PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kenji Murakami (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rey Mysterio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Murakami
vs
Mysterio

177 cm
25
163 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
25
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenji Murakami!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rey Mysterio!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mysterio shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Murakami defends it nicely.
Murakami wants to clinch up but Mysterio keeps it at a distance.
Murakami doesn't manage to clinch there - Mysterio circles away.

Mysterio closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mysterio looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Murakami tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Mysterio is pressing down on Murakami's thigh, looking to free his foot. Murakami is holding on for now.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Mysterio lands a nice short elbow.
Ground and pound from Mysterio.
Mysterio working over Murakami with some ground and pound. Murakami looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Murakami is refusing to be controlled, as Mysterio sits in half guard.
Mysterio prevents Murakami from standing back up.
Mysterio works his way into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mysterio lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Poor strikes thrown by Mysterio there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Mysterio throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Murakami is looking to improve his position but Mysterio isn't that keen on the idea.
Mysterio working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Mysterio misses with a head shot.
Murakami holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Mysterio tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Mysterio breaks from Murakami's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Murakami takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Murakami tries to hold on but Mysterio postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mysterio with shots to the head and body - Murakami looks very uncomfortable down there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mysterio looking to ground and pound but Murakami is blocking nicely.
Mysterio looking to control but Murakami is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mysterio connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Mysterio with a couple of short strikes.
Mysterio throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Mysterio has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mysterio landing punches.
Murakami is looking to get to half guard.
Mysterio lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Murakami hang on?
Mysterio landing punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murakami in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Murakami tries to hold on but Mysterio pushes him away.
Mysterio lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Mysterio wants to control the pace but Murakami is squirming around nicely.
Mysterio throws some wild stikes that Murakami manages to avoid easily.
Mysterio looking to finish Murakami with some ground and pound. This is bad for Murakami!
Murakami is squirming around, avoiding Mysterio's attempts to control the action.
Murakami on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Murakami tries to get out of the position.
Mysterio looks gassed!
Mysterio with good strikes from the mount here!
Mysterio landing strikes, looking to finish!
Mysterio lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Murakami is desperately trying to improve his position but Mysterio has a good base and remains in mount.
Mysterio scoring with strikes but Murakami is staying in there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mysterio throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Murakami because Mysterio loaded up on that one.
Mysterio scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Murakami?
Mysterio looking to finish Murakami with some ground and pound. This is bad for Murakami!
Murakami wants to hold on but Mysterio pushes him away.
Murakami is in all sorts of trouble here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Murakami wants to control but Mysterio is having none of it.
Mysterio with the ground and pound from mount.
Mysterio landing strikes from the mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mysterio dominating with strikes here.
Mysterio working away from the top, dropping strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rey Mysterio dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Murakami gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Mysterio decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Murakami's guard.
Murakami seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Mysterio postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Murakami knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mysterio on the ground.
Murakami can't keep his opponent in guard - Mysterio advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Murakami has hold of Mysterio's hands but Mysterio slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Murakami trying to hold on to Mysterio's head to control him but Mysterio postures up.
Mysterio seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Mysterio passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Murakami!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mysterio landing shots from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mysterio landing shots from mount.
Mysterio putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Mysterio putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The referee warns Murakami that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Murakami tries to lock up and control but Mysterio gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Mysterio looking to control but Murakami is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
BOOM! Mysterio connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Mysterio breaks from Murakami's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Mysterio landing strikes from the mount and Murakami is in trouble!
Mysterio scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Mysterio controlling the pace for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murakami wants to hold on but Mysterio pushes him away.
Mysterio cracks Murakami with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Mysterio lands a nice shot to the head.
Murakami is working to get back to half guard.
Mysterio landing shots from mount.
Mysterio lands a big elbow.
Murakami tries to hold on but Mysterio postures up.
Mysterio lands a nice shot to the head.
Rey Mysterio has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mysterio has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Murakami's face.
Mysterio working the ground and pound effectively.
Mysterio connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Mysterio lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Murakami hang on?
Murakami is in all sorts of trouble here.
Mysterio landing strikes from the mount and Murakami is in trouble!
Murakami is squirming around, avoiding Mysterio's attempts to control the action.
Mysterio looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Mysterio is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mysterio working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Murakami is desperately trying to improve his position but Mysterio has a good base and remains in mount.
Murakami is working hard here to advance position.
BOOM! Mysterio connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Murakami is wriggling around trying to escape.
Mysterio working Murakami over with strikes here.
Murakami working to try and regain half guard.
Murakami is squirming around, avoiding Mysterio's attempts to control the action.
Mysterio fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Mysterio looking to finish Murakami with some ground and pound. This is bad for Murakami!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rey Mysterio showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Mysterio shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Murakami counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Mysterio's guard now.
Murakami controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Murakami working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Murakami trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mysterio keeping moving, preventing Murakami from controlling successfully.
Murakami wants to pass the guard but Mysterio is keeping the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murakami slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Mysterio is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Murakami tries to pull guard but Mysterio holds him up against the cage and eventually Murakami drops back down to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Mysterio is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Murakami pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Murakami gets underhooks to prevent Mysterio's takedown attempt.
Kenji Murakami has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rey Mysterio.

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

Murakami moves into range and clinches up with Mysterio.
Murakami fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Murakami ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Murakami no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Murakami is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Mysterio in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Mysterio works over Murakami with some ground and pound from guard.
Mysterio trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Murakami controls Mysterio momentarily but Mysterio frees himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mysterio advances position into side control!
Murakami tries to buck Mysterio off but Mysterio is having none of it.
Mysterio scoring with punches and elbows.
You can see the frustration on Murakami's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mysterio cracks Murakami with a big right hand but Murakami just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Mysterio is looking to take a break and control but Murakami is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mysterio in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Mysterio trying to control the position but Murakami is working away.

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.
Murakami is looking for a sweep.
Mysterio is putting a hurting on Murakami here, landing some big shots from side control.
Murakami takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Murakami prevents Mysterio from moving into mount.
Murakami is trying to control Mysterio's posture but Mysterio avoids it.
Mysterio wants to control but Murakami is keeping him busy.
Kenji Murakami has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rey Mysterio is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Murakami is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Mysterio asserts his dominance and retains side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenji Murakami showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Mysterio 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 26:29
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 26:29
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 26:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rey Mysterio!