PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kotetsu Yama (ranked 1255 p4p, 1187 weight class) and Leonardo Pancho Garcia (ranked 185 p4p, 175 weight class). Leonardo Pancho Garcia will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Yama
vs
Garcia

168 cm
21
159
5 - 1 - 0

186 cm
21
169
3 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Champion Apparel
Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Furnace Performance ðŸ”¥
Knockaround Guys Fight Gear

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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kotetsu Yama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Leonardo Pancho Garcia!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Marco Blurström and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yama throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Nice defenses there by Garcia.

Yama fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Garcia sprawls well initially but Yama persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yama is trying to control. Garcia wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Yama trying to control the pace.
Garcia desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Yama performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yama seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Garcia for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yama prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Garcia controlling the position for now.
Yama content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Garcia avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Yama.
Garcia is staying active underneath Yama, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Garcia wants to control but Yama is keeping busy and won't allow it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A slow jab from Garcia misses its intended target.
Yama appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Yama slips under a jab.
Garcia throws a nice looking combination but Yama bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Garcia misses with a looping left.
Garcia has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Leonardo Pancho Garcia is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yama throws the left hand but Garcia avoids the punch easily.
Garcia works the jab nicely.
We've been hearing reports that Yama has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Yama misses with a looping right.
Leonardo Pancho Garcia seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Garcia swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Garcia looks to land a combination but Yama avoids it well.
Garcia's jab looks to have found its range, popping Yama under the eye.
Yama misses with a body shot.
Garcia lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Yama backs up against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yama pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Garcia misses with a series of wild punches.
Yama displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Garcia throws out the jab.
A swing and a miss from Garcia.
Garcia keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Yama.
Garcia slips a straight right by Yama.
Garcia cracks Yama with an open hand slap.
Yama jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia looks to throw the jab but Yama is out of range.
Garcia misses with an uppercut

and Yama counters with a shoot takedown. Garcia fights it but they end up in guard.
Yama working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Yama with a flurry of punches that miss.
Yama looking to pass the guard.
Yama lands a couple of digs.
Yama makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Yama keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Garcia's head.
Garcia can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Yama controls the pace.
Yama slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Garcia is trying to control Yama's posture but Yama avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yama wants to control for a moment but Garcia uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Garcia keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Garcia wants to improve his position but Yama is controlling well.
Yama is trying to control. Garcia wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Yama seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Garcia is pressing down on Yama's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Yama chips away with some ground and pound.
Garcia looking to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kotetsu Yama 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.

Garcia misses with a body shot.
Garcia slips under a jab from Yama.
Yama throws a jab but it's blocked by Garcia.
Yama throws a looping overhand right but Garcia ducks down to avoid it.
Yama with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Garcia misses with a jab, cross combination.
Garcia takes one to the chin there.
Yama lands a nice looking body shot.
Leonardo Pancho Garcia seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A jab from Garcia misses.
Garcia throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Garcia clobbers Yama with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Garcia throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Yama counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Garcia!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yama is chipping away with strikes.
Garcia manages to get back to half guard.
Garcia moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Yama is in close to Garcia's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Yama is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Garcia can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yama with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Garcia is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Yama is aware though and is defending well.
Yama trying to control but Garcia is working from the bottom.
Yama postures up and lands a big shot to Garcia's brow.
Yama trying to control the position from guard on top but Garcia is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yama controlling from the top position.
Yama connects with a couple of short punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Garcia looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Yama keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Garcia's head.
Yama wants to control from the top but Garcia keeps moving.

Garcia looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Yama scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Yama with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Yama is working Garcia over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Yama is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Yama is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Yama avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yama passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Garcia is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Yama working Garcia over with strikes.
Garcia is refusing to be controlled, as Yama sits in half guard.
Yama takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Yama is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Yama lands strikes from half guard.
Yama drops an elbow to the side of Garcia's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yama looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Garcia with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Garcia wants to control but Yama is keeping busy.
Yama working Garcia over with strikes.
Garcia trying to hold on to Yama's head to control him but Yama postures up.
Garcia is staying active underneath Yama, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Garcia wants to control but Yama is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Garcia is looking to improve his position.
Yama lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Garcia is trying to get back to full guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kotetsu Yama dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Garcia uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yama.
Yama tests Garcia's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Yama misses the target.
Yama lands a body shot.
Garcia throws a series of punches but Yama moves out of range.
Garcia throws a body punch but Yama moves out of range.
Yama attempts a counter takedown but Garcia avoids it well and moves away.
Sloppy strikes from Garcia. Those never looked like landing.
Garcia ducks under a wild hook from Yama.
Yama digs a good hook to Garcia's body.
Garcia throws a jab when Yama was well out of range.
Yama half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Garcia tries to bum rush Yama with a series of wild strikes but Yama uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yama misses with a wild body shot.
Leonardo Pancho Garcia is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fighters circling - Garcia throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Yama attempts a counter takedown but Garcia avoids it well and moves away.
Yama ducks under a wild hook from Garcia.
Yama changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Yama looks to throw the jab but Garcia is out of range.
Garcia misses with a jab, cross combination.
A jab from Garcia does it's job there.
Yama is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Garcia's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia cracks Yama with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Yama throws an overhand right that lands on Garcia's shoulder, as Garcia tries to avoid the shot.
A little jabbing left from Garcia on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Garcia fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Yama has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Garcia finds it's way round the side to connect with Yama's head.
Some wild striking there from Garcia.
Garcia throws a jab when Yama was well out of range.

Yama drives through with a takedown into Garcia's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Yama content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Yama is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Yama scoring with punches to the head and body.
Yama chips away with some ground and pound.
Kotetsu Yama is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcia trying to keep a closed guard but Yama is proving a slippery customer.
Yama is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Garcia is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Garcia looking to control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Yama seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Yama stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Garcia swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yama engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

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

Yama scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Garcia being controlled for a moment.
You can see the frustration on Garcia's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcia is trying to improve his position.
You can see the frustration on Garcia's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kotetsu Yama overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
You can see the frustration on Garcia's face as Yama controls the position.
Garcia struggling a bit here.
A lull in the action here.
Leonardo Pancho Garcia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Kotetsu Yama.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Yama, 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kotetsu Yama!
Kotetsu Yama very nearly forgot to thank Champion Apparel amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.