PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Keizo Sawaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ari Gold (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sawaki comes to the ring accompanied by Kodo by Yoshida Brothers. Ari Gold is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Sawaki
vs
Gold

175 cm
22
155 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

178 cm
24
148 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

NATURAL BEAST

MMA's Best Nutrition The PIT INC

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Keizo Sawaki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ari Gold!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Yukihiro Shimada and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gold fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
A telegraphed right hand from Sawaki misses the target.
Sawaki swings for the body but Gold moves out of range.
Gold is looking to slow Sawaki down with leg kicks.
Gold lands with a kick to the temple. Sawaki shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sawaki tries to clinch but Gold moves out of range.
Gold throws a hook to the side of Sawaki's head but Sawaki sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Gold wants to land a leg kick but Sawaki is out of range.
Ari Gold seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sawaki throws a hook to the side of Gold's head but Gold sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Gold rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Sawaki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A jab from Gold does it's job there.

Sawaki feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Gold escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sawaki gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Sawaki wants to control from the top but Gold keeps moving.

Sawaki drops back, looking for a kneebar! Gold looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Gold looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Gold!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gold wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sawaki keeps working.

Gold working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Sawaki tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Gold easily slips into full mount!

That's two 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.

Gold goes for an armbar but Sawaki turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Sawaki.
Sawaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Gold is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Gold tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Gold has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gold stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Gold misses with the combination.
Sawaki showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gold.
Gold wants to land a leg kick but Sawaki is out of range.

Sawaki closes the distance and clinches.

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.
Sawaki lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Sawaki leaning against his opponent.
Still in the clinch, Gold scores with a nice short uppercut.
Gold misses with a hook from the clinch.
Gold throws a head punch that misses.
Gold is trying to break the clinch but Sawaki is controlling him.
Sawaki tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sawaki tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gold's elbow.
Gold lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Sawaki working Gold over with knees to the body.
Sawaki taking a breather.
Sawaki taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Sawaki prevents Gold from breaking the clinch.
Sawaki drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Gold gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Gold lands a left hand.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Gold.
Gold lands a right hand.
Sawaki is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Sawaki can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Sawaki seems a little flustered. He's come in with the intention of controlling the clinch but Gold is preventing him from doing so, at least for the moment.
Gold throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.

Gold breaks from the clinch.
Ari Gold is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sawaki has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gold finds it's way round the side to connect with Sawaki's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ari Gold dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Sawaki takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Sawaki showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gold.
Gold cracks Sawaki with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the ropes.
Gold throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Sawaki on the side of the head.
Gold scores with the left hand. Sawaki knows he should have avoided that one.
Gold moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Gold.
Gold takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Ari Gold is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Gold with a jab.
Sawaki closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Gold scores with a jab.

Sawaki forces Gold back against the ropes and clinches.
Sawaki tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Gold avoids it.
Gold wants to break the clinch but can't.
A head punch on the inside from Gold fails to land.
Sawaki blocks an uppercut.
Sawaki swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sawaki misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Gold.
Sawaki tries to land knees in the clinch but Gold avoids the damage to the body.
Sawaki pushes Gold back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gold.

Gold pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gold lands a head kick. Sawaki smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Gold connects with a jab.
Sawaki ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gold moves away.
Gold moves out of range as Sawaki strikes.
Gold lands a body shot.
Sawaki takes a jab right on the kisser.
Gold connects with a good right hand that stumbles Sawaki. Sawaki circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Gold fails to land with a series of punches.
Gold scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Gold throws a leg kick which misses Sawaki's front leg but catches the back leg as Sawaki tries to avoid it.
Gold throws a head kick that misses.
Sawaki gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Gold moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Gold comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Sawaki on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Gold lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Gold throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Sawaki walks into a straight right hand from Gold.
Sawaki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gold lands a really nice looking cross but Sawaki seems unphased.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Gold.
Gold lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Gold lands a really nice looking cross but Sawaki seems unphased.
A chopping leg kick lands by Gold.
Gold connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gold fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
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!
Sawaki closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Gold cracks Sawaki with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Sawaki throws a low kick but Gold avoids it.
Gold feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Sawaki's calf.
Gold scores with a jab to the jaw.
Sawaki thows a body shot but no joy.
Sawaki avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sawaki takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Gold fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Gold swinging wilding here.
Sawaki takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Gold throws a nice looking combination but Sawaki bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Gold.
Sawaki has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Gold.
Gold scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Gold lands with a thumping leg kick.
Gold throws a nice outside leg kick.
Sawaki misses with an uppercut. Gold saw that one coming.
Gold scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Sawaki walks into a left hand.
Gold fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Sawaki on the side of the head.
Gold scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Gold connects with a nice looking jab.
Gold scores with a jab. Sawaki acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Sawaki gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Gold.
Nice straight punches there by Gold. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Gold.
Gold scoring well with a low kick there.
Gold avoids the body shot from Sawaki.
Gold digs a good body shot into Sawaki's ribs.
Sawaki wants to clinch.
Sawaki is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Sawaki lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Gold has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Gold and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Gold lands a jab to the head.
Sawaki is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Gold wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Gold lands with a nice combination. Sawaki backs away looking to recover.
Sawaki finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sawaki takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Sawaki looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Gold takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Sawaki takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gold connects with a body shot.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gold. That's going to slow Sawaki down.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gold throws a nice inside leg kick.
Gold moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Gold turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gold scores with a jab to the head.
Sawaki closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Gold with a nice cross.
Gold connects with the punch.
Sawaki tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ari Gold showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gold scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Sawaki tries to clinch there but Gold circles away.
Ari Gold seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Nice uppercut there from Gold.
Sawaki connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gold throws a combination. Sawaki tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Sawaki takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Gold lands an overhand right.
A lazy left from Gold finds it's target.
Gold lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Gold.
Sawaki has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gold finds it's way round the side to connect with Sawaki's head.
Gold throws a nice inside leg kick.
Gold throws a quick inside leg kick.
Sawaki takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Gold connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Sawaki's hands.
Gold scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Gold throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Gold throws a quick inside leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A punch lands to the side of Sawaki 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Sawaki takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
The crowd cheers as Gold lands an impressive looking overhand right. Sawaki doesn't seem phased though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sawaki throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gold comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Gold turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Gold works over Sawaki's head and body with a nice combination.
Gold defending well as Sawaki loads up on a big left hand.

Sawaki moves into the clinch.
Gold softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.

Gold pulls guard.
Gold wants to stand but Sawaki is controlling the position.
Gold is looking to stand back up but Sawaki counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Gold.

Gold actively working from the bottom here.
Gold is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Keizo Sawaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gold has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gold tries to kick Sawaki off but Sawaki keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Sawaki is looking to pass Gold's guard but actually Gold recovers to full guard.
Sawaki trying to control but Gold is working from the bottom.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gold is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sawaki is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Gold trying to control but Sawaki is working from the bottom.
Gold trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sawaki's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sawaki is striking from the bottom but Gold uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Gold trying to control the action but Sawaki is working from the bottom.
It looks like Gold is going to stand back up.
Sawaki throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ari Gold comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Gold winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 26:30
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 26:30
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ari Gold!