PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hatsu Ishikawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Church The Fireman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The Fireman has chosen I am Fuck! as his entrance music. Hatsu Ishikawa could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Church The Fireman's chin.

Ishikawa
vs
The Fireman

180 cm
22
182 lbs
11 - 2 - 0

188 cm
27
206 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Das Labor
Das Labor

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 11 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hatsu Ishikawa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Church The Fireman!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The Fireman misses with a hook
and Ishikawa makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Hatsu Ishikawa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ishikawa lands a nice shot that snaps The Fireman's head back.
The Fireman avoids a punch combination nicely.
Some wild striking there from The Fireman.
Ishikawa paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

The Fireman is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Ishikawa's half guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Ishikawa actively working from the bottom here.

Ishikawa looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ishikawa keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ishikawa regains full guard. Nicely done.
Ishikawa trying to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ishikawa is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because The Fireman is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The Fireman showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Ishikawa uses the cage to get back to his feet.
A nice inside leg kick there by Ishikawa. That's going to slow The Fireman down.
Ishikawa tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. The Fireman manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
The Fireman bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

Ishikawa closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

The Fireman ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. The Fireman no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ishikawa preventing the sweep.
The Fireman wants to get back to his feet but Ishikawa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Ishikawa slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The Fireman manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Ishikawa is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Ishikawa wants to take a breather but The Fireman is having none of it.
The Fireman is trying to stand.
Ishikawa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed The Fireman's head.
Ishikawa thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Ishikawa is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Ishikawa not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ishikawa thows a huge punch but The Fireman dodges it nicely.
Ishikawa is nestled in close to The Fireman, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ishikawa wants to pass to mount but The Fireman is defending the position.
The Fireman has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ishikawa is working away from the top position though.
Ishikawa is looking to take a break and control but The Fireman is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ishikawa throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The Fireman is looking to escape.
Ishikawa looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks The Fireman with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The Fireman pushes Ishikawa off looking to stand but Ishikawa dives back in and keeps control.
Ground and pound from Ishikawa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The Fireman trying to control here.
Ishikawa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The Fireman has hold of Ishikawa's hands but Ishikawa slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Ishikawa is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. The Fireman doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Ishikawa.
Ground and pound from Ishikawa.
The Fireman keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ishikawa content to control rather than advance.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The Fireman tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Ishikawa has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Ishikawa trying to control but The Fireman is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hatsu Ishikawa dominated that round.
That's time! Ishikawa's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ishikawa scoring well with a low kick there.
Donk. Ishikawa catches The Fireman right on the button with a cross.
Ishikawa scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Ishikawa here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
The Fireman is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
The Fireman throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
The Fireman feints a jab promting Ishikawa to slip. The Fireman then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Ishikawa slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Ishikawa walks into a left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Fireman walks into a stiff left hand from Ishikawa.
The Fireman thows a leg kick but Ishikawa checks it
and Ishikawa counters with an outside leg kick.
The Fireman throws a big shot that misses.

The Fireman moves into the clinch.
The Fireman misses with the head strike.
The Fireman is trying to break free.
The Fireman goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
The Fireman throws a head punch that misses.

The Fireman lands a takedown into guard.

Ishikawa is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Ishikawa has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but The Fireman can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The Fireman really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ishikawa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ishikawa bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in The Fireman's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa wants to pass the guard but The Fireman is keeping the position.
Ishikawa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The Fireman wants to stand and escape but Ishikawa is having none of it.
Ishikawa looking to sit in guard and control but The Fireman gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The Fireman throws a strike but Ishikawa rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ishikawa trying to control the position from guard on top but The Fireman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The Fireman wants to get back to his feet but Ishikawa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The Fireman can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ishikawa controls the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The Fireman trying to keep a closed guard but Ishikawa is proving a slippery customer.
Ishikawa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

The Fireman gets a double leg takedown into Ishikawa's guard.
Ishikawa manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. The Fireman manages to get himself to full guard.
The Fireman wants to stand up but Ishikawa is controlling him.
The Fireman is breathing heavily.
Ishikawa wants to pass the guard but The Fireman is keeping the position.
Ishikawa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The Fireman wants to get back to his feet but Ishikawa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ishikawa lands a couple of elbows.
Ishikawa chips away with some ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The Fireman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ishikawa 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.
Ishikawa chips away with some ground and pound.
Ishikawa passes easily into side control. Nice work.
The Fireman taking a bit of punishment here - Ishikawa scoring with strikes.
The Fireman is trying to control Ishikawa's posture but Ishikawa avoids it.
The Fireman takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

Ishikawa is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but The Fireman is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ishikawa trying to control the position but The Fireman is working away.
Ishikawa lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hatsu Ishikawa dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

The Fireman misses with a looping right.
Decent striking displayed by Ishikawa there.
Ishikawa doesn't manage to clinch there - The Fireman circles away.

Ishikawa clinches up with The Fireman and pushes him back against the cage.
Ishikawa blocks a punch to the side of the head.
The Fireman swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ishikawa keeps the fight in the clinch, despite The Fireman's efforts to push away.
The Fireman misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ishikawa.
The Fireman doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ishikawa working some nice short punches in the clinch.
The Fireman fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Ishikawa has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but The Fireman regains guard immediately.
Ishikawa slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Fireman is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Ishikawa is chipping away with strikes.
Ishikawa works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Ishikawa landing strikes.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if The Fireman can do anything to dispel that myth.
Ishikawa lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear The Fireman down.
Ishikawa gets to mount! The Fireman was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Ishikawa scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish The Fireman?
Ishikawa is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ishikawa unloading with bombs!

The Fireman is rocked!

It looks like Church The Fireman has been cut.
Ishikawa loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have The Fireman scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Ishikawa land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Ishikawa stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Hatsu Ishikawa!