PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kenichi Shirahama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ismail Saidov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Saidov has chosen Shamhan Daldaev - Eto Kavkaz as his entrance music. Ismail Saidov is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Shirahama
vs
Saidov

200 cm
25
190 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

188 cm
35
202 lbs
14 - 10 - 1

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Prefers standup

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenichi Shirahama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Ismail Saidov!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Yuuki Gou and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saidov tries to clinch up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Shirahama misses with a punch on the inside.
Shirahama tries to land a knee to the head but Saidov blocks with his arms.
Shirahama throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Shirahama tries to land a knee to the head but Saidov blocks with his arms.
Shirahama can't break the clinch.
Shirahama looking to stall.
Saidov just leaning against Shirahama, taking a breather.
Shirahama tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saidov effectively controlling the action here.
Saidov has Shirahama pressed against the cage, preventing Shirahama from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shirahama tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Saidov's elbow.
Shirahama can't break the clinch.
Saidov lands a right hand.
Saidov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Saidov stalling against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
Shirahama lands a high kick!
Shirahama tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
We've been told by Shirahama's head coaches at [CBK] Punch-kicker Academy that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Kenichi Shirahama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shirahama looks to land a combination but Saidov avoids it well.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saidov will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Shirahama up against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Shirahama scores with a nice short uppercut.
Saidov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Shirahama up against the cage.
Shirahama with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saidov is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shirahama is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
Saidov wants to clinch up but Shirahama keeps it at a distance.

Saidov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Shirahama tries a knee to the head but Saidov blocks it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Saidov takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Shirahama trying to control the position but instead, Saidov has worked for underhooks and has pushed Shirahama into the cage.
Saidov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Shirahama working hard to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saidov is pushing Shirahama up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
Shirahama scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Saidov tries to clinch up but Shirahama circles away and keeps his distance.
Saidov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shirahama moves to clinch but Saidov breaks away
and Saidov counters with a left and a right that stings Shirahama.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Saidov rushes Shirahama and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Saidov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ismail Saidov 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.

Shirahama tries to clinch there but Saidov circles away.
Shirahama tries to clinch but Saidov is having none of it.
Shirahama doesn't manage to clinch there - Saidov circles away.
Shirahama is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Shirahama is looking to clinch but Saidov is avoiding it.
Shirahama misses the shot to the body.
Shirahama tries to clinch up

and Saidov counters with a big uppercut that knocks Shirahama off his feet! Saidov dives into side control looking to finish!

Shirahama is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Saidov controlling from side mount.

Saidov stands up and beckons Shirahama to his feet.

Shirahama tries to keep at a distance but Saidov has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shirahama misses with the head strike.
Shirahama really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Shirahama wants to get back to striking at distance but Saidov won't allow it.
Saidov leaning against his opponent.
Shirahama landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Saidov creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Saidov stalling the fight.
Saidov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short right from Saidov on the inside.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Shirahama tries to break the clinch but Saidov is controlling the position.
Saidov stalling against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
Shirahama fails in his attempt to clinch.
Saidov blocks a head kick by Shirahama.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Saidov in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

Shirahama takes the fight into the clinch.
Shirahama throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Saidov blocks it with crossed arms.
Saidov holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Saidov avoiding damage as Shirahama throws knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Saidov stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
A head kick misses from Shirahama.

Saidov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Shirahama missing with knees to the body.
The referee calls for Saidov to work.
Shirahama misses with some punches.
Saidov stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.
A left and a right from Shirahama both land. Nice combination.
Shirahama cracks Saidov with a right hand to the side of the head.

Shirahama gets tackled into the cage by Saidov. Saidov maintains the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shirahama tries to land knees in the clinch but Saidov avoids the damage to the body.
Saidov just leaning against Shirahama, taking a breather.
With the fighters up against the cage, Shirahama throws an elbow but misses.
Shirahama lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Shirahama misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Saidov.
Shirahama throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Saidov content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Shirahama tries a body shot but Saidov blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ismail Saidov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Shirahama tries to clinch there but Saidov circles away.
A jab from Shirahama finds it's way through Saidov's defenses.
Shirahama tries to clinch but Saidov moves out of range.
Shirahama throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Saidov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Shirahama manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Shirahama tries to clinch up
letting Saidov counter with a right hand.
Saidov swats away the attempt to clinch by Shirahama.
Saidov avoids the head kick by Shirahama.
Shirahama throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Saidov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Ismail Saidov seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Shirahama looking to throw knees to the head but Saidov is blocking nicely.
Saidov has Shirahama pressed against the cage.
Shirahama lands a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Shirahama fails to land.
Shirahama trying to control the position but instead, Saidov has worked for underhooks and has pushed Shirahama into the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Saidov.
Shirahama tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ismail Saidov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shirahama throws a knee to the head but misses.
Saidov slows down the pace here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ismail Saidov.

Saidov gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Shirahama tries to break the clinch but Saidov is controlling the position.
Shirahama misses with a knee to the head.
Shirahama wants to get back to striking at distance but Saidov won't allow it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Shirahama.
Shirahama looking to throw knees to the head but Saidov is blocking nicely.
Saidov stalling against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Saidov on the inside.
Shirahama misses with the head strike.
Shirahama misses with a punch to the body.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Saidov lands with a left to the head.
Shirahama throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Saidov blocks it with crossed arms.
Shirahama tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shirahama trying to land knees to the body.
Saidov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Shirahama up against the cage.
Shirahama scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Saidov has Shirahama pressed against the cage, preventing Shirahama from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shirahama can't break the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Saidov prevents Shirahama from breaking the clinch.
Shirahama tries to throw a body punch but Saidov avoids it by throwing Shirahama back against the cage.
Kenichi Shirahama has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Shirahama misses with a shot to the kidneys.

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 Kenichi Shirahama.
Well Saidov 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 28:30
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ismail Saidov!
An out of breath Ismail Saidov thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.