PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Damien William (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bushi Ishikawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

William
vs
Ishikawa

162 cm
26
145 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

173 cm
24
145 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Damien William!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Bushi Ishikawa!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ishikawa connects with a high kick.
Ishikawa misses with a looping left.
Ishikawa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ishikawa misses with a hook. William ducked under it nicely.
William steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ishikawa.
William uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ishikawa.
William misses with a jab, cross combination.
William fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
William avoids the body shot from Ishikawa.
Ishikawa misses with an uppercut. William saw that one coming.
Ishikawa lands a nice looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Ishikawa. That snapped William's head back.
Ishikawa just misses with a punch to the body.
Ishikawa throws a predictable looking body shot
and William connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Bushi Ishikawa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
William doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Ishikawa connects with a jab.
Ishikawa misses the shot to the body.
Ishikawa shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts William as he jumps to the side.
Ishikawa throws out a powerful jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa looks to throw the jab but William is out of range.
William thuds his right hand into Ishikawa's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A telegraphed right hand from Ishikawa misses the target.
William checks a low kick from Ishikawa.
William has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Ishikawa.
William fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Ishikawa is out of range.
William uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ishikawa.
William ducks under a wild hook from Ishikawa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
William shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Ishikawa but Ishikawa pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Ishikawa swings for the body but William moves out of range.
Ishikawa dives in and grabs William's left leg, looking for a takedown. William pushes down on Ishikawa's head and hops out.
William takes one to the chin there.
William avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ishikawa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
William throws a nice looking combination but Ishikawa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Jab by Ishikawa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa lands a really nice looking cross but William seems unphased.
Ishikawa catches William with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
William rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Ishikawa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ishikawa throws a body punch but William moves out of range.
A cross from Ishikawa lands.
Ishikawa connects with a solid leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sloppy strikes from William. Those never looked like landing.
William throws a nice looking combination but Ishikawa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bushi Ishikawa dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Ishikawa fails to land the takedown.
A lazy left from Ishikawa finds it's target.
William throws a nice looking combination but Ishikawa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
William slips under a jab.
William ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Ishikawa is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Ishikawa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ishikawa scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Ishikawa misses with a lunging right hand

and William counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
William trying to control but Ishikawa is working from the bottom.
Ishikawa avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
William stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ishikawa swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ishikawa wants to sweep but no luck.
Ishikawa is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Ishikawa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ishikawa pulls William in close to his closed guard and prevents William from doing any damage or advancing position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Bushi Ishikawa hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Ishikawa stalks William and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into William's face. William staggers backwards, shaken.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa fails with the takedown

and William decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ishikawa's guard.
Ishikawa keeping full guard, as William tries to pass.
William trying to control the position from guard on top but Ishikawa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
William with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ishikawa keeping moving, preventing William from controlling successfully.
William looking to sit in guard and control but Ishikawa gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ishikawa sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ishikawa trying to control but William is working from the bottom.
Ishikawa lands a couple of digs.
Ishikawa throwing strikes but missing.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
William throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

William is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ishikawa defends well.
William working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
William utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ishikawa is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ishikawa trying to control but William is working from the bottom.
Ishikawa pushing down on William's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Ishikawa throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Ishikawa connects with a nice short shot to William's temple.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ishikawa thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ishikawa has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ishikawa missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ishikawa lands with a punch from half guard.
Ishikawa thows a huge punch but William dodges it nicely.
William is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ishikawa scores with a couple of nice shots.
William wants to improve his position but Ishikawa is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bushi Ishikawa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Ishikawa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ishikawa throws a right hand that misses

and William decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ishikawa's guard.
William won't allow Ishikawa to sweep him here.
Ishikawa keeping full guard, as William tries to pass.
William trying to control but Ishikawa is working from the bottom.
William with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ishikawa working a defensive guard but William passes into half guard.
William missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

William is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Ishikawa sees it coming and defends easily.

William is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Ishikawa is just riding it out for now. William eventually gives up the hold.
The fighters are battling for position here. Ishikawa manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
William won't allow Ishikawa to sweep him here.
Ishikawa is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Ishikawa keeping moving, preventing William from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa looking to hit a scissor sweep but William is one step ahead there.
William trying to control but Ishikawa is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Damien William.
William attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Ishikawa cracks William with an open hand slap.
William leaves Ishikawa with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ishikawa throws a leg kick but William sees it coming and checks it nicely.
A low kick from William is predictable there
and Ishikawa counters with a series of strikes. William will be more careful next time no doubt.
Ishikawa fails with a takedown attempt.
Damien William has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bushi Ishikawa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
William gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Damien William is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ishikawa.
Bushi Ishikawa is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ishikawa misses with a hook. William ducked under it nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ishikawa scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Damien William has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
William ducks right into an uppercut from Ishikawa.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Damien William.
I think Ishikawa has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 William Peck scores the fight 27:30
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bushi Ishikawa!