PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between So Chai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Masaki Sumitani (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chai's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Bring it on. Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Masaki Sumitani enters the cage!

Chai
vs
Sumitani

184 cm
21
195 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

185 cm
21
195 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, So Chai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Masaki Sumitani!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, James Ackerman and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chai bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Chai moves away from the strike by Sumitani.
Sumitani dives in and grabs Chai's left leg, looking for a takedown. Chai pushes down on Sumitani's head and hops out.
Sumitani throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Sumitani shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Chai shoots in but no luck this time.
Sumitani cracks a nice hook into Chai's ribs.
Sumitani throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Chai sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sumitani misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Chai.
Sumitani throws a poor cross that misses

and Chai counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Sumitani's guard now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chai wants to pass the guard but Sumitani is keeping the position.
Chai sitting in guard here, content to control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chai's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai won't allow Sumitani to get back to his feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of So Chai.
Sumitani takes a swing at Chai's ribcage but misses.
Sumitani throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sumitani misses with a few strikes there.
Chai feints a jab promting Sumitani to slip. Chai then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Sumitani slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Sumitani throws a right and a left that Chai avoids nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sumitani fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Sumitani scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Sumitani fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Chai avoids it really well and circles away.
Sumitani looks to throw the jab but Chai is out of range.
Sumitani swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Chai shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sumitani defends it nicely.
Sumitani tried to score with a low kick but Chai checks it.
Chai shoots in for a double leg but Sumitani sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for So Chai. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chai has a takedown stuffed.
Sumitani will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Sumitani connects with a body shot.
Chai with a poor takedown
and Sumitani counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Chai with a lazy takedown attempt
and Sumitani counters with a series of strikes. Chai will be more careful next time no doubt.
Sumitani misses with a wild body shot.
Chai shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sumitani lands a nice shot to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Chai avoids the body shot from Sumitani.
Sumitani fails to land with a series of punches.
Sumitani thows a body shot but no joy.
Sumitani misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chai avoids the body shot from Sumitani.
Sumitani tries to work over Chai's front leg with a kick but Chai checks it.
Sumitani ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Chai moves away.
A clash of legs there as Chai blocks the low kick.
Sumitani looks to throw the jab but Chai is out of range.
Sumitani ducks under a wild hook from Chai.
Chai defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sumitani.
Sloppy strikes from Sumitani. Those never looked like landing.
Nice takedown defense from Chai. No joy for Sumitani on that attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sumitani fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sumitani tries to land a front kick but Chai steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Chai slips a jab and a cross from Sumitani.
Chai shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Sumitani counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Chai's guard now.
Sumitani trying to control the position from guard on top but Chai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chai keeping full guard, as Sumitani tries to pass.
Sumitani trying to control the position from guard on top but Chai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chai preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Chai keeping moving, preventing Sumitani from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sumitani prevents Chai from getting back to his feet.
Sumitani throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Chai pushes Sumitani off and scrambles back to his feet.
Chai will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Masaki Sumitani seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sumitani tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Chai shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sumitani as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for So Chai. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai looks for a takedown but Sumitani sprawls well.

Sumitani closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Chai to the mat! Chai manages to get full guard.
Sumitani looking to sit in guard and control but Chai gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Chai tries to free his leg and advance position but Sumitani is retaining full guard.
Chai passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sumitani is looking for a sweep.
Sumitani pushes Chai away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Chai gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Sumitani tries to buck Chai off but Chai is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Chai crashes against the mat.
Masaki Sumitani has got the better of the ground game so far.
Chai landing a few strikes.
Chai throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Chai just content to control the position.
Chai postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Sumitani can do anything to dispel that myth.
Chai wants to control but Sumitani is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sumitani pushes Chai away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Chai gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Chai wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sumitani keeps working.
Chai landing strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chai tries to advance to mount but Sumitani denies him.
Chai fails to land a wild elbow strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Masaki Sumitani will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Chai slips a jab and a cross from Sumitani.
Chai misses with a combination
and Sumitani counters with a two punch combo.

Sumitani gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Chai to score an easy takedown into full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chai accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Chai's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Sumitani is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Chai connects with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sumitani can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Chai controls the pace.
Chai throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sumitani wants to stand but Chai is controlling the position.
Chai controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Chai misses with a takedown attempt - Sumitani sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Horrible takedown by Chai or perhaps it was just good defense by Sumitani which made him look bad.
Sumitani throws a right hand that misses
and Chai counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
So Chai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sumitani throws a body punch but Chai moves out of range.
Chai avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sumitani thows a body shot but no joy.
Sumitani misses with a double jab.
Sumitani fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sumitani misses with a hook. Chai ducked under it nicely.
Sumitani misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sumitani slips a jab and a cross from Chai.
Sloppy strikes from Sumitani. Those never looked like landing.
Chai fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for So Chai. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Chai avoids the body shot from Sumitani.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chai shoots in looking for a takedown but Sumitani manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Chai's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Chai shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sumitani as he avoids it easily.

Chai closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Sumitani's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sumitani looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Chai stops Sumitani from standing up.
Chai pushes down on Sumitani's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Still in half guard, Chai seems content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sumitani is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Chai scores with a couple of nice shots.
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. Chai connects with a nice short shot to Sumitani's temple.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Chai slows the pace down in half guard.
Chai thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Sumitani's head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice strikes from Chai there.

And that's the end of the fight!
So Chai showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Sumitani 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:29
Judge James Glass scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Masaki Sumitani!
A very excited looking Masaki Sumitani made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.