PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Josh Thai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Fox (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Steve Fox has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Josh Thai's chin.

Thai
vs
Fox

162 cm
25
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

172 cm
25
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Josh Thai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Steve Fox!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Shigeki Sano and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fox keeps the fight on the outside.
Thai swats away the attempt to clinch by Fox.
Thai misses with a looping left.
Thai misses with a head kick.

Fox has managed to clinch.
Fox gets through Thai's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Thai trying to stall but Fox improves his position.
Thai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Thai drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Fox gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Thai is trying to break the clinch but Fox has him pressed against the cage.
Thai comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Fox wants to break the clinch but can't.
Fox tries to break free but Thai pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thai is trying to maintain a safe position but Fox gets an underhook and turns Thai into the cage.
Fox wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Fox is trying to break free.
Fox managing to block the knees to the body from Thai.
Fox wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Thai is trying to pull guard but Fox has him pressed against the cage.
Thai is working for takedown but Fox is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Thai. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fox has had enough of the clinch but Thai keeps him there for the moment.

Thai manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Fox won't allow Thai to sweep him here.

Thai uses the cage to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fox is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A combination from Fox does no damage.

Fox moves into the clinch.
Thai keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Fox's efforts to push away.
Fox digs a right hand underneath Thai's ribcage. Thai let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Thai breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Fox wants to clinch up but Thai keeps it at a distance.
Thai shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Fox but Fox pushes him off and we're back to square one.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nice takedown defense from Fox. No joy for Thai on that attempt.

Fox clinches up with Thai and pushes him back against the cage.
Fox wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thai is working for takedown but Fox is calmly controlling the position for now.
Thai is trying to pull guard but Fox has him pressed against the cage.
Thai is breathing heavily.
Fox is trying to break the clinch but Thai is controlling him.
Fox lands a left hand that snaps the head of Thai backwards.
Thai tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Thai jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Fox walks away with a smile on his face. Thai gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Thai keeps the fight on the outside.
Thai throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Thai pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Fox fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Fox gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Fox throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Fox lands a right hand.
Fox is trying to break the clinch but Thai is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fox lands an uppercut.
Thai wants a takedown.
Fox tries to circle away but Thai has him pinned against the cage.
Fox has had enough of the clinch but Thai keeps him there for the moment.
Fox is trying to break the clinch but Thai has him pressed against the cage.
Fox is trying to push Thai away but Thai has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Fox lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Fox wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Thai has him pressed against the cage.
Thai is trying to force a seperation but Fox has the dominant position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thai has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Thai looking for a takedown.
Fox working hard to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Fox dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Fox tries to close the distance and clinch up but Thai swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Thai closes the distance and clinches up with Fox, looking for a takedown. Thai pushes Fox against the cage but Fox circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Fox tries to clinch up but Thai circles away and keeps his distance.
Fox connects with the punch.

Fox pushes Thai up against the cage in a clinch.
Thai has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Fox is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Thai is trying to pull guard but Fox has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Thai. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thai throws a knee to the head but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Fox's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Thai tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Fox smiles and moves away.
Nice jab there from Fox.
Fox misses with a wild body shot.
Thai throws a right and a left that both miss.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Fox closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thai tries to score a body lock takedown but Fox shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Fox as Thai tries to tie him up.
Nice body punch from Fox.
Fox working hard to break the clinch.

Thai breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Fox closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Fox lands with a short shot to the head.
Fox is trying to break free.
Fox lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Fox is trying to force a seperation but Thai has the dominant position.
Thai prevents Fox from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fox is working Thai over against the cage.
Fox gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Thai.
Fox wants to get back to striking at distance but Thai won't allow it.
Fox looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Steve Fox seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Fox wants to break free but Thai has control.
Nice body punch from Fox.
Fox wants to break the clinch but can't.
Thai is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Fox is keeping busy.
Thai is looking to take this one to the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thai tries to circle away but Fox has him pinned against the cage.
Fox lands a hook that snaps the head of Thai backwards.

Thai is rocked!
Thai struggles to land a body shot inside as Fox controls his hands.
Oh Thai is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Fox lands a big right hand that drops Thai! The killer instinct kicks in and Fox finishes his opponent with a series of strikes from mount. A dominating finish by Fox!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:21 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Steve Fox!