PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Yamaoka Yukinobu (ranked 1982 p4p, 1892 weight class) and Night Crawler (ranked 187 p4p, 173 weight class). Crawler is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by World Ender. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Yukinobu
vs
Crawler

170 cm
34
148
16 - 15 - 0

178 cm
35
146
23 - 12 - 1

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel

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 16 - 15 - 0, fighting out of New York, Yamaoka Yukinobu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Night Crawler!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Sano and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yukinobu thuds a left hand into Crawler's body.
Crawler showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Yukinobu.
Good exchange - Yukinobu coming out on top.
Yamaoka Yukinobu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Crawler scores with a jab to the head.

It looks like Yamaoka Yukinobu has been cut.
Yukinobu uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Crawler.
Crawler steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Yukinobu. That one must have hurt.
Crawler closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
A shot to the liver by Crawler. Beautiful body shot.
Crawler throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Crawler misses with an uppercut. Yukinobu saw that one coming.
Crawler ducks under a wild hook from Yukinobu.
Jab, jab by Yukinobu - just one landing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Crawler misses with a right hand

and Yukinobu moves into the clinch.

Yukinobu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yukinobu throws a good cross that connects.
Yukinobu shoots in and drives through. Crawler sprawls well.
Yukinobu scores with a kick to the midsection.
Night Crawler is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Yukinobu misses with a takedown attempt
enabling Crawler to counter with a crisp jab.
Yukinobu fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Yukinobu goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Yukinobu throws an off balance right hand
and Yukinobu takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Crawler with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Yukinobu to score with a decent uppercut.
Yukinobu throws out a loose jab but Crawler uses good head movement to avoid it.
Crawler lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Yukinobu lands with a hook. Crawler tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Crawler throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Yukinobu has been working on his boxing with his coaches at NY Savages in the buildup to the fight.
Crawler blocks a jab.
Crawler looks to land a left hand but Yukinobu moved out of range nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yukinobu misses with a hook. Crawler ducked under it nicely.
A little jabbing left from Crawler on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Yukinobu throws a big shot that misses.
Crawler finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Crawler. Those never looked like landing.
Crawler pivots, looking for a leg kick but Yukinobu is out of range and Crawler settles back down.
Yukinobu displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Crawler throws out the jab.
Yukinobu with a nice calf kick.
Yukinobu slips a straight right by Crawler.
Yukinobu half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Yukinobu throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

Crawler gets caught flat footed, as Yukinobu shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Yukinobu lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Crawler seems keen to control Yukinobu's posture.
Yukinobu trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yukinobu throws a big elbow that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yukinobu trying to control but Crawler is working from the bottom.
Crawler looking for a sweep. Not yet Crawler, not yet.
Yukinobu loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yukinobu throwing strikes but missing.
Yukinobu with a flurry of punches that miss.
Yukinobu wants to control from the top but Crawler keeps moving.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Crawler has momentary wrist control but Yukinobu slips an elbow through the middle.

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.
Crawler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Yukinobu looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Crawler keeping full guard, as Yukinobu tries to pass.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A looping hook to the body misses from Yukinobu. Crawler does a little dance to reset his feet.
Crawler looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Yukinobu ducks under a wild hook from Crawler.
Yukinobu throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Crawler on the side of the head.
Yukinobu throws a hook but Crawler avoids it easily.
It seemed like Crawler was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yamaoka Yukinobu dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Yamaoka Yukinobu's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Crawler throws a hook but Yukinobu avoids it easily.
Yukinobu closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Yukinobu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Crawler.
Crawler defending well as Yukinobu loads up on a big left hand.
Yukinobu keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Crawler.
Yukinobu is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Crawler can do to turn this around?
Yukinobu goes for a double leg but Crawler avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Crawler continues to drive forward.
Crawler looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A frustrated look appears on Yukinobu's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Yukinobu blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Yukinobu breaks from the clinch.
Yukinobu throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Crawler! But no joy.
Crawler has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Crawler there as he acknowledges the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yukinobu ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A punch combination from Yukinobu misses.
Yukinobu scores with a kick to the midsection.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Yukinobu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawler avoids a kick to the body.
The fighters circle momentarily. Yukinobu darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Yukinobu fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Crawler throws a nice looking combination but Yukinobu bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Crawler jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Yukinobu throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Crawler.

Yukinobu closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Crawler is trying to control Yukinobu's posture but Yukinobu avoids it.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Yukinobu is looking to take a break and control but Crawler is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crawler isn't going anywhere.
Yukinobu in side control lands a decent elbow.
Yukinobu trying to control the action but Crawler is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yukinobu lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Crawler down.
Crawler tries to bench press Yukinobu off him but Yukinobu keeps the position.
Yukinobu postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Crawler defending against the ground and pound.
Crawler is not content to let Yukinobu control the position.
Crawler avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Yukinobu.

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.
Yukinobu wants to control for a moment but Crawler uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Crawler manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Crawler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Crawler working a defensive guard here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Yukinobu looking to sit in guard and control but Crawler gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

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

Yamaoka Yukinobu dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Yamaoka Yukinobu's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A head kick misses from Yukinobu.
Crawler throws a hook but Yukinobu avoids it easily.
Yukinobu thinks about countering with a body kick.
Yukinobu looks to land a right hand but Crawler moved out of range.
Crawler throws a right and a left that Yukinobu avoids nicely.
Yukinobu feinted with a counter takedown.
Yukinobu throws a push kick but Crawler slaps the foot to one side.
Yukinobu lands a leg kick that knocks Crawler off balance momentarily.
Crawler throws a jab but it's blocked by Yukinobu.
Yukinobu ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Yukinobu lunges at Crawler with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Crawler's hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crawler throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Yamaoka Yukinobu is winning the standup battle so far.
Crawler throws an overhand right that lands on Yukinobu's shoulder, as Yukinobu tries to avoid the shot.
Crawler misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Yukinobu clobbers Crawler with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Yukinobu.
Crawler looks to land a left hand but Yukinobu moved out of range nicely.

Yukinobu dives in and scores a takedown into Crawler's guard.
Yukinobu trying to control but Crawler is working from the bottom.
Yamaoka Yukinobu overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Crawler is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Yukinobu controls from within his opponent's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yukinobu seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Crawler for as long as he can get away with.
Yamaoka Yukinobu is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yukinobu working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Yukinobu loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yukinobu lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Yukinobu landing some decent shots from guard.
Yukinobu trying to control the position from guard on top but Crawler is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Crawler pulls Yukinobu in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yukinobu is stalling in the full guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Yukinobu shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Crawler wants to sweep but no luck.
Crawler is trying to control the position but Yukinobu postures up.
Crawler wants to sweep but no luck.
Night Crawler has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Crawler is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yukinobu looking to pass the guard.
Crawler wants to sweep here but Yukinobu controlling him for the moment.
Crawler not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Yukinobu avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Yukinobu throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Crawler works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A combination from Yukinobu does no damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yamaoka Yukinobu showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Yukinobu has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yamaoka Yukinobu!