PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ling Ling (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yoshimitsu Lariato (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Ling
vs
Lariato

195 cm
19
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
19
260 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ling Ling!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yoshimitsu Lariato!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Shirou Masuda and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lariato has his takedown stuffed
and Ling counters with a three punch combo that has Lariato backing up. Lariato nods at Ling to acknowledge the strikes.

Lariato moves into the clinch successfully.
Ling utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Lariato is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Ling gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Ling is trying to break free.

Lariato breaks from the clinch.
Lariato misses with a takedown attempt - Ling sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Ling Ling has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yoshimitsu Lariato.
Lariato is looking to land body kicks.

Lariato manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Ling on his heels. He'll look to pass Ling's guard now, I'm sure.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Lariato got a little sloppy there for a moment and Ling has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lariato has managed to get both his arms back between Ling's legs - danger averted.
Lariato won't allow Ling to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ling trying to keep a closed guard but Lariato is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Lariato gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Good exchange - Ling coming out on top.
Ling fails with an attempt to clinch.
Lariato throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Lariato swats away the attempt to clinch by Ling.
Ling tries to clinch up but Lariato circles away and keeps his distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ling. Lariato does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ling moves to clinch but Lariato breaks away

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lariato is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ling wants to improve his position but instead Lariato has moved into half guard.
Lariato wants to take a breather but Ling is having none of it.

Lariato is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Ling defends it well.
Lariato thows a huge punch but Ling dodges it nicely.
Lariato thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lariato content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ling is breathing heavily.
Lariato prevents Ling from improving his position.
Ling is trying to stand back up but Lariato is controlling him
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Lariato content to control rather than advance.

Yoshimitsu Lariato has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Lariato.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ling displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Lariato.
Lariato shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Ling but Ling pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Ling tries to clinch but Lariato is having none of it.
Ling tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Ling tries to keep at a distance but Lariato has taken the fight into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lariato is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ling has had enough of the clinch but Lariato keeps him there for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ling tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lariato paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Lariato shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Ling sprawls well. Ling wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Lariato gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice body punch from Lariato.
Lariato fails with the takedown
and Ling counters with a nice uppercut.
Ling tries to clinch up but Lariato circles away and keeps his distance.
Lariato keeps the fight on the outside.
Ling doesn't manage to clinch there - Lariato circles away.
Ling tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lariato paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ling tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Lariato showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ling.
Lariato shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ling defends it nicely.
Ling Ling has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yoshimitsu Lariato.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ling doesn't manage to clinch there - Lariato circles away.
Lariato shoots in looking for a takedown but Ling manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Lariato's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Lariato is breathing heavily.
Lariato shoots for a double leg takedown but Ling sprawls well. He's pushed Lariato's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Ling looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ling tries to clinch but Lariato is having none of it.

Lariato moves into the clinch.
Lariato tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ling avoids it.
Lariato has Ling pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ling manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Ling misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Lariato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lariato wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ling has him pressed against the cage.
Lariato drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Ling manages to break the clinch.

Ling has Lariato up against the cage in a clinch.
Ling has Lariato pushed against the cage.
Ling tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Lariato avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ling gets underhooks to prevent Lariato's takedown attempt.
Lariato is working for takedown but Ling is calmly controlling the position for now.

Ling escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lariato fails with a takedown attempt.
Ling listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Ling wants to clinch.
Ling wants to clinch.
Ling tries to clinch up but Lariato circles away and keeps his distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lariato closes the distance and pushes Ling back into the cage.
Ling taking a breather.

Ling escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ling tries to clinch up but Lariato circles away and keeps his distance.
Ling is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Lariato.

Lariato closes the distance and pushes Ling back into the cage.

Ling breaks the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lariato shoots in looking for a takedown. Ling tries to sprawl out of it but Lariato keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ling manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Ling moves into the clinch successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ling Ling dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Lariato gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Lariato will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Lariato clinches up with Ling and pushes him back against the cage.
Ling lands a knee to the body.
Ling is trying to force a seperation but Lariato has the dominant position.

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

Lariato forces Ling back against the cage and clinches.

Ling breaks the clinch.
Ling tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lariato swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Ling moves into the clinch.
Lariato jumps guard but Ling stands there with Lariato around his waist. Lariato gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Ling lands a knee to the body.
Lariato takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ling escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lariato rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Ling moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ling fails in his attempt to clinch.
Lariato circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ling tries to clinch up.
Ling goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Ling Ling is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ling wants to clinch.

Lariato gets tackled into the cage by Ling. Ling maintains the clinch.
Lariato is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Ling pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Ling Ling has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yoshimitsu Lariato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lariato successfully pulls guard.
Lariato keeping moving, preventing Ling from controlling successfully.
Ling pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lariato is keeping the position for now.
Lariato lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Ling!
Ling is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lariato avoids the attempt from Ling to control.
Lariato with shots to the head and body - Ling looks very uncomfortable down there.
Lariato controlling the position easily from mount.
Yoshimitsu Lariato has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ling can't escape the position.
Lariato controlling the position easily from mount.
Lariato's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lariato raining down hammerfists from mount.

Lariato has control of Ling's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Ling regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Lariato tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Ling Ling.
I think Ling 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 29:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 29:29
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a majority draw!