PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Akira Kaburagi (ranked 3604 p4p, 21322 weight class) and Medieval Mercenary (ranked 342 p4p, 469 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Kaburagi
vs
Mercenary

172 cm
24
165
7 - 5 - 0

185 cm
39
165
12 - 22 - 2

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Determined

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Akira Kaburagi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 22 - 2, fighting out of New York, Medieval Mercenary!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Donald Grub and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercenary loads up on a big right hand but Kaburagi slips the punch.

Kaburagi is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Mercenary's half guard.
Mercenary tries to kick Kaburagi off in order to stand up. Kaburagi Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

Kaburagi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Mercenary, who protects the arm well.
Mercenary parries the strikes from Kaburagi easily there. Kaburagi is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Mercenary to escape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mercenary is not content to let Kaburagi control the position.

Kaburagi is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Mercenary is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercenary defending against the ground and pound.
Kaburagi tries to advance to mount but can't.
Mercenary told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mercenary is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Kaburagi takes a little break here. Mercenary wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Mercenary avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Kaburagi.
Mercenary avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Kaburagi.
Kaburagi creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Mercenary taking a bit of punishment here - Kaburagi scoring with strikes.
We've been hearing that Kaburagi has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kaburagi prevents Mercenary from escaping the position.

Kaburagi working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Kaburagi has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Mercenary is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Kaburagi staying calm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kaburagi misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Mercenary can do anything to dispel that myth.
Mercenary seems a little lost for a moment, as Kaburagi dominates the positioning.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kaburagi creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Mercenary pushes Kaburagi away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Kaburagi gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Akira Kaburagi dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Kaburagi scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Mercenary tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Kaburagi manages to move to mount!
Mercenary's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Kaburagi scoring with strikes but Mercenary is staying in there.
Kaburagi takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kaburagi fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Kaburagi throwing strikes here but Mercenary is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kaburagi scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercenary is bucking up trying to escape but Kaburagi cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Mercenary is rocked!
Kaburagi tries to control but Mercenary wriggling away.
Mercenary is still in real trouble! Can Kaburagi finish him?
Kaburagi punching from mount but Mercenary doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Mercenary seems to have recovered his senses.
Mercenary takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Kaburagi punishing his opponent with strikes.
Kaburagi lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Mercenary hang on?

Kaburagi has hold of Mercenary's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Mercenary manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaburagi with shots to the head and body - Mercenary looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kaburagi lands a big shot there that rocks Mercenary but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kaburagi landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kaburagi postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Mercenary badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Kaburagi around the waist but Kaburagi pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Kaburagi is the winner by TKO! Kaburagi jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Akira Kaburagi!
In his post fight interview, Akira Kaburagi started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.