PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tired Scarecrow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Masaaki Kanagawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Scarecrow
vs
Kanagawa

192 cm
25
211 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

186 cm
26
211 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tired Scarecrow!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Masaaki Kanagawa!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Peter Branson and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Decent striking displayed by Scarecrow there.
A big right from Kanagawa misses.
Scarecrow tries to bum rush Kanagawa with a series of wild strikes but Kanagawa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kanagawa now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Jab, jab by Scarecrow - just one landing.
The fight stays on the outside here - Scarecrow looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Scarecrow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kanagawa lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Tired Scarecrow seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Scarecrow wants to clinch up but Kanagawa keeps it at a distance.
Scarecrow lands a jab to the head.

It looks like Masaaki Kanagawa has been cut.
Scarecrow tries to grapple but his opponent circles
letting Kanagawa counter with a right hand.
Kanagawa circles away from the clinch attempt
and Kanagawa counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Scarecrow drops Kanagawa with a beautiful combination! Kanagawa stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Scarecrow is looking for the KO!
Scarecrow scores with a nice head shot.
Scarecrow misses the body punch
and Kanagawa counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kanagawa moves into range and connects with a jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Scarecrow throws a hook but Kanagawa blocks it.
Kanagawa swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Kanagawa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Scarecrow is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kanagawa keeps the fight on the outside.
Scarecrow doesn't manage to clinch there - Kanagawa circles away.
Kanagawa swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up.
Scarecrow darts in trying to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow tries to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a stiff right hand.
The fighters circling - Scarecrow throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
It seemed like Kanagawa was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up.
Kanagawa lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Scarecrow tries to close the distance and clinch but Kanagawa swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Scarecrow moves into the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Scarecrow fails to land.
Scarecrow working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Kanagawa misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Scarecrow scores with a shot to the side of Kanagawa's head.
Scarecrow struggles to land a body shot inside as Kanagawa controls his hands.
Scarecrow lands a nice uppercut.
Kanagawa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Kanagawa can't find room to land a body shot as Scarecrow controls the action.
Kanagawa misses with a punch on the inside.
Kanagawa wants to get back to striking at distance but Scarecrow won't allow it.
Kanagawa looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Kanagawa is trying to break free.
Kanagawa lands a shoulder strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow takes a shot to the head.
Scarecrow works on Kanagawa's body with a couple of short punches.
Kanagawa has had enough of the clinch but Scarecrow keeps him there for the moment.
Scarecrow misses with a hook to the ribs.
A right handed body shot lands from Kanagawa.
Scarecrow lands a hook that snaps the head of Kanagawa backwards.
Scarecrow misses with the head strike.
Scarecrow lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Kanagawa tries to work over Scarecrow's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Scarecrow tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kanagawa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Scarecrow misses with a punch on the inside.
Scarecrow can't find room to land a body shot as Kanagawa controls the action.
Kanagawa is trying to break free.
Scarecrow lands with a right to the head.
Scarecrow prevents Kanagawa from breaking the clinch.
Kanagawa blocks an uppercut.
Scarecrow lands a left hand that snaps the head of Kanagawa backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kanagawa lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Scarecrow lands a left hand that snaps the head of Kanagawa backwards.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A short body shot lands from Scarecrow as the two fighters clinch.
Kanagawa has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Scarecrow has a couple of punches blocked by Kanagawa.
Scarecrow swings wildly with an uppercut but Kanagawa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Scarecrow lands a hook to the side of the head.
I was talking to Scarecrow's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Kanagawa blocking some punches.
Kanagawa looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Kanagawa blocking some punches.
Kanagawa lands with a left to the head.
Kanagawa wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Scarecrow has him pressed against the cage.
Scarecrow blocks a body shot from Kanagawa.
Scarecrow misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Kanagawa working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Scarecrow lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Kanagawa has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Still in the clinch, Scarecrow scores with a nice short uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tired Scarecrow dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Masaaki Kanagawa's cut.
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.

Scarecrow tries to clinch up.
Scarecrow tries to clinch there but Kanagawa circles away.
Scarecrow fails with an attempt to clinch.

Scarecrow moves into the clinch successfully.
Kanagawa lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Kanagawa doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Scarecrow tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kanagawa's elbow.
Kanagawa can't break the clinch.
Kanagawa is trying to force a seperation but Scarecrow has the dominant position.
Scarecrow working aggressively here.
Kanagawa lands a hook that snaps the head of Scarecrow backwards.
Kanagawa misses with the head strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Scarecrow misses with a punch on the inside.
Kanagawa is trying to break free.
Scarecrow scores with a shoulder strike.
Kanagawa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Kanagawa prevents a body shot from Scarecrow.
Tired Scarecrow has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Kanagawa can't break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kanagawa softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Scarecrow.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Scarecrow tries to work over Kanagawa's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Kanagawa breaks from the clinch.
Kanagawa ducks under a wild hook from Scarecrow.
It seemed like Kanagawa was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Scarecrow doesn't manage to clinch there - Kanagawa circles away.
Kanagawa doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Scarecrow tries to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a nice uppercut.
Scarecrow is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Scarecrow tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kanagawa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Scarecrow tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kanagawa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up but Kanagawa circles away and keeps his distance.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up
and Kanagawa counters with a straight right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kanagawa ducks under a wild hook from Scarecrow.

Scarecrow clinches up against the cage.
Kanagawa blocking some punches.
Kanagawa is trying to force a seperation but Scarecrow has the dominant position.
Kanagawa is trying to break the clinch but Scarecrow has him pressed against the cage.
Scarecrow swings wildly with an uppercut but Kanagawa uses good head movement to avoid it.

Kanagawa breaks the clinch.
Scarecrow lands the left hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up
letting Kanagawa counter with a right hand.
Scarecrow avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Kanagawa swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Scarecrow is looking to clinch.
A little jabbing left from Kanagawa on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Kanagawa might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Kanagawa throws a good cross that connects.
Scarecrow throws a nice looking combination but Kanagawa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up but Kanagawa circles away and keeps his distance.
Scarecrow closes the distance looking to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A big right from Kanagawa misses.
It looked like Scarecrow wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Scarecrow slips under a jab from Kanagawa.
Kanagawa lands a head shot.
Scarecrow tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kanagawa paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Scarecrow is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circle momentarily. Kanagawa darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

Scarecrow is rocked!
Kanagawa lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Oh Scarecrow is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Scarecrow tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kanagawa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Scarecrow seems to have got his legs back now.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up.
Donk. Kanagawa catches Scarecrow right on the button with a cross.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Scarecrow is looking to clinch.
Kanagawa looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Kanagawa with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Scarecrow to score with a decent uppercut.
Scarecrow moves in looking to clinch but Kanagawa pushes him off.
Scarecrow goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

Scarecrow moves into range and clinches up with Kanagawa.
Kanagawa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kanagawa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Scarecrow takes a shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Masaaki Kanagawa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Masaaki Kanagawa's cut.
That's time! Scarecrow's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Scarecrow tries to clinch there but Kanagawa circles away.
Kanagawa swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Scarecrow fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kanagawa now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kanagawa manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Scarecrow gets a clinch.
Kanagawa tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Scarecrow's elbow.
Kanagawa tries to throw a body punch but Scarecrow avoids it by throwing Kanagawa back against the cage.
Kanagawa has had enough of the clinch but Scarecrow keeps him there for the moment.
Kanagawa scores with a shoulder strike.
Kanagawa is trying to break the clinch but Scarecrow has him pressed against the cage.
Kanagawa misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Scarecrow misses with a hook to the ribs.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A frustrated look appears on Kanagawa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Kanagawa wants to break the clinch but can't.
Scarecrow struggles to land a body shot inside as Kanagawa controls his hands.
Kanagawa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Scarecrow throws a punch but it's blocked by Kanagawa.
Kanagawa prevents a body shot from Scarecrow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Kanagawa.
Scarecrow working aggressively here.
Kanagawa prevents a body shot from Scarecrow.
Scarecrow doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kanagawa wants to get back to striking at distance but Scarecrow won't allow it.
Kanagawa blocks an uppercut.
Kanagawa has had enough of the clinch but Scarecrow keeps him there for the moment.
Scarecrow tries to work over Kanagawa's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kanagawa blocking some punches.
Scarecrow goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Scarecrow lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kanagawa backwards.
Kanagawa is working Scarecrow over against the cage.
Scarecrow misses with a punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Scarecrow.
Scarecrow has a couple of punches blocked by Kanagawa.
A frustrated look appears on Kanagawa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Scarecrow tries a body shot but Kanagawa blocks it.
Kanagawa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Scarecrow misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Scarecrow can't find room to land a body shot as Kanagawa controls the action.
Scarecrow tries a body shot but Kanagawa blocks it.

Kanagawa breaks from the clinch.
Kanagawa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Scarecrow swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
letting Kanagawa counter with a right hand.
Scarecrow darts in trying to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a stiff right hand.
A cross from Kanagawa lands.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Scarecrow slips a jab from Kanagawa.
Scarecrow displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kanagawa throws out the jab.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kanagawa manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kanagawa looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Nice defenses there by Kanagawa.
Despite the aggression on Kanagawa's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow moves in looking to clinch but Kanagawa pushes him off.
Scarecrow closes the distance looking to clinch
and Kanagawa counters with a stiff right hand.
Scarecrow is looking to clinch but Kanagawa is avoiding it.
Kanagawa looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kanagawa jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Scarecrow gets a clinch.
Kanagawa lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Kanagawa breaks from the clinch.
Scarecrow tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Kanagawa counters with a stiff right hand.
Scarecrow misses the shot to the body.
Scarecrow tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Scarecrow takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Scarecrow is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kanagawa swats away the attempt to clinch by Scarecrow.
Scarecrow is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Scarecrow tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kanagawa manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kanagawa looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

Scarecrow clinches.
A short right from Scarecrow on the inside.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Scarecrow throws a punch but it's blocked by Kanagawa.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Kanagawa.

And that's the end of the fight!
Masaaki Kanagawa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kanagawa has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Masaaki Kanagawa!