PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Reza Khojastehpour (ranked 6029 p4p, 3840 weight class) and Raniel Mancuso (ranked 272 p4p, 220 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Mancuso's choice of entrance music: O Retrô Ativo - Heróis do Status Quo. Raniel Mancuso has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Reza Khojastehpour's chin.

Khojastehpour
vs
Mancuso

165 cm
21
130
4 - 5 - 0

180 cm
22
142
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Redemption ink

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 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Reza Khojastehpour!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Raniel Mancuso!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Khojastehpour misses with a low kick.

Khojastehpour fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Mancuso, pushing him back against the cage.

Khojastehpour manages to pull guard.

Mancuso gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Khojastehpour takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Khojastehpour clinches up against the cage.

Khojastehpour manages to break the clinch.

Mancuso moves into the clinch.
Khojastehpour has Mancuso pressed against the cage, preventing Mancuso from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Mancuso is trying to push Khojastehpour away but Khojastehpour has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Mancuso wants to take the fight to the mat but Khojastehpour manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Mancuso breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Mancuso throws a right and a left that both miss.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Khojastehpour checks a leg kick.
Mancuso has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Khojastehpour throws a sloppy head kick and Mancuso moves out of range easily.

Khojastehpour gets a clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Khojastehpour is trying to drag Mancuso to the mat but Mancuso just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mancuso breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mancuso avoids the head kick by Khojastehpour.
Khojastehpour misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Mancuso misses with an attempted mid kick.
Khojastehpour shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Mancuso sprawls well. Mancuso wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Khojastehpour gets slowly back to his feet.
Mancuso avoids the head kick by Khojastehpour.
Khojastehpour moves out of range of the body kick.
Khojastehpour tries a head kick but it misses.
Mancuso tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Khojastehpour paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Khojastehpour pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Mancuso moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Khojastehpour takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Khojastehpour is rocked!
Raniel Mancuso is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Khojastehpour looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Oh Khojastehpour is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Khojastehpour throws a head kick that misses.
Khojastehpour seems to have got his legs back now.

Mancuso moves into range and clinches up with Khojastehpour.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Khojastehpour blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Mancuso escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Khojastehpour pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Khojastehpour shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Mancuso pinned against the cage. Mancuso gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Reza Khojastehpour. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mancuso lands with a kick to the temple. Khojastehpour shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Khojastehpour uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mancuso.
Mancuso tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Khojastehpour throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And Mancuso responds with a good body kick, but Khojastehpour manages to step out the way in time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mancuso swinging wildly here.
Mancuso doesn't manage to clinch there - Khojastehpour circles away.
Khojastehpour appears to be looking for a big counter.
Mancuso is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Khojastehpour misses with a head kick.
Mancuso looks for the body kick but Khojastehpour saw that one coming.
Mancuso blocks a head kick by Khojastehpour.
Khojastehpour misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Khojastehpour shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mancuso as he avoids it easily.
Mancuso 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.
Khojastehpour lets loose with a powerful body kick. Mancuso will feel that in the morning.
Mancuso is looking to clinch.
Mancuso blocks a leg kick.

Mancuso lands a big head kick that sends Khojastehpour tumbling to the mat! Mancuso takes a step backwards and waves Khojastehpour back to his feet - he wants the finish!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Khojastehpour throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

Khojastehpour closes the distance and clinches.
Khojastehpour tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mancuso breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mancuso tries to bum rush Khojastehpour with a series of wild strikes but Khojastehpour uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Mancuso 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 Khojastehpour has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Khojastehpour and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
As Mancuso looks to move away, Khojastehpour throws a big counter combo but Mancuso just gets out of the way.
A head kick misses from Khojastehpour.
Mancuso keeps the fight on the outside.
Mancuso throws a counter combo.
Mancuso misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Mancuso tries to keep at a distance but Khojastehpour has taken the fight into the clinch.
Mancuso wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Khojastehpour pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Khojastehpour throws a nice head kick!
Khojastehpour throws a head kick but Mancuso moves out of range.
Khojastehpour throws a series of punches but Mancuso moves out of range.
Mancuso slaps away a takedown attempt from Khojastehpour, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Raniel Mancuso will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Khojastehpour avoids a punch combination nicely.
Mancuso delivers a nice body kick.
Khojastehpour pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Mancuso throws a sloppy head kick and Khojastehpour moves out of range easily.
Mancuso lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
A head kick misses from Khojastehpour.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Mancuso tries to break free but Khojastehpour pushes him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A frustrated look appears on Mancuso's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Khojastehpour escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Khojastehpour tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Khojastehpour swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Mancuso throws a low kick, looking for Khojastehpour's leg but Khojastehpour calmly moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khojastehpour throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mancuso avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Khojastehpour throws a hook but Mancuso avoids it easily.

Mancuso lands a left and a right that send Khojastehpour crashing to the mat, dazed. Mancuso thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
Mancuso walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Khojastehpour checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Mancuso wants to slow Khojastehpour down by chopping away at his legs.
Khojastehpour lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mancuso throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Khojastehpour throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Mancuso misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Mancuso has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mancuso doesn't manage to clinch there - Khojastehpour circles away.
Khojastehpour tries a head kick but it misses.
Mancuso lands a brutal head kick. Khojastehpour looks out on his feet and Mancuso throws more strikes until the ref is forced to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:53 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Kick and Punches). Raniel Mancuso!
Raniel Mancuso decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.