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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rich Voss (ranked 5315 p4p, 24626 weight class) and Takeo Arai (ranked 607 p4p, 719 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!
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| 181 cm
20
176
2 - 2 - 0 |
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188 cm
19
178
1 - 3 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Solid chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rich Voss!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Takeo Arai!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Marco Blurström and Matti Vanhoillinen.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Voss fails to land the takedown.
Arai is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Voss shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Arai pinned against the cage. Arai gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Voss throws a big shot that misses.
Voss shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Arai as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rich Voss. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Voss throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voss shoots in looking for a takedown but Arai manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Voss's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Voss moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromArai.
Arai looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Arai leaves Voss with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Arai bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Arai throws a fast counter high kick but Voss manages to duck under it in time.
Voss is trying hard to land a takedown here. Arai sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Arai throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Voss counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Arai really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Voss. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Arai wants to improve his position but Voss is controlling well.
Arai has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Voss is working away from the top position though.
Nice strikes from Voss there.
Voss is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Arai doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Voss.
Arai blocking the ground and pound attempt from Voss.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Voss has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Voss raining down shots from the mount!
Voss connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Voss lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Voss controlling the position easily from mount.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voss jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Arai is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Arai and Voss has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Voss looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Arai is avoiding damage well.
Arai tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Voss is trying to get an arm triangle but Arai is defending well.
Voss looks up at the clock and then as Arai takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Voss smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
That's four 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.
Voss works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Voss moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Arai tries to buck Voss off but Voss is having none of it.
A lull in the action here as Voss stalls from top position.
Arai is trying to control Voss's posture but Voss avoids it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Arai defending against the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Rich Voss dominated that round.
That's time! Voss's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Voss throws a hook but Arai blocks it.
Voss fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Arai looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Voss ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Arai moves away.
Arai steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Voss looks to score with a jab to the body but Arai is just out of range.
Arai is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Arai misses with a head kick.
No luck for Voss with that takedown attempt.
Arai throws a big counter head kick but Voss avoids it with no problem.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voss doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Arai counters with a flying knee. Nice.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rich Voss. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Voss jabs Arai right on the nose. Arai blinks but takes it well.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Voss connects with a body shot.
Voss takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Voss closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Arai's guard.
Voss not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Voss missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rich Voss overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Voss looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Voss in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Voss lands a couple of elbows.
Voss wants to control from the top but Arai keeps moving.
Voss controls from within his opponent's guard.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Voss connects with a jab.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voss dives in and grabs Arai's left leg, looking for a takedown. Arai pushes down on Voss's head and hops out.
Voss is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Arai can do to turn this around?
Arai throws the left hand but Voss avoids the punch easily.
Voss shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Arai is trying to defend but Voss finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Voss looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Arai with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Voss is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Arai keeping control of the position.
Voss 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.
Arai is looking to improve his position.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Voss in particular looking to stall.
Voss wants to pass to mount but Arai is defending the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Voss is keen to just control but Arai is a slippery customer.
Arai won't allow Voss to pass to mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Rich Voss dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!
Voss looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Arai misses with a left hand
and Voss counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Arai!
You can see the frustration on Arai's face as Voss controls the position.
Voss looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Arai is avoiding damage well.
Voss lands a nice forearm strike.
Voss lands a nice forearm strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voss looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Voss is working Arai over with some ground and pound from side control.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Arai tries to buck Voss off but Voss is having none of it.
Voss tries to advance to mount but can't.
Arai is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Arai on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Arai's face as Voss controls the position.
Voss has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
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.
Arai managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Voss.
Voss tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Voss has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Voss thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Arai takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arai is looking to reverse the position.
Voss working the ground and pound.
Voss trying to control the action but Arai is working from the bottom.
Takeo Arai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Voss with the ground and pound but Arai regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Voss sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Rich Voss is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Voss is keen to just control but Arai is a slippery customer.
That's four 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.
Voss passes the guard and advances to mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Voss jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Arai is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Arai and Voss has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
The strikes coming from Voss are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Voss controls the position.
Voss trying to control the position but Arai is working away.
And that's the end of the fight!
Rich Voss showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Voss, 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rich Voss!
An out of breath Rich Voss thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
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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
28% |
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