PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between JC Hiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shuuji Hanamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Hiro
vs
Hanamoto

183 cm
20
186 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

186 cm
20
195 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Powerful

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, JC Hiro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shuuji Hanamoto!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hiro fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hanamoto avoids it really well and circles away.
Hiro misses with a takedown attempt - Hanamoto sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Hanamoto drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Hanamoto lands a few punches from side control.
Hiro takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Hanamoto landing strikes.
The ground and pound from Hanamoto seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Hanamoto throws a strike aimed at the side of Hiro's head but Hiro avoids it well.
Hanamoto fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Hiro defending against the ground and pound.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Hiro wants to control but Hanamoto postures up.
Hanamoto working the head and body with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanamoto working the ground and pound.
Hanamoto 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.
Hiro knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hanamoto on the ground.
Hiro regains half guard, as Hanamoto was trying to land strikes.
Ground and pound from Hanamoto.
Hanamoto lands strikes from half guard.
Hanamoto throwing shots but Hiro is blocking nicely.
Hiro has hold of Hanamoto's hands but Hanamoto slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Hanamoto trying to control from half guard but Hiro is working away.
Hanamoto is thwarting Hiro's attempts to control the position.
Hiro taking some punishment here, with Hanamoto in his half guard.
Hanamoto has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanamoto thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hiro avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hanamoto.
Hanamoto not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hanamoto trying to control from half guard but Hiro is working away.
Hanamoto working over Hiro with some ground and pound. Hiro looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Hanamoto thows a huge punch but Hiro dodges it nicely.
Hanamoto not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hiro avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hanamoto.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Hanamoto fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hiro manages to avoid it.

Hanamoto shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Hiro manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Hiro is breathing heavily.
Hanamoto lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hiro keeping moving, preventing Hanamoto from controlling successfully.
Hanamoto passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hiro is trying to control Hanamoto's posture but Hanamoto avoids it.
Hanamoto tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Hanamoto has knee on belly momentarily but Hiro bucks him off and regains half guard.
Nice strikes from Hanamoto there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanamoto wants to control but Hiro is keeping him busy.

Hanamoto postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Hiro to stand up.

Hiro scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Hanamoto wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Hanamoto is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Hiro's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Hanamoto kicks Hiro off and gets back to his feet.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Hanamoto.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hiro taking punishment in the form of punches.
Hiro on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Hiro tries to get out of the position.
Hanamoto scores with a couple of short elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Hanamoto closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Hiro did well to prevent Hanamoto getting side control.
Hanamoto slows the pace down in half guard.
Hanamoto throwing shots but Hiro is blocking nicely.
Hanamoto sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Hiro defending well though.
Hanamoto is keen to just control but Hiro is a slippery customer.
Hanamoto lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hanamoto working over Hiro with some ground and pound. Hiro looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hiro blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hanamoto.
Hanamoto stalling away here and it's allowed Hiro to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanamoto keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hiro's head.
Hanamoto is in close to Hiro's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Hanamoto working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hiro's head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hanamoto accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hanamoto lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hanamoto missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hanamoto in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hanamoto trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hanamoto works over Hiro with some ground and pound from guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Hanamoto's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanamoto lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hiro utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hanamoto advances position into side control!
Hanamoto creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Hanamoto is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Hiro will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Hanamoto wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hiro keeps working.
Hanamoto scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanamoto lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Hiro down.
Hanamoto scoring with punches from side control.
Hanamoto lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Hiro down.
Hiro taking a bit of punishment here - Hanamoto scoring with strikes.
Hanamoto working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Hanamoto looks up at the clock and then as Hiro takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Hanamoto smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Hanamoto passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Hiro!
Hanamoto lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
A nice elbow there by Hanamoto.
A nice elbow there by Hanamoto.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Hanamoto connects with a massive shot to the dome!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hiro is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Hanamoto landing strikes from the mount.
Hanamoto punishing his opponent with strikes.
Hanamoto working the ground and pound effectively.
Hanamoto lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Hanamoto lands with some strikes.
Hiro tries to reverse the position but Hanamoto maintains control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hiro takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his 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.
Hanamoto trying to control but he's not successful this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shuuji Hanamoto showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Hanamoto pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Hanamoto drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Hanamoto scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hanamoto loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hanamoto looking to pass the guard.
Hanamoto landing with the ground and pound.
Hanamoto pushing down on Hiro's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Hanamoto is nestled in close to Hiro, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hiro wants to get back to full guard.
Hanamoto takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanamoto seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Hanamoto drops an elbow to the side of Hiro's head.
Hiro tries to get to full guard but Hanamoto has control of the leg.
Hiro taking some punishment here, with Hanamoto in his half guard.
Hanamoto throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hanamoto scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Hanamoto lands strikes from half guard.
Hiro on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Shuuji Hanamoto has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hanamoto working the head and body with strikes.
Hanamoto scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanamoto landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hanamoto lands a nice short elbow.
Hanamoto working over Hiro with some ground and pound. Hiro looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Hanamoto takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hanamoto throwing shots but Hiro is blocking nicely.
Hanamoto working the head and body with strikes.
Hanamoto scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hiro has hold of Hanamoto's hands but Hanamoto slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Hanamoto takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hanamoto is nestled in close to Hiro, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hiro is looking to control Hanamoto's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hiro avoid being mounted?
Hanamoto drops an elbow to the side of Hiro's head.
Hiro tries to get to full guard but Hanamoto has control of the leg.
Hanamoto passes to full mount!
Hanamoto is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Hanamoto has his opponent pinned against the ropes, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Hiro's face.
Hanamoto controlling his opponent.
Hanamoto cracks Hiro with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Hiro that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Hanamoto in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Hanamoto working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Hanamoto scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Hiro takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
BOOM! Hanamoto connects with a massive shot to the dome!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hanamoto cracks Hiro with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hanamoto looking to finish Hiro with some ground and pound. This is bad for Hiro!
JC Hiro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Shuuji Hanamoto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hanamoto content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shuuji Hanamoto comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hanamoto has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight for Shuuji Hanamoto!
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight for Shuuji Hanamoto!
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight for Shuuji Hanamoto!

Shuuji Hanamoto wins by unanimous decision!