PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Yoshihiro Iwamura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fujitsu Okinawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Iwamura
vs
Okinawa

178 cm
25
153 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

162 cm
25
152 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very strong

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Yoshihiro Iwamura!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Fujitsu Okinawa!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Chad Campbell and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Iwamura rushes Okinawa and presses him up against the cage.
Okinawa tries to pull guard but Iwamura won't allow it.
Okinawa tries a body shot but Iwamura blocks it.
Iwamura blocks an uppercut.
Okinawa tries to pull guard but Iwamura won't allow it.
Iwamura with a knee to the head.
Iwamura landing knees to the head.
Iwamura landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Okinawa fails to pull guard.
Yoshihiro Iwamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fujitsu Okinawa.
The referee calls for Iwamura to work.
Iwamura lands a nice elbow.

It looks like Fujitsu Okinawa has been cut.
Okinawa misses with a short punch on the inside.
Iwamura landing knees to the body.
Iwamura blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Okinawa misses with a knee strike.
Iwamura lands with a short shot to the head.
Iwamura lands a nice knee to the body.
Iwamura with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Iwamura with a knee to the head.

Okinawa is rocked!
Okinawa looks gassed!
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Iwamura lands a nice knee to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Iwamura's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Okinawa motions for Iwamura to come forward. Okinawa throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Iwamura shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Iwamura sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Okinawa's guard.
Okinawa is in trouble now - Iwamura has advanced to mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Iwamura content just to control the position here.
Okinawa is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Iwamura will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Okinawa is squirming around, avoiding Iwamura's attempts to control the action.
Iwamura tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Iwamura knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Okinawa on the ground.

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.
Okinawa should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Yoshihiro Iwamura wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Iwamura scores with a takedown into Okinawa's guard.
Iwamura looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Iwamura has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Iwamura has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Iwamura looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Iwamura wants to control from the top but Okinawa keeps moving.

We're going to have a standup here because Yoshihiro Iwamura wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Iwamura gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Iwamura pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Iwamura closes the distance and clinches.
Iwamura throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Iwamura utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

Iwamura gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Iwamura slows the pace down in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Iwamura passes the guard and advances to mount!
Iwamura looking to control but Okinawa is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Iwamura looking to control and managing it successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Okinawa slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoshihiro Iwamura dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Fujitsu Okinawa's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Okinawa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Iwamura pushes Okinawa up against the cage in a clinch.
Okinawa tries to score a body lock takedown but Iwamura shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Okinawa tries to pull guard but Iwamura won't allow it.
Okinawa jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Iwamura walks away with a smile on his face. Okinawa gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Yoshihiro Iwamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fujitsu Okinawa.
Okinawa lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Okinawa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Yoshihiro Iwamura is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Okinawa swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Iwamura counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Iwamura trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Iwamura trying to control but Okinawa is working from the bottom.
Iwamura tries to free his leg and advance position but Okinawa is retaining full guard.

Iwamura stands up and waves to Okinawa to follow him.

Iwamura gets the takedown into side control.
Okinawa is breathing heavily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Iwamura is looking to take a break and control but Okinawa is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Iwamura controlling from side mount.

Iwamura has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

Iwamura clinches up against the cage.

Iwamura pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Iwamura rushes Okinawa and presses him up against the cage.
Iwamura is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.

Iwamura is trying to trip Okinawa. He has hold of a leg but Okinawa is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Iwamura persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

Okinawa is looking for a triangle but Iwamura pushes his legs off easily.

Okinawa has an active guard here but Iwamura has managed to pass into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Okinawa actively working from the bottom here.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

Iwamura decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Iwamura is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Okinawa can do to turn this around?

Iwamura closes the distance and clinches.
Okinawa takes a knee right on the jaw!
Knees in the clinch landing for Iwamura.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Iwamura's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Iwamura lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Iwamura works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Okinawa working for submissions but it's allowed Iwamura to get to half guard.
Iwamura is trying to control. Okinawa wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Okinawa looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Iwamura takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Iwamura seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Okinawa for as long as he can get away with.
Okinawa is trying to get back to full guard.
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.

Okinawa looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Iwamura wants to stand up but Okinawa is controlling the position.
Iwamura prevents Okinawa from improving his position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Iwamura is looking to take a break and control but Okinawa is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoshihiro Iwamura dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Fujitsu Okinawa's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Okinawa swats away the attempt to clinch by Iwamura.
The fight stays on the outside here - Iwamura looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Okinawa throws a combination. Iwamura tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Iwamura closes the distance and clinches.
Iwamura lands an elbow inside that Okinawa shrugs off.

Iwamura gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Okinawa regains guard.
Iwamura trying to control but Okinawa is working from the bottom.

Okinawa looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Iwamura passes into side control.
Okinawa is looking to regain half guard here but Iwamura keeps moving and retains side control.
Okinawa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Okinawa is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Iwamura stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Iwamura fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Iwamura shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Okinawa napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Okinawa is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Iwamura is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Iwamura looking to control and managing it successfully.
Yoshihiro Iwamura overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Iwamura trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Iwamura looking to control and managing it successfully.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Iwamura prevents Okinawa from getting the reversal.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Yoshihiro Iwamura just wasn't active enough.

Iwamura pushes Okinawa up against the cage in a clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Iwamura takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Iwamura works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Iwamura showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Iwamura wants to get up but he can't break Okinawa's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Okinawa has his foot on Iwamura's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Iwamura works his way back into a safe position though.

Okinawa working for a triangle but Iwamura defends it easily.
Iwamura trying to control but Okinawa is working from the bottom.
Okinawa working a defensive guard here.
Iwamura's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

We're going to have a standup here because Yoshihiro Iwamura wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Okinawa throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Iwamura counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Okinawa throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Iwamura trying to control but Okinawa is working from the bottom.
Yoshihiro Iwamura is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Okinawa keeping full guard, as Iwamura tries to pass.
Iwamura content to stall in guard here.
Iwamura wants to control from the top but Okinawa keeps moving.
Fujitsu Okinawa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Yoshihiro Iwamura wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Iwamura feints and as Okinawa raises his hands in defense, Iwamura changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yoshihiro Iwamura showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Iwamura, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:25
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:25
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yoshihiro Iwamura!