PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jushin Lyger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rush St Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Lyger
vs
St Pierre

175 cm
20
171 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
22
170 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jushin Lyger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rush St Pierre!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yukihiro Shimada and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Lyger with that takedown attempt.

St Pierre shoots in and bounces Lyger off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
St Pierre with a flurry of punches that miss.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

St Pierre thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Lyger seems keen to control St Pierre's posture.
St Pierre with a flurry of punches that miss.

Lyger is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as St Pierre accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lyger controls St Pierre momentarily but St Pierre frees himself.
St Pierre is looking to work some ground and pound but Lyger has wrist control.

That's one minute 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.
Lyger has his takedown stuffed

and St Pierre counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by St Pierre.
St Pierre throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

St Pierre drops back, looking for a kneebar! Lyger looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Lyger looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Lyger!
St Pierre tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Lyger wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
St Pierre throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
St Pierre takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
St Pierre is looking to regain half guard here but Lyger keeps moving and retains side control.
Lyger avoids the strikes from the bottom by St Pierre.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
St Pierre gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
St Pierre is desperately trying to improve his position but Lyger has a good base and remains in mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lyger content just to control the position here.
Lyger tries to control but St Pierre wriggling away.
St Pierre is working to get back to half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lyger with good strikes from the mount here!
A nice elbow there by Lyger.
Lyger trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Lyger scores with a couple of good head shots there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lyger lands a big shot there that rocks St Pierre but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

St Pierre looking for submissions off his back.
Lyger is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Lyger lands with a punch from half guard.

Lyger wants to work for an arm triangle but St Pierre is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
St Pierre is looking to improve his position.
St Pierre punching from the bottom.

St Pierre is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Lyger pulls his head out easily.
Lyger tries to pass the half guard into mount. St Pierre knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Lyger moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from St Pierre.
St Pierre looks gassed!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Lyger stalls from top position.
St Pierre tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Lyger wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Lyger is looking to take a break and control but St Pierre is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
St Pierre tries to buck Lyger off but Lyger is having none of it.
Lyger working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jushin Lyger dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A head kick misses from Lyger.
St Pierre shoots and misses

and Lyger counters with a single leg into guard. St Pierre didn't expect that.

St Pierre has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Lyger can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Lyger has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Lyger trying to control but St Pierre is working from the bottom.
Lyger is looking to stand up but St Pierre won't let him.

St Pierre has his foot on Lyger's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Lyger works his way back into a safe position though.

St Pierre is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Lyger is aware though and is defending well.
St Pierre keeping moving, preventing Lyger from controlling successfully.

Lyger avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
St Pierre is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lyger wants to control from the top but St Pierre keeps moving.
Lyger tries to free his leg and advance position but St Pierre is retaining full guard.

St Pierre throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Lyger trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Lyger lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Lyger got a little sloppy there for a moment and St Pierre has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lyger has managed to get both his arms back between St Pierre's legs - danger averted.
St Pierre throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Lyger scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lyger slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

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.
Lyger passes easily into side control. Nice work.
St Pierre is looking for a sweep.
St Pierre is not content to let Lyger control the position.
St Pierre is trying to escape the position but Lyger is controlling the position.
St Pierre tries to improve position but can't.
St Pierre is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Lyger stands up and we're back to a striking position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lyger misses with a takedown

and St Pierre counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by St Pierre.
St Pierre missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
St Pierre in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as St Pierre accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Jushin Lyger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lyger utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lyger is trying to control the position from the bottom.
St Pierre throws and elbow that misses. Lyger uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in St Pierre's guard. Nice move by Lyger!
Lyger trying to control but St Pierre is working from the bottom.

St Pierre looking for subs off his back but Lyger has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre works his way to full guard. Good work.
Lyger trying to control the position from guard on top but St Pierre is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

St Pierre is looking for a triangle here but Lyger uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
St Pierre stops Lyger from passing to mount.
Lyger has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Lyger trying to control but St Pierre is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jushin Lyger dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Lyger shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Lyger showed some decent athleticism there.
Lyger wants to free his trapped foot but St Pierre is holding on for dear life with his legs.

St Pierre is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Lyger pulls his head out easily.

St Pierre looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
St Pierre takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
St Pierre is looking to improve his position.
Lyger uses his free foot to push down on St Pierre's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for St Pierre.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre is wriggling around trying to escape.
Lyger blocks St Pierre's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Lyger breaks from St Pierre's wrist control and lands an elbow.

Lyger stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Lyger misses with a takedown

and St Pierre counters with a nice double leg into guard.
St Pierre throws and elbow that misses. Lyger uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in St Pierre's guard. Nice move by Lyger!
Lyger controlling from the top position.

St Pierre throws his legs up looking for a submission but Lyger uses it to pass to side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre gets back to half guard.
Lyger tries to pass to full mount but St Pierre defends it.
Lyger tries to stand but his hand is stuck under St Pierre.
Lyger wants to control but St Pierre is keeping him busy.

St Pierre looking for submissions off his back.
Lyger content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Lyger trying to control the action but St Pierre is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

St Pierre looking for submissions off his back.

Lyger is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
St Pierre doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Lyger counters with a nice double leg into side control. St Pierre won't be happy with that.
St Pierre tries to get back to half guard but can't.
St Pierre tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Lyger presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
St Pierre has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Lyger looking for a guillotine from mount but St Pierre is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lyger looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
St Pierre is working to get back to half guard.
Lyger lands a heavy elbow.
Lyger pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
St Pierre is working to get back to half guard.
Rush St Pierre has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jushin Lyger is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Lyger wants to finish this one by submission but St Pierre is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Lyger.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jushin Lyger showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Lyger, 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jushin Lyger!