PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kazushi Nakamura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pancho Gonzales (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Nakamura
vs
Gonzales

165 cm
22
135 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

172 cm
19
144 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

BioPharm Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kazushi Nakamura!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Pancho Gonzales!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gonzales stuffs the takedown attempt from Nakamura. Nakamura gets slowly back to his feet.
Gonzales misses with a takedown

and Nakamura counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Nakamura.
Gonzales is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nakamura scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nakamura trying to control but Gonzales is working from the bottom.
Gonzales tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Nakamura lands a couple of elbows.
Gonzales working a defensive guard here.
Nakamura thows a big elbow that misses.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nakamura stalks Gonzales and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Gonzales's face. Gonzales staggers backwards, shaken.
Gonzales gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Nakamura decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gonzales's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakamura is working Gonzales over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Nakamura working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Nakamura stands and steps away. Gonzales gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Gonzales shoots and misses

and Nakamura counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Kazushi Nakamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pancho Gonzales.
Gonzales wants to control but Nakamura is keeping busy.

Nakamura seems to be looking for submissions.
Nakamura prevents Gonzales from improving his position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nakamura lands a nice short elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gonzales trying to control from the bottom.
Gonzales punching from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nakamura thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gonzales's head.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Gonzales can do anything to dispel that myth.
Nakamura prevents Gonzales from improving his position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Gonzales misses with a takedown attempt
and Gonzales takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Nakamura with a poor takedown

and Gonzales counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gonzales postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Nakamura preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Gonzales looks gassed!
Gonzales postures up and lands a big shot to Nakamura's brow.
Gonzales chips away with some ground and pound.
Gonzales wants to control from the top but Nakamura keeps moving.
Gonzales really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nakamura. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Gonzales throws a strike but Nakamura rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Nakamura won't allow Gonzales to sweep him here.
Nakamura is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Gonzales is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Gonzales looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nakamura is one step ahead there.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Nakamura's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Nakamura stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gonzales swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Nakamura wants to control from the top but Gonzales keeps moving.
Nakamura throwing strikes from guard but Gonzales blocks nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nakamura circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nakamura looks to land a combination. Gonzales sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Gonzales doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Nakamura counter with a right hand.
Gonzales shoots and misses

and Nakamura counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Gonzales's guard now.
Nakamura has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gonzales looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Nakamura wants to control from the top but Gonzales keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kazushi Nakamura dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Gonzales misses with a takedown attempt

and Nakamura counters with a single leg into guard. Gonzales didn't expect that.
Gonzales 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Nakamura accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nakamura won't allow Gonzales to sweep him here.
Nakamura lands a couple of elbows.
Kazushi Nakamura overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nakamura wants to control from the top but Gonzales keeps moving.
Gonzales looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Nakamura is looking to work some ground and pound but Gonzales has wrist control.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Nakamura decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gonzales is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gonzales is defending against the submission attempts here by Nakamura.
Gonzales keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Nakamura wants to control but Gonzales is keeping him busy.
Gonzales flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Nakamura missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Gonzales is trying to maintain the position but Nakamura is very close to passing his half guard.
Gonzales moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Nakamura loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Gonzales shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Gonzales was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Gonzales working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Nakamura defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Gonzales.
Nakamura gets back to half guard.
Nakamura is trying to control but Gonzales manages to pass to mount!
Nakamura working to try and regain half guard.
Nakamura is working hard here to advance position.
Gonzales with the ground and pound from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gonzales controlling his opponent.
Gonzales breaks from Nakamura's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Nakamura is in a horrible position here. Gonzales smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Nakamura squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
A nice elbow there by Gonzales.
Gonzales with shots to the head and body - Nakamura looks very uncomfortable down there.
Nakamura throwing hammer fists to the chest of Gonzales. What's that going to do exactly?
Nakamura is bucking up trying to escape but Gonzales cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Gonzales with the ground and pound from mount.
Gonzales is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gonzales punishing his opponent with strikes.
Gonzales can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nakamura is looking to escape.
Nakamura tries to hold on but Gonzales postures up.
Gonzales lands a big shot there that rocks Nakamura but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
A nice elbow there by Gonzales.
Gonzales raining down shots from the mount!
Nakamura swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Gonzales with shots to the head and body - Nakamura looks very uncomfortable down there.
Gonzales blocks Nakamura's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pancho Gonzales showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gonzales shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Nakamura sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Gonzales stops Nakamura from getting back to his feet.
Gonzales working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Gonzales lands strikes from half guard.
Well, if Gonzales is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Gonzales wants to pass the guard but Nakamura is defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gonzales content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Nakamura misses with some strikes from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakamura moves into full guard.
Gonzales is working Nakamura over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Gonzales throws a big right hand that misses.
Gonzales controlling from the top position.
Gonzales throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nakamura works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Nakamura throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Nakamura 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.

Nakamura is working actively from the bottom, looking for submissions. He's escaped his hips to the side and he's going for an armbar! Gonzales has his hands clasped together but Nakamura extends an breaks Gonzales's desperate grasp, forcing a tap out due to armbar! Nice BJJ displayed there by Nakamura.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Kazushi Nakamura!