PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Turo Vatanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shinya Imanari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Imanari has chosen Era - Ameno as his entrance music. Turo Vatanen has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Vatanen
vs
Imanari

198 cm
28
277 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

175 cm
27
245 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Powerful

Elite Supplement Supplier

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Turo Vatanen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shinya Imanari!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vatanen wants to slow Imanari down by chopping away at his legs.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Vatanen - that will leave a mark!
Imanari tries to close the distance and clinch but Vatanen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Vatanen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Imanari is trying hard to land a takedown here. Vatanen sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A nice inside leg kick there by Vatanen. That's going to slow Imanari down.
Vatanen throws a body kick that misses.
Good work by Imanari as he checks the leg kick.
Vatanen feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Imanari's calf.
Turo Vatanen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Vatanen closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Imanari has had enough of the clinch but Vatanen keeps him there for the moment.
Vatanen tries a body shot but Imanari blocks it.
Vatanen stalling the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatanen lands a shoulder strike.

Vatanen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Imanari circles away from the clinch attempt.
Vatanen scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Vatanen turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Imanari looks gassed!

Vatanen scores a takedown into full mount!
Vatanen working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Vatanen with a couple of short strikes.

It looks like Shinya Imanari has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Vatanen is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Imanari has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Imanari!
Vatanen wants to sweep here but Imanari controlling him for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Vatanen pushes Imanari off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Vatanen is looking to slow Imanari down with leg kicks.
Imanari moves out of range of the leg kick from Vatanen.
Vatanen works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Imanari checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen is looking to score with low kicks.
A solid leg kick lands there for Vatanen.
Vatanen turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Vatanen tries to land a front kick but Imanari steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Imanari with a poor takedown

and Vatanen counters by moving into the clinch.
Vatanen lands a nice uppercut.

Vatanen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Vatanen throws a leg kick that misses.
Vatanen lands a nice leg kick that just misses Imanari's sensitive parts.
Vatanen wants to land a leg kick but Imanari is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Vatanen drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Imanari throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vatanen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Vatanen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Imanari tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Imanari looking to control.
Imanari utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Vatanen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Imanari keeping moving, preventing Vatanen from controlling successfully.
Vatanen working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Imanari's head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vatanen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Imanari swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Vatanen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Turo Vatanen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Shinya Imanari's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Imanari doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Vatanen counters with a good low kick that Imanari was not able to check.
Imanari misses with a takedown
and Vatanen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Imanari's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

Vatanen clinches up against the cage.
Vatanen lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Imanari tries to pull guard but Vatanen won't allow it.
Turo Vatanen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shinya Imanari.
Imanari blocks a body shot from Vatanen.
Vatanen cracks Imanari with a nice body shot.
Vatanen stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Imanari is breathing heavily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Good body shot from Vatanen.
Vatanen cracks Imanari with a nice body shot.
Vatanen lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatanen stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Vatanen manages to break the clinch.
Turo Vatanen is winning the standup battle so far.
Imanari walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That has opened up Shinya Imanari's cut even more.
Imanari shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Vatanen counters with a thumping low kick.

Vatanen instigates a clinch.
Vatanen effectively controlling the action here.
Vatanen lands a body punch.

Vatanen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Vatanen lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Imanari's calf.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vatanen throws a leg kick which misses Imanari's front leg but catches the back leg as Imanari tries to avoid it.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Vatanen.
Vatanen landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Vatanen is chipping away with strikes.
Imanari taking a bit of punishment here - Vatanen scoring with strikes.

Vatanen is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Imanari knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Vatanen lands a few punches from side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen cracks Imanari with a big right hand but Imanari just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Vatanen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Imanari can do to turn this around?

Vatanen is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Imanari has escaped the position, nice work there.
Vatanen scoring with punches and elbows.

Vatanen is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Imanari knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Imanari's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Vatanen creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Imanari gets back to half guard.
Vatanen wants to take a breather but Imanari is having none of it.
Vatanen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Imanari tries to get to full guard but Vatanen has control of the leg.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Vatanen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Vatanen is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Imanari has managed to free his arm - good work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Turo Vatanen dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Shinya Imanari's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Imanari uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Vatanen.
Imanari fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Vatanen fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Vatanen 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vatanen scoring well with a low kick there.
Vatanen misses with a low kick as Imanari jumps back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatanen throws a head kick that misses.
Vatanen keeps the fight on the outside.
A chopping leg kick lands by Vatanen.
Imanari takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Imanari fails with the takedown
and Vatanen counters with a slapping leg kick.

Vatanen closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Vatanen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Vatanen throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Imanari tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen lands with a nice body kick.
Vatanen connects with a solid leg kick.
Vatanen throws a nice outside leg kick.
Imanari takes one to the side of the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vatanen cracks the inside of Imanari's front leg.
Imanari chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Vatanen can pounce on him.

Vatanen has managed to clinch.
A right hand to the body from Vatanen.
Vatanen lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Imanari backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Vatanen manages to break the clinch.
Imanari sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
The fight stays on the outside here - Vatanen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Imanari misses with a takedown attempt
enabling Vatanen to counter with a crisp jab.
Imanari takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Imanari is trying desperately to land a takedown but Vatanen is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Imanari.
Vatanen is working Imanari over against the cage.
A short body shot lands from Vatanen as the two fighters clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A short body shot lands from Vatanen as the two fighters clinch.
Vatanen is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

Vatanen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
An inside leg kick lands from Vatanen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vatanen throws a quick inside leg kick.
Vatanen lands a front kick.
Shinya Imanari is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Vatanen moves in looking to clinch but Imanari pushes him off.
Vatanen fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Imanari checks it well.
Vatanen scores with a crisp jab that stopped Imanari in his tracks.
Shinya Imanari has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Imanari checks a leg kick.
Turo Vatanen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Vatanen lands with a thumping leg kick.
Imanari misses with a takedown
and Vatanen counters with a good low kick that Imanari was not able to check.

And that's the end of the fight!
Turo Vatanen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Vatanen 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:24
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:24
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Turo Vatanen!