PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Maeda (ranked 521 p4p, 69 weight class) and Jao Rua (ranked 486 p4p, 63 weight class). Maeda's entrance music is Submission. A fine choice. Rua has chosen Tarantula as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Maeda
vs
Rua

169 cm
25
164 lbs
16 - 4 - 0

178 cm
33
171 lbs
15 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)
RESISTANCE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Thomas Maeda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jao Rua!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Anthony Taglia and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice uppercut lands for Maeda. That snapped Rua's head back.

Maeda drives through with a takedown into Rua's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Maeda being controlled here momentarily.

Rua manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Maeda doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Maeda jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rua walks away with a smile on his face. Maeda gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Rua takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Maeda shoots in for a takedown but Rua shows good takedown defense.
Maeda looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Maeda looks to land a right hand but Rua moved out of range.
Good shot there by Rua.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rua scores with a jab to the body.
Maeda fails in his attempt to clinch.
Maeda swings for the body but Rua moves out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rua! But no joy.
Rua staying out of range there.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rua! But no joy.

Maeda shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Maeda was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Maeda is chipping away with strikes.
Rua gets back to half guard.

Maeda is trying to work for a kimura but Rua is defending well.

Maeda is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Rua is just riding it out for now. Maeda eventually gives up the hold.

Rua pushes Maeda off and gets back to his feet.
A big left from Rua misses.
Rua walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Maeda tries to clinch up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua moves out of range of the strikes.
Rua keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Maeda.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rua! But no joy.
Rua uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Maeda.
Rua defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Maeda.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Maeda. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Maeda tries to clinch but Rua moves out of range.
Maeda tries to clinch up but Rua circles away and keeps his distance.
Rua misses with a straight left.

Maeda gets the takedown into side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rua wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

Maeda is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Rua is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Rua is trying to get back to his feet.

Maeda tries for a kimura but Rua is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maeda thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Maeda goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Rua has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Maeda but great work by Rua.
Maeda wants to control but Rua postures up.
Rua wants to control but Maeda is keeping him busy.
Rua staying calm.

Rua thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Maeda tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maeda is letting Rua control him for a moment.

Rua decides to stand back up.
Maeda shoots in for a double leg but Rua sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Maeda looks to land a right hand but Rua moved out of range.
Rua misses with a double jab
and Maeda counters with a nice body shot.
Rua is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Maeda.
Maeda will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Maeda tries to clinch there but Rua circles away.
Rua misses with a looping right.
Maeda appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jao Rua dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Rua connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Maeda fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rua avoids it really well and circles away.
Maeda scores with a nice right hand.
Maeda fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rua! But no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rua goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
A telegraphed right hand from Rua misses the target.
Maeda swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Maeda fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rua manages to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maeda lands a slapping body shot.
Maeda looks to throw the jab but Rua is out of range.
Rua smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Maeda lands with a straight right. Rua didn't see that one coming.
Rua has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Maeda tries to clinch but Rua is having none of it.
Jao Rua seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Maeda misses with a looping left.
A little jabbing left from Rua on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Maeda scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Rua explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Maeda misses with an uppercut. Rua saw that one coming.
Rua misses with a looping left.
Maeda was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Maeda looks to throw the jab but Rua is out of range.
Rua looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Maeda throws a body punch but Rua moves out of range.
Rua misses with a straight right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua misses with a hook. Maeda ducked under it nicely.
Rua tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Maeda connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Maeda moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nice defenses there by Maeda.

Maeda moves into the clinch successfully.
Maeda can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Maeda. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Maeda is trying to drag Rua to the mat but Rua just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Maeda tries to pull guard but Rua won't allow it.

Rua pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rua swats away the attempt to clinch by Maeda.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Maeda. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Maeda.
Maeda keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Maeda lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Maeda walks into a stiff left hand from Rua.
Rua listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Jao Rua is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice shot by Maeda.
Maeda misses with a shot to the body
and Rua connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rua takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Rua might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Rua ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Maeda tries to clinch but Rua is having none of it.
Maeda cracks Rua with an open hand slap.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maeda pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maeda has his takedown stuffed

and Rua counters with a crisp right hand that drops Maeda! Rua lets Maeda back up to his feet, looking for a finish!

Maeda is rocked!
Both fighters step back and shake their arms out. Rua engages and cracks Maeda with a massive lead left hook - Maeda tumbles to the floor, out cold! What a shot! Rua is delighted - all that hard work in training paid off!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:18 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Jao Rua!
A victorious Jao Rua thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.
The defeated Thomas Maeda had this to say: 'Through Japanese translator to English. "My opponent was better today. I will not underestimate him next time"'.