PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Richard Lethal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Pots (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). James Pots is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Lethal
vs
Pots

197 cm
20
218 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
200 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Richard Lethal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, James Pots!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Hirohito Nitta and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pots fails with a takedown attempt.
Horrible takedown by Pots or perhaps it was just good defense by Lethal which made him look bad.
Horrible takedown by Pots or perhaps it was just good defense by Lethal which made him look bad.
Richard Lethal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Pots.
Nice takedown defense from Pots. No joy for Lethal on that attempt.
Lethal shoots in for a takedown but Pots shows good takedown defense.
Sloppy strikes from Lethal. Those never looked like landing.
Lethal throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Pots.
Pots shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lethal but Lethal pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Pots tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Lethal defends well and Pots ends up having to push Lethal into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lethal is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Pots gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Lethal goes for a takedown attempt but Pots pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Lethal shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Pots sprawls well. Pots wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Lethal gets slowly back to his feet.

Lethal clinches.

Pots jumps guard.
Lethal is looking to pass into half guard but Pots pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Pots is in guard.
Lethal lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Pots!
Pots keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lethal controlling the pace for now.
Pots swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Pots is looking to get to half guard.
Pots prevents any damage by holding on tight.
Lethal throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Pots because Lethal loaded up on that one.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pots can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Lethal there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Lethal tries to control but Pots wriggling away.

Pots defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Lethal.
Pots wants to control but Lethal is having none of it.
Lethal looking to control but Pots is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Lethal looking to finish with strikes here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lethal trying to control but Pots is having none of it.
Pots is desperately trying to improve his position but Lethal has a good base and remains in mount.
Pots tries to hold on but Lethal pushes him away.
Lethal throws a sloppy strike and Pots uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Pots has ended up in Lethal's guard.
Lethal will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Lethal is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pots is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Lethal dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Pots swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Lethal moves into the clinch.
Pots goes for a takedown in the clinch but Lethal prevents it.
Pots has Lethal pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Lethal manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Pots tries to break the clinch but Lethal is controlling the position.

Lethal jumps into guard, dragging Pots to the mat.
Lethal doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Lethal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Lethal looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Pots controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pots's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Lethal throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Lethal wants to stand but Pots is controlling the position.
Pots trying to control the position from guard on top but Lethal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. James Pots hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Lethal stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Lethal wants it to stay on the feet.
Richard Lethal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Pots.
Pots shoots in looking for a takedown but Lethal manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pots's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Pots goes for a double leg but Lethal avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Lethal continues to drive forward.

Lethal breaks from the clinch.
Lethal shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pots as he jumps to the side.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Pots.
Pots fails with the takedown.
Pots is breathing heavily.
Pots shoots in for a double leg but Lethal sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pots tries to clinch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Pots takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Lethal ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Lethal clinches up against the cage.
Lethal dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Pots changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Lethal fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Lethal tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Pots swivels and escapes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Lethal.
Lethal shoots in for a double leg but Pots sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Lethal tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Pots counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Pots shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Lethal defends it nicely.
Lethal fails with an attempt to clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lethal shoots in for a takedown but Pots shows good takedown defense.
Pots shoots in but Lethal avoids the takedown attempt easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Lethal dominated that second 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!

Lethal shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pots pinned against the cage. Pots gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pots stuffs the takedown.

Pots takes the fight into the clinch.
Lethal misses with a hook to the ribs.

Lethal escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pots dives in for a single leg takedown but Lethal sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Lethal is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Pots pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Richard Lethal. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pots drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Lethal gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Lethal is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Pots is looking to break free of the clinch but Lethal has double underhooks.
Lethal has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Pots avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

Lethal gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Pots regains guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Pots working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Lethal doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Lethal manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Pots bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lethal's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pots's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Lethal keeping moving, preventing Pots from controlling successfully.
Lethal is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Pots is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Let's hope that Pots 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.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

OK we're going to have a standup here. James Pots hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Lethal shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pots moves in looking to clinch but Lethal pushes him off.
A combination from Lethal does no damage.
Richard Lethal is winning the standup battle so far.
Lethal throws a head kick but Pots moves out of range.
Pots goes for a double leg but Lethal avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Lethal continues to drive forward.
Pots is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Pots is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Lethal to keep the fight standing.
Lethal changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Pots fights it off and pushes away nicely.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Lethal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lethal fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Horrible takedown by Pots or perhaps it was just good defense by Lethal which made him look bad.
Pots will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Pots looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lethal is trying to keep Pots in close.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Pots comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Lethal has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Richard Lethal!