PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kyle Cranmer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kane Frenchy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Cranmer
vs
Frenchy

225 cm
18
135 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

160 cm
20
131 lbs
0 - 6 - 0

Good takedowns
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kyle Cranmer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kane Frenchy!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Yukihiro Shimada and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Frenchy gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Cranmer counters with a one-two to the body.
Cranmer keeps the fight on the outside.
Frenchy tries for a takedown but Cranmer circles away easily
and Cranmer cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Frenchy wants to clinch up but Cranmer keeps it at a distance.
Kane Frenchy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Frenchy misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kyle Cranmer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kane Frenchy.
Cranmer is looking to clinch.
Cranmer moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Frenchy tries to clinch but Cranmer is having none of it.
Cranmer doesn't manage to clinch there - Frenchy circles away.
Frenchy throws a head kick that misses.
Cranmer fails to land with a series of punches.
Cranmer lands a jab-cross combination.
Frenchy misses with a low kick.
Frenchy shoots and misses

and Cranmer counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Cranmer tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Cranmer will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Frenchy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Cranmer pulls his head out easily.

Cranmer stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Frenchy with a lazy takedown attempt

and Cranmer counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Cranmer.

Frenchy has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Cranmer uses from the top position.
Cranmer wants to get up but he can't break Frenchy's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Frenchy looks gassed!
Frenchy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Cranmer trying to stand up but can't free himself from Frenchy's guard.
Frenchy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Cranmer is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Frenchy manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Cranmer is squirming around, avoiding Frenchy's attempts to control the action.
Frenchy controlling the position easily from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like Frenchy might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Cranmer is trying to stand.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Kane Frenchy hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Frenchy gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Cranmer counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kyle Cranmer 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.

Frenchy shoots in looking for a takedown. Cranmer tries to sprawl out of it but Frenchy keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cranmer manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Frenchy closes the distance and clinches up with Cranmer, looking for a takedown. Frenchy pushes Cranmer against the cage but Cranmer circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Frenchy.
Kyle Cranmer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kane Frenchy.

Cranmer closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Frenchy's guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Cranmer wants to stand and escape but instead Frenchy has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Frenchy passes Cranmer's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Frenchy throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Cranmer is trying to stand up here but Frenchy is controlling him well.
Frenchy wants to stand up but Cranmer is controlling the position.

Frenchy looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Frenchy escapes and gets back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cranmer cracks Frenchy with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Cranmer looks to land a combination but Frenchy avoids it well.
Cranmer throws a series of punches but Frenchy avoids them all with ease.

Cranmer throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Frenchy was covering up waiting for the punch and Cranmer finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Frenchy has his foot on Cranmer's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Cranmer works his way back into a safe position though.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Frenchy is on top in guard.
Frenchy trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Frenchy stays in close to Cranmer's body and controls the position.
Cranmer is looking to stand up but Frenchy isn't so interested in that idea.
Cranmer knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Frenchy on the ground.
Frenchy trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kane Frenchy will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Frenchy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Frenchy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Cranmer manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cranmer tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Frenchy fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Frenchy shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Cranmer pinned against the cage. Cranmer gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kyle Cranmer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Frenchy wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Frenchy looks for a takedown but Cranmer sprawls well.
Kyle Cranmer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kane Frenchy.
Frenchy misses with a wild combination.
Frenchy shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Cranmer but Cranmer pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Frenchy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cranmer swats away the attempt to clinch by Frenchy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Frenchy is looking to clinch but Cranmer is avoiding it.
Cranmer fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cranmer really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Cranmer tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Frenchy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Frenchy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Cranmer tries to avoid it but Frenchy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Cranmer to the ground. Cranmer escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Cranmer misses with a double jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Frenchy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A head kick misses from Frenchy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Frenchy wants to break free but Cranmer has control.
Cranmer is trying to push Frenchy away but Frenchy has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Frenchy has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Cranmer is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Frenchy is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Cranmer wants to break free but Frenchy has control.

Cranmer jumps guard.
Cranmer wants to stand but Frenchy is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Frenchy throwing strikes from guard but Cranmer blocks nicely.
Frenchy wants to stand and escape but instead Cranmer has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Cranmer has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Cranmer has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Frenchy is proving hard to escape from.
Frenchy working a defensive guard here.

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 Kyle Cranmer.
Well Cranmer has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:28
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Kyle Cranmer!
Kyle Cranmer seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.