PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sensai Kuragi (ranked 1915 p4p, 2140 weight class) and Jim Melamed (ranked 272 p4p, 296 weight class). Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Kuragi
vs
Melamed

190 cm
26
195
4 - 1 - 0

180 cm
26
190
2 - 1 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Very strong

Good takedowns
Good kicks
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Sensai Kuragi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jim Melamed!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, Winston Alpacca and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Melamed swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Kuragi counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Melamed looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

Melamed looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Kuragi has picked Melamed up and slammed him! Melamed can't keep hold of the triangle and Kuragi manages to pass to side control!

Kuragi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Melamed, who protects the arm well.
Kuragi is looking to take a break and control but Melamed is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Melamed trying to remain calm as Kuragi controls from the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Melamed is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Kuragi off and has taken his back!
Kuragi needs to remain patient if he's going to get out of this sticky situation.
Melamed is hanging on to Kuragi's back as he tries to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuragi manages to reverse the position and now he's in Melamed's guard. Nice work there by Kuragi.
Kuragi trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kuragi seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Kuragi stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Melamed swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kuragi slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melamed is trying to keep Kuragi in close.
Melamed wants to sweep here but Kuragi controlling him for the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Melamed is trying to control the position but Kuragi postures up.
Kuragi trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Melamed wants to sweep but no luck.
Kuragi stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Melamed swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Melamed trying to strike off his back.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Kuragi drops back looking for a leg! Melamed is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Melamed manages to kick Kuragi off! Kuragi jumps back into Melamed's guard.
Kuragi is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melamed moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Melamed doesn't manage to clinch there - Kuragi circles away.
Melamed fails with a takedown attempt.
Melamed is looking to slow Kuragi down with leg kicks.
Melamed ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kuragi moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melamed tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Melamed lands a nice looking body kick.
Melamed lands a high kick!
Kuragi shoots in but Melamed avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Melamed instigates a clinch.
Kuragi wants to break the clinch but can't.

Kuragi gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Melamed tries to roll over but Kuragi keeps him under control.

Kuragi seems to be looking for submissions.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Kuragi is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Melamed sees it coming and defends easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Sensai Kuragi will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Melamed tries to bum rush Kuragi with a series of wild strikes but Kuragi uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kuragi feinted with a counter takedown.
Melamed fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kuragi has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kuragi takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Melamed tries to close the distance and clinch but Kuragi swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kuragi tries to counter with a takedown but Melamed is quick to defend against it.
Melamed looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Melamed throws a left and a right that both miss

and Kuragi counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Kuragi passes Melamed's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Kuragi seems to be looking for submissions.
Kuragi is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Kuragi is looking for a kimura here.

Kuragi is working for a kimura but Melamed is defending it quite comfortably.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kuragi wants to work for an arm triangle but Melamed is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Kuragi is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Kuragi wants to control but Melamed is keeping him busy.
Melamed is looking to control Kuragi's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Melamed avoid being mounted?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Kuragi wants to work for an arm triangle but Melamed is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Kuragi is working for a submission of some sort.
Melamed pushes Kuragi off looking to stand but Kuragi dives back in and keeps control.

Kuragi is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Melamed defends it well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Melamed trying to hold on to Kuragi's head to control him but Kuragi postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kuragi seems to be working for a kimura but Melamed defends the submission attempt.

Kuragi looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Kuragi definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Melamed is trying to maintain the position but Kuragi is very close to passing his half guard.
Kuragi trying to mount his opponent but Melamed defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Kuragi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Melamed has managed to free his arm - good work.

Kuragi is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Kuragi with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Kuragi passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Melamed!
Melamed keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kuragi tries to control but Melamed wriggling away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sensai Kuragi dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Melamed closes the distance and clinches up with Kuragi, looking for a takedown. Melamed pushes Kuragi against the cage but Kuragi circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Sensai Kuragi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Melamed misses with a combination

and Kuragi counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Kuragi.
Kuragi controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Melamed controls Kuragi momentarily but Kuragi frees himself.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuragi content to stall in guard here.

Melamed looking for a guillotine here but Kuragi defends easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melamed looking to control.
Sensai Kuragi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kuragi is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Kuragi has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Kuragi has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Melamed fails with a takedown attempt.
Kuragi tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Melamed manages to circle out of the way.
Kuragi steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Melamed. That one must have hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Melamed shoots in for a double leg but Kuragi sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Kuragi tries to counter by clinching up but Melamed breaks away and moves out of range.
Sensai Kuragi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jim Melamed.
Melamed throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Melamed stuffs the takedown.
A nice leg kick from Melamed, right into the meat of the thigh.
Melamed throws a lazy body kick

and Kuragi counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Kuragi.
Kuragi is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Kuragi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melamed is trying to keep Kuragi in close.
Kuragi slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Melamed can't keep his opponent in guard - Kuragi advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Kuragi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Melamed can do to turn this around?
Kuragi content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Melamed trying to control from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kuragi keeps the fight on the outside.
A head kick misses from Melamed.
Jim Melamed has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Kuragi looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sensai Kuragi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kuragi, 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 Dirk Anderson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 30:27
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sensai Kuragi!