PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Wa Sa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jimmy Haiko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Sa might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Fat Lip. This should be a great matchup!

Sa
vs
Haiko

180 cm
18
205 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

189 cm
18
212 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Wa Sa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jimmy Haiko!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sa clinches up with Haiko and pushes him back against the cage.

Haiko pulls guard effortlessly.
Haiko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Haiko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sa keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Haiko's head.
Sa throwing strikes from guard but Haiko blocks nicely.
Sa postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sa postures up in Haiko's guard and throws a big left but Haiko blocks it.
Sa looking to pass the guard.
Haiko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sa wants to get up but he can't break Haiko's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Sa working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Sa loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Haiko can do anything to dispel that myth.
Sa cracks Haiko with a solid left hand.

Sa drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Haiko manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Sa has Haiko in his guard.

Sa is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Haiko defends well.
Sa tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sa is working hard here to advance position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haiko postures up.
Sa is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Haiko is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Wa Sa wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Haiko connects with a leg kick. Sa looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Haiko.

Haiko moves into the clinch.

Haiko works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Sa lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Haiko!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Sa is landing with some decent strikes but Haiko is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Haiko in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Haiko looks gassed!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Sa lands with some strikes.
Sa breaks from Haiko's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Sa lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Haiko hang on?
Sa scores with a couple of good head shots there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sa landing strikes from the mount and Haiko is in trouble!
Sa lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wa Sa 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.

Sa gets a clinch.
Haiko looking for a takedown.

Haiko escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Sa is trying to break the clinch but Haiko has him pressed against the cage.
Haiko looking to slow down the pace here.
Sa tries to pull guard but Haiko holds him up against the cage and eventually Sa drops back down to his feet.

Sa drags the fight down to the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sa is trying to keep Haiko in close.
Haiko is breathing heavily.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Sa working for a triangle but Haiko defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sa looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Sa bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Haiko's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sa stands up over Haiko, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sa landing some decent shots from guard.
Haiko preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sa 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.

Sa drops back looking for a leg! Haiko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Haiko manages to kick Sa off! Sa jumps back into Haiko's guard.
Wa Sa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Haiko is pulling down on Sa's head. It's preventing any offense from Sa, at least for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sa chips away with some ground and pound.

Sa drops back looking for a leg! Haiko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Haiko manages to kick Sa off! Sa jumps back into Haiko's guard.
Sa connects with a couple of short punches.

Sa drops back looking for a leg! Haiko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Haiko manages to kick Sa off! Sa jumps back into Haiko's guard.
Sa with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sa drops back looking for a leg! Haiko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Haiko manages to kick Sa off! Sa jumps back into Haiko's guard.
Sa passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Sa throws an elbow but Haiko slips to the side and avoids it well.
Sa cracks Haiko with an elbow. That is naaassty.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wa Sa dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Sa misses with a body shot.
Haiko wants to clinch up but Sa keeps it at a distance.

Sa 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.
Sa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sa throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Haiko works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sa works over Haiko with some ground and pound from guard.
Haiko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Sa stands up from Haiko's guard - Sa perhaps looking for a knockout.
Haiko takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Haiko tries for a takedown but Sa sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sa tries for a takedown but Haiko sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Sa moves into the clinch.
Sa jumps guard but Haiko stands there with Sa around his waist. Sa gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Sa wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Haiko avoids a punch combination nicely.

Sa gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sa tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Haiko just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wa Sa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haiko is trying to stall.
Haiko tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sa avoids it.

Sa jumps guard.

Sa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Haiko gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Sa trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sa is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Haiko stopping the sweep attempt from Sa.
Sa manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Jimmy Haiko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haiko is bucking up trying to escape but Sa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Sa working Haiko over with strikes here.
Sa dominating with strikes here.
Sa lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Haiko hang on?
Sa scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Haiko?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sa lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Sa.
Haiko is in a horrible position here. Sa smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Sa landing strikes from the mount.
Haiko takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

Sa jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Haiko manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Sa landing a few strikes.
Wa Sa is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Haiko trying to remain calm as Sa controls from the top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wa Sa showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sa, 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:26
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wa Sa!