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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Yoji Kikuchi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mauricio Velasquez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Velasquez has chosen Awake and Alive - Skillet as his entrance music. Yoji Kikuchi could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Mauricio Velasquez's chin.
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| 170 cm
24
142 lbs
5 - 3 - 0 |
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170 cm
21
148 lbs
4 - 5 - 0 |
Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced |
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BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Knockout power |
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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
5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yoji Kikuchi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mauricio Velasquez!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Taro Takaoka and Yuuki Gou.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kikuchi looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Velasquez!
Velasquez tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Kikuchi cracks Velasquez with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kikuchi lands a big shot there that rocks Velasquez but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Kikuchi prevents Velasquez from getting the reversal.
Kikuchi controlling from mount.
Kikuchi throwing strikes here but Velasquez is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Velasquez working to try and regain half guard.
Kikuchi is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Velasquez is in real trouble.
Velasquez trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Kikuchi biding his time, controlling Velasquez.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kikuchi struggling to keep hold of the position.
Velasquez showing good submission defense here.
Velasquez showing good submission defense here.
Kikuchi working for the choke.
Kikuchi working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Kikuchi trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez just trying to survive but Kikuchi is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Kikuchi is persistently looking for the submission but Velasquez is defending it well.
Velasquez tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Kikuchi looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Velasquez is trying desperately to improve position.
Velasquez tries to hold on but Kikuchi postures up.
Kikuchi is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Velasquez suckers Kikuchi into throwing a sloppy strike and uses the momentum to reverse the position beautifully! Velasquez is now in Kikuchi's guard!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kikuchi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kikuchi is trying to control the action in half guard but Velasquez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Kikuchi is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Kikuchi trying to pass the guard but Velasquez defending well.
Kikuchi controlling the action here.
Velasquez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Kikuchi is working away from the top position though.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kikuchi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Velasquez has managed to free his arm - good work.
Kikuchi stalling away here and it's allowed Velasquez to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Kikuchi trying to control the position from guard on top but Velasquez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kikuchi with a nice head shot there.
Velasquez wants to sweep here but Kikuchi controlling him for the moment.
Kikuchi 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.
Kikuchi working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Yoji Kikuchi dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Kikuchi feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Velasquez manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Kikuchi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Velasquez misses with a few strikes there.
Velasquez misses with a takedown attempt - Kikuchi sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Velasquez doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Kikuchi counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kikuchi is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Velasquez defends it well.
Kikuchi is keen to just control but Velasquez is a slippery customer.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kikuchi is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Kikuchi is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Velasquez sees it coming and defends easily.
Kikuchi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Velasquez does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Kikuchi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Kikuchi takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Kikuchi is looking to take a break and control but Velasquez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Velasquez looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Kikuchi is trying to control the action in half guard but Velasquez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Kikuchi winds up and cracks Velasquez with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Velasquez is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Kikuchi's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Kikuchi's back!
Kikuchi trying to control the action but Velasquez just sinks the hooks in.
Velasquez is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Kikuchi defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Kikuchi staying busy and making it hard for Velasquez to control.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez is hanging on to Kikuchi's back as he tries to escape.
Kikuchi is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Velasquez misses with a punch to the head.
Kikuchi is trying to break free.
Velasquez tries to keep control of the position but Kikuchi is staying busy.
Good control from Velasquez.
Velasquez scores with punches to the body.
Kikuchi is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez avoiding Kikuchi 's attempts to control his hands.
Velasquez trying to control momentarily.
Kikuchi tries to roll but Velasquez sticks to his back.
Kikuchi trying to control the hands but Velasquez breaks the grip.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Velasquez tightening his grip on Kikuchi, looking for the choke.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Velasquez's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Mauricio Velasquez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! 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.
Velasquez darts in and clinches Kikuchi up against the ropes.
Velasquez has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kikuchi avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Velasquez manages to break the clinch.
Velasquez throws a sloppy head kick and Kikuchi moves out of range easily.
Velasquez misses with a double jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Velasquez tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Kikuchi counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Velasquez tries to kick Kikuchi off in order to stand up. Kikuchi Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kikuchi is trying to get an arm triangle but Velasquez is defending well.
Velasquez struggling a bit here.
Kikuchi is looking to take a break and control but Velasquez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kikuchi is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Velasquez has escaped the position, nice work there.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Kikuchi works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kikuchi looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Kikuchi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Velasquez, who protects the arm well.
Velasquez is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Kikuchi's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Kikuchi is looking for a kimura but Velasquez is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Kikuchi to get the leverage.
Kikuchi is trying to work for a kimura but Velasquez is defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kikuchi looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Velasquez with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Velasquez is trying to maintain the position but Kikuchi is very close to passing his half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kikuchi wants to take a breather but Velasquez is having none of it.
Kikuchi sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Velasquez blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kikuchi.
Kikuchi is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Kikuchi content to control rather than advance.
Kikuchi trying to control from half guard but Velasquez is working away.
Mauricio Velasquez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
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.
Kikuchi tries to pass to full mount but Velasquez defends it.
Kikuchi is working hard here to advance position.
Kikuchi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Velasquez can do to turn this around?
Kikuchi trying to control from half guard but Velasquez is working away.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
No joy there for Velasquez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Mauricio Velasquez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Velasquez's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Velasquez duly obliges.
Velasquez fails with the takedown
and Kikuchi counters with a nice double leg into guard.
And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Yoji Kikuchi.
I think Kikuchi 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight for Yoji Kikuchi!
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight for Yoji Kikuchi!
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Yoji Kikuchi!
Yoji Kikuchi 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
38% |
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