PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Koji Tanahasi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Douglas Mc Arthur (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Tanahasi
vs
Mc Arthur

167 cm
22
145 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

179 cm
22
155 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Koji Tanahasi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Douglas Mc Arthur!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shigeki Sano and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mc Arthur fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Tanahasi misses with a two punch combination.
Tanahasi throws a series of punches but Mc Arthur moves out of range.
Mc Arthur tries to clinch but Tanahasi moves out of range.
A right-left combo lands from Mc Arthur.
Koji Tanahasi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mc Arthur fails with the takedown.
Mc Arthur walks into a jab.
Mc Arthur shoots in looking for a takedown. Tanahasi tries to sprawl out of it but Mc Arthur keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Tanahasi manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Koji Tanahasi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Douglas Mc Arthur.
An inside leg kick lands from Tanahasi.
Nice takedown defense from Tanahasi. No joy for Mc Arthur on that attempt.
Mc Arthur dives in and grabs Tanahasi's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tanahasi pushes down on Mc Arthur's head and hops out.
The fighters circle momentarily. Tanahasi darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Tanahasi throws a right and a left that Mc Arthur avoids nicely.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Mc Arthur is defended easily by Tanahasi.
Tanahasi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Tanahasi falls off balance throwing a combination

so Mc Arthur counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mc Arthur preventing the sweep.
Tanahasi wants to stand up but Mc Arthur is controlling him.
Tanahasi tries to strike from the bottom.
Tanahasi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tanahasi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Tanahasi landing strikes from the mount.
Tanahasi landing shots from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mc Arthur tries to hold on but Tanahasi postures up.

Tanahasi looking for a guillotine from mount but Mc Arthur is having none of it.
Mc Arthur can't escape the position.
Mc Arthur looks gassed!

Tanahasi is going olschool here, as he tries to force Mc Arthur to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Mc Arthur shrugs it off.
Mc Arthur is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mc Arthur slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Tanahasi is keen to just control but Mc Arthur is a slippery customer.
Mc Arthur punching from the bottom.
Mc Arthur is looking for a sweep. Tanahasi is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mc Arthur is not content to let Tanahasi control the position.
Tanahasi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Tanahasi prevents Mc Arthur from improving his position.
Tanahasi working over Mc Arthur with some ground and pound. Mc Arthur looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mc Arthur tries to kick Tanahasi off but Tanahasi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Tanahasi clinches up against the cage.
Mc Arthur fails to pull guard.
Tanahasi trying to control the position but instead, Mc Arthur has worked for underhooks and has pushed Tanahasi into the cage.
Tanahasi scores with a hook to the body.
Mc Arthur tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Tanahasi just stands there and leans against the cage.
Tanahasi presses Mc Arthur against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Tanahasi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Mc Arthur throws a shot from downtown. Tanahasi moves away and avoids it.
Tanahasi keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Tanahasi scores with a three punch combo!
Mc Arthur fails with the takedown.
Tanahasi tries to bum rush Mc Arthur with a series of wild strikes but Mc Arthur uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Koji Tanahasi will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

A left and a right from Tanahasi both land. Nice combination.
Mc Arthur avoids a punch combination nicely.
Tanahasi stuffs the takedown attempt from Mc Arthur. Mc Arthur gets slowly back to his feet.
Mc Arthur takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Tanahasi misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Tanahasi misses with the combination.
Mc Arthur throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Tanahasi's waist but Tanahasi gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Mc Arthur off to one side.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Tanahasi lands a nice shot to the body.
Tanahasi digs a right hand underneath Mc Arthur's ribcage. Mc Arthur let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Tanahasi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mc Arthur shoots in looking for a takedown. Tanahasi tries to sprawl out of it but Mc Arthur keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Tanahasi manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Koji Tanahasi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Douglas Mc Arthur.
Mc Arthur is breathing heavily.
Tanahasi lands a head kick. Mc Arthur smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mc Arthur dodges the punch combination from Tanahasi.
Tanahasi closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mc Arthur circles away.
Tanahasi misses with a head kick.
Mc Arthur fails with the takedown.
Tanahasi lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Tanahasi.
Tanahasi lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Nice shot by Tanahasi.
Tanahasi dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Mc Arthur misses with a two punch combination.
Tanahasi works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Tanahasi.
Tanahasi trying to control the position but Mc Arthur is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mc Arthur is looking to reverse the position.
Mc Arthur can't do much from the bottom here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Tanahasi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Mc Arthur, who protects the arm well.
Tanahasi is looking to take a break and control but Mc Arthur is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mc Arthur gets back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mc Arthur is staying active underneath Tanahasi, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Mc Arthur makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Tanahasi stuns Mc Arthur with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

Mc Arthur closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Tanahasi is refusing to be controlled, as Mc Arthur sits in half guard.

Mc Arthur is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tanahasi wants to control but Mc Arthur is keeping busy.
Ground and pound from Mc Arthur.
Tanahasi keeping hold of Mc Arthur's head, controlling as best he can.
Mc Arthur is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Koji Tanahasi dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Mc Arthur changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Tanahasi tries to avoid it but Mc Arthur manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Tanahasi to the ground. Tanahasi escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Mc Arthur showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Tanahasi.
Tanahasi fails to land with a series of punches.
Tanahasi lands with a nice combination. Mc Arthur backs away looking to recover.
Mc Arthur with a lazy takedown attempt

and Tanahasi counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Tanahasi advances to half guard.
Mc Arthur is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Mc Arthur is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanahasi is trying to control. Mc Arthur wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Mc Arthur trying to control here.
Tanahasi wants to control but Mc Arthur is keeping him busy.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tanahasi swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Tanahasi digs a good hook to Mc Arthur's body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tanahasi lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mc Arthur circles away quickly and effectively.
Tanahasi looks to land a combination. Mc Arthur sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Tanahasi misses with a two punch combination.
Mc Arthur doesn't manage to clinch there - Tanahasi circles away.
Mc Arthur with a poor takedown
and Tanahasi counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Koji Tanahasi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Douglas Mc Arthur.

Tanahasi gets a takedown into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Tanahasi lands a nice short elbow.
Mc Arthur has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Tanahasi is working away from the top position though.
Tanahasi trying to control from half guard but Mc Arthur is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mc Arthur kicks off Tanahasi and gets to his feet.
Tanahasi throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A combination from Tanahasi does no damage.
Mc Arthur lands a head kick!
Tanahasi closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Tanahasi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mc Arthur.
Koji Tanahasi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tanahasi falls off balance throwing a combination
and Mc Arthur counters with a one-two to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Tanahasi rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mc Arthur moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mc Arthur scores with a nice head shot.
Mc Arthur with a lazy takedown attempt
and Tanahasi counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Tanahasi lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Mc Arthur checks a leg kick.
Tanahasi throws a series of punches but Mc Arthur avoids them all with ease.
Mc Arthur dodges the punch combination from Tanahasi.

Mc Arthur darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Mc Arthur stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Douglas Mc Arthur has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Koji Tanahasi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Mc Arthur is looking to clinch but Tanahasi is avoiding it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Koji Tanahasi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tanahasi, 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Koji Tanahasi!