PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hayato Sakurai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Connor Young (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sakurai comes into the arena with Holy Orders blaring out of the sound system. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Sakurai
vs
Young

172 cm
23
174 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

180 cm
20
175 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Powerful

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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hayato Sakurai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Connor Young!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Young throws a leg kick
and Sakurai counters with a head kick.
A right-left combo lands from Young.

It looks like Hayato Sakurai has been cut.
Sakurai scores with a jab to the body.
Young fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A slow jab from Young misses its intended target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Young fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sakurai manages to avoid it.
Young slips a jab and a cross from Sakurai.
Young just misses with a punch to the body.
Connor Young seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Young swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sakurai uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Young has time to react.
Young shoots in for a takedown but Sakurai shows good takedown defense.
Sakurai misses with a head kick.
Sloppy strikes from Young. Those never looked like landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young throws a solid leg kick but Sakurai takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Young.
Sakurai scores with the left hand. Young knows he should have avoided that one.
Sakurai throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Young throws a right and a left that Sakurai avoids nicely.
Young gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Young walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Sakurai checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Young thows a leg kick but Sakurai checks it

and Sakurai moves into the clinch.
Sakurai lands a left hand that snaps the head of Young backwards.
Young tries to pull guard but Sakurai won't allow it.
Hayato Sakurai has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Young.
Sakurai lands a hook that snaps the head of Young backwards.

Sakurai escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A telegraphed right hand from Young misses the target.
Sakurai lands a right hook to the body.
A head kick by Young misses
and Sakurai counters with a low kick, right behind Young 's knee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Young is defended easily by Sakurai.
Young looks gassed!
Sakurai tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Young manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sakurai keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Young.
Sakurai throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Young takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Sakurai lands a lovely overhand right.
Young thows a left - swing and a miss!
Young tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Young rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Sakurai moves into the clinch.
Sakurai scores with a shot to the side of Young's head.

Sakurai breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai throws a sloppy head kick and Young moves out of range easily.
Young circles away from the clinch attempt.
Young throws a jab but it's blocked by Sakurai.
Young moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Young throws a leg kick but Sakurai sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Young feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Sakurais jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Sakurai tries to clinch up.
Young tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sakurai misses with a series of wild punches.
Young fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sakurai showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Young.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Young gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Hayato Sakurai is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Young misses with an uppercut
and Sakurai counters with a good low kick that Young was not able to check.
Sakurai lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
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!
Young throws a sloppy head kick
and Sakurai connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Young is rocked!
Crack! A monster head kick from Sakurai and Young falls like a tree - timbeeeeeeeeeeerrrr! A highlight reel knockout by Sakurai!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:30 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Hayato Sakurai!