PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hiro Yoshida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergey Boyko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Yoshida
vs
Boyko

179 cm
23
191 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
180 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hiro Yoshida!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sergey Boyko!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Shigeki Sano and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yoshida fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Boyko is out of range.
Yoshida tries to clinch but Boyko moves away
and Yoshida takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yoshida darts in trying to clinch
and Boyko counters with a stiff right hand.
Boyko falls off balance throwing a combination

and Yoshida moves into the clinch.
Yoshida fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Boyko manages to break the clinch.
Yoshida takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Boyko throws a nice outside leg kick.
Yoshida fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Boyko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yoshida.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boyko throws a right and a left that Yoshida avoids nicely.
Yoshida looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Boyko is fending him off so far but Yoshida persists. Nope, Boyko circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hiro Yoshida. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yoshida shoots for a takedown but Boyko saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Yoshida throws a series of strikes that have Boyko backpedaling.
Yoshida tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Boyko swivels and escapes.
Yoshida fails with an attempt to clinch.

Boyko closes the distance and clinches.

Yoshida breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Boyko fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Yoshida shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Boyko manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Boyko keeping moving, preventing Yoshida from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boyko preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Boyko is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Yoshida is controlling him.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yoshida wants to pass the guard but Boyko is keeping the position.
Boyko preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Yoshida is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Boyko looks gassed!

Hiro Yoshida has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Boyko throws a left and a right that both miss

and Yoshida counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Yoshida controlling from the top position.
Yoshida postures up in Boyko's guard and throws a big left but Boyko blocks it.
Yoshida 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Boyko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Yoshida. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Hiro Yoshida.
Yoshida shoots for a takedown but Boyko saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiro Yoshida dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Yoshida tries to close the distance and clinch but Boyko swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Boyko circles away from the clinch attempt
and Boyko counters with a flying knee. Nice.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Yoshida.
Yoshida looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yoshida fails with an attempt to clinch.
Boyko plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Yoshida wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boyko throws a head kick but Yoshida moves out of range.
Boyko pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Boyko is breathing heavily.

Boyko gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Yoshida decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Boyko, up you get!
Boyko swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Yoshida counters with a left and a right that stings Boyko.
Boyko misses with a double jab

and Yoshida decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Boyko's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Yoshida's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Yoshida pushing down on Boyko's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Yoshida not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Yoshida decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Yoshida throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Boyko.
Yoshida shoots for a double leg takedown but Boyko sprawls well. He's pushed Yoshida's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hiro Yoshida. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Yoshida looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Yoshida shoots in and drives through. Boyko sprawls well.
Yoshida shoots in for a double leg but Boyko sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Yoshida tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Boyko counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Boyko gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Yoshida.

Boyko breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Boyko fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four 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.
Yoshida shoots in for a double leg but Boyko sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Boyko throws a right and a left that both miss.
Boyko swinging wildly here.
Yoshida fails with the takedown.
Sergey Boyko is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Boyko defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Yoshida.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Boyko lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Boyko throws a jab but it's blocked by Yoshida.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiro Yoshida dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

A combination from Boyko does no damage.
Boyko leaves Yoshida with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Yoshida tries to clinch up
and Boyko counters with a head kick. That will keep Yoshida thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Yoshida tries to clinch but Boyko moves out of range.
Horrible takedown by Yoshida or perhaps it was just good defense by Boyko which made him look bad.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boyko misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Boyko displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Yoshida.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hiro Yoshida. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A combination from Boyko does no damage.
Boyko lands a nice looking body kick.
Yoshida tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Yoshida scores with the left hand. Boyko knows he should have avoided that one.
Boyko displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Yoshida throws out the jab.
Yoshida tries to close the distance and clinch but Boyko swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Yoshida closes this distance looking for a takedown but Boyko circles away.
Hiro Yoshida is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Boyko misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Yoshida misses with a body shot.
Hiro Yoshida seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Yoshida works over Boyko's head and body with a nice combination.
Boyko bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Boyko throws a nice looking combination but Yoshida bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Boyko throws a nice head kick!
Yoshida throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Boyko's waist but Boyko gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Yoshida off to one side.
Yoshida tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Yoshida looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Boyko fails to land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida fails with a takedown attempt.
Boyko throws a nice looking combination but Yoshida bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Yoshida fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Yoshida tries for a takedown but Boyko sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Boyko throws a nice inside leg kick.
Boyko misses with a two punch combination.
A head kick by Boyko misses

so Yoshida counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Boyko keeping moving, preventing Yoshida from controlling successfully.
Yoshida slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Yoshida stands up from guard. Let's bang!

And that's the end of the fight!
Hiro Yoshida showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Yoshida, 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hiro Yoshida!