PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tsuyoi Kakuto (ranked 1440 p4p, 202 weight class) and Weimin Liaw (ranked 19742 p4p, 621 weight class). Kakuto comes to the cage accompanied by Gorillaz-Dirty Harry. Tsuyoi Kakuto has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kakuto
vs
Liaw

190 cm
26
220 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

187 cm
30
187 lbs
5 - 5 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Brawler
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tsuyoi Kakuto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Weimin Liaw!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Illya Tyunina and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Liaw lands a two punch combo.

It looks like Tsuyoi Kakuto has been cut.

Liaw darts in and clinches Kakuto up against the cage.
Kakuto jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Liaw walks away with a smile on his face. Kakuto gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Liaw rushes Kakuto and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Liaw is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Liaw wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kakuto has him pressed against the cage.

Kakuto gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Kakuto controlling the action here.
Kakuto trying to mount his opponent but Liaw defends it.
Liaw wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kakuto controlling the action here.
Kakuto is thwarting Liaw's attempts to control the position.
Kakuto has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Kakuto seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Liaw misses with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Kakuto gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Kakuto prevents Liaw from breaking the clinch.

Liaw escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kakuto misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Kakuto darts in and clinches Liaw up against the cage.
Liaw wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kakuto has him pressed against the cage.
Kakuto has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Liaw after a bit of a struggle.

Liaw manages to break the clinch.
Weimin Liaw seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kakuto clinches with his opponent.
Liaw looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Liaw is trying to break the clinch but Kakuto has him pressed against the cage.

Liaw pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kakuto misses with a takedown
and Liaw counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tsuyoi Kakuto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Liaw lands a slapping body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liaw misses with the body kick

and Kakuto counters with a single leg into guard. Liaw didn't expect that.
Kakuto throws a big right hand that misses.
Kakuto stops Liaw from standing up.
Liaw striking off his back but it's not causing Kakuto any problems.
Liaw is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Kakuto is controlling him.
Kakuto is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kakuto wants to control from the top but Liaw keeps moving.
Liaw is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Liaw can't keep his opponent in guard - Kakuto advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Liaw is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kakuto prevents Liaw from standing back up.
Still in half guard, Kakuto seems content to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Liaw moves into range and clinches up with Kakuto.

Liaw manages to break the clinch.
Kakuto looks for a takedown but Liaw sprawls well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Weimin Liaw will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Tsuyoi Kakuto's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kakuto throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Liaw was covering up waiting for the punch and Kakuto finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Kakuto won't allow Liaw to sweep him here.
Liaw will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Liaw is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Kakuto pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Liaw is keeping the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kakuto content to stall in guard here.
Kakuto seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Liaw for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kakuto has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Liaw clinches.

Liaw breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kakuto controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Kakuto prevents Liaw from getting back to his feet.
Kakuto scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Liaw wants to get back to his feet but Kakuto passes into half guard.
Liaw throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Liaw wants to control but Kakuto is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liaw wants to sweep but Kakuto has passed to side control!
Liaw misses with an elbow from the bottom.
Kakuto takes a little break here. Liaw wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Tsuyoi Kakuto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Liaw tries to bench press Kakuto off him but Kakuto keeps the position.
Kakuto content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Kakuto working the head and body with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Liaw is trying to escape the position but Kakuto is controlling the position.
Liaw takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Liaw tries to control but Kakuto manages to take his back.
What can Liaw do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Liaw trying to control the action but Kakuto just sinks the hooks in.
Liaw might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Kakuto haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsuyoi Kakuto dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tsuyoi Kakuto's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Liaw pushes Kakuto up against the cage in a clinch.
Liaw is looking to break free of the clinch but Kakuto has double underhooks.
Kakuto has Liaw pressed against the cage, preventing Liaw from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Liaw is trying to break the clinch but Kakuto is controlling him.
Kakuto keeps control of Liaw as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Liaw tries to break the clinch but Kakuto is controlling the position.
Liaw has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kakuto avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Liaw tries to break free but Kakuto pushes him back against the cage.
Kakuto tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kakuto tries for a takedown. No joy.

Liaw breaks from the clinch.
Liaw swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kakuto is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Liaw.
Liaw fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kakuto ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liaw tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kakuto was well out of range. Poor timing from Liaw.
Kakuto feinted with a counter takedown.

Kakuto shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Kakuto passes Liaw's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Liaw is trying to stand back up but Kakuto is controlling him
Liaw is trying to control but Kakuto passes into side control!
You can see the frustration on Liaw's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kakuto is chipping away with strikes.
A lull in the action here as Kakuto stalls from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liaw tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Kakuto is cranking Liaw's head sideways - that looks painful. He's managed to get his other arm under the chin and this looks bad for Liaw! He's tightened the choke and Liaw is tapping out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:42 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Tsuyoi Kakuto!
Tsuyoi Kakuto looked relieved post fight as he said the following; ' "Tennōheika Banzai!!!!" 天皇陛下万歳, ("Long live the Emperor"), '.