PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Tyrone Bate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brad Burns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burns has chosen Speech Cobras as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Bate
vs
Burns

166 cm
32
148 lbs
25 - 14 - 1

188 cm
31
143 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Project Mayhem
Meet the Future

Meet the Future

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Tyrone Bate!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Brad Burns!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Sosuke Kotani and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burns uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bate.
Some bone on bone action there as Bate checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Bate thows a left - swing and a miss!
Burns connects with a high kick.
Burns swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Burns looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Bate waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Burns.
Bate uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Burns.
Bate throws an off balance right hand
and Burns counters with a stiff right hand.
Bate throws a body punch but Burns moves out of range.
Burns ducks under a wild hook from Bate.
Bate throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Burns finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
We've been hearing reports that Bate has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bate misses with an uppercut. Burns saw that one coming.
Burns swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Bate.
Bate bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Burns's head backwards.
Bate lands an overhand right.
Nice shot by Burns.
Bate tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Burns was well out of range. Poor timing from Bate.
Bate slips under a jab from Burns.
Burns takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Bate misses with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bate misses the shot to the body.
Bate throws a jab but it's blocked by Burns.
Burns misses with a head kick.
Bate takes a swing at Burns's ribcage but misses.
Bate lands with a shot to the body.
Bate misses with a straight left.
Bate misses with an uppercut. Burns saw that one coming.
Burns avoids the body shot from Bate.
Bate moves out of range of the body kick from Burns.
Burns looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bate fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Burns manages to avoid it.
Burns connects with a right hand. Bate shakes it off.

Bate looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Bate trying to control but Burns is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Burns trying to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bate trying to control but Burns is working from the bottom.
Bate prevents Burns from getting back to his feet.
Bate stays in close to Burns's body and controls the position.

Tyrone Bate has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Bate throws a hook to the side of Burns's head but Burns sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bate throws a right hand that misses
and Burns counters with a series of strikes. Bate will be more careful next time no doubt.
Bate loads up on a big right hand but Burns slips the punch.
Bate waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Burns.
Burns lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Bate comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bate takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bate misses with an uppercut. Burns saw that one coming.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bate. Burns does a little dance to reset his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Bate throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bate fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Bate misses with a lunging right hand
and Burns counters with a nice leg kick.
Bate shoots for a double leg takedown but Burns sprawls well. He's pushed Bate's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Bate looks to throw the jab but Burns is out of range.
Bate throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Burns's waist but Burns gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Bate off to one side.
Burns throws a leg kick but Bate moved away.
Burns throws a head kick that misses.
Bate shoots in for a takedown but Burns shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tyrone Bate. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bate swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns avoids the body shot from Bate.
Bate swings for the body but Burns moves out of range.
Burns is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Bate looks to score with a jab to the body but Burns is just out of range.
Burns throws a low kick, looking for Bate's leg but Bate calmly moves out of range.
Bate throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bate dives in for a single leg takedown but Burns sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Bate misses with a body punch.
Bate is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Burns's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Burns is working Bate over against the cage.
Bate tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Burns has a couple of punches blocked by Bate.
Burns tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bate has a couple of punches blocked by Burns.
Bate leaning against his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burns can't find room to land a body shot as Bate controls the action.
Burns slows down the pace here.
Burns trying to land knees to the body.
Burns tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Burns tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bate tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Burns's elbow.
Bate swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short right from Bate on the inside.
Burns has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Burns tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Still in the clinch, Bate scores with a nice short uppercut.
Burns struggles to land a body shot inside as Bate controls his hands.
Burns misses with a punch on the inside.

Bate has hold of one of Burns's legs. Burns is fighting the takedown attempt but Bate gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Burns tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bate won't allow Burns to get back to his feet.
Burns really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bate. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bate might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Bate with a flurry of punches that miss.
Burns preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bate slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tyrone Bate just wasn't active enough.
Burns moves into range and connects with a jab.
Bate's corner calls for a 1-2. Bate obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bate loads up on a big right hand but Burns slips the punch.
Bate misses with an uppercut
and Burns counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Bate shoots in looking for a takedown. Burns tries to sprawl out of it but Bate keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Burns manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bate throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Burns sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bate takes a swing at Burns's ribcage but misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Burns moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Bate looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Bate dominated that second round.
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.

Burns rushes Bate and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Burns escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Brad Burns is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bate is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Burns.
Bate swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Bate ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Burns moves away.
Burns avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Bate misses the target.
Burns misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bate.
Bate throws a body punch but Burns moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bate fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Burns manages to avoid it.
Bate looks to land a left hand but Burns moved out of range nicely.
Burns throws an overhand right that lands on Bate's shoulder, as Bate tries to avoid the shot.
Bate throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Bate, as that shot connected.
Bate misses with a wild body shot.
Burns lands a body shot.
Burns uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bate.
Bate waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Burns.
Burns misses with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burns connects with an inside leg kick.
Burns moves out of range of the strikes.
Bate feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Burnss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Bate lands with a cross.
Bate misses with a hook to the body

and Burns moves into the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Burns as Bate tries to tie him up.
Bate goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Burns tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Burns lands a left hand that snaps the head of Bate backwards.
Bate tries to work over Burns's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Burns misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Burns.
Burns scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Bate misses with a body punch.
Bate tries a body shot but Burns blocks it.
Burns misses with a short punch on the inside.
Burns tries to throw a body punch but Bate avoids it by throwing Burns back against the cage.

Burns breaks the clinch.
Burns looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Bate moves out of range of the body kick.
Bate misses with a jab to the body
and Burns makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

Burns clinches with his opponent.
Burns misses with a punch to the body.
Burns wants to break the clinch but can't.
Burns misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bate lands with a short shot to the head.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Bate.

Burns breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Burns tries to clinch but Bate moves away
and Bate counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bate misses with a wild body shot.
Bate listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Bate scores with a jab to the body.
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!
Bate misses the jab.
Tyrone Bate is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Burns tries to close the distance and clinch up but Bate swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Bate slips a jab and a cross from Burns.
Burns displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bate throws out the jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close third round but Brad Burns just about did enough to take it.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Bate gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Bate swings for the body but Burns moves out of range.
Bate throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Bate lands a nice hook to Burns's body. Burns takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Burns tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Bate misses with a body shot.
Bate misses with a wild body shot.
Bate misses with a right hand
and Burns makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Bate swings widly with a right hand
and Burns finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Burns drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bate waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Burns.
A shot to the liver by Bate. Beautiful body shot.
Bate scores with a decent looking hook.
Bate misses with a left hand

and Burns counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Burns is leaning against Bate and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Burns tries to work over Bate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Burns misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Burns doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Bate lands a hook to the side of the head.
Burns is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Burns breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Burns lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bate is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Burns's half guard.
Bate lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bate wants to lay and pray for a moment but Burns keeps working.
Bate wants to free his trapped foot but Burns is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Bate lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Bate wants to lay and pray for a moment but Burns keeps working.
Burns is trying to stand.
Burns is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Bate passes to full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns is desperately trying to improve his position but Bate has a good base and remains in mount.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Burns can do anything to dispel that myth.
Bate with shots to the head and body - Burns looks very uncomfortable down there.
Bate landing strikes from the mount.
Bate is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Burns can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Bate wants to finish this one by submission but Burns is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Bate.
Burns is trying to escape the mount.
Bate lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Bate working Burns over with strikes here.
Burns really wants to buck Bate off and get back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Burns defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Bate.

Bate has control of Burns's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Burns regains control of the situation pretty easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bate cracks Burns with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Bate dominating with strikes here.
Bate lands a big shot there that rocks Burns but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Bate trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Bate scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Burns?
Bate scoring with strikes but Burns is staying in there.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bate working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Burns is rocked!
Bate scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Burns is still in real trouble! Can Bate finish him?
Bate tries to control but Burns wriggling away.
Bate has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Bate working away from the top, dropping strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Bate had his way with Brad Burns in that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Bate swings widly with a right hand
and Burns counters with a straight right hand.
Burns seems to have recovered his senses.
Bate looks to score with a jab to the body but Burns is just out of range.
Bate throws a hook but Burns blocks it.
Bate lands with a right hand.
Bate misses with a hook. Burns ducked under it nicely.
Bate thows a body shot but no joy.
Burns throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Burns throws a leg kick but Bate sees it coming and moves out of range.
Bate throws a lazy uppercut

and Burns counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns tries to work over Bate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Burns doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Burns tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bate trying to control the position but instead, Burns has worked for underhooks and has pushed Bate into the cage.

Burns's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bate is trying hard to land a takedown here. Burns sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Burns throws a low kick but Bate avoids it.
Bate swings for the body but Burns moves out of range.
Bate misses with a left hand
and Burns counters with an outside leg kick.
Brad Burns has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burns uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Bate.
Donk. Bate catches Burns right on the button with a cross.
Bate swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Bate misses with a looping left.
Bate looks to score with a jab to the body but Burns is just out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bate. Burns does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bate changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Burns tries to avoid it but Bate manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Burns to the ground. Burns escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Nice takedown defense from Burns. No joy for Bate on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tyrone Bate. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bate takes a swing at Burns's ribcage but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bate misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Burns.
Burns needs to keep his hands up - Bate had a free shot at his head there.
Bate looks to land a right hand but Burns moved out of range.
Burns tries to close the distance and clinch but Bate swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Bate rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Burns holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Burns escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bate throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Burns slips under a jab.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Burns.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A left lands for Burns.
Burns scores with a nice strike.
Bate misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Burns.
Burns moves out of range of the strikes.
Bate rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Burns counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bate keeps the fight on the outside.
A good leg kick by Burns.
Tyrone Bate seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Burns ducks under a wild hook from Bate.
Burns stuffs the takedown attempt from Bate. Bate gets slowly back to his feet.

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 Tyrone Bate.
I think Bate 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight for Tyrone Bate!
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight for Tyrone Bate!
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight for Tyrone Bate!

Tyrone Bate wins by unanimous decision!
Tyrone Bate retains his featherweight title!
A very excited looking Tyrone Bate rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.