PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Phil Jackson (ranked 4306 p4p, 4304 weight class) and Terrell Damian (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Jackson
vs
Damian

180 cm
25
155
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
25
156
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Phil Jackson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Terrell Damian!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jackson moves out of range of the strikes.
Jackson on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Damian with a nice cross.
Damian changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Jackson doesn't manage to clinch there - Damian circles away.
Damian ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Damian fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Jackson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Jackson showed some decent athleticism there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Jackson is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Damian is controlling Jackson's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Jackson thows a huge punch but Damian dodges it nicely.
Damian really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Jackson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jackson trying to control the action but Damian is working from the bottom.

Jackson is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Damian has managed to free his arm - good work.
Damian is looking to improve his position.
Jackson wants to pass the guard but Damian is defending well.

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

Jackson is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Damian is looking to escape.
Damian is trying to control but Jackson passes into side control!
Jackson in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Jackson is looking to take a break and control but Damian is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Jackson thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jackson working away.
Damian seems a little lost for a moment, as Jackson dominates the positioning.
Jackson tries to score with some ground and pound. Damian controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Jackson tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
A lull in the action here.
Damian looking for a sweep but Jackson has passed into full mount! Oh no!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Jackson avoids the attempt from Damian to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Jackson looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Damian is hanging on here. He's in a desperate position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Jackson is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Damian can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Jackson dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Jab by Damian.
Damian digs a good body shot into Jackson's ribs.
Nice body punch from Damian.
A leg kick checked by Damian.

Jackson gets a double leg takedown into Damian's guard.
Damian is wriggling around but Jackson manages to pass to half guard.

Damian trying to control here.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Damian can do anything to dispel that myth.
Jackson has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson tries to control but Damian wriggling away.
Jackson controlling the pace for now.
Damian is just holding on here. Jackson manages to take his back.
Jackson has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Damian's body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Damian is trying to get back to his feet but Jackson has full control of the position and if anything, Damian has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Jackson thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Will Jackson go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damian is trying to stand back up.

Jackson tightening his grip on Damian, looking for the choke.
Jackson controls the position.
Jackson struggling to keep hold of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damian holding both Jackson 's hands and preventing any damage.
Damian looking very determined here, making life difficult for Jackson.

Jackson looking for the RNC.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jackson has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Damian's body.
Jackson misses with an elbow to the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Jackson dominated that second round.
That's time! Jackson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Damian cracks a nice hook into Jackson's ribs.
Damian lunges at Jackson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Jackson's hand.
Jackson shoots for a takedown but Damian saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Jackson 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.
Jackson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Damian can do to turn this around?
Jackson trying to control the position from guard on top but Damian is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jackson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Jackson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Jackson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Jackson is stalling in the full guard.
Phil Jackson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Damian is adopting a defensive guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damian controls Jackson momentarily but Jackson frees himself.
Damian might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Jackson haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Jackson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Damian misses with some strikes from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Jackson in particular looking to stall.

Jackson is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Damian is just riding it out for now. Jackson eventually gives up the hold.
Damian trying to control from the bottom.
Damian tries to kick Jackson off but Jackson keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damian scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Jackson manages to mount him!
Jackson lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Jackson looking to control but Damian is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Damian holds on, trying desperately to control.
Jackson controlling from mount.
Terrell Damian has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Jackson cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson content just to control the position here.

Jackson working for a submission but Damian is keeping him at bay.
Jackson takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Jackson raining down shots from the mount!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Damian is looking to improve his position but Jackson isn't that keen on the idea.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phil Jackson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Jackson, 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Phil Jackson!