PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight kickboxing rules bout between Kyle Kovingten (ranked 23056 p4p, 4336 weight class) and Pinero Chai (ranked 580 p4p, 442 weight class). Kovingten kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Tool - Schism. Chai has chosen Styles P - Off The Ghost 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!

Kovingten
vs
Chai

181 cm
32
164
31 - 17 - 2

176 cm
30
158
12 - 7 - 3

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

KOMBAT KLOTHING
Conviction

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 31 - 17 - 2, fighting out of Sydney, Kyle Kovingten!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 3, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pinero Chai!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Seu Braga and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kovingten throws the kick towards the body but Chai avoids it.
Kovingten blocks a low kick nicely.
Chai lands with a nice body punch.
Chai misses with a looping right.
Chai fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kovingten is out of range.
Chai avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kovingten misses with a low kick as Chai jumps back.
Kovingten takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Chai tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Kovingten is able to avoid easily.
A low kick from Kovingten is predictable there
and Chai counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Kovingten scoring well with a low kick there.
Chai circles away from the clinch attempt.

Kovingten clinches with his opponent.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovingten lands an elbow inside that Chai shrugs off.

It looks like Pinero Chai has been cut.
Chai takes an elbow to the temple.
Kovingten struggles to land a body shot inside as Chai controls his hands.
Kovingten scores with an uppercut up the middle.
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!
Chai lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Kovingten backwards.
Chai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Chai prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
Chai lands a right hand that snaps the head of Kovingten backwards.
Chai prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
Chai misses with a short punch on the inside.

Chai escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Chai lands a jab.
Kovingten lands a leg kick that knocks Chai off balance momentarily.
Chai fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Kovingten checks it well.
Chai takes a swing at Kovingten's ribcage but misses.
Kovingten ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Chai keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Chai throws a hook but Kovingten avoids it easily.
Chai tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kovingten was well out of range. Poor timing from Chai.
Kovingten tries to land a front kick but Chai steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Kovingten throws a leg kick but Chai sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Chai throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Kyle Kovingten seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Chai throws a nice inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kovingten misses with a low kick.
Kovingten connects with a single shot there.
Kovingten fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Chai manages to avoid it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chai tests Kovingten's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Kovingten tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Kovingten fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Chai checks it well.

Kovingten closes the distance and clinches.
Chai struggles to land a body shot inside as Kovingten controls his hands.
Kovingten blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Chai can't find room to land a body shot as Kovingten controls the action.
Kovingten prevents a body shot from Chai.
Kovingten softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Kovingten working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kovingten makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Chai.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovingten misses with an elbow over the top.
A short right from Kovingten on the inside.
Chai tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch on the inside from Chai fails to land.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pinero Chai will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Pinero Chai's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Chai throws a jab when Kovingten was well out of range.
Chai has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kovingten.
Kovingten ducks under a wild hook from Chai.
Chai misses with a right hand
and Kovingten counters with a solid body kick.
Chai 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.
Chai fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Kovingten throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kovingten fails with an attempt to clinch.
Chai throws the left hand but Kovingten avoids the punch easily.
Kovingten tries to close the distance and clinch but Chai swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kovingten throws a low kick but it's checked well by Chai.
Kovingten throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Chai throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovingten throws a nice looking combination but Chai bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Chai now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Kovingten uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Chai.
Kovingten tries to clinch there but Chai circles away.
Kovingten with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Kovingten is looking to clinch but Chai is avoiding it.
Pinero Chai seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Chai throws a chopping leg kick but Kovingten manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovingten keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Kovingten clinches up against the ropes.
Chai misses with a punch on the inside.
Chai lands a right hand.
Chai tries to work over Kovingten's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Chai tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Chai breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nice body punch from Chai.
Chai wants to land a leg kick but Kovingten is out of range.
Kovingten throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Chai pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kovingten takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

Kovingten moves into the clinch successfully.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kovingten.
Chai blocks the elbow strike.
A short left from Chai.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kovingten lands with a left to the head.
Kovingten's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Chai misses with a punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Chai.
Chai has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Kovingten seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Chai can turn it around.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Chai.
Kovingten throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Chai's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kovingten missing with a left hand there. Chai was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Chai looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Chai keeps the fight on the outside.
Kovingten throws a shot to the body.
Chai misses with a hook
and Kovingten connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kovingten misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Chai.
Chai missing with a left hand there. Kovingten was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Kovingten throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Chai sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kovingten pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Chai throws a leg kick that is checked
and Kovingten counters with a straight right hand.
Kovingten throws the kick towards the body but Chai avoids it.
Chai throws a low kick but Kovingten avoids it.
Kovingten bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Chai misses with a double jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovingten steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Chai.
Chai tried to score with a low kick but Kovingten checks it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Pinero Chai will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Pinero Chai's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Chai takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Chai slips under a jab from Kovingten.
Chai takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Chai lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Kovingten at a distance.
Chai circles away from the clinch attempt.
A low kick from Chai is predictable there
and Kovingten counters with a leg kick.
Chai misses with a two punch combination.
Kovingten tries to clinch but Chai moves out of range.
Kovingten throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Chai misses with a wild body shot.
Chai throws a lazy uppercut
and Kovingten counters with a low kick, right behind Chai 's knee.
Chai buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Chai ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Kovingten wants to clinch
and Chai counters with a nice leg kick.
Kovingten displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Chai throws out the jab.
Kovingten tries to close the distance and clinch up but Chai swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kovingten uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kovingten tries to land a leg kick but Chai saw it coming and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Kovingten on the side of the head.
Kovingten avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kovingten throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kovingten misses with a low kick.
Chai feints a counter leg kick.
Kovingten avoids the body shot from Chai.
Chai waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kovingten.
Kovingten takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Chai loads up on a big right hand but Kovingten slips the punch.
Pinero Chai is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Nice body punch from Kovingten.
Chai fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kovingten manages to avoid it.
Kovingten motions for Chai to come forward. Kovingten throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Kovingten punishes Chai's body with a nice straight punch.
Kovingten throws a head kick but Chai moves out of range.
Kovingten misses the shot to the body.

Kovingten has closed the distance and engaged Chai in a clinch.
Kovingten pushes off an throws an elbow but Chai leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Kovingten misses with some punches.
Kyle Kovingten has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Kovingten as the two fighters clinch.
Kovingten lands with a right to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A short right from Kovingten on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kovingten.
Kovingten lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Chai blocks an elbow strike from Kovingten.
Kovingten lands a damaging elbow.
Chai blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Chai's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Chai throws a head punch that misses.
Kovingten throws an elbow that misses.
Chai pushes Kovingten back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kyle Kovingten showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Chai 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:29
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Kyle Kovingten!
Kyle Kovingten spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.
In defeat, Pinero Chai stepped up to the mic, saying 'Shit happens ...'.