PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joe Nash (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shingen Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Nash
vs
Yamamoto

180 cm
19
155 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joe Nash!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shingen Yamamoto!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Joseph Jones and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamamoto throws the left hand but Nash avoids the punch easily.
Nash swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Nash looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Nash throws and low kick but Yamamoto moves out of range easily.
Yamamoto throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Yamamoto lands a head kick. Nash smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Nash shoots for a takedown but Yamamoto saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Yamamoto thows a body shot but no joy.
Yamamoto throws a nice head kick!
Nash does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

Yamamoto closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Yamamoto lands in his opponent's guard.
Yamamoto trying to control but Nash is working from the bottom.
Nash keeping full guard, as Yamamoto tries to pass.
Yamamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Nash is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Yamamoto stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Nash misses with a series of wild punches.
Nash displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Yamamoto.
Nice body punch from Nash.
Yamamoto tries a head kick but it misses.
Nash connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Yamamoto throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Yamamoto slips a jab and a cross from Nash.
Nash swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Nash blocks a head kick by Yamamoto.
Yamamoto keeps the fight on the outside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Yamamoto shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Nash defends it nicely.
Yamamoto looks gassed!
Nash throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Yamamoto throws a head kick that misses.
Yamamoto throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Nash.
Yamamoto misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nash swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Nash is defended easily by Yamamoto.
Yamamoto closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Yamamoto shoots in for a double leg but Nash sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Joe Nash has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shingen Yamamoto.
Nice sprawl there from Yamamoto as Nash shoots in.
Yamamoto throws a head kick that misses

and Nash counters by clinching up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nash breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Yamamoto closes this distance looking for a takedown but Nash circles away.
Nash lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Yamamoto misses with a combination
and Nash counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Nash lands a nice leg kick that just misses Yamamoto's sensitive parts.
Good exchange - Nash coming out on top.
A jab from Nash finds it's way through Yamamoto's defenses.
Nash fails with a takedown attempt.

Nash shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Nash showed some decent athleticism there.

Nash is looking for a kimura but Yamamoto is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Nash to get the leverage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yamamoto wants to sweep but Nash has passed to side control!
Nash is looking to take a break and control but Yamamoto is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Yamamoto takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet but Nash drags him back down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Nash 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.

Nash tries to clinch there but Yamamoto circles away.
Yamamoto closes the distance and clinches up with Nash, looking for a takedown. Yamamoto pushes Nash against the cage but Nash circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Yamamoto throws a leg kick that is checked
and Nash counters with a nice leg kick.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Yamamoto stuffs the takedown.
Nash misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nash is looking to clinch.
Nash thows a leg kick but Yamamoto checks it
and Yamamoto counters with a big head kick but Nash shrugs it off.
Nash defending well as Yamamoto loads up on a big left hand.
A head kick by Yamamoto misses

and Nash counters by clinching up.
Yamamoto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yamamoto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Nash avoids it.

Nash breaks from the clinch.
Yamamoto is breathing heavily.
Yamamoto throws a sloppy head kick
and Nash counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nash blocks a head kick by Yamamoto.
Nash lands with a nice combination. Yamamoto backs away looking to recover.
Joe Nash is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nash turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Joe Nash is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nash misses with a wild combination.
Yamamoto throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Nash circles away from the clinch attempt

and Nash counters with a nice double leg into side control. Yamamoto won't be happy with that.
Nash lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Yamamoto is not content to let Nash control the position.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nash in side control lands a decent elbow.

Nash thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Yamamoto wants to control but Nash postures up.
Nash in side control lands a decent elbow.
Nash throws a strike aimed at the side of Yamamoto's head but Yamamoto avoids it well.
Yamamoto tries to bench press Nash off him but Nash keeps the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nash passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Yamamoto!
Yamamoto wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Yamamoto tries to lock up and control but Nash gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Nash with good strikes from the mount here!
Nash with good strikes from the mount here!
Nash lands a nice shot to the head.

Yamamoto defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Nash.
Nash unloading with bombs!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Nash raining down shots from the mount!
Nash scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Yamamoto?

Nash is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Yamamoto can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Nash looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Nash dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Nash tries to bum rush Yamamoto with a series of wild strikes but Yamamoto uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Yamamoto tries to keep at a distance but Nash has taken the fight into the clinch.
Yamamoto has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Nash turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Nash manages to end up in side control.
Yamamoto managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Nash.
Yamamoto looks to move to half guard but instead Nash has passed into mount! Damn!
Yamamoto gets back to half guard.
Yamamoto taking some punishment here, with Nash in his half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamamoto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Nash trying to control the action but Yamamoto is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nash thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Yamamoto's head.
Yamamoto is staying active underneath Nash, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Nash thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Nash scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Nash lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Yamamoto is trying to maintain the position but Nash is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nash wants to take a breather but Yamamoto is having none of it.
Nash is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Yamamoto keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Nash lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Nash missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nash is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Yamamoto doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Nash.
Nash slips a nice elbow through Yamamoto's hands, connecting with Yamamoto's forehead.
Nash thows a huge punch but Yamamoto dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Nash connects with a nice short shot to Yamamoto's temple.
Yamamoto is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Nash scores with a couple of nice shots.

Yamamoto kicks Nash off and gets back to his feet.
Yamamoto shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Nash counters with a one-two to the body.
Yamamoto stuffs the takedown attempt from Nash. Nash gets slowly back to his feet.
A head kick by Yamamoto misses
and Nash counters with a nice low kick that buckles Yamamoto's knee momentarily.

Yamamoto tries to keep at a distance but Nash has taken the fight into the clinch.

Nash pulls Yamamoto into guard.
Nash keeping moving, preventing Yamamoto from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nash trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Nash clearly takes that round.
That's time! Nash's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

The fighters circle momentarily. Nash darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Yamamoto tries to grapple but his opponent circles
letting Nash counter with a right hand.
A combination from Nash does no damage.

Yamamoto drives through and clinches with Nash against the cage.
Yamamoto has Nash pressed against the cage, preventing Nash from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Nash manages to break the clinch.

Nash looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Nash is working Yamamoto over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Nash in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Nash trying to control but Yamamoto is working from the bottom.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nash loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yamamoto is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Nash postures up in Yamamoto's guard and throws a big left but Yamamoto blocks it.
Nash thows a big elbow that misses.
Nash missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Yamamoto swings away with a body shot that misses

and Nash counters by clinching up.
Yamamoto drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Nash's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's two 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.
Nash closes the distance and clinches up with Yamamoto, looking for a takedown. Nash pushes Yamamoto against the cage but Yamamoto circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Yamamoto throws a sloppy head kick
and Nash counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Nash misses with a jab, cross combination.

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

Nash working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Nash prevents Yamamoto from escaping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nash tries to score with some ground and pound. Yamamoto controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Nash tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Nash has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Yamamoto tries to improve position but can't.
Nash working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Nash throwing shots but missing, from side control.

Nash tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Yamamoto tries to buck Nash off but Nash is having none of it.

Nash is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Yamamoto knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Yamamoto is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Nash is controlling him well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Nash had his way with Shingen Yamamoto in 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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Nash with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Yamamoto doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Nash counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Nash looks to land a strike but Yamamoto avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Nash 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.
Yamamoto utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Nash postures up in Yamamoto's guard and throws a big left but Yamamoto blocks it.
Nash trying to control but Yamamoto is working from the bottom.
Nash stands and throws Yamamoto's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Yamamoto tries to improve position but can't.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nash landing strikes.
Nash scores with punches from side control.
Nash scoring with punches from side control.
Yamamoto takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Check out the look on Nash's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Yamamoto can't do much from the bottom here.
Nash creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nash wants to control but Yamamoto is keeping him busy.
Nash landing strikes.
Yamamoto avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Nash.
Yamamoto taking a bit of punishment here - Nash scoring with strikes.
Nash fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Nash tries to advance to mount but can't.
Nash is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Yamamoto will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto is trying to work for a sweep but Nash has mounted him!

Nash jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Yamamoto manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Yamamoto sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Yamamoto is not content to let Nash control the position.
Yamamoto is trying to stand back up but Nash is controlling him
Nash is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yamamoto can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nash lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Nash lands strikes from half guard.
Yamamoto on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Nash seems to be working for a kimura but Yamamoto defends the submission attempt.
Nash not doing much here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Nash showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Nash 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 50:44
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 50:44
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 50:44

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Nash!
Joe Nash retains his featherweight title!