PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bobby Bilkington (ranked 23205 p4p, 4868 weight class) and Asaki Hanaki (ranked 612 p4p, 480 weight class). Hanaki has chosen The HU - Wolf Totem as his entrance music. Asaki Hanaki has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bilkington
vs
Hanaki

186 cm
26
163
0 - 1 - 0

173 cm
31
155
4 - 12 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Dangerous knees
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight 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, Bobby Bilkington!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Asaki Hanaki!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Steven Brown and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hanaki moves into the clinch.
Hanaki managing to block the knees to the body from Bilkington.
Hanaki misses with a knee strike.
Our sources have told us that Bilkington has been working on his elbows in the gym.

Hanaki gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Bilkington keeping moving, preventing Hanaki from controlling successfully.
Bilkington has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Hanaki passes Bilkington's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bilkington punching from the bottom.

Bilkington looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Bilkington keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanaki wants to control but Bilkington is keeping him busy.
Hanaki passes to side control.
Bilkington is trying to control Hanaki's posture but Hanaki avoids it.
Bilkington manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Hanaki is concentrating on defense, preventing Bilkington from advancing position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Bilkington in particular looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanaki trying to control here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hanaki is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hanaki keeping control of the position.
Bilkington tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Hanaki wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanaki keeps trying to improve his position.
Hanaki pushes Bilkington off looking to stand but Bilkington dives back in and keeps control.

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

Bilkington gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Hanaki postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hanaki preventing the sweep.
Hanaki is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hanaki loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanaki pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bilkington is keeping the position for now.
Hanaki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hanaki wants to pass the guard but Bilkington is keeping the position.

Hanaki stands and steps away. Bilkington gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Bilkington.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Hanaki takes the fight into the clinch.

Hanaki breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Asaki Hanaki 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.

Hanaki thows a leg kick but Bilkington checks it
and Bilkington counters with a nice body shot.

Hanaki shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hanaki showed some decent athleticism there.
Bilkington looks like he's trying to stand up.
Hanaki wants to stand up but Bilkington has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Bilkington taking some punishment here, with Hanaki in his half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanaki seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Bilkington is trying to maintain the position but Hanaki is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanaki seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Bilkington manages to escape and get back to his feet!
We've been informed that Hanaki has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Bilkington fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bilkington circles away from the clinch attempt
and Bilkington counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bilkington darts in looking for a takedown but Hanaki gets double underhooks and turns Bilkington into the cage.
Hanaki throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Hanaki tries a body shot but Bilkington blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hanaki pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Hanaki throws a right and a left that both miss.
Bilkington uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hanaki.

Hanaki is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Bilkington's half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bilkington is trying to get back to full guard.

Hanaki decides to stand and escape the position.
Hanaki swings for the body but Bilkington moves out of range.
Bilkington changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Bilkington fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hanaki avoids it really well and circles away.
Asaki Hanaki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Hanaki is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Bilkington's half guard.

Bilkington manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Hanaki keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bilkington has Hanaki pressed against the cage, preventing Hanaki from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Bilkington is trying to pull guard but Hanaki has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bobby Bilkington. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bilkington being controlled against the cage.
Bilkington is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Hanaki is defending well.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanaki is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Bilkington pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Bilkington avoiding damage.

Bilkington drags the fight down to the ground.
Hanaki stands and throws Bilkington's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Bilkington wants to control but Hanaki postures up.

Hanaki stands up and beckons Bilkington to his feet.
Hanaki falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bilkington counters with a one-two to the body.

Hanaki feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Bobby Bilkington will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Bilkington tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hanaki sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Bilkington somewhat.
Hanaki falls off balance throwing a combination

and Bilkington holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Hanaki.
Bilkington is trying to pull guard but Hanaki turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Hanaki's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bilkington is trying hard to land a takedown here. Hanaki sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Hanaki with the counter takedown but Bilkington avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bobby Bilkington. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanaki scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Bilkington doesn't seem bothered though.

Hanaki darts in and clinches Bilkington up against the cage.

Bilkington breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bilkington tries to clinch but Hanaki is having none of it.
Hanaki tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Bilkington manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hanaki shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Bilkington is trying to defend but Hanaki finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Hanaki controlling the pace.
Bilkington is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hanaki looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bilkington is not content to let Hanaki control the position.
Bilkington wants to control but Hanaki is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Bilkington wants to get back to full guard.
Bilkington is working hard here to advance position.
Hanaki is looking to stall here but Bilkington recovers full guard.
Hanaki advances position into side control!

Hanaki is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Bilkington knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hanaki has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

Hanaki scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Hanaki not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hanaki wants to stand up but Bilkington has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Hanaki looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bilkington desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Hanaki is looking to stall here but Bilkington recovers full guard.
Hanaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Bilkington is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bilkington has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

And that's the end of the fight!
Asaki Hanaki comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hanaki 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 28:29
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Asaki Hanaki!
During a confident post fight interview, Asaki Hanaki thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.