PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mike Carpenter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kasumi Yoko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Carpenter
vs
Yoko

193 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
18
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mike Carpenter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kasumi Yoko!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Shirou Masuda and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yoko shoots in looking for a takedown but Carpenter manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Yoko's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Carpenter throws a head kick that misses.
Yoko tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Carpenter paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Yoko lands with a shot to the body.
Yoko dives in and grabs Carpenter's left leg, looking for a takedown. Carpenter pushes down on Yoko's head and hops out.
Yoko avoids the head kick by Carpenter.
Yoko shoots and misses

and Carpenter counters with a nice double leg into side control. Yoko won't be happy with that.
Mike Carpenter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kasumi Yoko.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Yoko tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Carpenter wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Carpenter is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Yoko has escaped the position, nice work there.
Yoko is looking to reverse the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Carpenter moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Carpenter looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Yoko is avoiding damage well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carpenter wants to stand but Yoko has his arm trapped.
Yoko wants to get back to his feet.
Yoko wants to control but Carpenter postures up.
Yoko tries to escape but Carpenter is in control.
Carpenter tries to stand but Yoko is controlling his head.
Yoko seems a little lost for a moment, as Carpenter dominates the positioning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yoko is trying to control Carpenter's posture but Carpenter avoids it.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Yoko thows a body shot but no joy.

Carpenter rushes Yoko and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Carpenter prevents Yoko from breaking the clinch.
Yoko changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Carpenter fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Yoko looks winded!
Carpenter darts in looking for a takedown but Yoko gets double underhooks and turns Carpenter into the cage.

Carpenter escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Carpenter scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Carpenter really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Carpenter tries to stand but Yoko is controlling his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carpenter scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Yoko to see if he's OK.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Carpenter slows the pace down.
Yoko wants to control but Carpenter postures up.
Carpenter staying calm.

Carpenter tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Carpenter has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Carpenter wants to stand but Yoko is controlling his arm.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yoko struggling a bit here.
Yoko tries to buck Carpenter off but Carpenter is having none of it.
Carpenter wants to stand but Yoko is controlling his arm.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yoko tries to improve position but can't.
Yoko is trying to control Carpenter's posture but Carpenter avoids it.
Carpenter working the body and head with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Nice takedown defense from Yoko. No joy for Carpenter on that attempt.
Carpenter shoots in looking for a takedown but Yoko manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Carpenter's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Yoko with a poor takedown

and Carpenter counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Yoko breaks from the clinch.
Yoko tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Yoko throws a head kick but Carpenter moves out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Carpenter. No joy for Yoko on that attempt.
Yoko throws a body kick that misses.
Yoko tries to score a power double leg takedown but Carpenter sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Yoko somewhat.
Mike Carpenter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kasumi Yoko.
Yoko is trying hard to land a takedown here. Carpenter sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Carpenter avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Yoko is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Carpenter gets a takedown into half guard.
Carpenter takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Carpenter tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Yoko.
Carpenter lands strikes from half guard.
Carpenter takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carpenter wants to pass to mount but Yoko is defending the position.
Well, if Carpenter is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Carpenter wants to stand but Yoko has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Mike Carpenter just wasn't active enough.
A slapping body kick lands there for Carpenter.
Yoko fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Carpenter manages to avoid it.
Carpenter does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Yoko shoots and misses
and Carpenter counters with a good low kick that Yoko was not able to check.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carpenter fails to land with a series of punches.
Yoko closes the distance looking to clinch
and Carpenter makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Carpenter tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Carpenter throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Yoko fails with the takedown.

Carpenter throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Yoko was covering up waiting for the punch and Carpenter finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Yoko working a defensive guard but Carpenter passes into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yoko is trying to stand back up but Carpenter is controlling him
Still in half guard, Carpenter seems content to control.
Yoko wants to stand back up but Carpenter manages to pass into side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Carpenter takes a little break here. Yoko wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Yoko controls the position for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Carpenter 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Carpenter shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Carpenter is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Yoko is trying to stand back up but Carpenter is controlling him
Yoko takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Carpenter is pressing down on Yoko's thigh, looking to free his foot. Yoko is holding on for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yoko tries to roll over but Carpenter keeps him under control.
Carpenter is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Carpenter has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mike Carpenter wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Yoko is looking to clinch but Carpenter is avoiding it.

Carpenter drives through and clinches with Yoko against the cage.
Yoko working hard to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yoko tries to break the clinch but Carpenter is controlling the position.
Yoko wants to stall.
Carpenter wants to get back to striking at distance but Yoko won't allow it.
Yoko unloads a knee to the mid-section. Carpenter lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Carpenter has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Yoko is trying to keep an underhook but Carpenter manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Carpenter slows the pace down in half guard.
Yoko is trying to stand up here but Carpenter is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Mike Carpenter wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Yoko doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Carpenter cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Yoko fails with a takedown attempt.

Carpenter shoots in and gets a takedown into Yoko's guard.
Carpenter sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carpenter stopping the sweep attempt from Yoko.
Carpenter trying to stand up but can't free himself from Yoko's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mike Carpenter wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Carpenter fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Carpenter moves into the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Carpenter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Carpenter showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Carpenter 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike Carpenter!