PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between James River (ranked 5891 p4p, 24415 weight class) and Uchima Gonshiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Uchima Gonshiro has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

River
vs
Gonshiro

170 cm
18
145
0 - 1 - 0

170 cm
23
135
3 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, James River !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Uchima Gonshiro!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, John Kavanagh and Lou da Vinci.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gonshiro uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by River .

Gonshiro gets a double leg takedown into River 's guard.
Gonshiro pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. River is keeping the position for now.
Gonshiro preventing the sweep.
Gonshiro tries to free his leg and advance position but River is retaining full guard.
River wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
River 's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Gonshiro stands and throws River 's legs to the side, diving into side control.
River is looking for a sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
River is trying to control Gonshiro's posture but Gonshiro avoids it.
River sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Gonshiro looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
River is looking for a sweep. Gonshiro is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

River looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Gonshiro is sneakily working for an arm triangle but River sees it coming and defends easily.

Gonshiro seems to be looking for submissions.
River is controlling Gonshiro's trapped leg to prevent Gonshiro from advancing to side control.

Gonshiro is working for a kimura but River is defending it quite comfortably.
River is doing well to control the position and prevent Gonshiro from advancing to side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
River tries to roll over but Gonshiro keeps him under control.

Gonshiro is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so River is just riding it out for now. Gonshiro eventually gives up the hold.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gonshiro trying to pass the guard but River defending well.
River controlling the position well.
Gonshiro trying to pass the guard but River defending well.

Gonshiro is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gonshiro is trying to work for a kimura but River is defending well.
River tries to roll over but Gonshiro keeps him under control.

River looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
River tries to roll over but Gonshiro keeps him under control.

Gonshiro is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. River doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gonshiro.

Gonshiro is working for a kimura but River is defending it quite comfortably.

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.

Gonshiro is sneakily working for an arm triangle but River sees it coming and defends easily.
River controlling the position well.

Gonshiro is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. River doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gonshiro.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gonshiro 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.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Uchima Gonshiro dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

River dives in and scores a takedown into Gonshiro's guard.
River wants to stand but Gonshiro is controlling his posture from full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gonshiro is on top in guard.

Gonshiro stops River from standing up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gonshiro is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as River holds on and takes a little breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
River continues to stall.
Gonshiro preventing the sweep.
Gonshiro passes River 's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Gonshiro is working for a submission of some sort.

Gonshiro is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
River keeping hold of Gonshiro's head, controlling as best he can.
Gonshiro blocks the strikes from River .

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Gonshiro is thwarting River 's attempts to control the position.

River is defending against the submission attempts here by Gonshiro.
Gonshiro prevents River from improving his position.
River controlling the position well.

Gonshiro is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
River gets full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
River is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Gonshiro looking to pass the guard.

Gonshiro has gone for a leg lock! River slips out almost immediately though and dives into Gonshiro's guard.

River keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gonshiro's head.
River knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gonshiro on the ground.
River stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gonshiro swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gonshiro being controlled here, momentarily.

Gonshiro has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but River can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
River controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Gonshiro is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. River is aware though and is defending well.

Gonshiro looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but River is defending well. Gonshiro quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! River has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Gonshiro celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:48 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Uchima Gonshiro!