PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ichiro Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hiromitsu Tanaka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Ichiro Yamamoto has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Yamamoto
vs
Tanaka

175 cm
23
170 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
26
175 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Solid chin

Global Empire MMA Gear

[WOT] DTK Designs (Laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ichiro Yamamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hiromitsu Tanaka!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Taro Takaoka and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tanaka stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Tanaka wants it to stay on the feet.
Tanaka avoids a punch combination nicely.
Yamamoto throws a head kick but Tanaka moves out of range.
Tanaka throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Yamamoto fails with an attempt to clinch.

Tanaka drives through with a takedown into Yamamoto's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yamamoto being controlled here, momentarily.
Let's hope that Tanaka 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.
Tanaka postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tanaka throws a big right hand that misses.
Tanaka stays in close to Yamamoto's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Hiromitsu Tanaka was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Tanaka shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Yamamoto manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Yamamoto looking to control.
Tanaka engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Tanaka has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Yamamoto misses with a head kick.
Tanaka lands a jab to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Tanaka fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Yamamoto to the ground. Tanaka is now in Yamamoto's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tanaka trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Tanaka is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Tanaka postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Tanaka is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tanaka lands a couple of elbows.
Tanaka controls from within his opponent's guard.
It looks like Tanaka 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Hiromitsu Tanaka.

Tanaka closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Tanaka slips a nice elbow through Yamamoto's hands, connecting with Yamamoto's forehead.
Tanaka throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

Tanaka stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Yamamoto to get to his feet.
Yamamoto lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tanaka drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yamamoto working a defensive guard here.
Yamamoto is breathing heavily.
Tanaka cracks Yamamoto with a solid left hand.
Yamamoto can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Tanaka controls the pace.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Tanaka throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Yamamoto works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiromitsu Tanaka 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.

Tanaka changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Yamamoto looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tanaka working away.
Tanaka wants to lay and pray for a moment but Yamamoto keeps working.
Tanaka is chipping away with strikes.

Tanaka tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Tanaka has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Tanaka throws an elbow but Yamamoto slips to the side and avoids it well.
Tanaka working the ground and pound.
Tanaka working the ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yamamoto tries to buck Tanaka off but Tanaka is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Yamamoto's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Tanaka has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The strikes coming from Tanaka are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Tanaka working the ground and pound from side control.
Hiromitsu Tanaka has got the better of the ground game so far.
Yamamoto takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
You can see the frustration on Yamamoto's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Yamamoto is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

Yamamoto is rocked!
Yamamoto is letting Tanaka control him for a moment.
Yamamoto taking punishment in the form of punches.
Oh Yamamoto is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
This has been an exciting period of action!
A big shot lands for Tanaka! That's hurt Yamamoto! Will he recover? Tanaka fires away with more strikes and the referee has to step in to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Hiromitsu Tanaka!
Hiromitsu Tanaka took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Global Empire MMA Gear for their support in the buildup to the fight.