PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Amakusa Saneuji (ranked 855 p4p, 3867 weight class) and Finn The Human (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Finn The Human will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Saneuji
vs
The Human

178 cm
23
135
11 - 4 - 0

175 cm
45
135
38 - 19 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Amakusa Saneuji!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 38 - 19 - 2, fighting out of Hilo, Finn The Human!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Paul Gruel and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The Human keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
The Human paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
The Human dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Saneuji. That did some damage!
Saneuji shoots for a double leg takedown but The Human sprawls well. He's pushed Saneuji's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Saneuji shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and The Human makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Amakusa Saneuji. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Saneuji tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but The Human swivels and escapes.
The Human appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
The Human lands a body shot.
Amakusa Saneuji seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Saneuji drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
The Human 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.
The Human swinging wildly here.
Saneuji throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around The Human's waist but The Human gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Saneuji off to one side.
The Human throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Saneuji is trying hard to land a takedown here. The Human sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
The Human lands a jab to the nose.
The Human cracks Saneuji with a good jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A nice leg kick lands there from The Human.
The Human throws a nice inside leg kick.
The Human connects with a solid leg kick.
Saneuji tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but The Human defends well and Saneuji ends up having to push The Human into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
The Human tries to work over Saneuji's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Human misses with a hook from the clinch.
Saneuji drops to a knee looking for a takedown but The Human gets the underhooks and prevents it.

The Human's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
The Human lands a body shot.
Saneuji shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has The Human pinned against the cage. The Human gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
The Human lands with a good body shot.

Saneuji drives through with a takedown into The Human's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
We've been hearing good reports from Saneuji's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
The Human wants to stand and escape but Saneuji is having none of it.
Saneuji pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. The Human is keeping the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The Human wriggles free and stands up.
Saneuji walks into a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The Human dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Saneuji walks into a straight right hand from The Human.
Saneuji shoots in for a takedown but The Human shows good takedown defense.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Saneuji takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Saneuji staying out of range there.
Saneuji changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Saneuji shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says The Human as he avoids it easily.
Saneuji gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Saneuji shoots for a takedown but The Human saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nice takedown defense from The Human. No joy for Saneuji on that attempt.
Saneuji is breathing heavily.

Saneuji looking to score a takedown here. The Human is defending well but Saneuji drives through and ends up in The Human's guard.
The Human wants to stand and escape but Saneuji is having none of it.

Saneuji thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The Human is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Saneuji is controlling him.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!

Saneuji drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Saneuji jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The Human is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Saneuji is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Saneuji prevents The Human from getting back to his feet.

Saneuji drops back looking for a leg! The Human is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and The Human manages to kick Saneuji off! Saneuji jumps back into The Human's guard.
Saneuji slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Saneuji really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The Human wants to get back to his feet.

Saneuji is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but The Human is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The Human really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Saneuji. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The Human is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Saneuji is controlling him well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Saneuji wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by The Human, who protects the arm well.

Saneuji is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. The Human looks calm but he's in trouble here. Saneuji gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. The Human is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! Saneuji lets go of the hold and The Human can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:25 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Amakusa Saneuji!
Amakusa Saneuji retains his bantamweight title!
An out of breath Amakusa Saneuji thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.