PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yoko Wakari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Qazi Rasheed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Yoko Wakari has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Wakari
vs
Rasheed

186 cm
21
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
21
212 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Yoko Wakari!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Qazi Rasheed!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Daniel Bishop and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wakari fails to land with a series of punches.
Wakari looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Wakari throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Wakari throws a right and a left that Rasheed avoids nicely.

Rasheed shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Wakari's guard.
Rasheed postures up.
Rasheed showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Rasheed decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Wakari, up you get!

Rasheed closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Wakari to the mat! Wakari manages to get full guard.
Rasheed looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rasheed prevents Wakari from getting back to his feet.

Rasheed stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Wakari clinches.

Rasheed breaks the clinch.
Rasheed shoots in looking for a takedown. Wakari tries to sprawl out of it but Rasheed keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Wakari manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Wakari shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Wakari get's back to his feet.

Wakari clinches up with Rasheed and pushes him back against the cage.
Wakari stalling in the clinch but Rasheed improves position.

Rasheed is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Wakari can't fight it off and eventually Rasheed manages to take the fight to the floor. Wakari looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Rasheed is fighting to break Wakari's control of his arms but Wakari is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Wakari controls Rasheed momentarily but Rasheed frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rasheed slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Wakari pushes Rasheed off and scrambles back to his feet.
Wakari misses with a wild combination.

Wakari clinches up with Rasheed and pushes him back against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A nice left hand lands by Wakari.

Wakari breaks the clinch.
Rasheed tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Wakari fails with an attempt to clinch.
Wakari throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rasheed's waist but Rasheed gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Wakari off to one side.
Rasheed doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Wakari counters with a shoot takedown. Rasheed fights it but they end up in guard.

Rasheed has his foot on Wakari's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Wakari works his way back into a safe position though.
Rasheed wants to get back to his feet but Wakari is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Wakari trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rasheed is on top in guard.
Rasheed content to stall in guard here.
Rasheed trying to control the position from guard on top but Wakari is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rasheed sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Wakari looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Rasheed controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rasheed stops Wakari from standing up.
Rasheed content to stall in guard here.

Despite being in the dominant position, Qazi Rasheed just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rasheed closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Nice body punch from Wakari.

Rasheed has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Wakari clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rasheed throwing damaging strikes from the back! Wakari could be in trouble here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wakari trying to control but not successfully.
Wakari is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Rasheed is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Rasheed controlling well, preventing Wakari from escaping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Qazi Rasheed dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Wakari moves into the clinch successfully.
Rasheed managing to block the knees to the body from Wakari.
Rasheed tries to score a body lock takedown but Wakari shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Rasheed tries for a takedown. No joy.
Wakari can't break the clinch.
Wakari has a couple of punches blocked by Rasheed.
Rasheed is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Wakari gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Yoko Wakari has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Qazi Rasheed.
Rasheed prevents Wakari from breaking the clinch.

Rasheed works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Wakari keeping moving, preventing Rasheed from controlling successfully.
Rasheed advances to half guard.

Rasheed is trying to work for a kimura but Wakari is defending well.
Qazi Rasheed has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rasheed slows the pace down in half guard.
Rasheed is thwarting Wakari's attempts to control the position.
Rasheed content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wakari trying to control but Rasheed postures up.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rasheed is taking a breather. Wakari says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Rasheed tries to pass to full mount but Wakari defends it.
Rasheed controlling the pace.
Wakari makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Wakari.
Rasheed slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Wakari 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Wakari is trying to keep Rasheed in close.
Wakari lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Rasheed!
Rasheed regains half guard.
Rasheed wants to control but Wakari is keeping busy.
Rasheed moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Wakari trying to control but Rasheed is working from the bottom.
Wakari is fighting to break Rasheed's control of his arms but Rasheed is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Rasheed looking to hit a scissor sweep but Wakari is one step ahead there.
Rasheed controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Despite being in the dominant position, Qazi Rasheed just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rasheed closes the distance and clinches.

Wakari breaks from the clinch.
Wakari with a lazy takedown attempt

and Rasheed counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Rasheed decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Wakari, up you get!
Wakari throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Rasheed's head.
Rasheed takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Rasheed shoots in for a takedown but Wakari shows good takedown defense.

Wakari bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rasheed struggling a bit here.
Rasheed is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Wakari asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Rasheed gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wakari is keen to just control but Rasheed is a slippery customer.
Wakari throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Wakari postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Rasheed to stand up.
Rasheed circles away from the clinch attempt

and Rasheed counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Rasheed.
Wakari tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Rasheed just stands there and leans against the cage.
Wakari is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Rasheed drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Wakari manages to break the clinch.

Wakari shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Rasheed's guard.
Wakari trying to control the position from guard on top but Rasheed is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Wakari wants to pass the guard but Rasheed is keeping the position.
Wakari is working hard here to advance position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Qazi Rasheed showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Wakari clinches up against the cage.
Wakari is pressed up against the cage. Rasheed has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Wakari down to the mat. Wakari avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Wakari fails with the takedown.
Rasheed with a poor takedown
and Wakari counters with a right hand to the body.
Rasheed keeps the fight on the outside.

Wakari forces Rasheed back against the cage and clinches.
Rasheed tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Wakari smiles and moves away.
Yoko Wakari has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Qazi Rasheed.
Wakari misses with a head kick.
Wakari wants to clinch

and Rasheed counters with a nice double leg into side control. Wakari won't be happy with that.
Wakari trying to remain calm as Rasheed controls from the top position.

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

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Qazi Rasheed!