PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Arnold Crane (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Saigo Kogihiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Arnold Crane has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Crane
vs
Kogihiro

200 cm
22
270 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
225 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Arnold Crane!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Saigo Kogihiro!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Taro Takaoka and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Crane shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kogihiro as he avoids it easily.

Kogihiro feints and as Crane raises his hands in defense, Kogihiro changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kogihiro tries to free his leg and advance position but Crane is retaining full guard.
Kogihiro wanted to stand there but Crane had control of the position.
Crane can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Kogihiro controls the pace.
Kogihiro trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kogihiro has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Crane is proving hard to escape from.
Kogihiro must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crane wants to sweep but no luck.

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

Kogihiro drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Crane is not content to let Kogihiro control the position.
Crane is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Crane is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Kogihiro tries to move into full mount but can't pass Crane's legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Crane's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Crane sneaks out the side door and pushes Kogihiro away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Crane fails with the takedown

and Kogihiro counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Kogihiro.
Kogihiro wants to control from the top but Crane keeps moving.
Crane throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kogihiro in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Crane wants to get back to his feet but Kogihiro is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Kogihiro looks gassed!
Kogihiro is looking to work some ground and pound but Crane has wrist control.
Kogihiro trying to control the position from guard on top but Crane is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Crane has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kogihiro can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Crane is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four 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.
Kogihiro keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Crane seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kogihiro does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Crane content to control rather than advance.
Kogihiro trying to control here.
Kogihiro controlling the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saigo Kogihiro dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kogihiro fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Kogihiro with a poor takedown

and Crane counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Crane gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
A combination from Kogihiro does no damage.
Kogihiro misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kogihiro shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Crane counters with a takedown into side control.
Crane in side control, throwing shots but Kogihiro defends.
Kogihiro is breathing heavily.

Crane tries for a kimura but Kogihiro is defending well.
Crane will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Kogihiro's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Crane controls the position.
Crane slips into full mount, dodging the strikes by Kogihiro.
Kogihiro wants to control but Crane is having none of it.
Crane controlling from the full mount.

That's two 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.
Crane unloads with some shots from mount but Kogihiro bucks and avoids them well.
Kogihiro is looking to get to half guard.
Crane controlling his opponent.
Kogihiro wants to hold on but Crane pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kogihiro is trying to escape the mount.
Crane cracks Kogihiro with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kogihiro is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

Crane is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
Crane shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Kogihiro counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kogihiro showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Kogihiro drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Crane dives on top into guard.
Kogihiro wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Crane manages to pass to side control.
Kogihiro wants to get back to full guard but Crane has mounted him!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arnold Crane dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Crane scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Kogihiro regains half guard.
Kogihiro pushes Crane off looking to stand but Crane dives back in and keeps control.
Crane trying to control the action but Kogihiro is working from the bottom.
Kogihiro wants to improve his position but Crane is controlling well.
Crane tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kogihiro knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Kogihiro trying to control from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kogihiro might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Crane kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Crane throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kogihiro shoots and misses

and Crane counters with a takedown into side control.
Crane throwing shots but missing, from side control.

Crane decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Crane shoots in for a double leg but Kogihiro sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Arnold Crane is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kogihiro shoots and misses

and Crane counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crane tries to pass to full mount but Kogihiro defends it.
Crane trying to control from half guard but Kogihiro is working away.
Crane throwing shots but Kogihiro is blocking nicely.
Kogihiro is trying to get back to full guard.
Kogihiro wants to control but Crane is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Crane 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.
Crane trying to pass the guard but Kogihiro defending well.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Kogihiro forces Crane back against the cage 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.
Crane tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Crane is looking to break free of the clinch but Kogihiro has double underhooks.

Crane has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Kogihiro uses from the top position.
Crane keeping moving, preventing Kogihiro from controlling successfully.
Kogihiro preventing the sweep.
Kogihiro wants to control from the top but Crane keeps moving.
Kogihiro wants to stand but Crane has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Crane working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Kogihiro doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Kogihiro manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

And that's the end of the fight!
Arnold Crane showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Crane has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Arnold Crane!