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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Naoya Li (ranked 2578 p4p, 2390 weight class) and Joel Gomez (ranked 152 p4p, 144 weight class). The key to victory for Naoya Li has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.
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| 168 cm
27
135
4 - 4 - 0 |
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190 cm
27
135
5 - 4 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin |
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Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Solid chin |
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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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Naoya Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Joel Gomez!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Li misses with a few strikes there.
Jab from Li.
Li throws a series of strikes that have Gomez backpedaling.
Gomez fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gomez takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Li swings away with a body shot that misses
letting Gomez counter with a right hand.
Gomez takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Li lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gomez has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Li feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Gomezs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Gomez.
Li stuns Gomez with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gomez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Li misses with a hook.
Gomez fails with a takedown attempt.
Naoya Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joel Gomez.
Gomez fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Li 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.
Li pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Gomez on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Gomez takes one to the side of the head.
Gomez keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Naoya Li seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gomez decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gomez wants to take a breather but Li is having none of it.
Li trying to control but Gomez postures up.
Gomez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Li gets full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Li looking for subs off his back but Gomez has passed one foot through into half guard.
Li is trying to get back to full guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li actively working from the bottom here.
Li might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Gomez is looking to take a break and control but Li is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gomez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Gomez wants to take a breather but Li is having none of it.
Li wants to sweep but Gomez has passed to side control!
Gomez in the domination position with Li hanging on.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Gomez tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Gomez throws a strike aimed at the side of Li's head but Li avoids it well.
Gomez looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Gomez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Gomez in side control, just content to control the action for now.
The ground and pound from Gomez seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Naoya Li dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
Gomez shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Li but Li pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Gomez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Li counters with a one-two to the body.
Li lands a jab to the nose.
Li lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
It looks like Joel Gomez has been cut.
Gomez looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Gomez thows a huge punch but Li dodges it nicely.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gomez connects with a nice short shot to Li's temple.
Gomez is just content to waste time from the top position. Li takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gomez in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Li looking to control but Gomez passes into half guard.
Li tries to roll over but Gomez keeps him under control.
Li is not content to let Gomez control the position.
Gomez is trying to work for a kimura but Li is defending well.
Gomez is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Li is just riding it out for now. Gomez eventually gives up the hold.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Li is looking to improve his position.
Gomez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Li is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Gomez pulls his head out easily.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez passes to full mount!
Li wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Gomez.
Gomez sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Gomez looking to ground and pound but Li is blocking nicely.
Li really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Li wants to control but Gomez is having none of it.
Gomez looking to ground and pound but Li is blocking nicely.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gomez has hold of Li's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Li manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Li controls the position.
Gomez throwing strikes here but Li is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Gomez landing shots from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gomez lands a big elbow.
Li is trying desperately to improve position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Joel Gomez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joel Gomez's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!
Li works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Li misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gomez.
Li throws a head kick that misses
and Gomez decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Li's guard.
Gomez content to stall in guard here.
Gomez is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gomez throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gomez tries to free his leg and advance position but Li is retaining full guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Li not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gomez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Li works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Li trying to keep a closed guard but Gomez is proving a slippery customer.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gomez doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Li counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Naoya Li is winning the standup battle so far.
Li tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gomez was well out of range. Poor timing from Li.
Li darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Li throws a right hand that Gomez ducks under and follows up with a left that Gomez also avoids with ease.
Gomez avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Li misses the body punch
and Gomez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Gomez shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Li defends it nicely.
Gomez shoots in and drives through. Li sprawls well.
Naoya Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joel Gomez.
Gomez tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Gomez tries to clinch but Li moves away
and Li counters with a right hand to the body.
Gomez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Li circles away.
Li turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Li circles away.
Li throws the left hand but Gomez avoids the punch easily.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gomez.
Gomez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Li makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Gomez takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A head kick misses from Li.
As Li backs off Gomez throws a huge counter combo but Li manages to avoid it all.
Li throws a one two combo.
Gomez walks into a straight right hand from Li.
Gomez gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Li.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Li swings for the body but Gomez moves out of range.
Li throws a right and a left that both miss.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gomez shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Li but Li pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Li jabs at Gomez's body.
Li slaps away a takedown attempt from Gomez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that's the end of the fight!
Naoya Li showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Li has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Naoya Li!
Naoya Li seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
Joel Gomez was interviewed post fight and said 'I’ll be back and better next time , it just wasn’t my night tonight . THANK YOU TO ALL THE FANS !'.
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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
40% |
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