HyeFighter Mousasi Defends His Title By TKO In The 1st Round

HyeFighter Gegard Mousasi defends his Dream Lightheavy weight championship by beating Olympic Silver Medalist in Judo Hiroshi Izumi via TKO at 3:29 of the first round.  Below is the play-by-play from the fight, and below that check out the gallery of pictures which include some exclusive behind the scenes pictures:

Round 1:
Izumi takes the first swipe with an errant left hook. Mousasi pops him with a jab and then evades another hook followed by a spinning back fist. Mousasi stuffs a takedown attempt. Mousasi maneuvers Izumi into a corner and pressures him with jabs and push kicks. Izumi tries another spinning back fist and it grazes, but does no apparent damage. Referee Kenichi Serizawa stops the bout for a moment to have Izumi put his mouthpiece back in. Mousasi starts sniping at the body now, still maneuvering the Japanese fighter around the ring. Mousasi stinging with that long jab of his, bloodying Izumi’s nose. Mousasi is looking very loose. He measures his punches, gauging the proper distance with which to unleash. After pumping a few more stiff jabs, he follows with a big right cross that puts the judoka on his back. Mousasi dives in with more punches. He picks his shots, but Izumi still manages to stand up while under fire. He leans outside the ropes in an attempt to escape while Mousasi windmills with hooks behind him. Serizawa has seen enough however and steps in for the stop. Gegard Mousasi retains the Dream light heavyweight title at 3:29 of the first round.

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