PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Akira Kurosawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hugh Matthews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kurosawa kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is War drums. Hugh Matthews has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Akira Kurosawa's chin.

Kurosawa
vs
Matthews

173 cm
23
183 lbs
11 - 6 - 1

179 cm
24
184 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Akira Kurosawa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Hugh Matthews!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Ian Loll and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kurosawa attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

Matthews darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Kurosawa regains full guard. Nicely done.

Kurosawa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Matthews is aware though and is defending well.
Matthews is stalling in the full guard.
Matthews looking to pass the guard.
Matthews trying to control but Kurosawa is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matthews stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kurosawa swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kurosawa preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Matthews trying to control the position from guard on top but Kurosawa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Matthews wants to stand and escape but instead Kurosawa has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Kurosawa postures up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Matthews fails in his attempt to clinch.
Matthews throws an overhand right that lands on Kurosawa's shoulder, as Kurosawa tries to avoid the shot.
Matthews is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kurosawa.
Kurosawa attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Matthews checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

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.
Kurosawa takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Kurosawa attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

Kurosawa shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Kurosawa was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Matthews is in all sorts of trouble here.

Kurosawa working for a guillotine from mount but Matthews is in no mood to give up.
Matthews bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Matthews missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Matthews pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kurosawa is keeping the position for now.
Matthews wants to control from the top but Kurosawa keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matthews controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Matthews distracts Kurosawa with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Kurosawa has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Matthews can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Matthews wants to control from the top but Kurosawa keeps moving.

Kurosawa looking for a guillotine here but Matthews defends easily.
Matthews pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kurosawa is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Matthews not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Matthews wanted to stand there but Kurosawa had control of the position.
Matthews landing some decent shots from guard.
Matthews wants to pass the guard but Kurosawa is keeping the position.
Kurosawa manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hugh Matthews 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.

An inside leg kick lands from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Matthews.
Kurosawa blocks a jab.
Kurosawa turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kurosawa connects with a solid leg kick.
Matthews shoots in for a takedown but Kurosawa shows good takedown defense.
Kurosawa feints and then cracks Matthews's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Matthews down.
Matthews checks a low kick from Kurosawa.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Kurosawa.
Kurosawa thuds his shin into the meat of Matthews's side.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kurosawa scores with a leg kick.
Matthews is breathing heavily.

Kurosawa fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Matthews sprawls well initially but Kurosawa persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Kurosawa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Kurosawa is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Kurosawa wants to take a breather but Matthews is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurosawa tries to pass the half guard into mount. Matthews knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Matthews is trying to stand.

Matthews kicks off Kurosawa and gets to his feet.
Kurosawa throws a leg kick which misses Matthews's front leg but catches the back leg as Matthews tries to avoid it.
Matthews tries for a takedown but Kurosawa sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Kurosawa is looking to slow Matthews down with leg kicks.
Kurosawa lands with a thumping leg kick.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Kurosawa.
Kurosawa throws a nice outside leg kick.
Kurosawa scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Kurosawa throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurosawa moves out of range of the strikes.
Matthews throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kurosawa turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kurosawa dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Matthews. That did some damage!
Kurosawa scores with a leg kick.
Kurosawa dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Matthews. That did some damage!
Matthews checks the leg kick.
Kurosawa throws a nice inside leg kick.
Matthews takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kurosawa throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Kurosawa thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Matthews if he has to take too many more of those.
Good leg kick by Kurosawa there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kurosawa.
The fight stays on the outside here - Matthews looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Matthews stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Kurosawa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matthews chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Kurosawa can pounce on him.
Hugh Matthews seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A punch combination from Matthews misses.
Kurosawa throws a head kick but Matthews moves out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Matthews is defended easily by Kurosawa.
Akira Kurosawa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hugh Matthews.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Kurosawa. Matthews shrugs it off though.
Kurosawa cracks the inside of Matthews's front leg.
Kurosawa throws a leg kick which misses Matthews's front leg but catches the back leg as Matthews tries to avoid it.
Matthews takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kurosawa lands a nice looking body kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Kurosawa.
Matthews swinging wildly here.
Kurosawa pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurosawa stuffs the takedown attempt from Matthews. Matthews gets slowly back to his feet.
A nice inside leg kick there by Kurosawa. That's going to slow Matthews down.
Kurosawa misses with a takedown attempt - Matthews sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Matthews connects with a jab.
Matthews's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Kurosawa closes the distance and clinches up with Matthews, looking for a takedown. Kurosawa pushes Matthews against the cage but Matthews circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Nice straight punches there by Matthews. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Matthews.
Kurosawa attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Matthews darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Kurosawa staying out of range there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kurosawa explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Akira Kurosawa is winning the standup battle so far.

Kurosawa gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Matthews to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Matthews decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akira Kurosawa dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Kurosawa throws out a leg kick but Matthews moves out of range and Kurosawa only half commits.
Kurosawa throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Kurosawa moves out of range as Matthews strikes.
Matthews misses with a straight right.
Matthews takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
The crowd cheers as Matthews lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kurosawa doesn't seem phased though.
Kurosawa slips a straight right by Matthews.
Kurosawa buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Matthews takes a swing at Kurosawa's ribcage but misses.
Kurosawa throws a leg kick but Matthews checks it.
Kurosawa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kurosawa throws a low kick, looking for Matthews's leg but Matthews calmly moves out of range.
Kurosawa throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Kurosawa thumps Matthews with a low kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kurosawa tries to work over Matthews's front leg with a kick but Matthews checks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurosawa needs to keep his hands up - Matthews had a free shot at his head there.

Matthews moves into range and clinches up with Kurosawa.

Kurosawa pulls guard.
Matthews wants to control from the top but Kurosawa keeps moving.

Kurosawa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Matthews is aware though and is defending well.
Matthews trying to control but Kurosawa is working from the bottom.

Matthews decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Matthews dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kurosawa on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Matthews looks to throw the jab but Kurosawa is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Matthews scores a takedown into full mount!
Kurosawa is in all sorts of trouble here.

Kurosawa defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Matthews.
Kurosawa sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Kurosawa makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Kurosawa.

Kurosawa had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Matthews defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kurosawa had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Matthews defends it easily.
Matthews is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Matthews pushing down on Kurosawa's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Matthews throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

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.
Matthews looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Kurosawa is refusing to be controlled, as Matthews sits in half guard.

Kurosawa actively working from the bottom here.
Matthews is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Matthews working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Matthews stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hugh Matthews comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Matthews has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 28:29
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hugh Matthews!