PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Katsu Imai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Saddam Hussain (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hussain has chosen Wicked as his entrance music. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Imai
vs
Hussain

185 cm
18
211 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
21
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Katsu Imai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Saddam Hussain!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Alexandre Firmino and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hussain scores with a leg kick.
Imai tries to clinch but Hussain moves out of range.
Imai uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hussain.
Hussain tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hussain shoots in but no luck this time.
Hussain changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Hussain throws a chopping leg kick but Imai manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Imai tries to clinch up.
Imai tries for a takedown but Hussain circles away easily
and Hussain counters with a lovely shot to the body.

Hussain gets a takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hussain keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Hussain trying to control from half guard but Imai is working away.
Imai trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussain prevents Imai from improving his position.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hussain connects with a nice short shot to Imai's temple.
Imai is looking to improve his position.
Hussain tries to pass to full mount but Imai defends it.
Hussain not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Hussain is trying to control the action in half guard but Imai is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hussain is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Hussain is trying to control the action in half guard but Imai is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Imai trying to control here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hussain controlling the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Imai gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Hussain counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Saddam Hussain seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Imai is breathing heavily.
Hussain tries to clinch but Imai moves out of range.
Hussain tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Imai counters with a nice double leg into side control. Hussain won't be happy with that.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hussain tries to improve position but can't.
Hussain sneaks back into half guard.
Hussain wants to get back to his feet.
Hussain tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Hussain is looking to control Imai's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hussain avoid being mounted?
Imai prevents Hussain from improving his position.
Hussain wants to control but Imai is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hussain tries to roll over but Imai keeps him under control.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Imai misses with a takedown attempt

and Hussain counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Imai's guard now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Katsu Imai. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hussain slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Imai tries to strike from the bottom.

Imai has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hussain can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Imai being controlled here, momentarily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hussain looking to sit in guard and control but Imai gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Imai wants to control from the top but Hussain keeps moving.

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

Hussain wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Imai, who protects the arm well.
Imai tries to buck Hussain off but Hussain is having none of it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hussain controls the position.
Imai stops Hussain from passing to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saddam Hussain dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Imai gets the takedown into side control.
Hussain looks to move to half guard but instead Imai has passed into mount! Damn!
Hussain can't escape the position.
Hussain regains half guard.

Imai is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Hussain doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Imai.
Hussain is positioning himself well to prevent Imai advancing to mount.
Imai wants to pass to mount but Hussain is defending the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussain wants to improve his position but Imai is controlling well.
Saddam Hussain has got the better of the ground game so far.
Imai is thwarting Hussain's attempts to control the position.
Hussain keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Hussain regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hussain is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Imai thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Hussain has an active guard here but Imai has managed to pass into half guard.

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.
Hussain is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Imai sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Hussain defending well though.
Imai wants to free his trapped foot but Hussain is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Imai wants to control but Hussain is keeping him busy.

Hussain looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Hussain tries to get to full guard but Imai has control of the leg.

Imai wants to work for an arm triangle but Hussain is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Imai trying to pass the guard but Hussain defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Imai shoots in for a takedown but Hussain shows good takedown defense.
Imai tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Imai drives through and clinches with Hussain against the cage.
Imai stalling against the cage.
Hussain wants a takedown.
Imai controlling the action here for a moment.
Imai is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Hussain gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Imai is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Katsu Imai. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Imai successfully pulls guard.
Hussain is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Imai controls Hussain momentarily but Hussain frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Imai 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.
Imai is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Hussain wants to control but Imai passes into side.
Hussain is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Hussain's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Imai wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hussain keeps working.
Imai looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Hussain is avoiding damage well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsu Imai 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!

Imai closes the distance looking to clinch

and Hussain counters with a takedown into side control.
Imai struggling a bit here.
Imai tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Hussain connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Imai some visible discomfort.
Hussain scoring with punches from side control.
Imai is looking to regain half guard here but Hussain keeps moving and retains side control.

Hussain looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Imai is not content to let Hussain control the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Imai tries to get back to half guard but can't.
You can see the frustration on Imai's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Imai is trying to get back to half guard.
Imai is trying to control Hussain's posture but Hussain avoids it.

Hussain wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Imai, who protects the arm well.
Hussain wants to control but Imai is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Imai gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Hussain postures up and lands a big shot to Imai's brow.

Hussain drops back looking for a leg! Imai is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Imai manages to kick Hussain off! Hussain jumps back into Imai's guard.
Imai looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hussain pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Imai is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hussain is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Hussain drops back, looking for a kneebar! Imai looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Imai looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Imai!
Imai controls the position.
Imai wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hussain keeps working.
Hussain can't do much from the bottom here.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hussain looks to move to half guard but instead Imai has passed into mount! Damn!
Imai with the ground and pound from mount.
Imai is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Hussain is in real trouble.
What can Hussain do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Imai punches the canvas rather than the man.
Imai struggling to keep hold of the position.
Hussain rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Hussain tries to roll over but Imai keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Saddam Hussain comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hussain has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Saddam Hussain!