PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shadow Deathgrip (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Yoshida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shadow Deathgrip has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Deathgrip
vs
Yoshida

195 cm
28
180 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

175 cm
25
182 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shadow Deathgrip!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mark Yoshida!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Hirohito Nitta and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yoshida fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Yoshida gets the takedown into side control.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Deathgrip tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Yoshida misses with the ground and pound.
Deathgrip really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Yoshida in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Yoshida is staying tight to Deathgrip's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Let's hope that Yoshida has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

Yoshida tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Deathgrip tries to buck Yoshida off but Yoshida is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Deathgrip takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Yoshida working the ground and pound.
Deathgrip prevents Yoshida from moving into mount.
Yoshida working away.
Yoshida in side control lands a decent elbow.
Yoshida moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Yoshida throws an elbow but Deathgrip slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Deathgrip regains half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Yoshida in particular looking to stall.
Deathgrip avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Yoshida.
Yoshida moves nicely into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Deathgrip is working to avoid the ground and pound but Yoshida connects with a decent elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Deathgrip dodges the ground and pound from Yoshida.
Yoshida takes a little break here. Deathgrip wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Deathgrip is looking to regain half guard here but Yoshida keeps moving and retains side control.
Deathgrip is trying to work for a sweep but Yoshida has mounted him!
Yoshida looking to finish Deathgrip with some ground and pound. This is bad for Deathgrip!
Deathgrip is looking to improve his position but Yoshida isn't that keen on the idea.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida lands with some strikes.
Deathgrip can't escape the position.
Yoshida takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Yoshida wants to control the pace but Deathgrip is squirming around nicely.
Yoshida breaks from Deathgrip's wrist control and lands an elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yoshida lands a heavy elbow.
Yoshida landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Deathgrip is looking to escape.
Yoshida landing punches.
Yoshida landing strikes, looking to finish!
Yoshida lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Deathgrip sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Deathgrip wants to improve his position but Yoshida is controlling well.
Yoshida throwing shots but Deathgrip is blocking nicely.
Yoshida not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
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!
Yoshida scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Yoshida is trying to control the action in half guard but Deathgrip is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Yoshida controlling the action here.
Yoshida drops an elbow to the side of Deathgrip's head.
Yoshida controlling the action here.
Yoshida takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Deathgrip kicks Yoshida off and gets back to his feet.
Deathgrip throws a leg kick but Yoshida sees it coming and moves out of range.
Deathgrip shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Yoshida but Yoshida pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Yoshida shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Yoshida lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Yoshida stops Deathgrip from getting back to his feet.
Yoshida lands with a punch from half guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Yoshida is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Deathgrip is just riding it out for now. Yoshida eventually gives up the hold.
Yoshida is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yoshida tries to pass to full mount but Deathgrip defends it.
Still in half guard, Yoshida seems content to control.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Deathgrip moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Deathgrip preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Deathgrip is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Yoshida is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Yoshida works over Deathgrip with some ground and pound from guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yoshida won't allow Deathgrip to sweep him here.
Deathgrip wants to get back to his feet but Yoshida is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Yoshida dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Yoshida misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Mark Yoshida is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Yoshida lands a body shot.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Deathgrip.
Yoshida misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Yoshida misses the shot to the body.
Yoshida shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Deathgrip as he avoids it easily.
Shadow Deathgrip has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Yoshida.
Deathgrip keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Deathgrip lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Yoshida circles away quickly and effectively.
Yoshida has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Deathgrip jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Deathgrip throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Yoshida.
Yoshida throws a right and a left that Deathgrip avoids nicely.
Yoshida misses with a hook
and Deathgrip counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yoshida fails with the takedown.
Yoshida throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Deathgrip makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

Yoshida drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Yoshida is breathing heavily.
Deathgrip is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Yoshida slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Deathgrip postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Deathgrip throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Yoshida works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Deathgrip tries to free his leg and advance position but Yoshida is retaining full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Deathgrip drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Yoshida dives on top into guard.
Deathgrip will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Yoshida wants to control from the top but Deathgrip keeps moving.
Deathgrip is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Deathgrip is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Yoshida reverses the position - he's now on top in Deathgrip's guard.

Deathgrip throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Deathgrip being controlled here, momentarily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yoshida loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yoshida stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Deathgrip swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Yoshida landing with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Yoshida trying to control the position from guard on top but Deathgrip is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Deathgrip is looking for a triangle but Yoshida pushes his legs off easily.
Yoshida postures up in Deathgrip's guard and throws a big left but Deathgrip blocks it.
Yoshida is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida trying to control but Deathgrip is working from the bottom.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Mark Yoshida wasn't active enough on the ground.
Deathgrip scores with a sloppy right hand. Yoshida should have avoided that one.
Yoshida misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Deathgrip shoots in and drives through. Yoshida sprawls well.
Deathgrip stuffs the takedown attempt from Yoshida. Yoshida gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice sprawl there from Deathgrip as Yoshida shoots in.
Deathgrip scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Yoshida looks for a takedown but Deathgrip sprawls well.
Yoshida takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Deathgrip moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Deathgrip, right into the meat.
Yoshida lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Deathgrip circles away quickly and effectively.
Deathgrip shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Yoshida as he avoids it easily.
Deathgrip is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Deathgrip lands with a cross.
Deathgrip throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Yoshida stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yoshida throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A swing and a miss from Deathgrip.
Yoshida closes the distance and clinches up with Deathgrip, looking for a takedown. Yoshida pushes Deathgrip against the cage but Deathgrip circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Deathgrip scores with a jab to the jaw.
Yoshida swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Yoshida tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Deathgrip swivels and escapes.
Yoshida displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Deathgrip.

Yoshida shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Yoshida is just content to waste time from the top position. Deathgrip takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Yoshida connects with a couple of short punches.
Deathgrip working a defensive guard here.
Yoshida looking to sit in guard and control but Deathgrip gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Deathgrip drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Yoshida manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Deathgrip has Yoshida in his guard.
Yoshida with a nice head shot there.
Yoshida throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Shadow Deathgrip has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Yoshida throws a big elbow that misses.
Deathgrip working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Yoshida.
Yoshida working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Yoshida is stalling in the full guard.
Yoshida lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mark Yoshida is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yoshida wants to pass the guard but Deathgrip is keeping the position.
Yoshida sitting in guard, not really doing much.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Yoshida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Yoshida 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 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Mark Yoshida!
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight for Mark Yoshida!
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Mark Yoshida!

Mark Yoshida wins by unanimous decision!