This was a fight fought over 4 rounds between two unbeaten fighters in Kiydin and Ahio. The fight didn’t last past two minutes but I thought it was an interesting one as what looks like a slug fest actually involved two different game plans with both of them having success in such a short amount of time.

Ahio comes out fast and throws a jab to the body and then to the head but Kiydin predicts the second jab and slips to the left while throwing out his own jab which is used to get out of range and reset. As Ahio comes forward again Kiydin recognizes that Ahio is going to throw another jab due to him putting his weight on his front foot. Timing it perfectly he throws a 1-2 that nails Ahio as he starts throwing his jab. Kiydin then uses the position of his back foot to evade Ahio’s counter.

Both exchange hooks as Ahio looks to get on the inside which he successfully manages to do. He throws a short left hook with no power on it (this will be important later) before going back into a high guard right in front of Kiydin who throws an uppercut and a right hook before attempting to swing out of range like he did in the first clip. Ahio predicts that Kiydin is going to circle out and throws a short hook that catches him flush as he attempts to move out of range with his hands down.

I think Ahio’s plan of swarming Kiydin and giving him less time to think was a good adjustment after getting hit by the 1-2 earlier in the round. This gives Ahio all the advantages as his high guard blocks Kiydin’s shots which he can’t get proper torque on anyway and also enables him to throw short hooks both while Kiydin is in front of him and while hes attempting to circle out of range.

Kiydin begins by boxing in a tight circle and using his jab to find his range before unleashing a lead uppercut which Ahio is vulnerable to due to his high guard. He throws an overhand right after it which Ahio doesn’t see but is blocked by his high guard unlike the uppercut which connected cleanly. Ahio goes to throw one of his short hooks as Kiydin moves out of range but learning from earlier Kiydin pushes Ahio away making him fall short.

In the next sequence both fighters throw but Kiydin comes out on top for two reasons. He throws his punch straight while Ahio throws a hook and so Kiydin’s punch lands first. The second reason is that he throws last and lands a nice left hook before stepping out of range with his hands up instead of down like before. Kiydin’s straight punch also disguises the hook he throws afterwards as his fist is in Ahio’s face obscuring his view of the punch that follows which catches him unaware with his high guard down

Kiydin starts off well with a good left to the body but then throws a singular jab and backs himself into a corner instead of throwing multiple jabs as he circles away which would have kept Ahio at bay. Ahio himself does a good job of pressuring Kiydin towards the corner by threatening to throw a jab and positioning himself so that if Kiydin tries to circle out he can catch him with a hook. Ahio then throws a jab forcing Kiydin further back before throwing a short left hook with no real power on it. He then throws a right hook with much more force on it as Kiydin reacts to the left hook. As he throws Kiydin attempts an uppercut but can’t get any real power on it because of Ahio crowding him. He gets caught flush with the right hook before attempting to get himself some space by pushing Ahio back.

He succeeds to an extent and throws a good body shot as they get a small amount of distance. As they begin to separate Ahio throws the short left hook again and then the right hook with much more force again afterwards. Kiydin learning from before leans back into the ropes and avoids the right hook this time. Unfortunately he makes the mistake of keeping his hands to low and Ahio catches him with a straight left hand as he comes back into range. This clearly stuns Kiydin and Ahio quickly takes advantage with one of his signature short right hooks. At this point the fight is over as Ahio measures him with his left hand before throwing another right hook which along with a short left hook after finishes the deal.

Whats interesting about this exchange and earlier ones is that Kiydin recognizes that after Ahio throws a left hook with not much on it he’ll throw a right hook with much more force. Ahio also did this earlier in the fight when he first crowded Kiydin though in that instance the right hook caught Kiydin as he was circling out instead of being stood in front of Ahio. What Kiydin wasn’t expecting was for Ahio to crowd him immediately as earlier in the fight he had stepped back before getting on the inside again. This gave Ahio an opening as Kiydin thought he was safe and had his hands down attempting to throw an uppercut from his hip. Ahio is able to take advantage of Kiydin being momentarily stunned because of his tactics of crowding Kiydin behind a high guard where he could throw short hooks without the fear of being countered by Kiydin who preferred having distance to set up his shots.

Ahio’s game plan was to get on the inside where he could use his short hooks effectively while Kiydin struggled to get any sort of power or torque on his shots. Kiydin’s plan meanwhile was to use uppercuts to get through Ahio’s high guard and circle away using a throwaway jab thus meaning Ahio couldn’t catch him with his short hooks. In the end the fight came down to Ahio implementing his game plan better and also making a slight adjustment on the last exchange which took Kiydin by surprise and secured Ahio the win.