PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Japa Koniu (ranked 812 p4p, 115 weight class) and Thierry Paulin (ranked 886 p4p, 131 weight class). Japa Koniu has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Koniu
vs
Paulin

198 cm
32
235 lbs
14 - 10 - 0

195 cm
24
240 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 10 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Japa Koniu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thierry Paulin!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Joseph Jones and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Paulin looks to throw the jab but Koniu is out of range.
Koniu with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Paulin to score with a decent uppercut.
Koniu slips under a jab from Paulin.
Koniu scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Paulin tries a head kick but it misses.
Koniu cracks Paulin with a good jab.
Koniu lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
A slapping leg kick lands for Paulin.
Paulin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Koniu clinches.
Koniu putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Paulin in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Paulin looks winded!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A right hand to the body from Koniu.
We've been informed that Paulin has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Koniu lands a shot to the body.
Koniu lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Paulin.
Koniu lands with a left to the head.

It looks like Thierry Paulin has been cut.

Koniu breaks the clinch.
Koniu stuns Paulin with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Paulin stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Koniu.
Koniu misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koniu jabs Paulin to the body, keeping him at a distance.

Koniu clinches.
Paulin is trying to break the clinch but Koniu has him pressed against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Koniu.
Paulin prevents a body shot from Koniu.
Koniu struggles to land a body shot inside as Paulin controls his hands.
Koniu lands a nice uppercut.
Paulin lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Koniu struggles to land a body shot inside as Paulin controls his hands.

Koniu's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Paulin tries to land a front kick but Koniu steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

Koniu instigates a clinch.
A short body shot lands from Koniu as the two fighters clinch.
Koniu lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Paulin backwards.
Koniu can't find room to land a body shot as Paulin controls the action.
Paulin tries to break the clinch but Koniu is controlling the position.
Paulin is trying to break the clinch but Koniu has him pressed against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Paulin.
Koniu is stalling here.

That's two 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!
A short right from Koniu on the inside.

Koniu breaks the clinch.
Koniu throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Paulin counters with a straight right hand.
Paulin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Koniu manages to avoid it.
Nice cross by Paulin.

It looks like Japa Koniu has been cut.
Koniu tries to clinch but Paulin is having none of it.
Paulin needs to keep his hands up - Koniu had a free shot at his head there.
Koniu chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Paulin can pounce on him.

Koniu lands a jab followed by a vicious hook that sends Paulin sprawling to the canvas. Koniu follows him down, looking for the kill. Can Paulin hang on?
Paulin controlling the position well.
Koniu is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Paulin trying to control from the bottom.
Paulin is holding on to half guard well.
Koniu is looking to stand up but he'll have to free his leg first. Instead, Paulin manages to get to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koniu wants to stand but Paulin is controlling his posture from full guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Paulin holds on and takes a little breather.

Koniu stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Koniu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Paulin is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
The fighters circling - Paulin throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Paulin throws a sloppy head kick and Koniu moves out of range easily.
A solid leg kick lands there for Koniu.
Paulin misses with a left hand
and Koniu counters with a leg kick.
Koniu throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Paulin.
Koniu moves in looking to clinch but Paulin pushes him off.

Koniu moves into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koniu working aggressively here.
Paulin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Koniu has a couple of punches blocked by Paulin.
Paulin lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Koniu backwards.
Paulin lands a right hand.
Koniu goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Paulin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Koniu takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Paulin throws a jab but it's blocked by Koniu.
Koniu uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Paulin.
Paulin throws a jab when Koniu was well out of range.
Paulin lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Paulin is looking to land body kicks.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Paulin swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Koniu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Paulin.
Koniu tries to bum rush Paulin with a series of wild strikes but Paulin uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Koniu comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Japa Koniu dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Koniu avoids the head kick by Paulin.

Koniu gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Paulin.
Koniu tries to throw a body punch but Paulin avoids it by throwing Koniu back against the cage.
Koniu is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Paulin can do to turn this around?
Koniu manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Paulin lands a hook that snaps the head of Koniu backwards.
Paulin tries to work over Koniu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Koniu works on Paulin's body with a couple of short punches.
Koniu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Koniu breaks the clinch.
Paulin keeps the fight on the outside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Koniu tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Paulin manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Koniu closes the distance and pushes Paulin back into the cage.

Paulin breaks the clinch.
Koniu moves in looking to clinch but Paulin pushes him off.
Koniu tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Paulin.
Paulin tries to circle away but Koniu has him pinned against the cage.
Japa Koniu has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Paulin is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A short body shot lands from Koniu as the two fighters clinch.
Paulin is breathing heavily.
Paulin prevents a body shot from Koniu.
Good body shot from Koniu.

Koniu breaks from the clinch.
Paulin takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Koniu tries to close the distance and clinch up but Paulin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Koniu steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Paulin.
And Koniu counters with a quick kick to the body but Paulin blocks it.
No joy there for Koniu, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
The fight stays on the outside here - Koniu looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Paulin looks to land a left hand but Koniu moved out of range nicely.
Koniu tries to close the distance and clinch up but Paulin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Paulin takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Japa Koniu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Koniu. That's going to slow Paulin down.
Koniu stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Koniu misses with an attempted mid kick.
Paulin tries a quick counter leg kick but Koniu is wise to it.
Paulin fails to land with a series of punches.
Japa Koniu is winning the standup battle so far.

Koniu moves into the clinch successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Paulin avoiding damage as Koniu throws knees to the body.
Koniu working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Koniu stalling in the clinch.
Koniu throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Paulins head.
Koniu leaning his opponent against the cage.
Koniu trying to stall but Paulin improves his position.
Our sources have told us that Koniu has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
Koniu lands with a light punch inside.
Koniu with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

Koniu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Koniu moves away from the strike by Paulin.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paulin takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Koniu is looking to clinch.
Koniu will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Koniu drops Paulin with a nice combination! Koniu dives into Paulin's guard, looking to finish!

Paulin is rocked!

That has opened up Thierry Paulin's cut even more.

Koniu stands up and waves to Paulin to follow him.
Paulin is still on wobbly legs! Can Koniu finish him?
Paulin changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Koniu takes the fight into the clinch.
Paulin seems to have recovered his senses.
Koniu keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Paulin's efforts to push away.
A body shot lands from Koniu.

Koniu breaks from the clinch.
Koniu fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Koniu moves into the clinch successfully.
Paulin on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A short right from Koniu.
Paulin tries to work over Koniu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Paulin struggles to land a body shot inside as Koniu controls his hands.

Koniu's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Good work by Koniu as he checks the leg kick.
Koniu swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Paulin.
Koniu blocks a jab.
Paulin thows a leg kick but Koniu checks it

and Koniu lands a stunning uppercut that sends Paulin to the mat!
Paulin is looking for a sweep. Koniu is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Koniu decides to return to a standing position.
Koniu takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice uppercut lands for Paulin. That snapped Koniu's head back.
Paulin tries a head kick but it misses.
Koniu comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Koniu throws a left jab followed by a right to the body, Oh Paulin colapses and takes a barrage of punches from Koniu as he moves to mount! the ref stops the fight and Paulin is left battered and dazed whilst Koniu and his camp cheer!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Japa Koniu!
A victorious Japa Koniu thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.