PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mabishiro Sakamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Hunter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sakamoto has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Sakamoto
vs
Hunter

175 cm
20
160 lbs
3 - 25 - 0

175 cm
18
165 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Blitzkrieg Formula 5000 Cardio
Fightworld Formula

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 3 - 25 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mabishiro Sakamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Hunter!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Chad Campbell and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hunter moves into range and connects with a jab.
Jeez, both these guys look absolutely knackered already, that's not a good sign!
Hunter displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sakamoto.
Hunter moves in looking to clinch but Sakamoto pushes him off.

Sakamoto tries to keep at a distance but Hunter has taken the fight into the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hunter.
Hunter wants to break the clinch but can't.
Hunter has had enough of the clinch but Sakamoto keeps him there for the moment.
Hunter lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Hunter lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sakamoto backwards.
Hunter softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Hunter wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Hunter keeps control of Sakamoto as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Hunter tries to break free but Sakamoto pushes him back against the cage.
Hunter has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Hunter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hunter throws a series of punches but Sakamoto avoids them all with ease.

Sakamoto clinches with his opponent.
Hunter wants to get back to striking at distance but Sakamoto won't allow it.

Sakamoto's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
No joy there for Hunter, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunter tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Sakamoto counters with a single leg into guard. Hunter didn't expect that.
Sakamoto wants to control from the top but Hunter keeps moving.
Sakamoto is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Sakamoto trying to control but Hunter is working from the bottom.
Hunter wants to stand up but Sakamoto is controlling him.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sakamoto connects with a couple of short punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakamoto scoring with some ground and pound.
Hunter is looking to stand up but Sakamoto isn't so interested in that idea.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Hunter connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Sakamoto momentarily.
Hunter misses with a two punch combination.
Sakamoto throws a head kick but Hunter moves out of range.
Sakamoto slips under a jab.
Danga de danga de dang - Hunter scores with a four punch combination!
Hunter throws a right and a left that Sakamoto avoids nicely.
Hunter jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Hunter fails with an attempt to clinch.
James Hunter seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hunter misses with a double jab.
Hunter misses with a two punch combination.
Hunter throws a series of punches but Sakamoto avoids them all with ease.

Sakamoto shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sakamoto showed some decent athleticism there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sakamoto wants to work for an arm triangle but Hunter is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Hunter wants to stand back up but Sakamoto manages to pass into side control.
Sakamoto has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Sakamoto decides to stand back up. Sakamoto steps back and let's Hunter get back to his feet.
Hunter misses with a straight left.
Hunter moves in looking to clinch but Sakamoto pushes him off.
Hunter throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sakamoto lands a nice looking body kick.

Sakamoto gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Hunter softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A short left from Hunter.
Sakamoto tries to work over Hunter's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunter tries to break free but Sakamoto pushes him back against the cage.
Hunter working hard to break the clinch.
Hunter wants to break free but Sakamoto has control.
A short right from Hunter on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Hunter.
Sakamoto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hunter's efforts to push away.
Hunter working hard to break the clinch.
Sakamoto tries to pull guard but Hunter won't allow it.
Sakamoto fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mabishiro Sakamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hunter looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Hunter wants to break free but Sakamoto has control.
Hunter lands with a right to the head.

Hunter breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Sakamoto feints and as Hunter raises his hands in defense, Sakamoto changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Hunter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sakamoto is controlling him.

Sakamoto gets to his feet - Hunter follows without any prompting.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mabishiro Sakamoto dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hunter throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Sakamoto counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Sakamoto.
Hunter is trying to break the clinch but Sakamoto is controlling him.
Hunter is looking to break free of the clinch but Sakamoto has double underhooks.
Hunter is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Sakamoto gets control of Hunter's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sakamoto will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Sakamoto not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sakamoto tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sakamoto trying to control the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sakamoto is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunter wants to stand but Sakamoto is controlling his posture from full guard.

Sakamoto has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hunter can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Sakamoto is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Hunter is looking to get back to is feet but Sakamoto passes into side control.
Hunter is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sakamoto is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakamoto trying to control the action but Hunter is working from the bottom.
Hunter is pushing Sakamoto's head away, looking to escape. Sakamoto manages to hold on to the position though.
Hunter is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Sakamoto advances nicely into full mount.
Sakamoto sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four 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.
Hunter's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Sakamoto takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sakamoto cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Hunter is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.

Hunter bucks up and throws Sakamoto to the side - he's got back to his feet. Great escape!
Sakamoto fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Sakamoto clinches.
Hunter wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Sakamoto has Hunter pressed against the cage, preventing Hunter from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Sakamoto breaks the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mabishiro Sakamoto dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Hunter throws a big shot that misses.

Sakamoto has closed the distance and engaged Hunter in a clinch.
Hunter is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Sakamoto jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Hunter walks away with a smile on his face. Sakamoto gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Hunter scores with a decent looking hook.
Hunter lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sakamoto circles away quickly and effectively.

Sakamoto instigates a clinch.

Hunter manages to break the clinch.
A slow jab from Hunter misses its intended target.
Sakamoto fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hunter manages to avoid it.
Sakamoto fails with the takedown.

Sakamoto feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Sakamoto won't allow Hunter to get back to his feet.
Hunter keeping moving, preventing Sakamoto from controlling successfully.
Sakamoto won't allow Hunter to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Hunter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hunter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sakamoto is controlling him.
Sakamoto showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Hunter is looking to stand up but Sakamoto isn't so interested in that idea.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Sakamoto walks into a jab.
Sakamoto circles away from the clinch attempt
and Sakamoto counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Sakamoto tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Hunter swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mabishiro Sakamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hunter fails to land with a series of punches.
Left hook, right uppercut from Hunter.
Sakamoto throws a sloppy head kick and Hunter moves out of range easily.
Sakamoto walks into a straight right hand from Hunter.
Mabishiro Sakamoto is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sakamoto tries to clinch there but Hunter circles away.
Hunter scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Hunter misses with a few strikes there.
Hunter wants to clinch

and Sakamoto counters by moving into the clinch.
Hunter wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Sakamoto has Hunter pressed against the cage, preventing Hunter from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hunter has had enough of the clinch but Sakamoto keeps him there for the moment.
Sakamoto tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hunter smiles and moves away.
Hunter misses with a double jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunter misses with a straight left.

Sakamoto drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sakamoto controls from within his opponent's guard.
Hunter keeping moving, preventing Sakamoto from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sakamoto won't allow Hunter to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Hunter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hunter is looking to stand up but Sakamoto isn't so interested in that idea.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Hunter misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hunter throws a lazy right hand but Sakamoto sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Hunter misses the target.
Hunter closes the distance looking to clinch

and Sakamoto counters with a single leg into guard. Hunter didn't expect that.
James Hunter has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mabishiro Sakamoto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hunter really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sakamoto. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Hunter wants to stand but Sakamoto is controlling the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mabishiro Sakamoto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sakamoto, 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mabishiro Sakamoto!