PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Prince (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Meguru Takayanagi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Prince
vs
Takayanagi

173 cm
20
155 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

177 cm
22
167 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thomas Prince!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Meguru Takayanagi!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Prince tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Takayanagi paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Prince clinches.
A shot in the inside from Takayanagi.
Takayanagi tries a body shot but Prince blocks it.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Prince.
Prince lands with a right to the head.
Takayanagi lands a hook that snaps the head of Prince backwards.
Takayanagi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Prince is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Prince is working Takayanagi over against the cage.
Takayanagi working aggressively here.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Takayanagi has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Prince misses with some punches.
Prince throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Prince trying to stall but Takayanagi improves his position.
Prince lands a hook to the side of the head.
Takayanagi pushes Prince back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Takayanagi is trying to pull guard but Prince turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Takayanagi fails to pull guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Takayanagi pulls Prince into guard.
Takayanagi wants to sweep here but Prince controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Takayanagi looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Prince got a little sloppy there for a moment and Takayanagi has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Prince has managed to get both his arms back between Takayanagi's legs - danger averted.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Takayanagi keeping moving, preventing Prince from controlling successfully.
Prince knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Takayanagi on the ground.
Takayanagi looking to control.

Prince avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takayanagi wants to sweep but no luck.
Takayanagi not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Takayanagi keeping moving, preventing Prince from controlling successfully.
We've been hearing good reports from Prince'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.

Takayanagi looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Prince is defending well. Takayanagi quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Prince has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Takayanagi celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Meguru Takayanagi!