Donnie Liboon Nietes vs. Kazuto Ioka & Hector Budler vs. Hiroto Kyōguchi RBR

Round 2

Ioka mauling Nietes, cleaving to him, busier and more effective with his body punching. Some nice slip & counter sequences by Nietes, showing off a capacity for point blank slickness, but the edge in connects is with Ioka, who is rolling his shoulders, neck and head to one side beneath some of Nietes' daredevil strafing lead rights and swaying back to dodge his uppercuts while landing nice body hooks.

10-9 Ioka

19-19

 

Round 3

Fought largely in Nietes' favored real estate, that is mostly on the outside. Ioka scoring well diving in with the odd hook reaching around to bang the liver or charging right up top, but unable to get any touches in combination. Nietes lying in wait and unleashing whip-crack ambush 1-2s alternately on the cheek and diaphragm of Ioka with no warning, keeping him in check and staving off his rushes.

10-9 Nietes

29-28 Nietes

 

Round 4

Ioka ramping up his aggression, keeping on top of Nietes but not quite necessarily profiting by this acquiescene to his preferred theater of battle. Nietes is able to present his curved spine to most of Ioka's head shots, while turning sinuously in the pocket to deflect those downstairs. Nietes is clapping Ioka on the brow with short 1-2s and looping roundhouse counter rights into his jaw after twisting clockwise above the waist for wind-up torque. Ioka with a few double uppercuts here and there but lacking full power steam as Nietes' subtle movement takes most of the steam off them.

10-9 Nietes, close

39-37 Nietes

 

Round 5

Ioka making liberal use of stutter-steps and feints, abandoning his earlier strategy and showing Nietes that he too has formidable outboxing skills. Ioka staying clear of Nietes' jab and landing his more consistently and precisely from a few paces off, circling nonstop with frequent directional changes, making the most of his edge in hand and foot speed. Nietes springs at him with pecking jabs at the chest and line drive crosses aiming for his face, but Ioka proves too unctuous, dropping his shoulder below Nietes' line of fire and feeling the whoosh of wind setting his artificially blonde locks aflutter. Lead right stepping right by Ioka, pulled halfway, it was a rise, he baby-steps left and counters Nietes' counter jab with his own jab, landing first & stiffer.

10-9 Ioka, bounceback round, MASTERFUL

48-47 Nietes

 

...is his name really short for Donatello, or you just funnin'?

 

Round 6

Ioka still working very nicely at long range. They step together and Ioka goes "Neo in the Matrix" on some not artlessly thrown Nietes jabs before prodding through his guard and tapping his chest with a double jab, followed by a grazing right cross on the mandible and finishing with a left hook slapping the hip. Nietes lands a left upper-hook while leaping inward and to his left before they catch and release each other in a clinch. Nice lead right in the pocket from Nietes as Ioka pumps away on the body, landing several. Good inside exchanges. Ioka now chases Nietes, landing quality jabs or at least dictating pace with them when blocked, and parrying Nietes'.

10-9 Ioka

57-57

 

Round 7

Ioka is now employing a happy medium of his earlier pair of tacks, floating in spirals in-and-out behind a strong jab (of variegated altitude), then imposing some physicality up close and battering Nietes' sides with hooks. Nietes is getting in plenty of nice crisp textbook counters but the Japanese fighter's volume and tenacity is somewhat drowning them out.

10-9 Ioka

67-66 Ioka