PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight kickboxing rules bout between Deer Hunter (ranked 23032 p4p, 21913 weight class) and Maung Maung Thu (ranked 567 p4p, 534 weight class). Maung Maung Thu has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hunter
vs
Thu

177 cm
24
162
10 - 4 - 1

166 cm
30
135
19 - 17 - 0

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Grunge Nutrition

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 10 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Deer Hunter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 17 - 0, fighting out of London, Maung Maung Thu!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Sano and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hunter throws a front kick aimed at Thu's knee but Thu avoids it well.

Thu clinches up with Hunter and pushes him back against the ropes.
Hunter 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.
Hunter tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Thu avoids it.

Hunter breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A telegraphed right hand from Thu misses the target.
Hunter moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

Thu pushes Hunter up against the ropes in a clinch.
Hunter throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Thu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Hunter prevents a body shot from Thu.
Thu misses with a knee to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hunter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Thu looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hunter.
Thu throws a punch but it's blocked by Hunter.
Thu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thu doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunter misses with a punch to the body.
Thu misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hunter has a couple of punches blocked by Thu.
Nice body punch from Thu.
Hunter misses with a hook from the clinch.
Hunter misses with some punches.
Hunter lands an elbow just above Thu 's eye.
Thu blocks an elbow strike from Hunter.
Thu has a couple of punches blocked by Hunter.
Thu blocks a body shot from Hunter.
Thu swings wildly with an uppercut but Hunter uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hunter misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hunter blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thu digs a right hand underneath Hunter's ribcage. Hunter let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Thu tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
A nice left hand lands by Thu.
Thu scores with a shoulder strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunter tries to land knees in the clinch but Thu avoids the damage to the body.
Thu lands a left hand.
Thu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thu misses with a shot to the kidneys.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hunter throws a head punch that misses.
Still in the clinch, Thu scores with a nice short uppercut.
Thu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thu tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hunter lands a nice elbow.
Hunter misses with a punch to the body.
A head punch on the inside from Hunter fails to land.
Thu lands a hook that snaps the head of Hunter backwards.
Thu lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Thu lands a shoulder strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thu.
Hunter swings wildly with an uppercut but Thu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hunter throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thu lands a nice elbow.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thu throws an elbow but misses.
Hunter swings wildly with an uppercut but Thu uses good head movement to avoid it.
A short body shot lands from Thu as the two fighters clinch.
Still in the clinch, Hunter scores with a nice short uppercut.
Nice body punch from Thu.
Hunter throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Thus head.
Thu working aggressively here.
Hunter swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thu blocks an uppercut.
Thu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hunter lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Thu lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Hunter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Thu misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A right handed body shot lands from Thu.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunter tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Thu avoids it.
A nice left hand lands by Thu.
Thu tries to throw a body punch but Hunter avoids it by throwing Thu back against the ropes.
Hunter doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hunter has a couple of punches blocked by Thu.
Thu tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hunter avoids it.
Thu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thu missing with knees to the body.
Hunter tries a body shot but Thu blocks it.
Thu blocks an uppercut.
Hunter takes a knee to the side of the body.
Thu tries a body shot but Hunter blocks it.
Thu using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Hunter tries to land knees in the clinch but Thu avoids the damage to the body.
Hunter crunches a lovely knee into Thu's ribcage.
Thu misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hunter.
Thu tries to work over Hunter's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Maung Maung Thu will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Thu moves into the clinch.
Hunter blocks an uppercut.
Hunter blocks an uppercut.
Hunter throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Thu lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Hunter tries to land knees in the clinch but Thu avoids the damage to the body.
Thu scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch on the inside from Hunter fails to land.
Hunter avoids the elbow strike from Thu, against the ropes.
Hunter tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Thu lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Thu working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hunter takes an elbow to the temple.
Hunter blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short uppercut from Thu.
Hunter blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hunter lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thu misses with a hook from the clinch.
Thu has a couple of punches blocked by Hunter.
Hunter lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Hunter using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Thu dodges an elbow strike from Hunter.
Hunter pushes off an throws an elbow but Thu leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Thu lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Thu gets through Hunter's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Hunter blocks the elbow strike.
Hunter blocks the elbow strike.
Thu looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Hunter misses with some punches.
Maung Maung Thu seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Thu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A right handed body shot lands from Hunter.
Hunter takes an elbow to the forehead.
Thu lands with a short shot to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hunter misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thu struggles to land a body shot inside as Hunter controls his hands.
Thu blocks an elbow strike from Hunter.
Nice elbow from Thu.
Hunter avoiding damage as Thu throws knees to the body.
Hunter tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hunter swings wildly with an uppercut but Thu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thu tries to work over Hunter's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Thu lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Hunter fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hunter scores with a nice hook to the head.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Thu. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Thu can't break the clinch.
Thu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch on the inside from Thu fails to land.
Thu throws a knee to the head but misses.
Thu scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Thu has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A short uppercut from Hunter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hunter blocks an uppercut.
Knees in the clinch landing for Hunter.
Hunter lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Maung Maung Thu has been cut.
Thu lands a shot to the body.
Thu throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Hunters head.
Hunter misses with the head strike.
Hunter lands a damaging elbow.
Thu digs a right hand into Hunter's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Hunter's gas tank.
Hunter throws a head punch that misses.
Thu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nice elbow from Thu.
Thu lands a right hand.
Hunter misses with some punches.
Hunter working Thu over with knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hunter scores with a nice hook to the head.
Thu misses with a body punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunter misses with a punch to the body.
Thu looking to throw knees to the head but Hunter is blocking nicely.
Hunter wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Hunter lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Thu backwards.
Hunter lands an elbow inside that Thu shrugs off.
Thu has thrown a lot of knees so far in this fight and we're lead to believe that's something he's been working on the gym prior to this fight.

Hunter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Thu fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hunter half committed to a counter leg kick.
Nice body punch from Thu.
Thu connects with a looping right hand.
Hunter misses with a body kick.
As Hunter backs off Thu throws a huge counter combo but Hunter manages to avoid it all.

Thu fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hunter, pushing him back against the ropes.
Hunter swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thu misses with the head strike.
Thu lands with a short shot to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hunter throws a punch but it's blocked by Thu.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Maung Maung Thu showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Maung Maung Thu's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Hunter throws a body kick that misses
and Thu counters with a stiff right hand.
Hunter looks to throw the jab but Thu is out of range.
Thu ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Thu fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hunter.
Hunter stuns Thu with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Thu moves in looking to clinch but Hunter pushes him off.
Thu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hunter swats away the attempt to clinch by Thu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hunter avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thu tries to clinch there but Hunter circles away.
Hunter throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Hunter with the inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Thu checks a leg kick.
Thu tries to counter with a clinch but Hunter shakes him off and moves away.
Hunter misses with a body kick.
Hunter needs to keep his hands up - Thu had a free shot at his head there.
Thu jabs at Hunter's body.
Thu is looking to clinch but Hunter is avoiding it.

Hunter moves into the clinch successfully.
Thu can't find room to land a body shot as Hunter controls the action.

Thu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Maung Maung Thu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hunter keeps the fight on the outside.
Deer Hunter is winning the standup battle so far.
Thu thows a leg kick but Hunter checks it
and Hunter counters with a nice body shot.
Hunter misses with a wild body shot.
Thu moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

Thu drives through and clinches with Hunter against the ropes.
Hunter is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Thu is defending well for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunter blocks the elbow strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Thu.
Thu tries to land a knee to the head but Hunter blocks with his arms.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hunter landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Hunter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hunter.
Hunter lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Thu blocks the elbow strike.
Hunter lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Thu misses with the head strike.

Hunter drops Thu with a big knee! Will Thu beat the count? Yep, he's up already and we're only at 3... let's see if he's just faking it or if he's actually OK.

Thu is rocked!
Thu displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hunter throws out the jab.
Thu is still on wobbly legs! Can Hunter finish him?
A low kick from Thu is predictable there
and Hunter counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slapping body kick lands there for Hunter.
Hunter misses with a body kick.
Thu seems to have recovered his senses.
Thu scores with a leg kick.
Thu fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hunter digs a good body shot into Thu's ribs.
Hunter misses with a wild combination.
Thu jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Hunter is looking to wear down Thu with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Hunter connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A slow jab from Hunter misses its intended target.
Hunter moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Thu tries to clinch up.
Thu wants to clinch up but Hunter keeps it at a distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thu moves out of range of the strikes.
Thu waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Hunter.
Hunter thumps Thu with a low kick.
Thu moves out of range of the body kick.
Hunter on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Thu. Thu obviously looking to wear him down.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A head kick misses from Hunter.
Thu checks a leg kick nicely.
Hunter throws a low kick but it's checked well by Thu.
Thu only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Thu blocks a leg kick.
Hunter sets himself, and Thu steps forward looking for the clinch! Hunter avoids it this time.
A lazy body kick from Hunter
and Thu counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Thu has taken the fight to the clinch.
Thu blocking some punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Deer Hunter showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Thu 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 for Deer Hunter!
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight for Deer Hunter!
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight for Deer Hunter!

Deer Hunter wins by unanimous decision!