PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Katsu Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joy Hamp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Yamamoto
vs
Hamp

163 cm
22
143 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

176 cm
22
143 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Katsu Yamamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Joy Hamp!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hamp throws a head kick that misses.

Yamamoto drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Yamamoto stands up.
Joy Hamp seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hamp scores with a three punch combo!
Yamamoto throws a push kick but Hamp slaps the foot to one side.
Hamp misses with a low kick.
Yamamoto moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Hamp tries to clinch but Yamamoto is having none of it.

Hamp gets caught flat footed, as Yamamoto shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Hamp is working an open guard so Yamamoto takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamamoto walks into a jab.
Hamp misses the shot to the body.
Hamp's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Hamp duly obliges.
Hamp lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Hamp throws a sloppy head kick and Yamamoto moves out of range easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto shoots in for a takedown but Hamp shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Hamp pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Yamamoto looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Hamp is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Yamamoto is controlling him.

Yamamoto decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Hamp scores with a slapping inside leg kick.

Hamp instigates a clinch.

Yamamoto drags the fight down to the ground.
Yamamoto bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hamp's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto content to stall in guard here.

Yamamoto decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Hamp pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Yamamoto doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Hamp tries to close the distance and clinch up but Yamamoto swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Yamamoto lands with a slapping head kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Danga de danga de dang - Yamamoto scores with a four punch combination!
Yamamoto misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Yamamoto is breathing heavily.
Hamp thuds his shin into the meat of Yamamoto's side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hamp goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Yamamoto throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick from Hamp lands but Yamamoto takes it in his stride.
Yamamoto tries for a takedown but Hamp sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Katsu Yamamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yamamoto takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Yamamoto avoids the head kick by Hamp.
Yamamoto avoids the head kick by Hamp.
Hamp scores with a one two! Yamamoto had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Hamp misses with a two punch combination.
Hamp throws a combination. Yamamoto tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Hamp throws a left and a right that both miss
and Yamamoto counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Hamp throws a combination that misses
and Yamamoto counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Hamp throws a left and a right that both miss

and Yamamoto counters with a nice double leg into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hamp wants to stand up but Yamamoto is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto passes into half guard.

Yamamoto seems to be looking for submissions.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Yamamoto with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Hamp really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Yamamoto. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Yamamoto trying to pass the guard but Hamp defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsu Yamamoto dominated that 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.

Yamamoto decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Hamp tries to kick Yamamoto off but Yamamoto keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Yamamoto winds up and cracks Hamp with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Yamamoto perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Katsu Yamamoto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto tries to pass to full mount but Hamp defends it.

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.
Yamamoto not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Yamamoto not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Yamamoto postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Hamp to stand up.
Joy Hamp is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hamp throws a nice head kick!
Hamp throws a combination. Yamamoto tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Joy Hamp seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Nice shot by Hamp.

Yamamoto scores with a takedown into Hamp's guard.
Yamamoto controlling from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Yamamoto stops Hamp from standing up.
Yamamoto might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Yamamoto content to stall in guard here.
Yamamoto's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four 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.

Yamamoto stands up and waves to Hamp to follow him.
Hamp throws a shot to the body.
Hamp closes the distance but Yamamoto moves to the side
and Yamamoto counters with a flying knee. Nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsu Yamamoto dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hamp tries a head kick but it misses.
Yamamoto with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Hamp throws a head kick but Yamamoto moves out of range.
Hamp throws a series of punches but Yamamoto avoids them all with ease.
Yamamoto takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Yamamoto scores a takedown into full mount!
Yamamoto punishing his opponent with strikes.
Yamamoto dominating with strikes here.
Yamamoto is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Hamp takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Yamamoto controlling from the full mount.
Hamp really wants to buck Yamamoto off and get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Yamamoto has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Yamamoto connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Yamamoto punishing his opponent with strikes.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Yamamoto cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Yamamoto looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yamamoto lands a heavy elbow.
Yamamoto tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Hamp looks a forlorn figure.
Yamamoto controlling from mount.
Yamamoto lands a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto controlling the position easily from mount.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Katsu Yamamoto just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Yamamoto steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Hamp. That one must have hurt.
Yamamoto throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hamp's waist but Hamp gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Yamamoto off to one side.
Yamamoto avoids the head kick by Hamp.
Hamp is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Hamp throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Yamamoto counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yamamoto controls from within his opponent's guard.
Joy Hamp has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Yamamoto slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

And that's the end of the fight!
Katsu Yamamoto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Yamamoto, 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Katsu Yamamoto!
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight for Katsu Yamamoto!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Katsu Yamamoto!

Katsu Yamamoto wins by unanimous decision!