PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hikaru Naoi (ranked 5560 p4p, 3838 weight class) and Romero Castilho (ranked 0 p4p, 474 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Naoi
vs
Castilho

176 cm
25
212
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
23
209
1 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Determined

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hikaru Naoi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Romero Castilho!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Daniel Franklin and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A solid leg kick lands there for Castilho.
Castilho chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Naoi misses with a takedown
and Castilho counters with a leg kick.
Naoi could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Naoi is breathing heavily.

Naoi is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Castilho's half guard.
Naoi throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Naoi prevents Castilho from standing back up.
Castilho taking some punishment here, with Naoi in his half guard.
Naoi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Naoi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Naoi lands a nice short elbow.
Naoi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Castilho defending well though.
Castilho looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Castilho keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Naoi drops an elbow to the side of Castilho's head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Naoi with the ground and pound but Castilho uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naoi postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Naoi throwing strikes but missing.
Naoi is looking to work some ground and pound but Castilho has wrist control.
Naoi lands a couple of digs.
Naoi 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.
Naoi working some strikes from top position.
Naoi throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Naoi lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Naoi content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Naoi is looking to work some ground and pound but Castilho has wrist control.
Naoi postures up and lands a big shot to Castilho's brow.
Naoi trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castilho avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Naoi throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Castilho works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Castilho avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Naoi postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Castilho is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Naoi is controlling him.
Naoi postures up and lands a big shot to Castilho's brow.
Naoi is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Castilho avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Naoi content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Naoi wants to control from the top but Castilho keeps moving.
Naoi lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Naoi throwing strikes from guard but Castilho blocks nicely.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Castilho can do anything to dispel that myth.
Naoi trying to control the position from guard on top but Castilho is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Naoi won't allow Castilho to get back to his feet.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Naoi closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Castilho did well to prevent Naoi getting side control.
Naoi not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Castilho is refusing to be controlled, as Naoi sits in half guard.
Castilho blocking the ground and pound attempt from Naoi.
Naoi is nestled in close to Castilho, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Castilho avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Naoi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoi landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Naoi missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Naoi looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Castilho with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Castilho pushes Naoi off looking to stand but Naoi dives back in and keeps control.
Naoi is looking to take a break and control but Castilho is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Naoi working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ground and pound from Naoi.
Naoi looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Castilho with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Naoi is nestled in close to Castilho, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Naoi scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Castilho keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hikaru Naoi dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Naoi darts in looking for a takedown but Castilho gets double underhooks and turns Naoi into the cage.
Castilho prevents the takedown attempt.
Naoi drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hikaru Naoi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Castilho is pressed up against the cage. Naoi has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Castilho down to the mat. Castilho avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Naoi looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Castilho is trying to stand.
Naoi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Castilho can do to turn this around?
Naoi throwing shots but Castilho is blocking nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Naoi with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Naoi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Naoi thows a huge punch but Castilho dodges it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naoi thows a huge punch but Castilho dodges it nicely.
Naoi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Castilho's head.
Castilho regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Naoi.
Castilho utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Naoi is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Naoi makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Hikaru Naoi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Naoi throws a strike but Castilho rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Castilho decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Naoi, up you get!
Hikaru Naoi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Castilho throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Nice sprawl there from Castilho as Naoi shoots in.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Castilho enables Naoi to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Castilho manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Castilho utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Naoi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Castilho working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Naoi.
Naoi throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Naoi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Naoi loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Naoi lands a couple of digs.
Castilho working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Naoi.
Naoi postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Naoi with a flurry of punches that miss.
Naoi stands up over Castilho, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Naoi lands a couple of digs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Naoi scoring with punches to the head and body.
Naoi working some strikes from top position.
Naoi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Naoi throws an elbow that misses. Castilho uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Naoi's guard. Nice move by Castilho!

Naoi working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Castilho doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Castilho manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Naoi is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Naoi is looking for a triangle but Castilho pushes his legs off easily.

Naoi throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Naoi working for a triangle but Castilho defends it easily.

Naoi is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Naoi had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Castilho defends it easily.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Naoi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hikaru Naoi dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're 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.

Naoi tries for a takedown but Castilho circles away easily
and Castilho counters with a right hand to the body.

Naoi changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Castilho looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Naoi working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Naoi misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Castilho dodges the ground and pound from Naoi.
Castilho is trying to get back to his feet.
Naoi cracks Castilho with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Naoi sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Castilho is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castilho is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Naoi in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Naoi tries to score with some ground and pound. Castilho controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castilho is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Naoi is controlling him well.
Naoi in side control, throwing shots but Castilho defends.
Sloppy strikes there by Naoi.
Naoi working the body and head with strikes.
Naoi landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Naoi connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Castilho some visible discomfort.
Naoi tries to score with some ground and pound. Castilho controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
An elbow from Naoi crashes against the mat.
Naoi in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Castilho taking punishment in the form of punches.
Castilho is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Naoi is controlling him well.
Romero Castilho has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naoi connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Castilho some visible discomfort.
Naoi landing strikes.
Naoi cracks Castilho with a big elbow.
Naoi scoring with punches from side control.
Naoi in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Naoi looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Castilho is avoiding damage well.
Castilho takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Naoi in side control, throwing shots but Castilho defends.
Naoi lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Castilho really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Naoi. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The referee asks Naoi politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Naoi prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Naoi connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Castilho some visible discomfort.
Sloppy strikes there by Naoi.
Naoi working the ground and pound from side control.
Castilho managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Naoi.
Naoi grinds an elbow into Castilho's temple.
Castilho taking punishment in the form of punches.
Naoi landing strikes.
Naoi working the body and head with strikes.
Naoi is working Castilho over with some ground and pound from side control.
Naoi is chipping away with strikes.
Naoi cracks Castilho with a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoi scoring with punches from side control.
Naoi lands some shots froms side control.
Naoi landing strikes.
Naoi lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Castilho down.
Naoi connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Castilho some visible discomfort.
Castilho taking a bit of punishment here - Naoi scoring with strikes.
Castilho is working to avoid the ground and pound but Naoi connects with a decent elbow.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Naoi cracks Castilho with a big elbow.
Naoi working the ground and pound.
Naoi scoring with punches and elbows.
Naoi landing a few strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hikaru Naoi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Naoi, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hikaru Naoi!