PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shinnosuke Nakagawa (ranked 73 p4p, 54 weight class) and Julius Lew (ranked 11 p4p, 7 weight class). Nakagawa comes to the cage accompanied by Koto - CloZee. Julius Lew has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Nakagawa
vs
Lew

190 cm
34
190
35 - 16 - 0

185 cm
32
185
22 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Conviction
Tempo Athletics

NARCOS
Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 35 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shinnosuke Nakagawa!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Julius Lew!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Tiny Johnson and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lew misses with a looping left.

Nakagawa fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Lew to the ground. Nakagawa is now in Lew's guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Lew can do anything to dispel that myth.
Lew is trying to control the position but Nakagawa postures up.
Lew is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
We've been hearing that Nakagawa has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Nakagawa with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lew is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Nakagawa is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lew has Nakagawa pulled in close to control his posture.
Lew looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nakagawa is one step ahead there.
Lew really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nakagawa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nakagawa scoring with punches to the head and body.
Nakagawa wants to control from the top but Lew keeps moving.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.

That's two 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.
Lew trying to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Lew misses with a looping right.
Nakagawa attempts a counter takedown but Lew avoids it well and moves away.
Lew throws a sloppy head kick and Nakagawa moves out of range easily.
Nakagawa is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Lew misses with a straight right.
Lew closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Nakagawa moves out of range as Lew strikes.
Nakagawa feinted with a counter takedown.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Nakagawa, as that shot connected.
Lew throws a lazy right hand but Nakagawa sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Julius Lew seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Lew misses the target.
Nakagawa tries to counter with a takedown but Lew is quick to defend against it.
Lew throws a lazy right hand but Nakagawa sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
The crowd cheers as Nakagawa lands an impressive looking overhand right. Lew doesn't seem phased though.
Julius Lew is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Lew lands with an uppercut that bounces Nakagawa off the cage and back into range.
Nakagawa lands with a nice body punch.
Lew's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Nakagawa connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Lew scrambles back to his feet.
Lew throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Good shot there by Nakagawa.
Nakagawa misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakagawa throws an overhand right that lands on Lew's shoulder, as Lew tries to avoid the shot.
It seemed like Lew was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Nakagawa walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Nakagawa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lew manages to avoid it.
Nakagawa will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lew throws a body punch but Nakagawa moves out of range.
Nakagawa attempts a counter takedown but Lew avoids it well and moves away.
Lew misses the shot to the body.
Nakagawa's corner calls for a 1-2. Nakagawa obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lew misses with a hook.
Nakagawa tries to counter with a takedown but Lew is quick to defend against it.
Lew throws a leg kick that is checked

and Nakagawa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Nakagawa is thwarting Lew's attempts to control the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shinnosuke Nakagawa dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Lew lands a right hook to the body.
Nakagawa just misses with a punch to the body.
Lew ducks under a wild hook from Nakagawa.
Nakagawa slips under a jab.
Nakagawa tries to counter with a takedown but Lew is quick to defend against it.
Nakagawa throws an overhand right that lands on Lew's shoulder, as Lew tries to avoid the shot.
Lew pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lew looks to land a right hand but Nakagawa moved out of range.
Lew takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Some bone on bone action there as Nakagawa checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakagawa ducks under a wild hook from Lew.
Nakagawa drops down looking for a counter takedown but Lew sprawls and moves away.
Nakagawa looks to score with a jab to the body but Lew is just out of range.
Lew misses with a straight right.

Nakagawa clinches with his opponent.
Nakagawa wants a takedown but no success here.
Lew throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Lew lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Lew swings wildly with an uppercut but Nakagawa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nakagawa misses with a punch on the inside.
Lew struggles to land a body shot inside as Nakagawa controls his hands.
Nakagawa tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Nakagawa prevents a body shot from Lew.
Lew has a couple of punches blocked by Nakagawa.
Lew throws a punch but it's blocked by Nakagawa.
Lew tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Nakagawa avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nakagawa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lew throws a lazy right hand but Nakagawa sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Nice defenses there by Nakagawa.
Nakagawa drops down looking for a counter takedown but Lew sprawls and moves away.
Nakagawa takes a swing at Lew's ribcage but misses.
Lew thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nakagawa staying out of range there.
Nakagawa attempts a counter takedown but Lew avoids it well and moves away.
Nakagawa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nakagawa uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nakagawa swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lew is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Nakagawa with a body shot.
Julius Lew seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Nakagawa lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakagawa throws a hook to the side of Lew's head but Lew sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nakagawa blocks a leg kick.
Lew lands a nice hook to Nakagawa's body. Nakagawa takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Nakagawa displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lew throws out the jab.
Nakagawa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nakagawa ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lew moves away.
Lew throws out a counter right but Nakagawa avoids it with no problem.
A left lands for Nakagawa.
Lew is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nakagawa.
Lew looks to score with a jab to the body but Nakagawa is just out of range.
Nakagawa slips a jab from Lew.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lew scores with a sloppy right hand. Nakagawa should have avoided that one.
A bone on bone clash there as Nakagawa blocks the leg kick.

Nakagawa closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lew did well to prevent Nakagawa getting side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nakagawa throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Nakagawa is thwarting Lew's attempts to control the position.

Nakagawa is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Lew has managed to free his arm - good work.
Lew has his hands clasped together around Nakagawa's back. He's all about the action.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Julius Lew will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Nakagawa stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Lew pushes Nakagawa up against the cage in a clinch.

Nakagawa breaks from the clinch.
Nakagawa uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lew.
Nakagawa attempts a counter takedown but Lew avoids it well and moves away.
Nakagawa with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Lew to score with a decent uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lew throws an overhand right that lands on Nakagawa's shoulder, as Nakagawa tries to avoid the shot.
Lew throws a sloppy body shot

and Nakagawa counters with a single leg into guard. Lew didn't expect that.
Nakagawa lands a couple of elbows.
Nakagawa is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakagawa tries to free his leg and advance position but Lew is retaining full guard.
Lew pulls Nakagawa in close to his closed guard and prevents Nakagawa from doing any damage or advancing position.
Nakagawa lands a couple of digs.
Nakagawa looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Nakagawa loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Lew controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Nakagawa postures up.
Nakagawa engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Nakagawa advances to half guard.
Nakagawa working over Lew with some ground and pound. Lew looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Nakagawa is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Lew moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Nakagawa 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.
Nakagawa working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lew's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lew keeping moving, preventing Nakagawa from controlling successfully.
Nakagawa loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Lew trying to control the position.
Lew looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nakagawa is one step ahead there.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lew working a defensive guard here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nakagawa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lew manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Lew misses with an uppercut.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Nakagawa is defended easily by Lew.
Nakagawa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nakagawa rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lew moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lew is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nakagawa connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Nakagawa chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Lew can pounce on him.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shinnosuke Nakagawa clearly takes that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Nakagawa throws a hook to the side of Lew's head but Lew sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Lew is trying to counter with his kicks.
Nakagawa moves into range and connects with a jab.
Nakagawa pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lew throws a hook but Nakagawa avoids it easily.
Nakagawa shoots in but no luck this time.
A jab from Nakagawa misses.
Nakagawa avoids the head kick by Lew.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lew fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nakagawa manages to avoid it.

Nakagawa moves into the clinch successfully.

Nakagawa escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lew swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nakagawa half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Nakagawa ducks right into an uppercut from Lew.
Nakagawa scores with a nice right hand.
Nakagawa bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Nakagawa changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Lew misses with a looping left.
Lew takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Nakagawa tries to clinch there but Lew circles away.
Nakagawa swings for the body but Lew moves out of range.
Nakagawa is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nakagawa closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lew did well to prevent Nakagawa getting side control.

Nakagawa is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Lew is positioning himself well to prevent Nakagawa advancing to mount.
Nakagawa trying to control from half guard but Lew is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lew is looking for a sweep. Nakagawa is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Lew wants to control but Nakagawa is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Nakagawa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lew's head.
Well, if Nakagawa is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Nakagawa lands with a punch from half guard.
Shinnosuke Nakagawa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lew tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Nakagawa has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Lew is bucking up trying to escape but Nakagawa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakagawa raining down shots from the mount!
Nakagawa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Nakagawa landing strikes from the mount and Lew is in trouble!
Lew tries to improve his position but instead Nakagawa has taken his back!
Nakagawa has the hooks in. Lew is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Lew showing good submission defense here.

Nakagawa looking for the choke from the back.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shinnosuke Nakagawa had his way with Julius Lew in that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Nakagawa moves away from the strike by Lew.
Nakagawa lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Nakagawa catches Lew with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Nakagawa uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lew.
Lew works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nakagawa shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Lew defends it nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lew throws an off balance right hand

and Nakagawa counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakagawa lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Nakagawa is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Lew pulls Nakagawa in to control the position.
Nakagawa controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Nakagawa pushing down on Lew's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Nakagawa is keen to just control but Lew is a slippery customer.
Lew trying to control here.
Nakagawa scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Lew wants to control but Nakagawa is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Julius Lew has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakagawa working the head and body with strikes.
Lew holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Nakagawa is keen to just control but Lew is a slippery customer.
Lew trying to control from the bottom.
Lew works his way to full guard. Good work.
Lew wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Nakagawa closes this distance looking for a takedown but Lew circles away.
Nakagawa ducks under a wild hook from Lew.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakagawa scores with a decent looking hook.
Lew pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lew digs a good hook to Nakagawa's body.
Shinnosuke Nakagawa is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nakagawa is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lew can do to turn this around?
A telegraphed right hand from Lew misses the target.
Lew takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Lew misses with a left hand

so Nakagawa counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Lew looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lew throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Nakagawa escapes and throws Lew's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Lew wants to control but Nakagawa postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lew throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shinnosuke Nakagawa showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Nakagawa 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 49:46
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 50:45
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 50:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shinnosuke Nakagawa!
Shinnosuke Nakagawa retains his middleweight title!
Shinnosuke Nakagawa seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.