PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Lacan Juiri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tatsuya Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Juiri
vs
Watanabe

180 cm
20
154 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Decent elbows
KO power

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Lacan Juiri!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tatsuya Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Kenichi Hosakawa and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A jab from Juiri misses.
Juiri misses with a combination

and Watanabe counters with a takedown into side control.
Juiri wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Juiri throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

Watanabe closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Juiri quickly recovers to half guard.
Watanabe is taking a breather. Juiri 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.
Juiri is trying to stand back up but Watanabe is controlling him

Juiri has one foot on Watanabe's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Watanabe moves out of range as Juiri strikes.

Watanabe shoots in and bounces Juiri off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watanabe wants to pass the guard but Juiri is keeping the position.
Watanabe is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Juiri pushes Watanabe off and gets back to his feet.
Juiri is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Watanabe lands with a hook. Juiri tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Watanabe scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Juiri doesn't seem bothered though.
Juiri walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

Watanabe looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Juiri is breathing heavily.
Juiri being controlled here, momentarily.
Watanabe prevents Juiri from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Juiri is keeping the position for now.
Watanabe throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Juiri works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Watanabe slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

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

Watanabe shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Juiri's guard.
Watanabe is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Watanabe's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Watanabe really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Juiri. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Tatsuya Watanabe.

Watanabe throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Juiri tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Watanabe is in Juiri's guard.
Watanabe controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Watanabe in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Juiri is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Watanabe slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Juiri wants to stand up but Watanabe is controlling him.

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

Tatsuya Watanabe has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Juiri takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Watanabe shoots in for a takedown but Juiri shows good takedown defense.

Watanabe drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Watanabe sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Juiri is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Watanabe is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Juiri will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Juiri wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Watanabe jabs Juiri to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Juiri doesn't manage to clinch there - Watanabe circles away.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Watanabe.
Juiri is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Watanabe is controlling him well.
Juiri seems a little lost for a moment, as Watanabe dominates the positioning.
Tatsuya Watanabe has got the better of the ground game so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Tatsuya Watanabe.
Watanabe tries to score a power double leg takedown but Juiri sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Watanabe somewhat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe shoots in for a takedown but Juiri shows good takedown defense.

Watanabe is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Juiri's half guard.
Well, if Watanabe is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Juiri tries to kick Watanabe off but Watanabe keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Watanabe is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Watanabe trying to pass the guard but Juiri defending well.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Watanabe in particular looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Tatsuya Watanabe.

Watanabe scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Juiri is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Watanabe asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Watanabe is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Juiri wants to get back to his feet but Watanabe drags him back down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee asks Watanabe politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Watanabe prefers to stall for the moment though.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Juiri is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Watanabe just content to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tatsuya Watanabe was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Watanabe shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Juiri's guard.
Juiri wants to stand and escape but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Juiri on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Juiri tries to get out of the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Watanabe shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Juiri's guard.
Watanabe looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Juiri is looking to stand up but Watanabe isn't so interested in that idea.
Watanabe stays in close to Juiri's body and controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tatsuya Watanabe showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Watanabe closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Juiri did well to prevent Watanabe getting side control.
Juiri looks like he's trying to stand up.
Watanabe is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Watanabe uses his free foot to push down on Juiri's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Juiri.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Watanabe punching from mount but Juiri doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Juiri is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe punching from mount but Juiri doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Watanabe controlling the position easily from mount.
Juiri is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Watanabe takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tatsuya Watanabe was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Watanabe shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Watanabe was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
You get the feeling that Juiri really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Watanabe controlling from mount.
Juiri's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe controlling from mount.
Juiri squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Tatsuya Watanabe is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Juiri trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Watanabe controlling from the full mount.

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.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Tatsuya Watanabe has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Juiri enables Watanabe to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Juiri manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Watanabe engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Lacan Juiri has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Watanabe pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Juiri is keeping the position for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tatsuya Watanabe comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Watanabe has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 26:30
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tatsuya Watanabe!