PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Balian Of Ibelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mitsuhiro Ishida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Of Ibelin
vs
Ishida

180 cm
24
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

167 cm
20
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Determined

Malicious Intent Fight Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Balian Of Ibelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mitsuhiro Ishida!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Stewart Dunkirk and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ishida fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Of Ibelin avoids it really well and circles away.
Of Ibelin fails with an attempt to clinch.

Of Ibelin drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

Ishida looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Ishida is pulling down on Of Ibelin's head to control his posture.
Of Ibelin throws a big elbow that misses.

Ishida has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Of Ibelin can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Ishida looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Of Ibelin has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ishida is proving hard to escape from.
Of Ibelin wants to control from the top but Ishida keeps moving.
Of Ibelin would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Ishida working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Of Ibelin doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Of Ibelin manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Of Ibelin postures up.
Ishida keeping full guard, as Of Ibelin tries to pass.
Ishida is pulling down on Of Ibelin's head to control his posture.

Ishida escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Of Ibelin gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Ishida has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Of Ibelin off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Of Ibelin doesn't manage to clinch there - Ishida circles away.
Of Ibelin scores with a kick to the body.
Of Ibelin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Of Ibelin shoots in looking for a takedown but Ishida manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Of Ibelin's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Of Ibelin misses with a takedown attempt

and Ishida counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Of Ibelin's guard now.
Of Ibelin is breathing heavily.

Of Ibelin kicks Ishida off and gets to his feet.
Of Ibelin moves to clinch but Ishida breaks away

and Ishida counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ishida is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Of Ibelin is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ishida landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Of Ibelin trying to hold on to Ishida's head to control him but Ishida postures up.
Of Ibelin taking some punishment here, with Ishida in his half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
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. Ishida connects with a nice short shot to Of Ibelin's temple.
Ishida looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Of Ibelin has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ishida is working away from the top position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitsuhiro Ishida dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Of Ibelin tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Ishida counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Of Ibelin's guard now.
Of Ibelin has momentary wrist control but Ishida slips an elbow through the middle.
Of Ibelin keeping moving, preventing Ishida from controlling successfully.
Of Ibelin is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ishida is controlling him.
Ishida postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ishida wants to pass the guard but Of Ibelin is keeping the position.
Ishida trying to control but Of Ibelin is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Of Ibelin is on top in guard.

Ishida has his feet on Of Ibelin's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Of Ibelin shoots and misses

and Ishida counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ishida.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Of Ibelin working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ishida.
Ishida has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ishida's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Ishida advances to half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Of Ibelin trying to hold on to Ishida's head to control him but Ishida postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishida slips a nice elbow through Of Ibelin's hands, connecting with Of Ibelin's forehead.
Ishida working the head and body with strikes.
Ishida not doing much here.
Ishida moves into full mount! Of Ibelin won't be happy about that!
Of Ibelin is trying desperately to improve position.
Ishida tries to control but Of Ibelin wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishida working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Ishida goes for an armbar but Of Ibelin turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Of Ibelin.
Ishida trying to control the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ishida can do anything to dispel that myth.

Ishida wriggles free and stands up.
Of Ibelin shoots and misses

and Ishida counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ishida stays in close to Of Ibelin's body and controls the position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ishida cracks Of Ibelin with a solid left hand.
Ishida sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ishida content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ishida is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Ishida drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Of Ibelin dives on top into guard.
Mitsuhiro Ishida has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ishida wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ishida trying to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitsuhiro Ishida showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Of Ibelin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A leg kick checked by Ishida.
Of Ibelin wants to clinch.
Of Ibelin keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Of Ibelin swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Of Ibelin gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Ishida decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Of Ibelin's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Of Ibelin wants to sweep but no luck.
Ishida wants to control from the top but Of Ibelin keeps moving.
Of Ibelin is looking to sweep but instead, Ishida has passed into half guard.
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. Ishida connects with a nice short shot to Of Ibelin's temple.
Ishida passes the guard and advances to mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Of Ibelin in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ishida fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Ishida looking to control and managing it successfully.
Ishida landing punches.
Of Ibelin is wriggling around trying to escape.
Ishida lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishida lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Ishida content just to control the position here.
Ishida raining down shots from the mount!
Ishida lands a heavy elbow.
Of Ibelin keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ishida is working for a guillotine from mount but Of Ibelin frees his head quite easily.
Of Ibelin is in all sorts of trouble here.
Ishida with a couple of short strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ishida landing strikes, looking to finish!
Ishida controlling his opponent.
Ishida's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Balian Of Ibelin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mitsuhiro Ishida is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ishida is landing with some decent strikes but Of Ibelin is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mitsuhiro Ishida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ishida winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mitsuhiro Ishida!