PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shingo Kitaoka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akaki Murasa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kitaoka's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Uyama Hiroto - Stratus. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kitaoka
vs
Murasa

180 cm
21
175 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shingo Kitaoka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Akaki Murasa!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kitaoka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kitaoka misses with the combination.
Kitaoka throws a right hand that Murasa ducks under and follows up with a left that Murasa also avoids with ease.
Murasa stuffs the takedown.
Kitaoka avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Murasa fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kitaoka, pushing him back against the ropes.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Murasa just stands there and leans against the ropes.
Murasa gets underhooks to prevent Kitaoka's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shingo Kitaoka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kitaoka wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kitaoka blocks the elbow strike.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Murasa.
Kitaoka wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Murasa has him pressed against the ropes.
Murasa tries to stall but Kitaoka uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Kitaoka managing to block the knees to the body from Murasa.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murasa is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Kitaoka is keeping busy.
Murasa is persisting with his attempts to control the action in the clinch, rather than do any real damage.

Murasa manages to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kitaoka would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Murasa trying to keep a closed guard but Kitaoka is proving a slippery customer.
Murasa wants to get back to his feet but Kitaoka is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Kitaoka advances to half guard.

Murasa looking for submissions off his back.

Murasa looking for submissions off his back.
Kitaoka seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Murasa dodges the punch combination from Kitaoka.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Kitaoka keeps the fight on the outside.
Kitaoka circles away from the clinch attempt.
Murasa wants to clinch up but Kitaoka keeps it at a distance.
Murasa tries to clinch but Kitaoka moves out of range.
Kitaoka moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Kitaoka fails to land with a series of punches.
Kitaoka is breathing heavily.

Murasa has managed to clinch.
Kitaoka tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Murasa smiles and moves away.
Kitaoka wants to clinch.
Kitaoka swinging wilding here.
Kitaoka tries to bum rush Murasa with a series of wild strikes but Murasa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kitaoka misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kitaoka throws out a loose jab but Murasa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Murasa wants to clinch up but Kitaoka keeps it at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kitaoka throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Murasa darts in and clinches Kitaoka up against the ropes.
Murasa stalling the fight.
Kitaoka takes an elbow to the forehead.

It looks like Shingo Kitaoka has been cut.
Murasa missing with knees to the body.
Kitaoka tries to break the clinch but Murasa is controlling the position.
Kitaoka is pressed up against the ropes. Murasa has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Kitaoka down to the mat. Kitaoka avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Kitaoka tries to clinch but Murasa moves away
and Murasa counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kitaoka's knee momentarily.
Kitaoka with a lazy takedown attempt

and Murasa counters by moving into the clinch.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Murasa trying to stall but Kitaoka improves his position.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Murasa just stands there and leans against the ropes.
Murasa prevents Kitaoka from breaking the clinch.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but Murasa won't allow it.
Kitaoka jumps guard but Murasa stands there with Kitaoka around his waist. Kitaoka gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kitaoka can't break the clinch.
Murasa looking to slow down the pace here.
Murasa trying to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murasa looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Murasa gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Murasa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kitaoka.
Kitaoka wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Murasa throws an elbow but misses.
Murasa wants to stall.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but Murasa holds him up against the ropes and eventually Kitaoka drops back down to his feet.
Murasa misses with an elbow strike.
Murasa is trying to stall.
Murasa lands a damaging elbow.
Kitaoka has had enough of the clinch but Murasa keeps him there for the moment.

Kitaoka drags the fight down to the ground.

Kitaoka has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Murasa can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Kitaoka has an active guard here but Murasa has managed to pass into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akaki Murasa dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Shingo Kitaoka's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kitaoka swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Murasa counters with a nice leg kick.
A combination from Kitaoka does no damage.
Murasa fails with an attempt to clinch.
A solid body kick from Murasa.
Murasa tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Murasa darts in and clinches Kitaoka up against the ropes.
Murasa is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Kitaoka is keeping busy.
Kitaoka tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Kitaoka drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Murasa landing knees to the body.
Murasa lands an elbow inside that Kitaoka shrugs off.
Murasa lands an elbow that stopped Kitaoka in his tracks for a moment.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Murasa just stands there and leans against the ropes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shingo Kitaoka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Murasa lands an elbow inside that Kitaoka shrugs off.
Murasa keeps control of Kitaoka as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Murasa trying to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murasa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Murasa lands an elbow that stopped Kitaoka in his tracks for a moment.
Murasa prevents Kitaoka from breaking the clinch.
Kitaoka has had enough of the clinch but Murasa keeps him there for the moment.
Murasa scores a nice knee to the body.
Kitaoka wants to get back to striking at distance but Murasa won't allow it.
Kitaoka tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Murasa lands a nice elbow.
Murasa taking a breather.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but Murasa won't allow it.
Kitaoka is trying to break free.
Kitaoka wants to break the clinch but can't.
Murasa throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Kitaoka looking for a takedown.
Kitaoka takes an elbow to the forehead.
Murasa tries to pull guard but Kitaoka holds him up against the ropes and eventually Murasa drops back down to his feet.
Murasa stalling in the clinch but Kitaoka improves position.
Murasa pressing his opponent against the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murasa gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Kitaoka takes an elbow to the temple.
Kitaoka letting Murasa take a breather here.
Kitaoka on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Murasa crunches a lovely knee into Kitaoka's ribcage.
Murasa looking to slow down the pace here.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Murasa lands an elbow just above Kitaoka 's eye.
Murasa lands a damaging elbow.
Murasa prevents Kitaoka from breaking the clinch.
Murasa lands a nice elbow.
Kitaoka on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Kitaoka tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Kitaoka tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Murasa smiles and moves away.
Murasa connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kitaoka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Murasa takes the fight into the clinch.
Murasa throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Murasa trying to land knees to the body.
Murasa missing with knees to the body.
Kitaoka managing to block the knees to the body from Murasa.
Murasa missing with knees to the body.
Murasa tries to land knees in the clinch but Kitaoka avoids the damage to the body.
Murasa drops down looking for an ankle pick but Kitaoka pulls his leg out and moves away.
A combination from Kitaoka does no damage.
Oooh a lovely combination from Kitaoka sends Murasa down but not out. Kitaoka dives into side control looking to finish.

Murasa is rocked!
Kitaoka has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Murasa is still in real trouble! Can Kitaoka finish him?

Kitaoka looking for a guillotine from mount but Murasa is having none of it.

Kitaoka working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kitaoka wants to control the pace but Murasa is squirming around nicely.

Kitaoka jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Murasa is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Murasa and Kitaoka has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Murasa seems to have recovered his senses.
Murasa is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Kitaoka tries for a kimura but Murasa is defending well.
Murasa is trying to buck Kitaoka off.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Murasa manages to work his way to half guard, despite Kitaoka's best efforts.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Akaki Murasa will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Shingo Kitaoka's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Murasa tries to clinch but Kitaoka moves out of range.
Murasa is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Murasa looks frusrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Murasa doesn't manage to clinch there - Kitaoka circles away.
Murasa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kitaoka.
Murasa avoids the body shot from Kitaoka.
Kitaoka waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Murasa.

Murasa clinches with his opponent.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Kitaoka tries to pull guard but Murasa holds him up against the ropes and eventually Kitaoka drops back down to his feet.
Murasa is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kitaoka wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Murasa has him pressed against the ropes.
Nice elbow from Murasa.
Knees to the body from Murasa.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kitaoka wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kitaoka on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murasa is working for takedown but Kitaoka is calmly controlling the position for now.
Kitaoka blocks an elbow strike from Murasa.
Murasa lands an elbow inside.
Murasa lands a damaging elbow.
Murasa tries to land knees in the clinch but Kitaoka avoids the damage to the body.
Murasa missing with knees to the body.
Murasa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kitaoka.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Murasa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Murasa keeps control of Kitaoka as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Kitaoka avoiding damage as Murasa throws knees to the body.
Murasa trying to land knees to the body.
Murasa lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Murasa landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

Kitaoka pulls guard successfully.
Kitaoka controls Murasa momentarily but Murasa frees himself.
Kitaoka keeping moving, preventing Murasa from controlling successfully.

Kitaoka has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Murasa can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

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

Murasa drops back for a leg here. A bit of a high risk move... He's looking for a kneebar by the looks of things. Now both of them are looking for submissions. Murasa seems to have locked his on tight now - Kitaoka screams in pain and taps out furiously! It certainly was a high risk move but it's paid off for Murasa, as he picks up the win!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:25 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kneebar). Akaki Murasa!