PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Zachary Crawford (ranked 4656 p4p, 3055 weight class) and Shinji Mikami (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Crawford
vs
Mikami

183 cm
22
135
0 - 0 - 0

173 cm
25
145
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zachary Crawford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shinji Mikami!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mikami swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Mikami misses with a kick to the body.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Nice sprawl there from Crawford as Mikami shoots in.
Mikami fails with a takedown attempt.
Crawford tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Mikami tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Crawford defends well and Mikami ends up having to push Crawford into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Zachary Crawford has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shinji Mikami.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Crawford pushes Mikami up against the cage in a clinch.
Mikami jumps guard but Crawford stands there with Mikami around his waist. Mikami gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Mikami breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Crawford closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Crawford lands in his opponent's guard.
Mikami wants to get back to his feet but Crawford passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Crawford wants to stand but Mikami has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Crawford wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mikami keeps working.

Mikami looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Crawford is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Crawford missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Crawford takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Mikami regains full guard. Nicely done.
Mikami throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Mikami wants to stand and escape but Crawford is having none of it.
Mikami keeping moving, preventing Crawford from controlling successfully.
Mikami 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.
Crawford wants to control from the top but Mikami keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford is fighting to break Mikami's control of his arms but Mikami is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Mikami is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Mikami fails in his attempt to clinch.

Crawford closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Mikami can't do much from the bottom here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Crawford wants to control for a moment but Mikami uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Crawford connects with a nice short shot to Mikami's temple.
Crawford works his way into full mount!
Crawford prevents Mikami from getting the reversal.
Crawford tries to control but Mikami wriggling away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mikami 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.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zachary Crawford dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Mikami shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Mikami stalling.
Mikami is keen to just control but Crawford is a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Mikami maintaining the dominant position here and is working for a kimura. He's locked it up! Crawford could be in real trouble here! He's trying to wriggle out but Mikami has cracked it and Crawford is screaming in pain - he's tapped out! Great finish by Mikami!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Shinji Mikami!