuce is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Takamura can do to turn this around?
Takamura is trying to get back to full guard.
Nice strikes from Vuce there.
Takamura wants to get back to full guard.

Vuce is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Takamura defends it well.
Vuce is thwarting Takamura's attempts to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Takamura tries to get to full guard but Vuce has control of the leg.
Vuce sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Takamura defending well though.
Takamura trying to control from the bottom.
Takamura is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Vuce's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Vuce's back!
Takamura biding his time, controlling Vuce.
Takamura missing with strikes.
Vuce turns into Takamura and is now in his guard.
Takamura wants to hit a sweep here but Vuce passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Takamura there!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takamura is looking to get to half guard.
Takamura tries to hold on but Vuce pushes him away.
Vuce lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

Vuce jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Takamura manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Vuce tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Vuce is working Takamura over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takamura manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Takamura is trying to control the action in half guard but Vuce is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Takamura stalling.
Vuce missing with punches from the bottom.
Well, if Takamura is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Vuce actively working from the bottom here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo Vuce dominated that second round.
That's time! Vuce's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

A looping hook to the body misses from Takamura. Vuce does a little dance to reset his feet.
Vuce ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Takamura stuffs the takedown.
Vuce staying out of range there.
Takamura throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Vuce shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Vuce showed some decent athleticism there.
Takamura has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Vuce is working away from the top position though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Vuce is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Takamura sees it coming and defends easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vuce missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Takamura is defending against the submission attempts here by Vuce.
Takamura tries to roll over but Vuce keeps him under control.
Vuce thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Takamura's head.
Takamura is looking for a sweep. Vuce is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Vuce wants to work for an arm triangle but Takamura is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Takamura gets full guard.

That's two 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.
Vuce working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vuce's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Vuce postures up and lands a big shot to Takamura's brow.
Takamura not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Takamura is trying to hold Vuce in close to prevent damage but Vuce has managed to pass into half guard.
Takamura controlling the position well.
Leo Vuce is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Takamura tries to roll over but Vuce keeps him under control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vuce is thwarting Takamura's attempts to control the position.

Vuce is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Takamura defends it well.
Vuce is trying to control the action in half guard but Takamura is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Takamura is looking to control Vuce's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Takamura avoid being mounted?
Vuce throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Takamura is trying to control but can't.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Vuce seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

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.

Vuce scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Vuce working the head and body with strikes.
Takamura is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Vuce tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Vuce has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Vuce working the ground and pound.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Takamura takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Leo Vuce showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Vuce, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Leo Vuce!
Our winner, Leo Vuce, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.