PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Snail Tail (ranked 1400 p4p, 2300 weight class) and Lazuran Riku (ranked 188 p4p, 294 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Tail might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Tail
vs
Riku

173 cm
28
160
11 - 4 - 0

175 cm
50
163
51 - 25 - 2

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Snail Tail!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 51 - 25 - 2, fighting out of New York, Lazuran Riku!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Eliza Hachem and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Riku smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Riku fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Tail manages to avoid it.
Tail wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Riku throws a looping overhand right but Tail ducks down to avoid it.
Tail looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Riku clobbers Tail with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Riku throws a leg kick

and Tail counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Riku pushes Tail off and gets back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Riku misses with a lunging right hand

and Tail counters with a takedown into side control.

Riku explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Tail blocks a leg kick.
Tail is looking to counter the offense by Riku and move into the clinch.
Riku wants to slow Tail down by chopping away at his legs.
Tail tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Riku manages to circle out of the way.
Riku works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tail uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Riku.
Tail wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Tail staying out of range there.
Tail tries to counter by clinching up but Riku breaks away and moves out of range.
Riku misses with a leg kick

and Tail counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Riku pushes Tail off and gets back to his feet.
Riku bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Tail's head backwards.
Riku looks to land a right hand but Tail moved out of range.
Lazuran Riku seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riku scores with a jab to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Horrible takedown attempt by Tail or perhaps it was just good defense by Riku, which made it look bad.
Both fighters circling a little - Riku finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Tail shoots in but no luck this time.
Riku jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.

It looks like Snail Tail has been cut.
Riku misses with a low kick.
Tail ducks under a wild hook from Riku.
Tail tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Riku manages to circle out of the way.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riku misses with a leg kick

so Tail counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Riku controlling the position.
Riku wants to get back to his feet but Tail is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tail stands and throws Riku's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Tail wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Riku, who protects the arm well.

Tail is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Riku has escaped the position, nice work there.
Riku is not content to let Tail control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tail working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Tail trying to control the position but Riku is working away.
Riku is looking for a sweep.
Tail trying to control the action but Riku is working from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lazuran Riku dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Snail Tail's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Riku misses with a lunging right hand

and Tail counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Tail.

Tail escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Tail drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Riku has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Tail is stalling in the full guard.
Tail stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Riku swivels though and keeps the full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tail prevents Riku from getting back to his feet.
Riku is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Riku is on top in guard.

Riku stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tail swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Riku is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Riku missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Riku is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Tail is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Tail is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Lazuran Riku has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Tail throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Riku working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Riku slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Riku preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tail trying to control the position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Riku throws a chopping leg kick but Tail manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Riku goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Tail shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Riku sprawls well. Riku wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Tail gets slowly back to his feet.
Riku wants to slow Tail down by chopping away at his legs.
Tail wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riku connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Tail momentarily.
Riku misses with a body punch

and Tail counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Riku misses with a hook to the ribs.
Riku lands an uppercut.
Riku has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Riku breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Riku misses with a low kick.
Lazuran Riku seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Riku swings widly with a right hand

and Tail moves into the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Riku creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Tail has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Riku avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Tail is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Riku to keep the fight standing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lazuran Riku showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Snail Tail's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Tail staying out of range there.
Tail has his takedown stuffed
and Riku counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Tail walks into a stiff left hand from Riku.
Riku misses with a double jab

and Tail counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Riku is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Tail dives into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tail is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Riku is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Tail tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riku is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Tail is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Riku is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Riku is trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Tail slows the pace down.
Riku is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Tail wants to lay and pray for a moment but Riku keeps working.

Tail is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Riku has escaped the position, nice work there.
Riku tries to bench press Tail off him but Tail keeps the position.
Riku bucks up and tries to throw Tail off but instead Tail has got his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riku wants to get back to his feet.

Tail is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Riku is defending well though. Tail let's go of the attempt for now.

Tail working for a choke but Riku is defending well.
Tail wants to control but Riku is keeping busy.
Riku tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tail trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Riku doesn't escape.

Tail is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Riku defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

Riku is trying to defend against the choke here but Tail has an arm under his chin. This one might not last much longer. Tail Tightens the hold and Riku taps out furiously! Tail displays superior BJJ to win the fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:47 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Snail Tail!
In his post fight interview, Snail Tail started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.