PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shafiq Hussain (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matsumae Sukeyuki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Hussain
vs
Sukeyuki

178 cm
20
185 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

185 cm
25
185 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shafiq Hussain!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Matsumae Sukeyuki !
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sukeyuki misses with a wild body shot.
Hussain moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
No joy there for Sukeyuki , who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Sukeyuki is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Hussain shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sukeyuki defends it nicely.
Sukeyuki misses with an uppercut. Hussain saw that one coming.
Sukeyuki shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Hussain counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hussain lands a couple of digs.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Sukeyuki can do anything to dispel that myth.

Hussain gets to his feet - Sukeyuki follows without any prompting.

Hussain looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussain landing some decent shots from guard.
Hussain 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.

Hussain drops back looking for a leg! Sukeyuki is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Sukeyuki manages to kick Hussain off! Hussain jumps back into Sukeyuki 's guard.
Hussain wants to control from the top but Sukeyuki keeps moving.
Hussain chips away with some ground and pound.
Hussain missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Hussain stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sukeyuki takes a swing at Hussain's ribcage but misses.
Sukeyuki closes the distance but Hussain moves to the side

and Hussain counters with a takedown into side control.
Sukeyuki is looking for a sweep.
Sukeyuki is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Hussain has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Hussain trying to control the action but Sukeyuki is working from the bottom.

Hussain is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Sukeyuki knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Hussain trying to control the action but Sukeyuki is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sukeyuki is looking for a sweep.
Hussain lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Sukeyuki avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Hussain.
Sukeyuki is trying to control Hussain's posture but Hussain avoids it.

Hussain is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Sukeyuki is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Hussain wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sukeyuki keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hussain tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
You can see the frustration on Sukeyuki 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sukeyuki tries to bench press Hussain off him but Hussain keeps the position.

Hussain decides to stand up, so the ref orders Sukeyuki to his feet.
Matsumae Sukeyuki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sukeyuki wants to clinch but Hussain slips to the side

and Hussain decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Sukeyuki 's guard.
Hussain throwing strikes but missing.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Hussain 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.

Shafiq Hussain dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hussain will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sukeyuki with a poor takedown

and Hussain counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hussain sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sukeyuki defending well though.
Hussain is trying to control the action in half guard but Sukeyuki is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hussain is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Sukeyuki !

Hussain get's back to his feet.
Sukeyuki gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Hussain counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hussain.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hussain advances to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussain moves nicely into side control.

Hussain working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Sukeyuki has one of Hussain's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
Hussain scores with a couple of short elbows.
Hussain cracks Sukeyuki with a big right hand but Sukeyuki just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Sukeyuki is trying to work for a sweep but Hussain has mounted him!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hussain throws some wild stikes that Sukeyuki manages to avoid easily.
Sukeyuki is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sukeyuki is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Hussain is staying active.
Hussain is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sukeyuki can do to turn this around?
Sukeyuki is bucking up trying to escape but Hussain cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Hussain trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Hussain is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Sukeyuki is surviving well by controlling Hussain's body position as best he can.

Hussain working for a submission but Sukeyuki is keeping him at bay.

Hussain with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hussain is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
Sukeyuki wants to clinch

and Hussain counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Sukeyuki !
Sukeyuki is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Sukeyuki really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hussain. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sukeyuki throwing hammer fists to the chest of Hussain. What's that going to do exactly?
Sukeyuki tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Hussain is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice jab there from Sukeyuki .
Hussain swats away the attempt to clinch by Sukeyuki .
Sukeyuki throws a lazy right hand but Hussain sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hussain shoots in but no luck this time.
Sukeyuki throws a push kick but Hussain slaps the foot to one side.
Sukeyuki misses with a takedown attempt

and Hussain counters with a shoot takedown. Sukeyuki fights it but they end up in guard.
Shafiq Hussain has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matsumae Sukeyuki .
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hussain throwing strikes but missing.
Sukeyuki trying to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shafiq Hussain dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

Sloppy strikes from Sukeyuki . Those never looked like landing.
Sukeyuki tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Hussain counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hussain.
Hussain landing with the ground and pound.
Hussain loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sukeyuki keeping moving, preventing Hussain from controlling successfully.
Hussain is pushing down on Sukeyuki 's leg trying to pass to half guard. Sukeyuki is fighting to maintain full guard but Hussain has managed to sneak the leg through.
Hussain passes the guard and advances to mount!
Sukeyuki blocking the ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussain thowing shots but they're missing.

Hussain looking for a guillotine from mount but Sukeyuki is having none of it.
Sukeyuki wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Hussain.

Hussain looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

Hussain is working for a guillotine from mount but Sukeyuki frees his head quite easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hussain misses with a head shot.
Hussain throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

Hussain is working for a guillotine from mount but Sukeyuki frees his head quite easily.

Hussain working for a guillotine from mount but Sukeyuki is in no mood to give up.
Sukeyuki tries to get back to half guard but can't.
You get the feeling that Sukeyuki really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hussain jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Sukeyuki manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Sukeyuki is trying to buck Hussain off.
Hussain throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Matsumae Sukeyuki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sukeyuki misses with an elbow from the bottom.

Hussain looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Hussain throws a strike aimed at the side of Sukeyuki 's head but Sukeyuki avoids it well.
Shafiq Hussain overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Sukeyuki can't do much from the bottom here.
Sukeyuki is looking to reverse the position.

Hussain looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Shafiq Hussain is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sukeyuki is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Hussain decides to stand back up.
Hussain closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sukeyuki circles away.

Sukeyuki shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shafiq Hussain showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hussain, 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:25
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:25
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shafiq Hussain!