PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Masa Saitoh (ranked 241 p4p, 679 weight class) and Dakota Thibodeaux Jr. (ranked 34 p4p, 85 weight class). Thibodeaux Jr. has chosen Rags2Riches as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Saitoh
vs
Thibodeaux Jr.

182 cm
29
205
19 - 8 - 0

191 cm
30
207
27 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Masa Saitoh!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dakota Thibodeaux Jr.!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Frank Dennis and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Saitoh has taken the fight to the clinch.
Thibodeaux Jr. trying to land knees to the body.
Saitoh tries to work over Thibodeaux Jr.'s body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Saitoh working aggressively here.
Saitoh lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Thibodeaux Jr. crunches a lovely knee into Saitoh's ribcage.
Saitoh lands a right hand that snaps the head of Thibodeaux Jr. backwards.
A body shot lands from Saitoh.
Saitoh lands a right hand.
Saitoh makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Saitoh lands a nice uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saitoh tries to work over Thibodeaux Jr.'s body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Saitoh managing to block the knees to the body from Thibodeaux Jr..
Saitoh misses with a short punch on the inside.
We've been hearing reports that Saitoh has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
A right hand to the body from Saitoh.
Saitoh tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Saitoh misses with a punch to the body.
Thibodeaux Jr. misses with a punch to the body.
Saitoh misses with a punch to the body.
Thibodeaux Jr. misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Saitoh.
Saitoh pushes Thibodeaux Jr. back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Saitoh misses with a hook to the ribs.
Saitoh lands with a light punch inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thibodeaux Jr. misses with a punch on the inside.
Saitoh tries to work over Thibodeaux Jr.'s body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Saitoh fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Thibodeaux Jr..
Saitoh gets through Thibodeaux Jr.'s defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Saitoh tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Saitoh lands a right hand that snaps the head of Thibodeaux Jr. backwards.
Saitoh fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Saitoh trying to control the position but instead, Thibodeaux Jr. has worked for underhooks and has pushed Saitoh into the cage.
Saitoh tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Thibodeaux Jr. goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Saitoh presses Thibodeaux Jr. against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Saitoh lands a right hand.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thibodeaux Jr. missing with knees to the body.
Thibodeaux Jr. doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Saitoh.
Saitoh tries to work over Thibodeaux Jr.'s body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Saitoh lands a left hand.
Saitoh tries a body shot but Thibodeaux Jr. blocks it.
Thibodeaux Jr. has a couple of punches blocked by Saitoh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Thibodeaux Jr. backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Saitoh lands a hook that snaps the head of Thibodeaux Jr. backwards.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocks a body shot from Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Saitoh tries a body shot but Thibodeaux Jr. blocks it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thibodeaux Jr..
A head punch on the inside from Thibodeaux Jr. fails to land.
A shot in the inside from Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands a left hand that snaps the head of Saitoh backwards.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands with a light punch inside.
Thibodeaux Jr. doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Saitoh tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Saitoh creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Thibodeaux Jr. prevents a body shot from Saitoh.
Saitoh managing to block the knees to the body from Thibodeaux Jr..
Thibodeaux Jr. misses with the head strike.
Saitoh misses with a body punch.
Thibodeaux Jr. misses with a short punch on the inside.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Saitoh is looking to take this one to the mat.
Saitoh lands a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh tries a body shot but Thibodeaux Jr. blocks it.
Saitoh misses with a hook to the ribs.
Saitoh tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Thibodeaux Jr.'s elbow.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocking some punches.
Saitoh tries to throw a body punch but Thibodeaux Jr. avoids it by throwing Saitoh back against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr.'s head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Thibodeaux Jr. lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocking some punches.
Saitoh blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands a shoulder strike.
A right hook to the body lands for Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands with a light punch inside.
Thibodeaux Jr. lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Saitoh backwards.
Saitoh lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Thibodeaux Jr. can't find room to land a body shot as Saitoh controls the action.
Saitoh lands with a right to the head.
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!
Saitoh tries to work over Thibodeaux Jr.'s body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocks a body shot from Saitoh.
Good body shot from Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Saitoh.
Thibodeaux Jr. blocks a body shot from Saitoh.
Saitoh tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Saitoh scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Thibodeaux Jr. is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Saitoh is defending well for now.
Thibodeaux Jr. missing with knees to the body.
Saitoh lands a right hand that snaps the head of Thibodeaux Jr. backwards.
Saitoh tries to throw a body punch but Thibodeaux Jr. avoids it by throwing Saitoh back against the cage.
Saitoh can't find room to land a body shot as Thibodeaux Jr. controls the action.
Thibodeaux Jr. scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Saitoh pushes Thibodeaux Jr. back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Thibodeaux Jr. tries to land knees in the clinch but Saitoh avoids the damage to the body.
Thibodeaux Jr. unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Saitoh works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Thibodeaux Jr. looks winded!
Saitoh avoiding damage as Thibodeaux Jr. throws knees to the body.
A short uppercut from Saitoh.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A short left from Saitoh.
Saitoh is leaning against Thibodeaux Jr. and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Saitoh can't find room to land a body shot as Thibodeaux Jr. controls the action.
Thibodeaux Jr. swings wildly with an uppercut but Saitoh uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thibodeaux Jr.'s head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Masa Saitoh dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Saitoh lands a head shot.
Thibodeaux Jr. closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Saitoh darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Thibodeaux Jr. is rocked!
Saitoh throws a monster overhand right that drops Thibodeaux Jr.! Saitoh follows up with more strikes from mount and the fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:22 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Masa Saitoh!
After winning the bout, Masa Saitoh thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.