PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gabriel Dos Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akio Atarashii (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dos Santos comes to the cage accompanied by "This Is War" by Il Nino. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Dos Santos
vs
Atarashii

176 cm
23
157 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

180 cm
19
183 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Bushido Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gabriel Dos Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Akio Atarashii!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Sosuke Kotani and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Atarashii misses with an uppercut.
Atarashii swings for the body but Dos Santos moves out of range.
Dos Santos closes this distance looking for a takedown but Atarashii circles away.
Atarashii misses with a looping left.
Dos Santos closes this distance looking for a takedown but Atarashii circles away.
Dos Santos ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Atarashii fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Atarashii fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dos Santos manages to avoid it.
Atarashii thows a left - swing and a miss!
Akio Atarashii seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dos Santos fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gabriel Dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Atarashii misses the shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Atarashii connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Dos Santos blocks a jab.
Atarashii misses with a straight left.
Dos Santos steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Atarashii.
Atarashii misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atarashii misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Dos Santos.
Dos Santos keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Atarashii swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A big left from Atarashii misses.
No luck for Dos Santos with that takedown attempt.
Atarashii misses with a straight left.
Atarashii throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Dos Santos ducks under a wild hook from Atarashii.
Nice defenses there by Dos Santos.
Atarashii swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Dos Santos moves out of range of the strikes.
Atarashii throws a right and a left that both miss.
Atarashii looks to score with a jab to the body but Dos Santos is just out of range.
Atarashii thows a body shot but no joy.

Dos Santos shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Dos Santos was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atarashii can't escape the position.
Atarashii looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Atarashii tries to roll but Dos Santos sticks to his back.

Dos Santos is looking for the choke from the back position but Atarashii is controlling his hands well.
Dos Santos wants to control but Atarashii is keeping busy.
Dos Santos is really struggling to control Atarashii but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Atarashii tries to roll but Dos Santos sticks to his back.
A lull in the action here.

Dos Santos is looking for the choke from the back position but Atarashii is controlling his hands well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Dos Santos missing with strikes from the back.

Atarashii fending off the submission attempt from Dos Santos.
You can see the frustration on Atarashii's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

Dos Santos looking to break Atarashii's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Atarashii remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Dos Santos will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
Dos Santos keeps control of the position as Atarashii tries to break free.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Dos Santos has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Atarashii.
Dos Santos controlling from the back.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Atarashii tries to roll but Dos Santos sticks to his back.

Dos Santos looking for the choke but no joy.
Atarashii is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Dos Santos off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Dos Santos avoiding Atarashii 's attempts to control his hands.

Dos Santos looking for the RNC.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Dos Santos dominated that round.
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.

Dos Santos uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Atarashii.
Dos Santos shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Atarashii as he avoids it easily.
Dos Santos uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Atarashii.
Dos Santos looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Atarashii misses with the combination.
Dos Santos blocks a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dos Santos slips a straight right by Atarashii.
A looping hook to the body misses from Atarashii. Dos Santos does a little dance to reset his feet.
Atarashii lands with an overhand left.
Dos Santos takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Atarashii waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Dos Santos.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atarashii throws a looping overhand right but Dos Santos ducks down to avoid it.
Atarashii lands a right hook to the body.
Atarashii misses with a body shot.
Dos Santos shoots for a double leg takedown but Atarashii sprawls well. He's pushed Dos Santos's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gabriel Dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Atarashii tries to bum rush Dos Santos with a series of wild strikes but Dos Santos uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Atarashii fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dos Santos manages to avoid it.
Atarashii ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dos Santos moves away.
Atarashii misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Atarashii lands with a hook. Dos Santos tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Atarashii looks to land a left hand but Dos Santos moved out of range nicely.
Dos Santos fails with the takedown.
Dos Santos moves out of range of the strikes.
Atarashii misses with a double jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atarashii throws out a loose jab but Dos Santos uses good head movement to avoid it.
Atarashii throws a series of punches but Dos Santos moves out of range.
Atarashii tries to bum rush Dos Santos with a series of wild strikes but Dos Santos uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Dos Santos avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Atarashii comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Dos Santos ducks under a wild hook from Atarashii.
Dos Santos tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Atarashii swivels and escapes.
Atarashii thows a body shot but no joy.
Dos Santos avoids the body shot from Atarashii.
Dos Santos avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Dos Santos changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Atarashii looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Dos Santos lands some shots froms side control.
Dos Santos trying to control the action but Atarashii is working from the bottom.
Dos Santos advances nicely into full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dos Santos is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Atarashii can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Dos Santos forces the positional change into back control.

Dos Santos has the rear naked choke here! This is very bad for Atarashii! Can he survive? No! He's out! Dos Santos gets to his feet and celebrates with his cornermen. He looks absolutely delighted. In the post fight interviews he takes time to thank his parents and everyone who has believed in him from the start. How sweet.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:54 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Gabriel Dos Santos!