PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ziggy Cliff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenji Okabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cliff comes into the arena with GANJA FARMER blaring out of the sound system. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Cliff
vs
Okabe

182 cm
26
176 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

177 cm
33
181 lbs
27 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Convicted Trap House
Conviction

Crippler's Corner

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ziggy Cliff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kenji Okabe!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Ryoma Takatsuka and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cliff fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Okabe lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Cliff moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Cliff throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Okabe counters with a nice double leg into side control. Cliff won't be happy with that.
Okabe cracks Cliff with a big elbow.
Okabe is looking to take a break and control but Cliff is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Okabe throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Okabe has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cliff is looking to regain half guard here but Okabe keeps moving and retains side control.
Okabe wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cliff keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Okabe moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Cliff is trying to improve his position.
Okabe throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Cliff gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Okabe prevents Cliff from improving his position.
Okabe trying to pass the guard but Cliff defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cliff wants to control but Okabe is keeping busy.
Okabe is trying to control. Cliff wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Cliff trying to control but Okabe postures up.
Okabe moves into full mount! Cliff won't be happy about that!
Cliff holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Okabe tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Okabe misses with a head shot.
Okabe trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Okabe throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Okabe prevents Cliff from getting the reversal.
Okabe thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Okabe lands a heavy elbow.
Okabe tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Cliff wants to control but Okabe is having none of it.
Okabe throws some wild stikes that Cliff manages to avoid easily.
Okabe lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Cliff tries to hold on but Okabe pushes him away.
Cliff taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cliff is working to get back to half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Okabe tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Okabe scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Okabe looking to control but Cliff is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Okabe throws a sloppy strike and Cliff uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Cliff has ended up in Okabe's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Okabe controls Cliff momentarily but Cliff frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenji Okabe dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Okabe scores with a crisp jab that stopped Cliff in his tracks.
Okabe misses with a body shot.
Ziggy Cliff seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Okabe throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
The crowd cheers as Okabe lands an impressive looking overhand right. Cliff doesn't seem phased though.
Good exchange - Cliff coming out on top.
Okabe with a hook.
Cliff rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Okabe counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Cliff's guard now.
Kenji Okabe has got the better of the ground game so far.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Okabe tries to free his leg and advance position but Cliff is retaining full guard.
Okabe trying to control the position from guard on top but Cliff is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Cliff holds on and takes a little breather.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Ziggy Cliff wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Cliff misses with a hook to the body

so Okabe counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Okabe is looking to work some ground and pound but Cliff has wrist control.
Okabe trying to control the position from guard on top but Cliff is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Okabe in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cliff working a defensive guard here.
Okabe pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cliff is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cliff trying to control the position.
Okabe wants to control from the top but Cliff keeps moving.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Okabe stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cliff swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Cliff looking to control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ziggy Cliff.
Okabe lands a nice shot to the body.
Cliff tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Okabe was well out of range. Poor timing from Cliff.
Okabe throws a body punch but Cliff moves out of range.
Cliff takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Okabe closes this distance looking for a takedown but Cliff circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Okabe lands a nice shot to the body.
Cliff missing with a left hand there. Okabe was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Cliff throws a body punch but Okabe moves out of range.
Ziggy Cliff is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Okabe lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Okabe lunges at Cliff with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Cliff's hand.
The fighters circling - Cliff throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Okabe is defended easily by Cliff.
Cliff missing with a left hand there. Okabe was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Okabe lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Cliff at a distance.
Donk. Okabe catches Cliff right on the button with a cross.
Okabe keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cliff throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cliff looks to score with a jab to the body but Okabe is just out of range.
Cliff scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Okabe lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Cliff circles away quickly and effectively.
Cliff's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Okabe connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Cliff scrambles back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice body punch from Okabe.
Cliff swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Okabe scores with a hook.
Cliff lands a nice looking body kick.
Cliff cracks Okabe with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Cliff avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cliff fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Okabe jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kenji Okabe seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Okabe takes a swing at Cliff's ribcage but misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenji Okabe 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 cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Okabe cracks Cliff with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Okabe scores with a nice strike.
A jab from Okabe does it's job there.
Okabe blocks the body kick.
A jab from Okabe finds it's way through Cliff's defenses.
Cliff misses with a body kick.
Okabe lands a glancing blow to the side of Cliff's head.
Okabe checks a low kick from Cliff.
Okabe uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Cliff misses with a wild body shot.
Cliff defending well as Okabe loads up on a big left hand.
Cliff gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Okabe.
Cliff takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Cliff misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Okabe.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cliff throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Cliff takes a swing at Okabe's ribcage but misses.
Okabe uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Cliff.
Okabe misses the shot to the body.
Cliff swings away with a body shot that misses

and Okabe counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Okabe uses his free foot to push down on Cliff's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Cliff.
Cliff is working to get back to half guard.
Cliff is working hard here to advance position.
Okabe looking to finish with strikes here!
Okabe throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Cliff because Okabe loaded up on that one.
Ziggy Cliff has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Okabe prevents Cliff from getting the reversal.
Okabe working the ground and pound effectively.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Okabe putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Okabe thowing shots but they're missing.
Okabe landing strikes from the mount.
Cliff wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Okabe.
Okabe tries to control but Cliff wriggling away.
Okabe throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cliff holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Okabe tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Okabe has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Okabe controlling his opponent.
Okabe lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Okabe avoids the attempt from Cliff to control.
Poor strikes thrown by Okabe there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Cliff is squirming around, avoiding Okabe's attempts to control the action.
Okabe lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cliff tries to hold on but Okabe postures up.
Cliff sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Okabe is pressing down on Cliff's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cliff is holding on for now.
Cliff is looking to control Okabe's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cliff avoid being mounted?
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Cliff actively working from the bottom here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cliff trying to hold on to Okabe's head to control him but Okabe postures up.
Okabe frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenji Okabe comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Okabe 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kenji Okabe!
Our winner, Kenji Okabe, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.