PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Emilio Izturis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Takeshi Naoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Takeshi Naoki has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Emilio Izturis's chin.

Izturis
vs
Naoki

190 cm
23
190 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

182 cm
23
201 lbs
10 - 1 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)
Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Emilio Izturis!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Takeshi Naoki!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Roosa Järviläinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Izturis jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Naoki swings widly with a right hand
and Izturis connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Izturis lands a right hook to the body.
Izturis walks forward, straight into a front kick from Naoki.
Naoki finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Naoki misses with a low kick.
Naoki connects with a solid leg kick.
Naoki misses with an uppercut.
Naoki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Naoki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Naoki takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Naoki thumps Izturis with a low kick.
Izturis getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Izturis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Naoki moves away.
Naoki missing with a left hand there. Izturis was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naoki misses with a low kick.
Naoki scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Izturis doesn't seem bothered though.

Izturis looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Izturis wants to take a breather but Naoki is having none of it.
Izturis with the ground and pound but Naoki uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Naoki is trying to control the position but Izturis postures up.
Izturis has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Naoki controlling Izturis's posture.
Izturis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naoki keeping moving, preventing Izturis from controlling successfully.
Izturis is looking to work some ground and pound but Naoki has wrist control.
Izturis trying to control but Naoki is working from the bottom.
Naoki being controlled here, momentarily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Izturis wants to pass the guard but Naoki is keeping the position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Naoki scores with a punch to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Naoki pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Naoki connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Izturis's hands.
Izturis misses with a hook. Naoki ducked under it nicely.
Naoki throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Izturis rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Naoki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Izturis blocks the body kick.

Naoki drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Naoki wants to control from the top but Izturis keeps moving.
Izturis lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Naoki!
Izturis scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Poor strikes thrown by Izturis there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Izturis looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Izturis looking to ground and pound but Naoki is blocking nicely.
Naoki manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Izturis thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Naoki tries to roll over but Izturis keeps him under control.
Izturis missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Naoki blocking the ground and pound attempt from Izturis.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Takeshi Naoki will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Naoki looks to score with a jab to the body but Izturis is just out of range.
Naoki shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Izturis defends it nicely.
Izturis just misses with a punch to the body.
Takeshi Naoki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Izturis lands a right hook to the body.
Naoki with a poor takedown
and Izturis counters with a two punch combo.
Naoki is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Izturis.
Naoki has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Naoki throws a low kick but Izturis moves out of range easily.
Izturis uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Naoki.
A looping hook to the body misses from Izturis. Naoki does a little dance to reset his feet.
Naoki shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Izturis counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Naoki thinking.
Emilio Izturis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Takeshi Naoki.
Naoki throws a hook to the side of Izturis's head but Izturis sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Izturis throws a one two combo.

It looks like Takeshi Naoki has been cut.
Naoki thows a left - swing and a miss!
Naoki tries to land a body kick
and Izturis counters with a nice uppercut.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Izturis lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Naoki has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Naoki and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Izturis is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Naoki throws a quick inside leg kick.
Naoki throws a leg kick but Izturis sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Naoki pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Izturis has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Naoki.
Izturis shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A solid leg kick lands there for Naoki.
Izturis goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Naoki throws a leg kick which misses Izturis's front leg but catches the back leg as Izturis tries to avoid it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Naoki throws a lazy uppercut
and Izturis counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naoki dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Izturis. That did some damage!
Naoki takes a swing at Izturis's ribcage but misses.
Izturis moves out of range as Naoki strikes.
Izturis displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Naoki.
Naoki throws a leg kick that misses.
Naoki throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Naoki throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Izturis tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Naoki is in Izturis's guard.
Izturis avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Naoki trying to control the position from guard on top but Izturis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Izturis is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Naoki trying to control but Izturis is working from the bottom.
We've been hearing good reports from Izturis's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Izturis is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Naoki wants to control from the top but Izturis keeps moving.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Takeshi Naoki wasn't active enough on the ground.
Naoki scores with a push kick.
Naoki throws a leg kick but Izturis checks it.
Naoki misses with a body shot.
Izturis swinging wildly here.
The fighters circling - Izturis throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A solid leg kick lands there for Naoki.
Naoki throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Naoki. That snapped Izturis's head back.
Izturis moves out of range as Naoki throws a body kick.
Nice shot lands for Izturis.
Naoki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Izturis manages to avoid it.
Izturis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Naoki moves away.
Naoki will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Naoki fails with a takedown attempt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Izturis swings and misses with a hook to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Izturis enables Naoki to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Izturis manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Izturis wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Naoki showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Takeshi Naoki's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Naoki checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A nice inside leg kick there by Naoki. That's going to slow Izturis down.

Izturis gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Naoki to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Izturis trying to control the position.
Naoki works over Izturis with some ground and pound from guard.

Izturis is rocked!
Naoki working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Oh Izturis is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Naoki gets to his feet and stands over Izturis, holding his ankles. He dives in with a big left hand that connects! Izturis felt that one! Naoki unloads more punches and elbows and this one is over! The ref has dived in to save Izturis from any more punishment!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Takeshi Naoki!
Takeshi Naoki is the new middleweight champion!
Takeshi Naoki made sure to give a little speech post fight, saying 'I wanna thank my opponent Vasili Zaytsev, this is a great win and I'm off to bigger challenges.'.