PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nakagome Kakuzo (ranked 1211 p4p, 1118 weight class) and Kaiden Walsh (ranked 154 p4p, 144 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kakuzo
vs
Walsh

185 cm
27
180
16 - 12 - 0

186 cm
29
169
13 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Shadow Realm Apparel

Shadow Realm Apparel
Black Lab Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nakagome Kakuzo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kaiden Walsh!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yuuki Gou and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kakuzo moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Walsh showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kakuzo.
Walsh swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Kakuzo lands with a right hand.
Walsh stuffs the takedown attempt from Kakuzo. Kakuzo gets slowly back to his feet.
Walsh misses with a straight right.
Horrible takedown attempt by Kakuzo or perhaps it was just good defense by Walsh, which made it look bad.
Kakuzo uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Walsh.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kakuzo lands a head kick!
Kakuzo uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Walsh.

Kakuzo closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Walsh to the mat! Walsh manages to get full guard.
Kakuzo postures up in Walsh's guard and throws a big left but Walsh blocks it.
Walsh working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kakuzo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kakuzo throws a big right hand that misses.
Kakuzo landing some decent shots from guard.
Kakuzo trying to control but Walsh is working from the bottom.
Kakuzo throwing strikes from guard but Walsh blocks nicely.
Kakuzo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Walsh is keeping the position for now.
Kakuzo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kakuzo throws a big right hand that misses.
Kakuzo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Walsh is keeping the position for now.
Kakuzo 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.
Kakuzo throwing strikes from guard but Walsh blocks nicely.

That's two 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.
Walsh is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kakuzo engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Kakuzo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kakuzo is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Kakuzo seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Walsh for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Walsh stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nakagome Kakuzo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Kakuzo. That snapped Walsh's head back.
Kakuzo fails with a takedown attempt.
Kakuzo lands a nice shot to the body.
Kakuzo lands with a thumping leg kick.
Walsh tries to move into range but Kakuzo moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Kakuzo wants to clinch up but Walsh keeps it at a distance.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Walsh! But no joy.

Kakuzo closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Kakuzo tries to pull guard but Walsh won't allow it.
Walsh working aggressively here.
Kakuzo blocks an uppercut.
Walsh misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kakuzo is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Walsh pulls him back up using the underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kakuzo tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Walsh smiles and moves away.
Nakagome Kakuzo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kakuzo drives through and clinches with Walsh against the ropes.
Kakuzo is trying to pull guard but Walsh turns him against the ropes and we stay in the clinch.
Kakuzo drops down looking for an ankle pick but Walsh pulls his leg out and moves away.
A nice combination there by Kakuzo.
Kaiden Walsh is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Walsh takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kakuzo scores with a jab.
Kakuzo swings and misses with a shot to the body
letting Walsh counter with a right hand.
Walsh throws a big shot that misses.
Walsh uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kakuzo.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nakagome Kakuzo dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Kakuzo throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Walsh was covering up waiting for the punch and Kakuzo finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Kakuzo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Kakuzo drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Kakuzo jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Kakuzo stays in close to Walsh's body and controls the position.
Kakuzo throws a big right hand that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Walsh trying to control the position here.
Walsh really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kakuzo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kakuzo trying to control but Walsh is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walsh utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kakuzo trying to control but Walsh is working from the bottom.
Walsh preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kakuzo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Walsh is keeping the position for now.
Kakuzo trying to control the position from guard on top but Walsh is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Kakuzo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Walsh can do to turn this around?
Walsh keeps the fight on the outside.
Kakuzo lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Walsh checks a leg kick.
Walsh sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Kakuzo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Walsh looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walsh gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Kakuzo.
Walsh walks into a left hand.
Kakuzo misses with a wild body shot.
Kakuzo throws a series of punches but Walsh moves out of range.
Walsh jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Walsh needs to keep his hands up - Kakuzo had a free shot at his head there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kakuzo throws an off balance right hand
enabling Walsh to counter with a crisp jab.
Kakuzo cracks Walsh with an open hand slap.
Kakuzo looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Kakuzo shoots in looking for a takedown. Walsh tries to sprawl out of it but Kakuzo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Walsh manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Walsh looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kakuzo pivots, looking for a leg kick but Walsh is out of range and Kakuzo settles back down.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Walsh! But no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kakuzo ducks under a wild hook from Walsh.
Nice body punch from Kakuzo.
Kakuzo tries to clinch up but Walsh circles away and keeps his distance.
Kakuzo has a takedown stuffed.
Walsh looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Kakuzo connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Kakuzo digs a good body shot into Walsh's ribs.
Kakuzo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kakuzo swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Walsh.
Kakuzo scores with a leg kick.
Walsh throws a looping overhand right but Kakuzo ducks down to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walsh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kakuzo connects with a high kick.
Walsh throws the left hand but Kakuzo avoids the punch easily.
Kakuzo moves out of range as Walsh strikes.
A nice combination there by Kakuzo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Walsh jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kakuzo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Walsh circles away quickly and effectively.
Walsh looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Kakuzo is looking to land body kicks.
Kakuzo slips a straight right by Walsh.
Kakuzo scores with a decent looking hook.
Walsh thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kakuzo works Walsh's body with a nice hook.
Kakuzo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Walsh.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nakagome Kakuzo dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A jab lands there for Kakuzo.
Kakuzo ducks under a wild hook from Walsh.
Kakuzo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Walsh throws out a counter right but Kakuzo avoids it with no problem.
Kakuzo misses the shot to the body.
Walsh might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Kakuzo scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Walsh doesn't seem bothered though.
Kakuzo is looking to slow Walsh down with leg kicks.
The fighters circling - Walsh throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kakuzo lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kakuzo scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kakuzo scores with the left hand. Walsh knows he should have avoided that one.
Kakuzo with the inside leg kick.
Walsh with a nice cross.
Kakuzo with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kakuzo takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

It looks like Nakagome Kakuzo has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick by Kakuzo misses
and Walsh counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kakuzo lands a really nice looking cross but Walsh seems unphased.
Nakagome Kakuzo is winning the standup battle so far.
Kakuzo lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Walsh connects with the punch.
Walsh lands a lovely overhand right.

Kakuzo is rocked!

Kakuzo rushes Walsh and presses him up against the ropes.
A short right from Walsh.
Kakuzo's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Oh Kakuzo is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Kakuzo ties up his opponent against the ropes and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Kakuzo no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Kakuzo seems to have got his legs back now.
Walsh trying to control but Kakuzo is working from the bottom.
Kakuzo 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kakuzo is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Walsh defends well.

Kakuzo looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Kakuzo wants to sweep here but Walsh controlling him for the moment.
Walsh must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Kakuzo is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Walsh is aware though and is defending well.
Kakuzo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Kakuzo looking for a guillotine here but Walsh defends easily.
Kakuzo is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kakuzo looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Walsh passes into half guard.

Kakuzo looking for submissions off his back.
Kakuzo trying to control here.
Walsh is trying to control. Kakuzo wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's four 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.
Kakuzo moves into full guard.

Kakuzo looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Kakuzo looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Walsh has picked Kakuzo up and slammed him! Kakuzo can't keep hold of the triangle and Walsh manages to pass to side control!
Walsh working away.
Kakuzo is looking to regain half guard here but Walsh keeps moving and retains side control.
You can see the frustration on Kakuzo's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kakuzo is trying to improve his position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nakagome Kakuzo clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Nakagome Kakuzo's cut.
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.

Good standup being displayed there by Kakuzo as he connects with a hook.
Kakuzo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Walsh.
A big right from Kakuzo misses.
It seemed like Walsh was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Kakuzo looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Kakuzo wants to clinch.
Kakuzo clobbers Walsh with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kakuzo throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kakuzo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Walsh sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Kakuzo somewhat.
Walsh throws out a counter right but Kakuzo avoids it with no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walsh misses with a hook.

Kakuzo has taken the fight to the clinch.
Walsh is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Kakuzo wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nakagome Kakuzo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kakuzo can't break the clinch.
Kakuzo is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Walsh misses with some punches.
Kakuzo lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Walsh prevents the takedown attempt.
Walsh has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Walsh lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kakuzo is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the ropes enables Walsh to keep the fight standing.
Walsh lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Kakuzo or not.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kakuzo blocking some punches.
Walsh tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kakuzo blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Walsh swings wildly with an uppercut but Kakuzo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kakuzo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kaiden Walsh seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Kakuzo tries to land knees in the clinch but Walsh avoids the damage to the body.
Walsh misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Walsh fails to land.
Kakuzo is working for takedown but Walsh is calmly controlling the position for now.
Walsh swings wildly with an uppercut but Kakuzo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Walsh has a couple of punches blocked by Kakuzo.
Kakuzo working hard to break the clinch.
Walsh blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walsh has a couple of punches blocked by Kakuzo.
Kakuzo tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Walsh just stands there and leans against the ropes.
Walsh misses with some punches.
Kakuzo is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the ropes enables Walsh to keep the fight standing.
Walsh lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Kakuzo tries to work over Walsh's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kakuzo takes a shot to the head.
Walsh fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Kakuzo blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Walsh prevents a takedown attempt there.
A head punch on the inside from Walsh fails to land.
Kakuzo blocks an uppercut.
Walsh swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kakuzo misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Walsh.
Kakuzo tries to pull guard but Walsh won't allow it.
Kakuzo goes for a takedown attempt but Walsh pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Walsh ducks under a wild hook from Kakuzo.
Walsh moves out of range of the body kick.
Kakuzo is looking to clinch.
Walsh looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kakuzo lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Kakuzo moves out of range of the strikes.
Kakuzo looks to land a left hand but Walsh moved out of range nicely.
Kakuzo throws a head kick but Walsh moves out of range.
Walsh looks like he wants to counter punch here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kakuzo jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Walsh throws out a loose jab but Kakuzo uses good head movement to avoid it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kakuzo looks for a takedown but Walsh sprawls well.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kaiden Walsh dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Nakagome Kakuzo's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Walsh ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kakuzo shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kakuzo lands a jab to the head.

Walsh tries to sprawl but Kakuzo drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Kakuzo missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kakuzo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Walsh's head.
Kakuzo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Walsh is refusing to be controlled, as Kakuzo sits in half guard.
Kakuzo throwing shots but Walsh is blocking nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kakuzo is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Walsh has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Walsh is staying active underneath Kakuzo, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walsh has hold of Kakuzo's hands but Kakuzo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Walsh is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Kakuzo lands strikes from half guard.
Kakuzo missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kakuzo drops an elbow to the side of Walsh's head.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Walsh can do anything to dispel that myth.
Kakuzo is trying to control. Walsh wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Kakuzo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kakuzo is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Walsh blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kakuzo.
Kaiden Walsh has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walsh is refusing to be controlled, as Kakuzo sits in half guard.
Kakuzo working over Walsh with some ground and pound. Walsh looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kakuzo is trying to control. Walsh wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Walsh is looking to control Kakuzo's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Walsh avoid being mounted?
Kakuzo throwing shots but Walsh is blocking nicely.
Kakuzo wants to take a breather but Walsh is having none of it.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Kakuzo shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Walsh napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kakuzo throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Walsh is not content to let Kakuzo control the position.
Kakuzo working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Kakuzo working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Kakuzo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Walsh keeps working.
Kakuzo throws a strike aimed at the side of Walsh's head but Walsh avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Kakuzo trying to control the action but Walsh is working from the bottom.
Kakuzo working the ground and pound but Walsh is defending the strikes.

Kakuzo is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Walsh is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kakuzo working the head and body with strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nakagome Kakuzo showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kakuzo has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 49:45
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 49:45
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 49:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nakagome Kakuzo!