PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kawakami Gensai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vic De La Vija (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gensai comes to the cage accompanied by SAMURAI X - Opening. Kawakami Gensai has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Gensai
vs
De La Vija

180 cm
26
145 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

168 cm
22
141 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Very strong

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Determined

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kawakami Gensai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vic De La Vija!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Konstantin Menshow and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gensai tries to land a front kick but De La Vija steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Gensai wants to clinch up but De La Vija keeps it at a distance.
De La Vija changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Gensai tries to avoid it but De La Vija manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Gensai to the ground. Gensai escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gensai misses with the combination.
Gensai throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Gensai really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
A cross from Gensai lands.
De La Vija clinches but Gensai breaks the clinch

and Gensai counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
De La Vija working hard to break the clinch.
Gensai lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
A knee to the head by Gensai.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Gensai obliges.
Gensai lands a body punch.
Gensai lands a body punch in the clinch.
De La Vija is trying to break the clinch but Gensai is controlling him.
Gensai scores with a knee to the head.
Gensai crunches a lovely knee into De La Vija's ribcage.
Gensai lands a good knee to the midsection. De La Vija won't want to take too many of those.
De La Vija tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Gensai smiles and moves away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gensai looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gensai tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A head kick by De La Vija misses
and Gensai counters with a lovely shot to the body.
De La Vija with a poor takedown
and Gensai counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kawakami Gensai has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vic De La Vija.
De La Vija closes the distance but Gensai moves to the side

and Gensai moves into the clinch.
De La Vija takes a knee to the side of the body.
Gensai gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Gensai lands an elbow inside.
Gensai creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through De La Vija's defenses.
Gensai lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
De La Vija is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
De La Vija takes a knee right on the jaw!
De La Vija looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gensai is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
De La Vija misses with a knee strike.
Gensai lands a nice elbow.
Gensai unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Gensai lands a knee to the head.
Gensai crunches a lovely knee into De La Vija's ribcage.
Gensai stalling the fight.
Gensai using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gensai putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has De La Vija in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Gensai lands an elbow inside that De La Vija shrugs off.
De La Vija takes a knee right on the jaw!
Gensai is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai lands a knee to the head.
Gensai landing knees to the head.
De La Vija wants to get back to striking at distance but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
De La Vija is looking to break free of the clinch but Gensai has double underhooks.
Gensai misses with a knee to the head.
De La Vija jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gensai walks away with a smile on his face. De La Vija gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kawakami Gensai seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

De La Vija looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

De La Vija looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Gensai wants to get back to his feet.
De La Vija wants to free his trapped foot but Gensai is holding on for dear life with his legs.

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.
De La Vija not doing much here.

Gensai manages to escape and get back to his feet!
De La Vija tries to clinch but Gensai moves away
letting Gensai counter with a right hand.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De La Vija avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Gensai just misses with a punch to the body.

Gensai gets caught flat footed, as De La Vija shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kawakami Gensai 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.

Gensai takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Gensai gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
De La Vija is looking to control Gensai's arms but Gensai gets an underhook and turns him. Now De La Vija has his back to the cage.
Gensai lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Gensai is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Gensai lands a good knee to the midsection. De La Vija won't want to take too many of those.
Gensai scores a nice knee to the body.
Gensai stops a takedown attempt from De La Vija.
De La Vija fails to pull the fight into his guard.
De La Vija changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gensai fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Kawakami Gensai has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vic De La Vija.

Gensai darts in and clinches De La Vija up against the cage.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Gensai obliges.
Gensai lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
De La Vija is breathing heavily.
Gensai with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Gensai using the Thai plumb to throw knees but De La Vija has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
De La Vija wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gensai lands an uppercut.
De La Vija tries to circle away but Gensai has him pinned against the cage.
Gensai connects with a nasty looking knee right to De La Vija's face.
Gensai lands a left hand that snaps the head of De La Vija backwards.
Gensai stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Gensai scores a nice knee to the body.
Gensai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and De La Vija avoids it.
Gensai looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Gensai tries a knee to the head but De La Vija blocks it.
De La Vija jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gensai walks away with a smile on his face. De La Vija gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
De La Vija doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Gensai counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
De La Vija tries to break the clinch but Gensai is controlling the position.
De La Vija blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Gensai scores with a shoulder strike.
De La Vija wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gensai has him pressed against the cage.
De La Vija tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Gensai with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Gensai just stands there and leans against the cage.
De La Vija is trying to drag Gensai to the mat but Gensai just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Gensai unloads a knee to the mid-section. De La Vija lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gensai throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Gensai throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but De La Vija blocks it with crossed arms.
Gensai misses with a hook from the clinch.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai holds him up against the cage and eventually De La Vija drops back down to his feet.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
De La Vija fails to pull guard.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and De La Vija avoids it.
De La Vija on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
De La Vija jumps guard but Gensai stands there with De La Vija around his waist. De La Vija gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Gensai has De La Vija pressed against the cage, preventing De La Vija from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
De La Vija jumps guard but Gensai stands there with De La Vija around his waist. De La Vija gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
De La Vija jumps guard but Gensai stands there with De La Vija around his waist. De La Vija gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Gensai pushes off an throws an elbow but De La Vija leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
De La Vija misses with an elbow over the top.
Gensai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
De La Vija tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gensai tries to land a knee to the head but De La Vija blocks with his arms.
De La Vija jumps guard but Gensai stands there with De La Vija around his waist. De La Vija gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
De La Vija is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Gensai is keeping busy.
With the fighters up against the cage, Gensai throws an elbow but misses.
Gensai unloads a knee to the mid-section.
De La Vija goes for a takedown attempt but Gensai pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
De La Vija fails with the takedown

and Gensai counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Gensai.
Gensai lands a knee to the head.
De La Vija tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Gensai smiles and moves away.
Gensai tries to clinch but De La Vija moves out of range.
De La Vija shoots in but no luck this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
De La Vija has his takedown stuffed

and Gensai moves into the clinch.
Gensai lands a damaging elbow.
Nice body punch from Gensai.
A knee to the head by Gensai.
A knee to the head by Gensai.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai lands a good knee to the midsection. De La Vija won't want to take too many of those.
Gensai tries to work over De La Vija's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
De La Vija taking a breather.
Gensai comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Gensai misses with a knee strike.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai scores with a knee to the head.
With the fighters up against the cage, Gensai throws an elbow but misses.
De La Vija drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Gensai gets the underhooks and prevents it.
De La Vija tries to pull guard but Gensai won't allow it.
Gensai connects with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kawakami Gensai dominated that second round.
That's time! Gensai's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

De La Vija closes the distance but Gensai moves to the side
and Gensai counters with a straight right hand.
Gensai tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but De La Vija was well out of range. Poor timing from Gensai.
De La Vija looks for a takedown but Gensai sprawls well.
Gensai tries to clinch but De La Vija moves out of range.
Gensai tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Gensai tries to clinch but De La Vija moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gensai lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
De La Vija shoots in but Gensai avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Gensai has De La Vija up against the cage in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gensai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Kawakami Gensai has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gensai using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
De La Vija tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Gensai smiles and moves away.
Kawakami Gensai has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vic De La Vija.
De La Vija misses with a takedown
and Gensai counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps De La Vija thinking.
Gensai tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but De La Vija paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Gensai rushes De La Vija and presses him up against the cage.
Gensai stops a takedown attempt from De La Vija.
De La Vija creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
De La Vija is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Gensai landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Gensai landing knees to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Gensai.
Gensai lands with a short head shot on the inside.
De La Vija has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Gensai avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Gensai lands an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gensai presses De La Vija against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Gensai tries to land a knee to the head but De La Vija blocks with his arms.
De La Vija wants to stall.
De La Vija fails to pull the fight into his guard.
De La Vija takes a knee right on the jaw!
Gensai tries to land a knee to the head but De La Vija blocks with his arms.
De La Vija jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gensai walks away with a smile on his face. De La Vija gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A clash of legs there as Gensai blocks the low kick.
Gensai scores with a hook.
De La Vija tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Gensai counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
De La Vija moves in looking to clinch but Gensai pushes him off.

De La Vija scores a takedown into full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gensai wants to get back to his feet.
Kawakami Gensai is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
De La Vija controlling from the full mount.
Gensai wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by De La Vija.
De La Vija thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

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.
Gensai is trying to stand up.
De La Vija controlling from the full mount.
Gensai avoids a series of strikes thrown by De La Vija.
Vic De La Vija has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
De La Vija looking to take Gensai's back but Gensai rolls and after a scramble, Gensai ends up on top in guard. Nice escape there from Gensai to escape a tricky position.
De La Vija is striking from the bottom but Gensai uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kawakami Gensai showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gensai, 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kawakami Gensai!