PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Magnus Pulmber (ranked 24960 p4p, 422 weight class) and Yasunori Sakai (ranked 6389 p4p, 371 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Pulmber
vs
Sakai

170 cm
25
156 lbs
0 - 1 - 1

168 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Magnus Pulmber!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yasunori Sakai!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Ivan Kurochkin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A lazy body kick from Pulmber

and Sakai counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Pulmber is trying to escape back to his feet but Sakai uses the scramble to pass into side control.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Sakai tries for a kimura but Pulmber is defending well.
Pulmber throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Sakai takes a little break here. Pulmber wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

Sakai goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Pulmber rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Sakai's guard! Nice work there by Pulmber!
Sakai trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sakai has his foot on Pulmber's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Pulmber works his way back into a safe position though.

Sakai had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Pulmber defends it easily.
Pulmber looking to pass the guard.
Pulmber trying to control but Sakai is working from the bottom.
Sakai has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sakai not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Pulmber trying to control but Sakai is working from the bottom.
Sakai pulls Pulmber in close to prevent any damage.

Sakai is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakai utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Pulmber throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Sakai seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Pulmber fails with the takedown.
Sakai changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Pulmber does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Sakai looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Pulmber misses with a low kick as Sakai jumps back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Sakai shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pulmber pinned against the cage. Pulmber gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Sakai shoots in looking for a takedown but Pulmber manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Sakai's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Magnus Pulmber has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yasunori Sakai.
Pulmber throws a head kick that misses.
Sakai's coach down at Lock and Roll Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Sakai's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.

Sakai gets a takedown into half guard.
Sakai 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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pulmber punching from the bottom.
Pulmber trying to hold on to Sakai's head to control him but Sakai postures up.
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 Magnus Pulmber will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Pulmber stuffs the takedown attempt from Sakai. Sakai gets slowly back to his feet.
Pulmber throws a leg kick

and Sakai counters with a shoot takedown. Pulmber fights it but they end up in guard.
Sakai trying to control but Pulmber is working from the bottom.

Sakai postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Pulmber is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Sakai, into his guard.

Pulmber trying to control the position from guard on top but Sakai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pulmber tries to free his leg and advance position but Sakai is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pulmber wants to get up but he can't break Sakai's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Pulmber looking to pass the guard.
Pulmber trying to control but Sakai is working from the bottom.
Sakai managing to control the position.

Sakai looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Pulmber passes into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Pulmber missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sakai regains full guard. Nicely done.

Sakai is looking for a triangle here but Pulmber uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

Pulmber tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakai is trying to improve his position.
The ground and pound from Pulmber seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Sakai struggling a bit here.
Sakai is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Sakai is not content to let Pulmber control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Pulmber tries for a takedown but Sakai sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Pulmber lands with a nice body punch.
Sakai checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Sakai changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Pulmber with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Sakai shoots and misses

and Pulmber counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Pulmber wants a takedown.
Sakai tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pulmber's elbow.
Pulmber is trying to pull guard but Sakai has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Magnus Pulmber. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sakai goes for a takedown attempt but Pulmber pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Pulmber connects with a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Magnus Pulmber dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sakai shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Pulmber is trying to defend but Sakai finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Sakai seems to be working for a kimura but Pulmber defends the submission attempt.

Sakai is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Sakai passes to side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pulmber is looking to regain half guard here but Sakai keeps moving and retains side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sakai tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sakai has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Pulmber prevents Sakai from moving into mount.
Pulmber is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Pulmber is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sakai's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sakai's back!
Pulmber is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sakai can do to turn this around?
Sakai tries to break free.
Pulmber missing with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakai trying to control but not successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Pulmber is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Sakai defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Magnus Pulmber overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pulmber misses with punches from the back.
Pulmber thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Sakai trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Pulmber tries to keep control of the position but Sakai is staying busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pulmber tightening his grip on Sakai, looking for the choke.
Pulmber throwing strikes and Sakai squirms under the pressure, ending up mounted.
Pulmber thowing shots but they're missing.
Pulmber looking to control but Sakai is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Pulmber landing shots from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakai manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Pulmber is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Pulmber trying to control the position from guard on top but Sakai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sakai 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.

And that's the end of the fight!
Magnus Pulmber showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pulmber 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Magnus Pulmber!
Yasunori Sakai was interviewed post fight and said 'みんなさん、ごめんなさい！'.