PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Calabi Yau (ranked 3363 p4p, 3086 weight class) and Gordon Fisherman (ranked 452 p4p, 421 weight class). Fisherman has chosen Anything - Chino XL as his entrance music. 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?

Yau
vs
Fisherman

184 cm
36
182
20 - 13 - 2

188 cm
32
185
11 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin

HELLBENT

HELLBENT
The Dirty Needle Project

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 20 - 13 - 2, fighting out of Tokyo, Calabi Yau!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gordon Fisherman!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Saam Ante and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yau ducks under a wild hook from Fisherman.
Fisherman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Yau has been working on his boxing with his coaches at MMA Dojo (Top Gym in Tokyo*) in the buildup to the fight.

Yau moves into the clinch successfully.
Yau trying to land knees to the body.
Fisherman has Yau pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Yau manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Fisherman stalls.
Fisherman misses with a short punch on the inside.
Yau tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Fisherman avoids it.
Fisherman avoiding damage as Yau throws knees to the body.
Fisherman working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Fisherman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Yau misses with a body punch
letting Fisherman counter with a right hand.
Yau tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Fisherman manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yau swings for the body but Fisherman moves out of range.
Yau slips under a jab.
Yau bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Yau throws a body shot but no joy.
Yau scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Fisherman throws a hook to the side of Yau's head but Yau sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yau throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Fisherman! But no joy.
Fisherman throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Fisherman misses with a jab, cross combination.
Fisherman throws a right hand that Yau ducks under and follows up with a left that Yau also avoids with ease.
Fisherman displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

Yau closes the distance and clinches.
Yau connects with a knee to the head.
Fisherman misses with a punch to the body.
Fisherman avoids the elbow strike from Yau, against the cage.
Fisherman misses with a body punch.
Yau tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Yau is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Fisherman is defending well for now.
Fisherman is trying to push Yau away but Yau has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Fisherman misses with a hook from the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Fisherman is trying to stall.
A short right from Fisherman on the inside.
Fisherman lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Yau or not.
Fisherman has a couple of punches blocked by Yau.
Fisherman has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Yau seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Fisherman can turn it around.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yau tries to land knees in the clinch but Fisherman avoids the damage to the body.
Yau lands a good knee to the midsection. Fisherman won't want to take too many of those.
Yau trying to land knees to the body.
Fisherman avoids a wild elbow strike from Yau.
Fisherman on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Fisherman lands a hook that snaps the head of Yau backwards.
Fisherman throws a head punch that misses.
Fisherman blocks the elbow strike.
Fisherman avoiding damage as Yau throws knees to the body.
Fisherman can't find room to land a body shot as Yau controls the action.
Fisherman is stalling here.
Fisherman taking a breather.
Fisherman scores with a shot to the side of Yau's head.
Fisherman blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Yau with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Fisherman pushes Yau back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Fisherman lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Fisherman tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fisherman misses with a short punch on the inside.
Fisherman lands an uppercut.
Fisherman lands a hook that snaps the head of Yau backwards.

Fisherman breaks from the clinch.
Fisherman connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

Yau closes the distance and pushes Fisherman back into the cage.
Yau tries to land knees in the clinch but Fisherman avoids the damage to the body.
Yau tries a knee to the head but Fisherman blocks it.
Fisherman tries to work over Yau's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Fisherman lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Yau tries to land knees in the clinch but Fisherman avoids the damage to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Fisherman.
Yau throws a knee to the head but misses.
Yau lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Fisherman swings wildly with an uppercut but Yau uses good head movement to avoid it.
Fisherman swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Fisherman gets through Yau's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Fisherman avoids the elbow strike from Yau, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yau lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like Gordon Fisherman has been cut.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Fisherman creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Fisherman taking a breather.
Fisherman is looking to control Yau's arms but Yau gets an underhook and turns him. Now Fisherman has his back to the cage.
Fisherman lands a nice shot to the body.
Fisherman on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Fisherman avoids the elbow strike from Yau, against the cage.
Fisherman lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Fisherman lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Yau throws an elbow but misses.
Fisherman blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Fisherman misses with the head strike.
Yau misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Fisherman.
Yau tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Fisherman avoids it.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yau lands a knee to the head.
Fisherman lands a left hand.
Fisherman throws a head punch that misses.
Fisherman goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Fisherman breaks the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gordon Fisherman dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Gordon Fisherman's cut.
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.

Yau connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
A lazy left from Fisherman finds it's target.
Fisherman circles away from the clinch attempt

and Fisherman counters with a nice double leg into side control. Yau won't be happy with that.
Yau defending against the ground and pound.
Fisherman controls the position.
Yau regains half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yau is refusing to be controlled, as Fisherman sits in half guard.
Fisherman takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Fisherman passes the guard and advances to mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fisherman tries to control but Yau wriggling away.

Fisherman goes for an armbar but Yau turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Yau.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yau loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yau is looking to work some ground and pound but Fisherman has wrist control.
Fisherman is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Yau missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Yau trying to stand up but can't free himself from Fisherman's guard.
Fisherman wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yau working some strikes from top position.

Fisherman throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Fisherman looking for a sweep. Not yet Fisherman, not yet.
Yau missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Yau postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Fisherman has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Fisherman working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Yau.
Fisherman is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Yau sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Fisherman's guard.
Yau not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Yau thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fisherman's head.
Fisherman trying to control from the bottom.
Yau missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Yau not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fisherman gets back to full guard.
Yau in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Fisherman seems keen to control Yau's posture.

Fisherman is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Yau throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Fisherman works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yau trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Fisherman pulls Yau in close to prevent any damage.
Yau wants to get up but he can't break Fisherman's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Yau working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Yau is looking to work some ground and pound but Fisherman has wrist control.
Fisherman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Yau missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yau postures up.
Fisherman has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Fisherman preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Yau missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Fisherman is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Fisherman controlling the action here.

Yau with the active half guard here but Fisherman passes nicely into side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Fisherman cracks Yau with a big right hand but Yau just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Gordon Fisherman will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Gordon Fisherman's cut.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Yau scores with a jab to the jaw.
Fisherman defending well as Yau loads up on a big left hand.
Fisherman throws a combination. Yau tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Fisherman shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Fisherman tests Yau's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Yau tries to clinch but Fisherman moves away
and Fisherman connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Yau tries to clinch there but Fisherman circles away.
Fisherman looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Fisherman keeps the fight on the outside.
Yau listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Fisherman has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Yau finds it's way round the side to connect with Fisherman's head.
Yau on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yau lands with an uppercut that bounces Fisherman off the cage and back into range.
Nice shot by Fisherman.
A nice leg kick lands there from Fisherman.
Yau misses with a wild combination.
Yau blocks a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Fisherman.
Fisherman looks to land a right hand but Yau moved out of range.
Fisherman lands the left hand.
Yau misses with a wild combination.
Yau checks a leg kick nicely.
It looked like Yau was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Yau swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Yau tries to clinch but Fisherman moves away

so Fisherman counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Fisherman throwing strikes but missing.
Fisherman throws a strike but Yau rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Fisherman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Yau throws a big elbow that misses.
Fisherman manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Yau manages to get himself to full guard.

The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Fisherman's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fisherman scoring with some ground and pound.
Yau is looking to sweep but instead, Fisherman has passed into half guard.
Fisherman lands with a punch from half guard.
Fisherman wants to take a breather but Yau is having none of it.

Fisherman is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Yau is trying to stand.
Gordon Fisherman is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Fisherman.
Yau is looking for a sweep. Fisherman is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Fisherman drops an elbow to the side of Yau's head.
Yau wants to get back to full guard but Fisherman has passed into side control.
Fisherman is chipping away with strikes.
Fisherman wants to control but Yau is keeping him busy.
Yau tries to get back to half guard but can't.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Calabi Yau has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Fisherman has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yau tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Fisherman moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Fisherman trying to control the position but Yau is working away.
Yau tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Fisherman lands a decent elbow from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gordon Fisherman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Fisherman 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 27:30
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gordon Fisherman!
Gordon Fisherman looked relieved post fight as he said the following; 'I'd like to thank Calabi for trying his best to win, but there are levels to this shit, son. Good try and good luck in your future fights, as long as they don't involve me. Thanks to Coach Womba for finally promoting me to black belt. '.