PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Astro Traveller (ranked 403 p4p, 172 weight class) and Santosh Nagasaki (ranked 21 p4p, 9 weight class). Traveller comes to the cage accompanied by For Heavy Metal we will die!. Nagasaki has chosen Execute Plan: Nuclear Tortoise as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Traveller
vs
Nagasaki

175 cm
30
142
11 - 8 - 1

170 cm
35
144
28 - 19 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

SynCity Fightwear
Heavy Metal Drugs

Urban Fighter
Altitude Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Astro Traveller!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 19 - 0, fighting out of New York, Santosh Nagasaki!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shigeki Sano and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Nagasaki gets a clinch.
Nagasaki keeps control of Traveller as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Nagasaki blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nagasaki has Traveller pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Traveller manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Nagasaki swings wildly with an uppercut but Traveller uses good head movement to avoid it.
A body shot lands from Traveller.
Nagasaki takes a shot to the head.
Traveller has a couple of punches blocked by Nagasaki.
Traveller blocks an uppercut.
Traveller takes a shot to the head.
Nagasaki blocking some punches.
I was talking to Traveller's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Nagasaki keeps control of Traveller as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Nagasaki misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Traveller fails to land.
Nagasaki is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Traveller tries a body shot but Nagasaki blocks it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Nagasaki.
Traveller goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nagasaki scores with a shot to the side of Traveller's head.
Traveller misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Traveller can't find room to land a body shot as Nagasaki controls the action.
Traveller lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nagasaki working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Nagasaki blocking some punches.
Traveller doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Nagasaki.
Nagasaki lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Traveller or not.
A nice left hand lands by Traveller.
Traveller has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A head punch on the inside from Nagasaki fails to land.
Nagasaki blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Traveller throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Nagasaki.
Nagasaki lands a body shot.
Nagasaki scores with a hook to the body.
Nagasaki working aggressively here.
Nagasaki lands with a short shot to the head.
Traveller working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Traveller scores with a nice hook to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Traveller.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Traveller throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nagasaki has Traveller pressed against the cage, preventing Traveller from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
A short right from Traveller.
Nagasaki lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Traveller scores with a shot to the side of Nagasaki's head.
Traveller blocks an uppercut.
Traveller misses with the head strike.
Nagasaki blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nagasaki working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Nice body punch from Traveller.
Nagasaki has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Traveller seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Nagasaki can turn it around.
A short uppercut from Nagasaki.
Traveller tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Traveller has a couple of punches blocked by Nagasaki.
Traveller lands a body punch.
Nagasaki lands a left hand.
Nagasaki tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Traveller breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nagasaki misses with a two punch combination.
Nagasaki lands a nice shot to the body.
Traveller fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Nagasaki avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A clash of legs there as Traveller blocks the low kick.
Traveller throws a jab when Nagasaki was well out of range.
Traveller lands a nice shot to the body.
Traveller lunges at Nagasaki with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Nagasaki's hand.
Nagasaki throws a wild body kick that Traveller sees coming a mile off.
Nagasaki blocks a low kick nicely.
Traveller is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Traveller takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Nagasaki is trying hard to land a takedown here. Traveller sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Astro Traveller has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Santosh Nagasaki.
Traveller lands a lovely overhand right.
Nagasaki throws a poor cross that misses
and Traveller counters with a straight right hand.
Traveller throws a big shot that misses.
Traveller uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nagasaki.
Nagasaki throws a hook to the side of Traveller's head but Traveller sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Traveller feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Nagasaki throws a lazy uppercut
and Traveller counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's four 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!
Nagasaki tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Traveller manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Santosh Nagasaki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nagasaki looks to land a left hand but Traveller moved out of range nicely.
Decent striking displayed by Nagasaki there.
Nagasaki ducks under a wild hook from Traveller.
Nagasaki slips a jab from Traveller.
Nagasaki is looking to clinch.
Nagasaki throws out a loose jab but Traveller uses good head movement to avoid it.
Good standup being displayed there by Traveller as he connects with a hook.

Traveller gets caught napping as Nagasaki dives in and scores a takedown. Traveller manages to retain guard.
Traveller is looking to stand back up but Nagasaki counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Traveller.
Traveller tries to kick Nagasaki off but Nagasaki keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Nagasaki is looking to take a break and control but Traveller is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nagasaki sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Traveller defending well though.
Traveller wants to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Astro Traveller dominated that round.
That's time! Traveller's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Traveller clinches with his opponent.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nagasaki.
Astro Traveller has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Traveller doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Traveller gets through Nagasaki's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Nice body punch from Nagasaki.
Nagasaki swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Traveller blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Traveller lands a hook that snaps the head of Nagasaki backwards.
Traveller fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Nagasaki has a couple of punches blocked by Traveller.
Traveller swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Traveller blocking some punches.
Nagasaki lands a shoulder strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Traveller presses Nagasaki against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Traveller swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nagasaki can't get the takedown.
Traveller misses with a punch on the inside.
Nagasaki misses with a body punch.
Traveller softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Traveller has a couple of punches blocked by Nagasaki.
Traveller is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nagasaki can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nagasaki is looking to take this one to the mat.
Nagasaki doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Traveller manages to break the clinch.
Astro Traveller is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Traveller fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Traveller throws a body shot but no joy.
Nagasaki with the counter takedown but Traveller avoids it easily.
The crowd cheers as Traveller lands an impressive looking overhand right. Nagasaki doesn't seem phased though.
Nagasaki looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Nagasaki dives in for a single leg takedown but Traveller sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Astro Traveller has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Santosh Nagasaki.
Nagasaki closes this distance looking for a takedown but Traveller circles away.
Traveller misses the jab.
Nagasaki is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nagasaki has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Traveller.
Traveller scores with a body shot.
Nagasaki cracks Traveller with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Traveller uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nagasaki.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Nagasaki.
Astro Traveller is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nagasaki takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Traveller has Nagasaki up against the cage in a clinch.
Nagasaki throws a head punch that misses.
Traveller misses with a punch to the body.
Traveller lands a hook that snaps the head of Nagasaki backwards.
Traveller misses with a short punch on the inside.
Traveller swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nagasaki misses with a body punch.

Traveller breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nagasaki tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nagasaki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Traveller manages to avoid it.
The fighters circling - Nagasaki throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nagasaki dives in and grabs Traveller's left leg, looking for a takedown. Traveller pushes down on Nagasaki's head and hops out.
Traveller seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Traveller throws a low kick but it's checked well by Nagasaki.
Nagasaki throws a big shot that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A chopping leg kick lands by Traveller.
Traveller lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Nagasaki at a distance.
Nagasaki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nagasaki looks to land a right hand but Traveller moved out of range.
Traveller lands with a cross.
Traveller tries to clinch
and Nagasaki counters with a leg kick.
Nagasaki misses with an uppercut
and Traveller counters with a stiff right hand.
Nagasaki rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Traveller counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Traveller uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nagasaki.
Nagasaki wants to clinch.
Traveller tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A nice leg kick from Traveller, right into the meat of the thigh.
Traveller connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A slow jab from Nagasaki misses its intended target.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Traveller misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nagasaki takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Traveller tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Traveller slips under a jab from Nagasaki.
A cross from Traveller lands.
Nagasaki throws a big shot that misses.
A jab from Nagasaki misses.
Traveller takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Traveller walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Nagasaki throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Nagasaki closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Traveller wants to get back to his feet but Nagasaki drags him back down.
Nagasaki has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Nagasaki landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Traveller is trying to buck Nagasaki off.
Nagasaki misses with the ground and pound.
Nagasaki wants to control but Traveller is keeping him busy.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Astro Traveller dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Nagasaki shoots for a takedown but Traveller saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nagasaki waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Traveller.
Traveller moves out of range as Nagasaki throws a body kick.
Traveller appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Nagasaki misses the shot to the body.
Traveller looks to land a right hand but Nagasaki moved out of range.
Nagasaki slips under a jab from Traveller.

Nagasaki closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Traveller did well to prevent Nagasaki getting side control.
Traveller wants to get back to his feet.

Traveller kicks Nagasaki off and gets back to his feet.
Nagasaki shoots in looking for a takedown but Traveller manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Nagasaki's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Traveller lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nagasaki fails with the takedown
and Traveller counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Astro Traveller has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Santosh Nagasaki.
Nagasaki blocks a jab.
Traveller takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Traveller lands with a nice body punch.

Traveller moves into the clinch.
Nagasaki lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Traveller presses Nagasaki against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Nagasaki throws a head punch that misses.
Traveller lands a shoulder strike.
Traveller misses with the head strike.
Nagasaki working aggressively here.
Traveller prevents a body shot from Nagasaki.
Traveller working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A nice right hand lands inside from Nagasaki.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Traveller.
A head punch on the inside from Nagasaki fails to land.
Nagasaki fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Nagasaki misses with the head strike.
Traveller swings wildly with an uppercut but Nagasaki uses good head movement to avoid it.
A nice right hand lands inside from Traveller.
Nagasaki swings wildly with an uppercut but Traveller uses good head movement to avoid it.
Traveller tries to work over Nagasaki's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nagasaki swings wildly with an uppercut but Traveller uses good head movement to avoid it.
Traveller wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Traveller.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Nagasaki.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Traveller.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Traveller swings wildly with an uppercut but Nagasaki uses good head movement to avoid it.
Traveller working aggressively here.
Traveller throws a punch but it's blocked by Nagasaki.
Traveller tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch on the inside from Traveller fails to land.
Traveller has a couple of punches blocked by Nagasaki.
Traveller prevents the takedown attempt.
Traveller lands with a right to the head.
A right hook to the body lands for Traveller.
Traveller misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Nagasaki fails to land.
Traveller misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Traveller gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Nagasaki.
Traveller lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Traveller misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nagasaki drops down looking for an ankle pick but Traveller pulls his leg out and moves away.
Traveller connects with an inside leg kick.
Traveller throws a head kick but Nagasaki moves out of range.
Traveller lands a jab to the nose.
A big left from Nagasaki misses.
Traveller slips under a jab.
Traveller with the inside leg kick.

Nagasaki has taken the fight to the clinch.
Traveller is trying to break the clinch but Nagasaki has him pressed against the cage.
Traveller blocks a body shot from Nagasaki.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nagasaki.
Santosh Nagasaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nagasaki misses with a punch on the inside.
Traveller lands a right hand that snaps the head of Nagasaki backwards.
Nagasaki is working for takedown but Traveller is calmly controlling the position for now.
Nagasaki throws a head punch that misses.
A short uppercut from Traveller.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Traveller blocking some punches.
Traveller blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Traveller doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Nagasaki misses with some punches.
Traveller misses with a punch on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Nagasaki.
Traveller wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A head punch on the inside from Traveller fails to land.
Traveller blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Traveller prevents a body shot from Nagasaki.
Traveller can't find room to land a body shot as Nagasaki controls the action.
A body shot lands from Traveller.
Nagasaki has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Traveller avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Nagasaki blocking some punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Astro Traveller showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Traveller, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Astro Traveller!
Astro Traveller decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.