PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Aharon Sarkisyan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kai Yamaguchi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sarkisyan comes to the cage accompanied by Ara Gevorgyan - Artsakh. Yamaguchi has chosen Yama Yama as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sarkisyan
vs
Yamaguchi

173 cm
24
163 lbs
11 - 3 - 1

176 cm
25
167 lbs
12 - 3 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Urban Fighter
Aspire Clothing

Urban Fighter
Aspire Nutrition

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 11 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Aharon Sarkisyan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kai Yamaguchi!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Donald Grub and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sarkisyan closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Yamaguchi chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Good shot there by Yamaguchi.

Sarkisyan has Yamaguchi up against the cage in a clinch.
Sarkisyan misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sarkisyan struggles to land a body shot inside as Yamaguchi controls his hands.
Sarkisyan misses with a punch to the body.
Yamaguchi is working Sarkisyan over against the cage.
Yamaguchi lands a nice uppercut.
Sarkisyan misses with some punches.
Yamaguchi is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Yamaguchi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Yamaguchi throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Yamaguchi taking a breather.
A head punch on the inside from Sarkisyan fails to land.
A hook to the body from Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Yamaguchi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sarkisyan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi takes a shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamaguchi tries to work over Sarkisyan's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yamaguchi misses with the head strike.
Sarkisyan swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Yamaguchi blocks an uppercut.
Yamaguchi trying to control the position but instead, Sarkisyan has worked for underhooks and has pushed Yamaguchi into the cage.
Sarkisyan blocks an uppercut.
A short right from Sarkisyan.
Sarkisyan doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sarkisyan throws a punch but it's blocked by Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi gets through Sarkisyan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Yamaguchi tries to throw a body punch but Sarkisyan avoids it by throwing Yamaguchi back against the cage.
Yamaguchi throws a head punch that misses.
Yamaguchi pressing his opponent against the cage.
Yamaguchi has a couple of punches blocked by Sarkisyan.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sarkisyan.
Sarkisyan tries to work over Yamaguchi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yamaguchi has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Sarkisyan seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Yamaguchi can turn it around.
Yamaguchi blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Yamaguchi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sarkisyan misses with a short punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi tries to throw a body punch but Sarkisyan avoids it by throwing Yamaguchi back against the cage.
Yamaguchi misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sarkisyan misses with a punch to the body.
Yamaguchi lands a shot to the body.
Yamaguchi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sarkisyan can't find room to land a body shot as Yamaguchi controls the action.
Yamaguchi lands a body shot in the clinch.
Sarkisyan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sarkisyan swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Yamaguchi blocks a body shot from Sarkisyan.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sarkisyan throws a head punch that misses.
Sarkisyan misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sarkisyan misses with a punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi blocking some punches.
Sarkisyan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sarkisyan misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sarkisyan misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sarkisyan lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Yamaguchi blocks an uppercut.
Sarkisyan working aggressively here.
Yamaguchi is struggling to control the position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi can't find room to land a body shot as Sarkisyan controls the action.
Yamaguchi lands a body punch.
Sarkisyan working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Sarkisyan throws a head punch that misses.
Yamaguchi lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sarkisyan backwards.
Yamaguchi blocks a body shot from Sarkisyan.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Sarkisyan working aggressively here.
Sarkisyan lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi scores with a nice hook to the head.
Sarkisyan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi tries a body shot but Sarkisyan blocks it.
Yamaguchi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sarkisyan misses with the head strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sarkisyan misses with the head strike.
Sarkisyan tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yamaguchi's elbow.
Yamaguchi misses with a punch on the inside.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sarkisyan misses with a punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi struggles to land a body shot inside as Sarkisyan controls his hands.
Sarkisyan misses with a punch on the inside.
Yamaguchi throws a punch but it's blocked by Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi misses with a punch to the body.
Yamaguchi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Yamaguchi stalling.
Sarkisyan stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Sarkisyan tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Yamaguchi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yamaguchi is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sarkisyan makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sarkisyan misses with a punch to the body.
Sarkisyan lands a nice uppercut.
Yamaguchi blocks an uppercut.
Yamaguchi working some nice short punches in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Aharon Sarkisyan will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Yamaguchi looks to land a body kick but Sarkisyan moved away.
Yamaguchi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A cross from Yamaguchi lands.
Sarkisyan throws a leg kick which misses Yamaguchi's front leg but catches the back leg as Yamaguchi tries to avoid it.
Yamaguchi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sarkisyan seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Yamaguchi looks to land a left hand but Sarkisyan moved out of range nicely.
Yamaguchi moves out of range of the leg kick from Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi lands a right hook to the body.
Sarkisyan moves away from the strike by Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sarkisyan is looking to counter punch.
Yamaguchi throws a nice inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamaguchi looks to land a right hand but Sarkisyan moved out of range.
Sarkisyan moves out of range of the strikes.
Sarkisyan is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Sarkisyan jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sarkisyan buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Yamaguchi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sarkisyan sizes up Yamaguchi with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Yamaguchi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sarkisyan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sarkisyan moves in looking to clinch but Yamaguchi pushes him off.
Sarkisyan looks to land a combination. Yamaguchi sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Sarkisyan keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Yamaguchi bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Sarkisyan's head backwards.
Yamaguchi misses with an uppercut.
Nice shot lands for Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Sarkisyan.
A low kick from Yamaguchi is predictable there
and Sarkisyan counters with a straight right hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamaguchi throws a leg kick but Sarkisyan moved away.
Yamaguchi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sarkisyan was well out of range. Poor timing from Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan looks to score with a jab to the body but Yamaguchi is just out of range.
Yamaguchi takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Sarkisyan connects with a solid leg kick.
Yamaguchi circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamaguchi scoring well with a low kick there.
Sarkisyan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Yamaguchi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Good shot there by Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi misses with a hook
and Sarkisyan counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
A left lands for Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi throws a quick inside leg kick.
Yamaguchi with a nice cross.
A jab from Yamaguchi finds it's way through Sarkisyan's defenses.
Yamaguchi throws a lazy uppercut
and Sarkisyan finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Sarkisyan misses with a looping left.
Yamaguchi uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Sarkisyan takes one to the side of the head.
Sarkisyan slips a jab from Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Yamaguchi misses with a looping left.
Sarkisyan looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamaguchi throws a leg kick
and Sarkisyan connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A big left from Sarkisyan misses.
Sarkisyan fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Yamaguchi follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Yamaguchi misses with a wild body shot.
A counter left hand to the body from Sarkisyan misses its target.
Yamaguchi misses with a right hand
and Sarkisyan counters with a low kick, right behind Yamaguchi 's knee.
Sarkisyan checks a leg kick.
Yamaguchi thows a leg kick but Sarkisyan checks it
and Sarkisyan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sarkisyan jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Yamaguchi on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Sarkisyan pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sarkisyan moves away from the strike by Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan punishes Yamaguchi's body with a nice straight punch.
Sarkisyan avoids the body shot from Yamaguchi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yamaguchi throws the left hand but Sarkisyan avoids the punch easily.
Sarkisyan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sarkisyan misses the jab.
Yamaguchi lands with a kick to the temple. Sarkisyan shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sarkisyan takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

Sarkisyan fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Yamaguchi, pushing him back against the cage.
Sarkisyan misses with the head strike.
Sarkisyan misses with a hook from the clinch.
Yamaguchi lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Sarkisyan backwards.
Yamaguchi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sarkisyan's elbow.
Sarkisyan misses with a body punch.
Yamaguchi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sarkisyan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yamaguchi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sarkisyan's elbow.
Yamaguchi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sarkisyan blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short right from Yamaguchi on the inside.
Yamaguchi misses with the head strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Aharon Sarkisyan will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Yamaguchi throws out a powerful jab.
Yamaguchi attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Yamaguchi throws a hook but Sarkisyan blocks it.
Yamaguchi looks to land a body kick but Sarkisyan moved away.
Nice shot by Sarkisyan.
Yamaguchi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sarkisyan manages to avoid it.
A leg kick checked by Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Yamaguchi checks it well.
Yamaguchi gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Yamaguchi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sarkisyan.
A little feinted left hand from Sarkisyan on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Sarkisyan cracks Yamaguchi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sarkisyan ducks under a wild hook from Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan throws a jab when Yamaguchi was well out of range.
Sarkisyan misses with a left hand
and Yamaguchi counters with a nice uppercut.
Sarkisyan tries to clinch up but Yamaguchi circles away and keeps his distance.
Sarkisyan scores with a jab. Yamaguchi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Kai Yamaguchi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sarkisyan moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Yamaguchi with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Yamaguchi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Yamaguchi connects with a solid leg kick.
Sarkisyan moves out of range as Yamaguchi throws a body kick.
Sarkisyan takes a jab right on the kisser.
Yamaguchi misses with a body shot
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Sarkisyan feints and then cracks Yamaguchi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Yamaguchi down.
Sarkisyan ducks right into an uppercut from Yamaguchi.
A telegraphed right hand from Yamaguchi misses the target.
Yamaguchi misses with a shot to the body
and Sarkisyan counters with a stiff right hand.
Yamaguchi throws a chopping leg kick but Sarkisyan manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Yamaguchi lands with an overhand left.
Yamaguchi looks to score with a jab to the body but Sarkisyan is just out of range.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A jab from Yamaguchi misses.
Yamaguchi throws a leg kick

and Sarkisyan counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Sarkisyan.
Kai Yamaguchi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sarkisyan goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sarkisyan gets through Yamaguchi's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Yamaguchi tries to break free but Sarkisyan pushes him back against the cage.

Yamaguchi manages to break the clinch.
Sarkisyan finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sarkisyan will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Yamaguchi appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Sarkisyan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yamaguchi moves away.
Yamaguchi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Sarkisyan chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Yamaguchi misses with a lunging right hand
and Sarkisyan makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Sarkisyan avoids the body shot from Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi looks to land a left hand but Sarkisyan moved out of range nicely.

Sarkisyan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Sarkisyan throws a head punch that misses.
Sarkisyan misses with the head strike.
Yamaguchi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sarkisyan.
Sarkisyan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Aharon Sarkisyan is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamaguchi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yamaguchi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Yamaguchi's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Yamaguchi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Yamaguchi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Aharon Sarkisyan has scored more points in the clinch so far.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sarkisyan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sarkisyan blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Yamaguchi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Yamaguchi misses with a jab to the body
letting Sarkisyan counter with a right hand.
Sarkisyan slips a straight right by Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sarkisyan wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sarkisyan checks a leg kick nicely.
Sarkisyan avoids the body shot from Yamaguchi.
Sarkisyan cracks a nice hook into Yamaguchi's ribs.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Sarkisyan, as that shot connected.
Sarkisyan stuns Yamaguchi with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamaguchi scores with a hook to the body. Sarkisyan takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Yamaguchi throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Yamaguchi needs to keep his hands up - Sarkisyan had a free shot at his head there.
Sarkisyan throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Yamaguchi on the side of the head.
Sarkisyan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Yamaguchi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sarkisyan lands a glancing blow to the side of Yamaguchi's head.
Yamaguchi takes a swing at Sarkisyan's ribcage but misses.
Sarkisyan lands a jab.
Sarkisyan checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Aharon Sarkisyan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sarkisyan has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Aharon Sarkisyan!
A victorious Aharon Sarkisyan thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.
Kai Yamaguchi was interviewed post fight and said 'Arigato gozaimash. '.