PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Gregor (ranked 1462 p4p, 1320 weight class) and Tomomisan Tsuruta (ranked 192 p4p, 179 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Gregor
vs
Tsuruta

178 cm
38
210
28 - 32 - 1

192 cm
34
209
20 - 13 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Vegan Gains

Urban Fighter
Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 32 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Gregor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 13 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tomomisan Tsuruta!
The judges for this bout are Percy O'Donnell, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gregor looks to land a right hand but Tsuruta moved out of range.
Gregor misses with the combination.
A big left from Gregor misses.
James Gregor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tsuruta ducks under a wild hook from Gregor.
Tsuruta tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Tsuruta uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Gregor.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gregor misses with a looping left.
Nice shot by Tsuruta.
Tsuruta keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Gregor.
Tsuruta changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gregor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tsuruta moves away.
And Tsuruta tries to counter it with a takedown but Gregor pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Gregor pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Tsuruta drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Gregor defends it well.
Gregor throws a hook but Tsuruta avoids it easily.

Tsuruta throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Gregor was covering up waiting for the punch and Tsuruta finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Tsuruta slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Tsuruta wants to control from the top but Gregor keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta looking to sit in guard and control but Gregor gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Gregor with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gregor won't allow Tsuruta to sweep him here.
Gregor working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gregor loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Gregor cracks Tsuruta with a solid left hand.
Tsuruta wants to sweep but no luck.
Tsuruta lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Tsuruta stands up over Gregor, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tsuruta trying to control the position from guard on top but Gregor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Tsuruta in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregor utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tsuruta slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Gregor has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Gregor is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Gregor working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gregor keeping moving, preventing Tsuruta from controlling successfully.
Tsuruta is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Gregor might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Gregor has momentary wrist control but Tsuruta slips an elbow through the middle.
Tsuruta loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Tsuruta is looking to work some ground and pound but Gregor has wrist control.
Tsuruta postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tsuruta wants to control from the top but Gregor keeps moving.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Gregor throws a series of punches but Tsuruta moves out of range.
Gregor catches Tsuruta with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gregor throws the left hand but Tsuruta avoids the punch easily.
A jab from Gregor misses.
Tsuruta with the counter takedown but Gregor avoids it easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that James Gregor will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Gregor throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Gregor fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Tsuruta tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Tsuruta bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
And Tsuruta tries to counter it with a takedown but Gregor pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Gregor tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tsuruta was well out of range. Poor timing from Gregor.
Tsuruta takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Gregor is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Tsuruta ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tsuruta looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Gregor is trying to control but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuruta throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Tsuruta is trying to control the action in half guard but Gregor is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Gregor is controlling Tsuruta's position as best he can from this difficult position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tsuruta content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Tsuruta not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Gregor taking some punishment here, with Tsuruta in his half guard.
Tsuruta trying to control from half guard but Gregor is working away.
Tsuruta working the head and body with strikes.
We've been hearing good reports from Gregor's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Gregor avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Gregor regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta is looking to work some ground and pound but Gregor has wrist control.
Gregor working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tsuruta.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta looking to sit in guard and control but Gregor gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Tsuruta is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Tsuruta missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Tsuruta not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Tsuruta working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Tsuruta throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Tsuruta tries to pass to full mount but Gregor defends it.
Tsuruta wants to take a breather but Gregor is having none of it.
Tsuruta slips a nice elbow through Gregor's hands, connecting with Gregor's forehead.
Tsuruta is looking to take a break and control but Gregor is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Tsuruta with the ground and pound but Gregor uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tsuruta is in close to Gregor's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Gregor keeping moving, preventing Tsuruta from controlling successfully.
Tsuruta throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Tsuruta postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tsuruta loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gregor is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Tsuruta cracks Gregor with a solid left hand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tomomisan Tsuruta showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gregor throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Tsuruta slips a jab and a cross from Gregor.
Gregor throws a jab when Tsuruta was well out of range.
Gregor throws a combination that misses

and Tsuruta counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tsuruta.
Tsuruta is looking to work some ground and pound but Gregor has wrist control.
Tsuruta is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsuruta throws a strike but Gregor rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Gregor missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tsuruta lands an upkick as Gregor stands over him.
Gregor stopping the sweep attempt from Tsuruta.
Gregor lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuruta looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gregor is one step ahead there.
Tsuruta manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Gregor manages to get himself to full guard.

Tsuruta showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Tsuruta's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Gregor utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Gregor keeping full guard, as Tsuruta tries to pass.
Tsuruta postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tsuruta's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Tsuruta missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tsuruta has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Tsuruta throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gregor works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Tsuruta wants to control from the top but Gregor keeps moving.
Tsuruta throwing strikes but missing.
Tsuruta postures up and lands a big shot to Gregor's brow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta lands a couple of elbows.
Tsuruta trying to control the position from guard on top but Gregor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Tsuruta working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gregor's head.
Tsuruta slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Tsuruta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Tsuruta wants to control from the top but Gregor keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gregor misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gregor.
Tsuruta fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Gregor fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A big left from Gregor misses.
Gregor throws a hook to the side of Tsuruta's head but Tsuruta sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
And Tsuruta tries to counter it with a takedown but Gregor pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gregor slaps away a takedown attempt from Tsuruta, before circling back to the center of the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Tomomisan Tsuruta.
I think Tsuruta has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tomomisan Tsuruta!
A loyal slave to those sponsorship dollars, Tomomisan Tsuruta made sure he mentioned Voodoo Nutrition, along with how happy he was to win his fight.