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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ichiro Kosugi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicolas Karkmananis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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| 188 cm
33
210 lbs
16 - 12 - 1 |
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185 cm
33
215 lbs
15 - 17 - 1 |
Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
16 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ichiro Kosugi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
15 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nicolas Karkmananis!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Don Winkell and Frank Antenori.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kosugi is looking to clinch but Karkmananis is avoiding it.
Kosugi misses with a looping left.
Horrible takedown attempt by Kosugi or perhaps it was just good defense by Karkmananis, which made it look bad.
Karkmananis moves in looking to clinch but Kosugi pushes him off.
As Karkmananis looks to move away, Kosugi throws a big counter combo bu Karkmananis just gets out of the way.
Kosugi has a takedown stuffed.
Kosugi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Karkmananis holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ichiro Kosugi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Karkmananis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis clinches up against the cage.
Kosugi is working for takedown but Karkmananis is calmly controlling the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kosugi blocks an elbow strike.
Kosugi managing to block the knees to the body from Karkmananis.
Karkmananis gets through Kosugi's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Karkmananis tries to work over Kosugi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Karkmananis wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosugi jumps guard and drags Karkmananis to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kosugi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Karkmananis is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Karkmananis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Kosugi keeping moving, preventing Karkmananis from controlling successfully.
Karkmananis has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kosugi is proving hard to escape from.
Kosugi being controlled here, momentarily.
Kosugi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Karkmananis stands up and waves to Kosugi to follow him.
Kosugi shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Karkmananis but Karkmananis pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi with a nice cross.
Karkmananis scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Karkmananis closes the distance and lands a one-two.
It looks like Ichiro Kosugi has been cut.
Karkmananis stuffs the takedown attempt from Kosugi. Kosugi gets slowly back to his feet.
A punch combination from Kosugi misses.
Karkmananis fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kosugi takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Karkmananis rushes Kosugi and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Karkmananis is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Kosugi is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Kosugi drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karkmananis buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kosugi shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Kosugi showed some decent athleticism there.
Kosugi is working for a kimura but Karkmananis is defending it quite comfortably.
Kosugi is looking to take a break and control but Karkmananis is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kosugi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Karkmananis's head.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi is thwarting Karkmananis's attempts to control the position.
Kosugi is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Karkmananis!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kosugi landing strikes from the mount and Karkmananis is in trouble!
Kosugi has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Karkmananis's face.
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!
Karkmananis is bucking up trying to escape but Kosugi cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Kosugi lands a big shot there that rocks Karkmananis but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Kosugi is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Kosugi scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Karkmananis?
Karkmananis is rocked!
Kosugi raining down shots from the mount!
Karkmananis is still in real trouble! Can Kosugi finish him?
We've been hearing good reports from Kosugi'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.
Kosugi jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Karkmananis manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Karkmananis is not content to let Kosugi control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Ichiro Kosugi will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ichiro Kosugi's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Kosugi scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Karkmananis makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Karkmananis seems to have recovered his senses.
Nicolas Karkmananis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Karkmananis's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Kosugi connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Karkmananis scrambles back to his feet.
Kosugi shoots in looking for a takedown. Karkmananis tries to sprawl out of it but Kosugi keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Karkmananis manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Karkmananis tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kosugi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ichiro Kosugi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fight stays on the outside here - Karkmananis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Karkmananis gets caught flat footed, as Kosugi shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Karkmananis has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Kosugi off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Karkmananis instigates a clinch.
Kosugi being controlled against the cage.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosugi blocks a body shot from Karkmananis.
Karkmananis wants to get back to striking at distance but Kosugi won't allow it.
Kosugi jumps guard.
Karkmananis wants to control from the top but Kosugi keeps moving.
Karkmananis passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Kosugi regains half guard.
Kosugi is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Karkmananis is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Karkmananis prevents Kosugi from improving his position.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis is working for a submission of some sort.
Kosugi makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Kosugi.
Karkmananis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Karkmananis wants to stand but Kosugi has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Kosugi keeping moving, preventing Karkmananis from controlling successfully.
Kosugi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ichiro Kosugi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kosugi pulls Karkmananis in to control the position.
Kosugi manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Karkmananis manages to get himself to full guard.
Karkmananis will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Kosugi lands a couple of elbows.
Kosugi stops Karkmananis from standing up.
Kosugi stays in close to Karkmananis's body and controls the position.
Kosugi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Karkmananis is keeping the position for now.
Kosugi won't allow Karkmananis to sweep him here.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Kosugi working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Kosugi happy to just control the position for now.
Kosugi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Karkmananis keeps working.
Kosugi looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Karkmananis is looking for a sweep.
Karkmananis stops Kosugi from passing to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that Ichiro Kosugi will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ichiro Kosugi's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.
Karkmananis throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kosugi clinches.
Kosugi blocks an elbow strike.
Kosugi fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kosugi looking for a takedown.
Karkmananis tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kosugi avoids it.
Karkmananis lands a hook that snaps the head of Kosugi backwards.
Kosugi is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Karkmananis is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ichiro Kosugi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Karkmananis misses with the head strike.
Karkmananis lands a right hand that snaps the head of Kosugi backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karkmananis can't find room to land a body shot as Kosugi controls the action.
Kosugi is trying to drag Karkmananis to the mat but Karkmananis just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Karkmananis misses with a hook to the ribs.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Karkmananis scores with a nice short uppercut.
Karkmananis tries a body shot but Kosugi blocks it.
Karkmananis dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Kosugi tries to pull guard but Karkmananis holds him up against the cage and eventually Kosugi drops back down to his feet.
Kosugi goes for a takedown in the clinch but Karkmananis prevents it.
Karkmananis missing with knees to the body.
Karkmananis doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Karkmananis leaning his opponent against the cage.
Kosugi has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Karkmananis after a bit of a struggle.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kosugi misses with the combination.
Karkmananis punishes Kosugi's body with a nice straight punch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Karkmananis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
No luck for Kosugi with that takedown attempt.
Kosugi rushes Karkmananis and presses him up against the cage.
Kosugi is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Karkmananis gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Kosugi is trying to pull guard but Karkmananis has him pressed against the cage.
Karkmananis gets through Kosugi's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Karkmananis misses with a knee strike.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Karkmananis fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Kosugi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kosugi shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Karkmananis as he jumps to the side.
Kosugi goes for a double leg but Karkmananis avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Karkmananis continues to drive forward.
Karkmananis pushes Kosugi up against the cage in a clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Karkmananis.
A head punch on the inside from Karkmananis fails to land.
Kosugi fails to pull guard.
Kosugi has Karkmananis pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Kosugi pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Karkmananis tumbling to the mat - Kosugi dives into Karkmananis's guard.
Karkmananis pushes Kosugi off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Karkmananis is looking to clinch but Kosugi is avoiding it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kosugi sizes up Karkmananis with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis darts in and clinches Kosugi up against the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Karkmananis struggles to land a body shot inside as Kosugi controls his hands.
Karkmananis trying to control the position but instead, Kosugi has worked for underhooks and has pushed Karkmananis into the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Karkmananis.
Karkmananis lands a nice shot to the body.
Kosugi has picked Karkmananis up - he's going for a ride! Kosugi dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Karkmananis manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Kosugi keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Kosugi looking for a takedown.
Karkmananis gets underhooks to prevent Kosugi's takedown attempt.
Karkmananis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Nicolas Karkmananis really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ichiro Kosugi's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!
A combination from Karkmananis does no damage.
Karkmananis tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Karkmananis tries to close the distance and clinch but Kosugi swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Karkmananis tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Karkmananis throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Karkmananis tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kosugi jabs Karkmananis to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Karkmananis clinches up with Kosugi and pushes him back against the cage.
Karkmananis escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Karkmananis leaves Kosugi with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Karkmananis has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karkmananis is looking to clinch.
Kosugi takes the fight into the clinch.
Karkmananis misses with a punch to the body.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosugi looking for a takedown.
Karkmananis prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ichiro Kosugi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Karkmananis manages to break the clinch.
Nice straight punches there by Karkmananis. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Karkmananis.
Nicolas Karkmananis is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Karkmananis scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kosugi is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Karkmananis is defending well.
Karkmananis is pushing Kosugi up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Karkmananis taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Kosugi jumps into guard, dragging Karkmananis to the mat.
Karkmananis is looking to stand up but Kosugi won't let him.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi pulls Karkmananis in close to prevent any damage.
Kosugi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kosugi keeping moving, preventing Karkmananis from controlling successfully.
Karkmananis stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kosugi swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Karkmananis slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Kosugi has Karkmananis pulled in close to control his posture.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Karkmananis controls from within his opponent's guard.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kosugi paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kosugi looks to land a right hand but Karkmananis moved out of range.
Karkmananis doesn't manage to clinch there - Kosugi circles away.
Kosugi closes this distance looking for a takedown but Karkmananis circles away.
Kosugi tries a head kick but it misses.
Karkmananis throws a counter combo.
Karkmananis fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Sloppy strikes from Kosugi. Those never looked like landing.
Kosugi has managed to clinch.
Karkmananis misses with the head strike.
Karkmananis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis tries to clinch up but Kosugi circles away and keeps his distance.
Kosugi loads up on a big right hand but Karkmananis slips the punch.
Karkmananis throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Karkmananis moves out of range as Kosugi strikes.
Karkmananis takes the fight into the clinch.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis just misses with a punch to the body.
Karkmananis has closed the distance and engaged Kosugi in a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kosugi prevents Karkmananis from breaking the clinch.
Karkmananis trying to land knees to the body.
Kosugi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Karkmananis works on Kosugi's body with a couple of short punches.
Kosugi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Karkmananis misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Karkmananis tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Karkmananis is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Karkmananis lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Karkmananis breaks from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Nicolas Karkmananis dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Ichiro Kosugi's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!
Kosugi shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Karkmananis pinned against the cage. Karkmananis gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kosugi throws a hook but Karkmananis avoids it easily.
Karkmananis tries to clinch but Kosugi is having none of it.
Kosugi tries to close the distance and clinch but Karkmananis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Kosugi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Karkmananis only half commits to the counter leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karkmananis takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Karkmananis throws a good cross that connects.
Kosugi takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Kosugi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Karkmananis.
Kosugi shoots in for a takedown but Karkmananis shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Kosugi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Karkmananis tries to avoid it but Kosugi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Karkmananis to the ground. Karkmananis escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ichiro Kosugi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosugi fails in his attempt to clinch.
Kosugi sets himself, and Karkmananis steps forward looking for the clinch! Kosugi avoids it this time.
Karkmananis scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Karkmananis moves into range and clinches up with Kosugi.
Kosugi blocking some punches.
Nice body punch from Karkmananis.
Kosugi goes for a takedown in the clinch but Karkmananis prevents it.
Kosugi blocking some punches.
Karkmananis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Karkmananis keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kosugi throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Kosugi takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Kosugi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Karkmananis.
Karkmananis scores with a three punch combo!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis throws a one two combo.
Ichiro Kosugi's cut is getting worse.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kosugi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Karkmananis fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kosugi, pushing him back against the cage.
Karkmananis is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Karkmananis stalling in the clinch.
Kosugi can't get the takedown.
Kosugi has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Karkmananis clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Karkmananis is trying to get back to his feet. He's worked up on to his knees and now he's on his feet with his head on the canvas, trying to shake Kosugi off. It looks like it's working - Kosugi slides off, much to his dismay, and we're back to standing! Karkmananis displaying calm under pressure there.
Karkmananis pushes Kosugi up against the cage in a clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Karkmananis.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Karkmananis.
Ichiro Kosugi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi blocks a body shot from Karkmananis.
Karkmananis has Kosugi pressed against the cage, preventing Kosugi from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Kosugi has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Karkmananis after a bit of a struggle.
Karkmananis lands an elbow just above Kosugi 's eye.
Karkmananis pressing his opponent against the cage.
Kosugi is trying to drag Karkmananis to the mat but Karkmananis just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Karkmananis lands a body shot in the clinch.
Kosugi drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Karkmananis gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kosugi tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Karkmananis smiles and moves away.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karkmananis throws a nice looking combination but Kosugi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Karkmananis lands a jab to the head.
Karkmananis bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kosugi throws a sloppy head kick and Karkmananis moves out of range easily.
Kosugi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kosugi appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Karkmananis cracks Kosugi with a good jab.
Karkmananis buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kosugi fails to land with a series of punches.
Kosugi just misses with a punch to the body.
Kosugi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kosugi throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karkmananis scores with a three punch combo!
Karkmananis drops Kosugi with a right and a left! Karkmananis comes rushing in but Kosugi regains his composure and manages to keep Karkmananis in guard.
Nicolas Karkmananis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kosugi is rocked!
Ichiro Kosugi's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Karkmananis is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
And that's the end of the fight!
Nicolas Karkmananis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Karkmananis has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.
Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight for Nicolas Karkmananis!
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight for Nicolas Karkmananis!
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight for Nicolas Karkmananis!
Nicolas Karkmananis wins by unanimous decision!
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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
60% |
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