PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Lidel Castro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hideo Nakano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nakano has chosen Spirit Fight by Tan Dun & Kodo as his entrance music. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Castro
vs
Nakano

165 cm
22
155 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

172 cm
22
149 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lidel Castro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Hideo Nakano!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Skip Squint and Bruno Hogan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nakano jabs Castro right on the nose. Castro blinks but takes it well.

It looks like Lidel Castro has been cut.
A telegraphed right hand from Nakano misses the target.
Castro connects with a looping right hand.
Castro sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Nakano is looking to land body kicks.
The fighters circle momentarily. Castro darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

It looks like Hideo Nakano has been cut.
Castro misses with a wild combination.
Castro lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Castro throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Nakano.
Castro rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nakano moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Left hook, right uppercut from Castro.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nakano throws a body kick that misses.
Nakano throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Castro darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Castro lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nakano circles away quickly and effectively.
Nakano throws a leg kick that misses.
Nice body kick there by Nakano.
Castro uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nakano.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Nakano, right into the meat.
Castro is breathing heavily.
Castro will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Nakano pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A chopping leg kick lands by Nakano.
Nakano throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Castro takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
The fighters circling - Nakano throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nakano lets loose with a powerful body kick. Castro will feel that in the morning.
Castro is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nakano fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Castro looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Nakano shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Castro defends it nicely.
Nakano throws a leg kick that misses.
Castro slips under a jab.
Nakano throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nakano fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nakano will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Nakano tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castro avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nakano scores with a shot to the body.
Nakano lands with a kick to the ribs.
Nakano throws out a powerful jab.
Castro takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Nakano is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nakano. Castro does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nakano dodges the punch combination from Castro.
Nakano is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Castro rather than just go for the knockout.
Nakano tries to clinch but Castro moves out of range.
Castro keeps the fight on the outside.
Castro throws a right hand that Nakano ducks under and follows up with a left that Nakano also avoids with ease.
Castro lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Castro.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Nakano.
Nakano ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Castro moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castro moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Castro fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Castro.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nakano looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nakano avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nakano checks a leg kick.
A punch combination from Castro misses.
A right-left combo lands from Castro.
Nakano throws a leg kick but Castro checks it.
Nakano lands a head kick. Castro smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Castro finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Nakano tries to close the distance and clinch but Castro swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Castro takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Nakano checks the leg kick nicely there.
Castro pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakano throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Nakano shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Castro as he jumps to the side.
Lidel Castro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hideo Nakano.
Castro throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nakano takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Nakano ducks under a wild hook from Castro.
Castro moves out of range of the strikes.
Nakano goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Castro fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Nakano avoids it really well and circles away.
Castro lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nakano circles away quickly and effectively.
Nakano throws a head kick that misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Castro checks a leg kick.
Nakano looks to land a body kick but Castro moved away.
Castro slips under a jab from Nakano.
Castro misses with a few strikes there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hideo Nakano dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Castro scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Nakano throws a hook to the side of Castro's head but Castro sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A good leg kick by Nakano.
Nakano doesn't manage to clinch there - Castro circles away.
Some wild striking there from Castro.
Nakano fails with an attempt to clinch.
Lidel Castro is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nakano throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Nakano walks into a left hand.
Nakano throws a low kick, looking for Castro's leg but Castro calmly moves out of range.
Castro lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nakano circles away quickly and effectively.
Castro checks a low kick from Nakano.
Nakano tries to clinch there but Castro circles away.
Nakano throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Castro loads up on a big right hand but Nakano slips the punch.
Nakano digs a good body shot into Castro's ribs.
Castro fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nakano connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakano throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nakano tries to clinch up but Castro circles away and keeps his distance.
Castro wants to slow Nakano down by chopping away at his legs.
Nakano attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Nakano tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Castro was well out of range. Poor timing from Nakano.
Nakano fails with a takedown attempt.
Castro avoids the head kick by Nakano.
Nakano throws an overhand right that lands on Castro's shoulder, as Castro tries to avoid the shot.
Castro throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nakano throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Castro will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Castro moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Nakano misses the shot to the body.
Castro throws a series of strikes that have Nakano backpedaling.
A nice combination there by Castro.
Castro tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Nakano is able to avoid easily.
Castro throws a nice looking combination but Nakano bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Castro darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Nakano wants to get back to full guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Castro is looking for a kimura but Nakano is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Castro to get the leverage.
Nakano is holding on to half guard well.
Nakano slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Nakano not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Castro looking to pass the guard.
Nakano lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Castro!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakano misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Castro wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Nakano.

Nakano is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Castro can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Castro holds of for dear life.

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.
Castro keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Nakano goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Castro is on top in guard.
Castro tries to free his leg and advance position but Nakano is retaining full guard.
Nakano trying to control the position.

Castro is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Nakano is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Nakano has escaped and now he's on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Lidel Castro will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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!

Castro misses with the combination.
Castro misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nakano takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Nakano throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nakano throws a head kick but Castro moves out of range.
Castro gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Nakano.
Castro with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Nakano is looking to clinch.
Nakano throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Castro smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Castro closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Castro misses with a combination
letting Nakano counter with a right hand.
Nakano gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakano plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

Lidel Castro's cut is getting worse.
Castro avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nakano moves in looking to clinch but Castro pushes him off.
Castro fails to land with a series of punches.
Castro moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Nakano fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Castro checks it well.
Nakano shoots in for a takedown but Castro shows good takedown defense.
Nice sprawl there from Castro as Nakano shoots in.
Castro lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nakano circles away quickly and effectively.
Nakano fails with the takedown.
Lidel Castro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hideo Nakano.
Castro throws a series of strikes that have Nakano backpedaling.
Castro fails to land with a series of punches.
Nakano tries to clinch there but Castro circles away.
Castro lands a two punch combo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakano misses with a head kick.
Nakano throws a head kick that misses.
Nakano avoids a punch combination nicely.
Castro throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Nakano counters with a big head kick but Castro shrugs it off.

Castro closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Castro seems to be working for a kimura but Nakano defends the submission attempt.

Nakano is defending against the submission attempts here by Castro.
Nakano is not content to let Castro control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Castro is working for a submission of some sort.
Nakano is looking to control Castro's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Nakano avoid being mounted?
Nakano wants to get back to full guard.
Castro trying to control from half guard but Nakano is working away.

Castro is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Nakano sees it coming and defends easily.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Nakano doesn't manage to clinch there - Castro circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Nakano with a poor takedown
and Castro connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Nakano takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Castro checks a leg kick.

Castro looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Nakano!
Castro prevents Nakano from getting the reversal.
Nakano tries to hold on but Castro pushes him away.

Castro is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Nakano can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Nakano regains half guard.
Castro is just content to waste time from the top position. Nakano takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lidel Castro showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Castro 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 Damien Edna scores the fight 29:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:29
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Lidel Castro!