PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Brian Hardy (ranked 1214 p4p, 157 weight class) and Anakoni Kai (ranked 1129 p4p, 149 weight class). Kai has chosen Firestarter as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Hardy
vs
Kai

195 cm
33
187 lbs
28 - 13 - 1

190 cm
37
186 lbs
30 - 17 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Sin City Allstars

Organic Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 13 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Brian Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Anakoni Kai!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Ian Loll and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kai has taken the fight to the clinch.
Hardy can't find room to land a body shot as Kai controls the action.
Kai misses with an elbow strike.
Hardy misses with a body punch.

Hardy pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kai has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Hardy is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Kai lands a head shot.
Anakoni Kai seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kai tries a head kick but it misses.
Kai drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Kai throws a lazy right hand but Hardy sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hardy uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kai.
Kai misses with the body kick
and Hardy counters with a nice uppercut.
Hardy ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Kai takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Hardy on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kai keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hardy with a body punch. A glancing blow.
We've been hearing reports that Hardy has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Kai jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A low kick from Kai misses
and Hardy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kai avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kai misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hardy.
Hardy is looking to counter punch.
Hardy connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kai misses with a body shot
and Hardy counters with a straight right hand.
Kai misses with a wild body shot.
Hardy swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hardy lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Kai swats away the attempt to clinch by Hardy.
Kai connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Kai blocks a jab.
Kai scores with a jab to the head.
Kai keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hardy.
Kai throws out a counter right but Hardy avoids it with no problem.
Hardy lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Hardy dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Kai has taken the fight to the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hardy lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Hardy blocking some punches.
Kai blocks a body shot from Hardy.
Hardy blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy throws a head punch that misses.
Kai misses with a punch on the inside.
Kai presses Hardy against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Hardy lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kai backwards.
Kai misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Kai fails to land.
Kai blocks an uppercut.
Kai blocking some punches.
Hardy blocks a body shot from Kai.
Kai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hardy tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kai's elbow.
Kai misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kai tries a body shot but Hardy blocks it.
Hardy struggles to land a body shot inside as Kai controls his hands.
Hardy lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Kai or not.
Kai misses with a short punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Hardy.
Kai lands an elbow that stopped Hardy in his tracks for a moment.
Kai lands an uppercut.
Kai creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kai misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hardy lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Kai struggles to land a body shot inside as Hardy controls his hands.
Hardy lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Kai.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kai.
Kai lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Kai misses with a short punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Kai.
Hardy pushes Kai back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hardy blocking some punches.
Hardy misses with a punch to the body.
Kai struggles to land a body shot inside as Hardy controls his hands.
Kai misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Kai throws a punch but it's blocked by Hardy.
Kai misses with a punch to the body.
Kai can't find room to land a body shot as Hardy controls the action.
Kai misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Hardy fails to land.
Kai misses with a punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy lands with a left to the head.
Kai misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kai blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A short uppercut from Kai.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hardy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kai has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Hardy blocks an uppercut.
Hardy misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Kai lands a right hand.
Kai fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Kai misses with some punches.
Hardy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kai misses with a hook from the clinch.

Hardy pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Kai fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hardy, pushing him back against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hardy goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Kai lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Nice body punch from Kai - that landed with a thud.
Kai lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Kai prevents a body shot from Hardy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Anakoni Kai will probably get the nod.
That's time! Hardy's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Kai takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Kai jabs Hardy to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Kai tries to clinch
and Hardy counters with a straight right hand.
A left lands for Hardy.

Kai moves into the clinch.
Kai softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Hardy struggles to land a body shot inside as Kai controls his hands.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Kai lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kai can't find room to land a body shot as Hardy controls the action.
Kai digs a right hand into Hardy's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Hardy's gas tank.
A head punch on the inside from Kai fails to land.
Hardy misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Kai throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A nice right hand lands inside from Kai.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kai works on Hardy's body with a couple of short punches.
A short left from Kai.
Kai gets through Hardy's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kai blocks a body shot from Hardy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kai tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Kai has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Kai softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Kai blocking some punches.
Hardy misses with a body punch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Kai.
Hardy blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kai prevents a body shot from Hardy.
Hardy blocks an elbow strike from Kai.
Kai creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Kai tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Hardy blocking some punches.
Kai working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Hardy pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Anakoni Kai is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kai misses with an uppercut.
A swing and a miss from Kai.
Hardy takes a kick to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kai throws a looping overhand right but Hardy ducks down to avoid it.
Hardy swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Hardy takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hardy misses with a wild body shot.
Kai looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kai avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hardy throws a lazy right hand but Kai sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A big right from Hardy misses.
Kai throws a hook but Hardy blocks it.
Kai misses with a jab to the body
and Hardy cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kai tries to clinch but Hardy is having none of it.
Hardy scores with a hook.
Hardy takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Hardy tries to clinch but Kai moves out of range.
Kai misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kai throws a big shot that misses.
Hardy misses with a few strikes there.
Kai tries to land a front kick but Hardy steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Kai misses with a straight right.
Kai lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

Hardy is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kai showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hardy.
Oh Hardy is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kai fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Brian Hardy is winning the standup battle so far.
Hardy switches off momentarily and Kai cracks him with a monster right hand! Hardy topples backwards and makes a semi conscious attempt to cover up, as Kai dives in to land one more shot, before the referee has time to call the fight. What a finish by Kai!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:13 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Anakoni Kai!
In his post fight interview, Anakoni Kai started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.