PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Yoshido Nakamara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikoshima Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Nakamara
vs
Watanabe

170 cm
25
150 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
24
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Very confident

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yoshido Nakamara!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nikoshima Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Nakamara throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Watanabe was covering up waiting for the punch and Nakamara finishes the takedown easily into guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Nakamara controls from within his opponent's guard.
Nakamara seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Watanabe for as long as he can get away with.

Nakamara drops back, looking for a kneebar! Watanabe looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Watanabe looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Watanabe!

Watanabe is trying to get an arm triangle but Nakamara is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe is trying to ground and pound but Nakamara uses the momentary lack of control by Watanabe to regain half guard.
Nakamara controlling the position for now.
Watanabe thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Nakamara's head.
Nakamara is trying to stand back up but Watanabe is controlling him
Watanabe thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Watanabe prevents Nakamara from standing back up.
Watanabe thows a huge punch but Nakamara dodges it nicely.
Nakamara looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

Watanabe is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Nakamara has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe prevents Nakamara from standing back up.
Nakamara trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Nakamara is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Watanabe is looking to advance position but Nakamara won't allow it.
Nakamara is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nakamara blocking the ground and pound attempt from Watanabe.
Watanabe missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Watanabe missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Nakamara is trying to maintain the position but Watanabe is very close to passing his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Nakamara manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Watanabe trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Nakamara preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Watanabe stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nakamara swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Watanabe postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nakamara trying to control the position here.

Watanabe drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Nakamara dives on top into guard.
We've been informed that Watanabe has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Watanabe looks winded!
Nakamara sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yoshido Nakamara has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Nakamara closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Nakamara lands in his opponent's guard.

Nakamara thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nakamara controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoshido Nakamara dominated that 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.

Nakamara feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Nakamara throwing strikes from guard but Watanabe blocks nicely.
Nakamara seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Yoshido Nakamara wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Nakamara fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nikoshima Watanabe is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Watanabe wants to clinch up but Nakamara keeps it at a distance.
Nakamara circles away from the clinch attempt.
Watanabe looks to clinch

and Nakamara counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Nakamara looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

Nakamara is trying to work for a kimura but Watanabe is defending well.
Nakamara controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Nakamara prevents Watanabe from standing back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Yoshido Nakamara wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Nakamara swats away the attempt to clinch by Watanabe.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe is looking to clinch but Nakamara is avoiding it.
Nikoshima Watanabe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Watanabe wants to clinch

and Nakamara counters with a takedown into side control.
Nakamara tries to advance to mount but Watanabe denies him.
You can see the frustration on Watanabe's face as Nakamara controls the position.
Nakamara advances nicely into full mount.

Nakamara goes for an armbar but Watanabe turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Watanabe.
Watanabe scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watanabe with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nakamara working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Watanabe.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Watanabe is breathing heavily.
Watanabe is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Watanabe scoring with punches to the head and body.

Nakamara working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Watanabe doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Oh but Nakamara is tightening it up a little... Watanabe has to be careful here... He's got his foot tucked under now, this looks tight! Watanabe reacted too slowly and this one could be over in a matter of seconds! YES! Watanabe taps out! Nice BJJ there by Nakamara!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:43 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Yoshido Nakamara!