PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kengo Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rikki Tavarius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tavarius has chosen It Dont Come Easy as his entrance music. Kengo Watanabe is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Watanabe
vs
Tavarius

182 cm
33
200 lbs
13 - 19 - 0

186 cm
34
201 lbs
22 - 18 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kengo Watanabe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rikki Tavarius!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Watanabe misses with a jab, cross combination.
Tavarius lands a leg kick that knocks Watanabe off balance momentarily.
Watanabe throws a left and a right that both miss

and Tavarius counters with a shoot takedown. Watanabe fights it but they end up in guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Tavarius stopping the sweep attempt from Watanabe.
Tavarius pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Watanabe is keeping the position for now.
Watanabe wants to sweep but no luck.
Tavarius wants to control from the top but Watanabe keeps moving.
Watanabe 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tavarius lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Watanabe's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Watanabe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Tavarius trying to control the position from guard on top but Watanabe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Rikki Tavarius hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Tavarius displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Watanabe.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tavarius scores with a jab to the body.
Watanabe misses with a body shot.
Tavarius scores with a head kick.

It looks like Kengo Watanabe has been cut.
Watanabe misses the jab.
Watanabe jabs Tavarius right on the nose. Tavarius blinks but takes it well.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tavarius throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
A big left from Watanabe misses.
Watanabe lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Tavarius circles away quickly and effectively.
Watanabe misses with a straight right.
Watanabe throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Tavarius counters with a single leg into guard. Watanabe didn't expect that.
Tavarius 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Tavarius slips nicely into half guard.
Watanabe is looking for a sweep. Tavarius is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Watanabe is concentrating on defense, preventing Tavarius from advancing position.
Watanabe wants to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tavarius working the head and body with strikes.
Watanabe pushes Tavarius off looking to stand but Tavarius dives back in and keeps control.
Tavarius misses with a head shot. Watanabe uses the momentum to regain guard.
Watanabe thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tavarius wants to control from the top but Watanabe keeps moving.
Watanabe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rikki Tavarius dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kengo Watanabe's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Watanabe shoots for a double leg takedown but Tavarius sprawls well. He's pushed Watanabe's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Good leg kick by Tavarius there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Watanabe tries for a takedown but Tavarius circles away easily

and Tavarius counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Watanabe!
Tavarius tries to advance to mount but can't.
Watanabe struggling a bit here.
Tavarius working the ground and pound.
Tavarius has control of an arm but Watanabe manages to advance to Tavarius's back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tavarius is keeping busy.
Rikki Tavarius has got the better of the ground game so far.
Watanabe missing with punches from the back.
Watanabe is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Tavarius. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.

It looks like Rikki Tavarius has been cut.
Tavarius covering up well and avoiding damage.
Watanabe misses with punches from the back.
Watanabe biding his time, looking for the opening.
Watanabe misses with an elbow to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Watanabe lands shots from the back.
Watanabe misses with a punch to the head.
Tavarius is covering up but some of the strikes from Watanabe are getting through and doing damage.

Tavarius is rocked!
Tavarius has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Watanabe misses with an elbow to the head.
Watanabe punches the canvas rather than the man.
Tavarius staying busy and making it hard for Watanabe to control.
Watanabe thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Watanabe missing with punches from the back.
Oooh a big shot gets through from Watanabe. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
Watanabe is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Tavarius up.
Tavarius is still in real trouble! Can Watanabe finish him?

That has opened up Rikki Tavarius's cut even more.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe throwing sloppy strikes.
Watanabe is raining down hard shots and and Tavarius has had enough - he's tapped out due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:23 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Kengo Watanabe!
Kengo Watanabe seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.