PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between shinya Aoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and micheal manning (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that micheal manning was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Aoki
vs
manning

175 cm
22
155 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

165 cm
20
157 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, shinya Aoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, micheal manning!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aoki tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but manning paws at him with a jab and circles away.
No luck for Aoki with that takedown attempt.
Aoki will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Aoki blocks a jab.
Aoki tries to clinch there but manning circles away.
manning misses with the combination.
Aoki tries to land a front kick but manning steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Aoki tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
manning circles away from the clinch attempt.
manning changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Aoki tries to avoid it but manning manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Aoki to the ground. Aoki escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
manning misses with a jab, cross combination.
manning takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
No joy there for manning, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Aoki is looking to clinch but manning is avoiding it.
Aoki closes the distance and clinches up with manning, looking for a takedown. Aoki pushes manning against the cage but manning circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for shinya Aoki. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aoki defends well against a solid takedown attempt from manning.
manning misses with an attempted mid kick.
Aoki tries to clinch but manning moves out of range.
A combination from Aoki does no damage.
manning fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Aoki tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but manning swivels and escapes.
Aoki is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
manning throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aoki.
Aoki tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but manning swivels and escapes.
Aoki is breathing heavily.
Aoki fails with the takedown
and manning counters with a big head kick but Aoki shrugs it off.
Aoki looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
manning lands a nice shot that snaps Aoki's head back.
A solid leg kick lands there for manning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from manning.
No luck for manning with that takedown attempt.
manning throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A slapping body kick lands there for manning.
No luck with that takedown attempt from manning.
manning shoots in for a double leg but Aoki sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
manning dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Aoki. That did some damage!
manning dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Aoki. That did some damage!
manning rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Aoki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Aoki avoids a punch combination nicely.
Aoki tries to clinch but manning moves away

and manning counters with a nice double leg into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
manning wants to control from the top but Aoki keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
manning stands and throws Aoki's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Aoki is not content to let manning control the position.

manning is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Aoki is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
manning lands an elbow.
Aoki taking a bit of punishment here - manning scoring with strikes.
Aoki is not content to let manning control the position.
Aoki tries to buck manning off but manning is having none of it.
manning wants to control but Aoki is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

micheal manning dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

manning ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Aoki moves away.
Aoki misses with a takedown attempt

and manning counters with a shoot takedown. Aoki fights it but they end up in guard.
Aoki keeping full guard, as manning tries to pass.
manning advances position into side control!
manning controlling the position from side mount.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Aoki struggling a bit here.
manning working the ground and pound from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
manning is looking to take a break and control but Aoki is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Despite being in the dominant position, micheal manning just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
manning looks to throw the jab but Aoki is out of range.
Aoki shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and manning counters with a nice kick to the body.
shinya Aoki is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
manning throws a leg kick which misses Aoki's front leg but catches the back leg as Aoki tries to avoid it.
A head kick misses from manning.
manning fails with the takedown.
manning stalks Aoki and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Aoki's face. Aoki staggers backwards, shaken.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
manning scores with a spinning back kick!
manning lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
manning fails to land with a series of punches.

manning bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
manning is looking to take a break and control but Aoki is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
manning moves into full mount!
A nice elbow there by manning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
manning sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
manning unloading with bombs!
Aoki is bucking up trying to escape but manning cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
manning trying to control but he's not successful this time.

manning working for a submission but Aoki is keeping him at bay.
manning manages to capitalize on a mistake by Aoki to take his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
manning tries to get the hooks in deep but Aoki pushed the leg off.
manning is landing with strikes from the back.
Aoki trying to control the position but manning manages to sink in the hooks.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aoki tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Aoki tries to get back to half guard but can't.
manning postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Aoki looks a forlorn figure.
manning lands a nice shot to the head.
manning looking to control but Aoki is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

micheal manning showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Aoki falls off balance throwing a combination
and manning counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Aoki is lucky that one didn't land flush.
A telegraphed right hand from manning misses the target.
Aoki tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and manning connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
manning misses the shot to the body.
Aoki is trying hard to land a takedown here. manning sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Aoki wants to clinch but manning slips to the side
and manning counters with a thumping low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
manning buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
manning looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

manning closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
manning landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
manning wants to control but Aoki is keeping him busy.
manning prevents Aoki from standing back up.
Aoki is looking to control manning's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Aoki avoid being mounted?
Aoki tries to regain full guard. Instead though, manning has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
manning landing punches.
Aoki is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
manning landing strikes from the mount and Aoki is in trouble!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
manning working away from the top, dropping strikes.
manning wants to control the pace but Aoki is squirming around nicely.
manning content just to control the position here.
Aoki is wriggling around trying to escape.
micheal manning has got the better of the ground game so far.
manning wants to control the pace but Aoki is squirming around nicely.
Aoki is trying to reverse the position but instead manning has taken his back - oops!
Aoki is trying to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

manning tightening his grip on Aoki, looking for the choke.
manning is trying to stick to Aoki's back but Aoki is turning into manning. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in manning's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Aoki.
Aoki controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Aoki stopping the sweep attempt from manning.
manning has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Aoki wants to control from the top but manning keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aoki postures up.
Aoki wants to stand but manning is controlling his posture from full guard.
manning looking for a sweep. Not yet manning, not yet.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
manning circles away from the clinch attempt
and manning counters with a nice low kick that buckles Aoki's knee momentarily.
shinya Aoki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
micheal manning is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
manning throws a left and a right that both miss

and Aoki counters with a nice double leg into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
micheal manning comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well manning has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... micheal manning!