PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hayato Sakuraba (ranked 1238 p4p, 2594 weight class) and Sir Turner (ranked 179 p4p, 383 weight class). Sir Turner is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Sakuraba
vs
Turner

180 cm
26
190
4 - 1 - 0

183 cm
26
190
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Hayato Sakuraba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Sir Turner!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, David Hoff and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Turner thows a leg kick but Sakuraba checks it

and Sakuraba counters with a takedown into side control.
Sakuraba throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Sakuraba working the ground and pound but Turner is defending the strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sakuraba is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Turner is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Sakuraba is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Turner has escaped the position, nice work there.
Sakuraba moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sakuraba throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Sakuraba has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Turner can do anything to dispel that myth.
Sakuraba misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Sakuraba working the head with strikes.
Sakuraba in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Turner is not content to let Sakuraba control the position.

Sakuraba wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Turner, who protects the arm well.
Sakuraba creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Turner sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sakuraba working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Sakuraba is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Turner is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Sakuraba tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Sakuraba tries to score with some ground and pound. Turner controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Sakuraba looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Turner is avoiding damage well.

Sakuraba is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Turner knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Sakuraba working the ground and pound but Turner is defending the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba wants to lay and pray for a moment but Turner keeps working.
Turner is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sakuraba is controlling him well.
Turner dodges the ground and pound from Sakuraba.
Turner takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

Sakuraba swings around for an armbar but Turner sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Sakuraba's guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sakuraba is on top in guard.

Sakuraba postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sakuraba working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sakuraba trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sakuraba wants to pass the guard but Turner is keeping the position.
Sakuraba throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Turner works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba lands a couple of elbows.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sakuraba accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sakuraba in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sakuraba throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Turner works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sakuraba with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sakuraba controls from within his opponent's guard.
Sakuraba won't allow Turner to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sakuraba sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Turner's guard.
Sakuraba keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hayato Sakuraba dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Turner lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Sakuraba has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Sakuraba and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Sakuraba tries to counter with a takedown but Turner is quick to defend against it.
Turner misses with a combination

and Sakuraba counters with a shoot takedown. Turner fights it but they end up in guard.
Sakuraba lands a couple of digs.
Sakuraba is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Sakuraba drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Sakuraba jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Sakuraba working some strikes from top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sakuraba throwing strikes but missing.
Sakuraba throwing strikes but missing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba stands up over Turner, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sakuraba with a nice head shot there.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sakuraba's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sakuraba content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sakuraba working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Sakuraba working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hayato Sakuraba overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sakuraba is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Turner is breathing heavily.
Sakuraba slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba throws a strike aimed at the side of Turner's head but Turner avoids it well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Sakuraba tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Sakuraba sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Turner is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Sakuraba misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Sakuraba creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Turner sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sakuraba is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Turner can do to turn this around?

Sakuraba has an Americana. Turner didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Sakuraba is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Sakuraba hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Hayato Sakuraba!
In defeat, Sir Turner stepped up to the mic, saying 'Fuck that nigga'.