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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Esa Kettu (ranked 448 p4p, 754 weight class) and James Darren (ranked 53 p4p, 92 weight class). Darren is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Here's to the losers. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!
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| 179 cm
34
155
23 - 17 - 2 |
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185 cm
37
168
25 - 22 - 1 |
Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 17 - 2, fighting out of Helsinki, Esa Kettu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 22 - 1, fighting out of New York, James Darren!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Taro Takaoka and Shigeki Sano.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kettu works Darren's body with a nice hook.
Darren scoring well with a low kick there.
Kettu lands with a shot to the body.
Darren tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kettu paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kettu on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Darren connects with a body shot that sends Kettu's belly button to the back.
A low kick from Darren is predictable there
and Kettu counters with a stiff right hand.
That kick from Darren tenderised Kettu's leg. Kettu is trying to keep his angry face on.
Kettu swings for the body but Darren moves out of range.
Kettu gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Darren.
Kettu takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kettu checks the leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kettu avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Darren tries to move into range but Kettu moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Darren looks to land a left hand but Kettu moved out of range nicely.
Kettu scores with a body shot.
Kettu seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Darren tries to clinch up.
Darren moves out of range of the body kick from Kettu.
Darren tries to counter by closing the distance.
Good shot there by Kettu.
Darren throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Kettu throws a hook to the side of Darren's head but Darren sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Kettu throws a body shot but no joy.
Kettu fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Darren manages to avoid it.
A clash of legs there as Kettu blocks the low kick.
Kettu swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Darren tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kettu swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Darren wants to slow Kettu down by chopping away at his legs.
Darren tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Kettu is able to avoid easily.
Darren misses with a low kick.
Kettu stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Darren.
Darren is looking to slow Kettu down with leg kicks.
Darren tries to work over Kettu's front leg with a kick but Kettu checks it.
Darren takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Kettu lets loose with a powerful body kick. Darren will feel that in the morning.
Nice shot by Kettu.
Darren 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.
Darren with a nice calf kick.
Darren lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Kettu misses the shot to the body.
Darren connects with an inside leg kick.
A nice leg kick from Darren, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kettu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Darren.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kettu misses with a body kick.
Darren slips a jab from Kettu.
Darren on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
A head kick misses from Kettu.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darren lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Kettu ducks under a wild hook from Darren.
Kettu lands with a right hand.
Darren throws a one two combo.
Darren misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kettu.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Kettu fails with the takedown.
Kettu throws a leg kick which misses Darren's front leg but catches the back leg as Darren tries to avoid it.
Kettu misses with a looping left.
Kettu throws the left hand but Darren avoids the punch easily.
Darren wants to counter with a clinch but Kettu pushes him away.
An inside leg kick lands from Darren.
Kettu missing with a left hand there. Darren was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Darren is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
That kick from Kettu tenderised Darren's leg. Darren is trying to keep his angry face on.
Kettu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Darren jabs at Kettu's body.
Darren avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kettu chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Darren can pounce on him.
Kettu misses with a body shot.
Kettu connects with an inside leg kick.
Darren misses with a leg kick.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darren throws a nice outside leg kick.
A thudding body kick lands there by Kettu!
Kettu keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kettu.
Darren moves out of range as Kettu throws a body kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Kettu.
Darren lands a jab to Kettu's midsection.
Kettu lands with a right hand.
Darren scores with a leg kick.
Darren misses with an uppercut.
Darren throws a low kick but Kettu avoids it.
It looked like Kettu wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Darren lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A low kick lands for Darren.
Darren connects with an inside leg kick.
That kick from Darren tenderised Kettu's leg. Kettu is trying to keep his angry face on.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Darren throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
The fighters circling - Kettu throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kettu scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Darren throws a leg kick that misses.
Darren is looking to slow Kettu down with leg kicks.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darren moves out of range as Kettu strikes.
Darren pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
That kick from Kettu tenderised Darren's leg. Darren is trying to keep his angry face on.
Darren fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kettu has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kettu is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Darren uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kettu.
Darren wants to land a leg kick but Kettu is out of range.
Kettu keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kettu throwing a counter right hand but Darren manages to avoid it.
Kettu misses with a low kick.
Kettu throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Darren.
Darren with the inside leg kick.
Kettu connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Kettu is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Kettu scores with a jab. Darren acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Darren dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kettu. That did some damage!
Kettu throws out a leg kick but Darren moves out of range and Kettu only half commits.
A good leg kick by Kettu.
A bone on bone clash there as Kettu blocks the leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Darren throws a nice inside leg kick.
Darren lands with a straight right. Kettu didn't see that one coming.
Kettu scores with a body shot.
Kettu on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Nice shot by Darren.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
A close round but James Darren will probably get the nod.
That's time! Kettu's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Kettu wants to slow Darren down by chopping away at his legs.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Darren, as that shot connected.
Darren keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Darren is looking to slow Kettu down with leg kicks.
Darren dodges the punch combination from Kettu.
Darren scores with a jab.
Kettu misses with a wild body shot.
Darren throws out a leg kick but Kettu moves out of range and Darren only half commits.
Kettu needs to keep his hands up - Darren had a free shot at his head there.
Kettu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Darren misses with a hook.
Kettu with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kettu checks a leg kick.
Kettu on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Darren. Darren obviously looking to wear him down.
Kettu on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A jab from Kettu misses.
James Darren seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Darren fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kettu is out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Darren throws a lazy right hand but Kettu sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kettu takes a swing at Darren's ribcage but misses.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Darren throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Kettu misses with an uppercut.
A nice leg kick from Kettu, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kettu is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Kettu throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Darren slips a jab from Kettu.
Darren fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Darren scores with a nice strike.
Kettu swings for the body but Darren moves out of range.
Kettu dodges the punch combination from Darren.
A telegraphed right hand from Kettu misses the target.
An inside leg kick lands from Darren.
Kettu cracks Darren with an open hand slap.
Darren throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kettu pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Darren gets a clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kettu blocks the elbow strike.
Kettu escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Darren is looking to score with low kicks.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kettu looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
A bone on bone clash there as Darren blocks the leg kick.
Kettu cracks Darren with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Kettu has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Darren.
Darren cracks Kettu with a right hand to the side of the head.
Esa Kettu has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Darren misses with a leg kick.
Darren has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Darren will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Darren bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A telegraphed right hand from Kettu misses the target.
Kettu throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Kettu wants to land a leg kick but Darren is out of range.
Kettu scores with a kick to the midsection.
Kettu throws a series of punches but Darren avoids them all with ease.
Darren lands a nice leg kick that just misses Kettu's sensitive parts.
Darren misses with a low kick.
Darren fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kettu.
Darren keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Kettu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Darren misses with a few strikes there.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darren closes the distance and pushes Kettu back into the cage.
Darren pushes off an throws an elbow but Kettu leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Kettu manages to break the clinch.
Darren keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Darren moves out of range of the body kick.
Darren finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Kettu looks for the body kick but Darren saw that one coming.
Darren tries a low kick but Kettu avoids it.
Kettu connects with a crisp jab.
Kettu checks a low kick from Darren.
Darren pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kettu is out of range and Darren settles back down.
Darren is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nice cross by Darren.
Kettu cracks Darren with a right hand to the side of the head.
A low kick from Darren misses
and Kettu counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Darren 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 Kettu has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Kettu and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Kettu throws a hook but Darren avoids it easily.
Darren lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Darren tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kettu was well out of range. Poor timing from Darren.
Darren throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kettu sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kettu lands a slapping body shot.
Darren is looking to clinch.
Darren tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kettu swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kettu ducks under a wild hook from Darren.
Kettu swings for the body but Darren moves out of range.
That kick from Darren tenderised Kettu's leg. Kettu is trying to keep his angry face on.
Kettu pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kettu checks a low kick from Darren.
Darren avoids a punch combination nicely.
Darren darts in and clinches Kettu up against the cage.
Kettu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kettu tries to break the clinch but Darren is controlling the position.
Darren works on Kettu's body with a couple of short punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
With the fighters up against the cage, Darren throws an elbow but misses.
Kettu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kettu stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
A close second round but James Darren will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!
Kettu throws a hook but Darren blocks it.
Kettu fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Darren slips under a jab.
Kettu checks a leg kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Kettu. That's going to slow Darren down.
Darren tries to clinch up.
Kettu tries to counter with a takedown but Darren is quick to defend against it.
Darren displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kettu throws out the jab.
Kettu misses with a looping left.
Kettu throws out a loose jab but Darren uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kettu scores with a push kick.
Darren throws a leg kick which misses Kettu's front leg but catches the back leg as Kettu tries to avoid it.
Jab, jab by Darren - just one landing.
Kettu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kettu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darren wants to land a leg kick but Kettu is out of range.
Darren with the inside leg kick.
A clash of legs there as Kettu blocks the low kick.
A little feinted left hand from Kettu on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Darren connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Kettu throws a low kick but Darren avoids it.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Kettu moves out of range of the leg kick from Darren.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kettu misses with a low kick.
A jab from Darren does it's job there.
Darren slips a jab from Kettu.
Darren steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Kettu.
Kettu checks a leg kick.
Kettu tried to counter with a leg kick but Darren avoided it.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Darren 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 Kettu has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Kettu and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Kettu was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Kettu throws a looping overhand right but Darren ducks down to avoid it.
Darren takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Kettu throws a series of punches but Darren moves out of range.
Kettu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Darren works the jab nicely.
Darren tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Darren fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kettu has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Darren waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kettu.
Darren uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kettu has time to react.
Kettu on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Darren is looking to slow Kettu down with leg kicks.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kettu throws a leg kick but Darren sees it coming and moves out of range.
Darren wants to counter with a clinch but Kettu pushes him away.
Kettu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Darren moves away.
Darren avoids the body shot from Kettu.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kettu misses with a looping left.
Darren lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Darren lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Darren moves into the clinch.
Kettu tries to circle away but Darren has him pinned against the cage.
Kettu avoids the elbow strike from Darren, against the cage.
Kettu misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kettu gets through Darren's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kettu avoids the elbow strike from Darren, against the cage.
Kettu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kettu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kettu wants to get back to striking at distance but Darren won't allow it.
Kettu lands a body shot.
Kettu breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Darren jabs at Kettu's body.
Kettu takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Darren moves out of range of the strikes.
Darren takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Kettu misses with a leg kick.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darren connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Nice shot lands for Kettu.
Darren misses the shot to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Kettu.
Kettu looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Kettu throws a lazy right hand but Darren sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Darren with a nice calf kick.
Darren fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kettu connects with a solid leg kick.
James Darren is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Kettu lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Darren uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kettu.
Darren instigates a clinch.
Kettu is looking to break free of the clinch but Darren has double underhooks.
Darren struggles to land a body shot inside as Kettu controls his hands.
Darren keeps control of Kettu as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Darren prevents Kettu from breaking the clinch.
Kettu working aggressively here.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kettu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kettu misses with a body punch.
Kettu misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kettu tries to work over Darren's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A hook to the body from Kettu.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kettu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Kettu blocks a body shot from Darren.
Kettu tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A frustrated look appears on Kettu's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Darren struggles to land a body shot inside as Kettu controls his hands.
Darren struggles to land a body shot inside as Kettu controls his hands.
Kettu wants to break free but Darren has control.
Kettu has a couple of punches blocked by Darren.
Kettu tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A head punch on the inside from Kettu fails to land.
And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Esa Kettu.
I think Darren 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:28
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 28:29
In favor of your winner, by split decision... James Darren!
James Darren seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
81% |
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