PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kazuo Sasaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ground Pound (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sasaki comes to the cage accompanied by The Church of Misery - The Gray Man. On his way into the cage it seems that Kazuo Sasaki has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Kazuo Sasaki seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Sasaki
vs
Pound

174 cm
25
170 lbs
2 - 5 - 0

180 cm
25
176 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Dangerous GnP
Brawler
Solid chin

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 2 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kazuo Sasaki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ground Pound!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yukihiro Shimada and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pound tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Sasaki counters with a nice uppercut.
Ground Pound seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No joy there for Sasaki, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Pound misses with a takedown
and Sasaki counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Pound tries to clinch up but Sasaki circles away and keeps his distance.
Sasaki stalks Pound and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Pound's face. Pound staggers backwards, shaken.
Pound tries to clinch but Sasaki is having none of it.

Pound decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Pound works his foot free and advances to mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sasaki keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Pound landing strikes from the mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pound landing punches.

Pound looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Pound tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Pound looking to secure an arm triangle but Sasaki defends it well.
Pound takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sasaki taking shots to the head.
Sasaki is looking to get to half guard.
Pound has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Pound lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Sasaki is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pound controlling from the full mount.
Let's hope that Pound has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Sasaki can't escape the position.
Pound controlling from the full mount.

Pound looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pound get's back to his feet.
No luck for Sasaki with that takedown attempt.

Pound bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Sasaki is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Pound lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sasaki takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Sasaki seems a little lost for a moment, as Pound dominates the positioning.

Pound thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Pound cracks Sasaki with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Sasaki sneaks back into half guard.
Pound is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sasaki taking some punishment here, with Pound in his half guard.

Pound is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ground Pound 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.

Sasaki scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Pound throws a lazy body kick

and Sasaki counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sasaki.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pound seems keen to control Sasaki's posture.
Sasaki has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Sasaki has gone for a leg lock! Pound slips out almost immediately though and dives into Sasaki's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Pound pushes down on Sasaki's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pound is controlling the pace.
Sasaki is looking to improve his position.
Pound slows the pace down in half guard.
Sasaki won't allow Pound to pass to mount.
Still in half guard, Pound seems content to control.

That's two 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.

Sasaki looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Pound in particular looking to stall.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Ground Pound.
Pound fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Sasaki shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pound defends it nicely.

Sasaki gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Sasaki is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pound slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Sasaki is looking to stand up but Pound isn't so interested in that idea.
Pound showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Sasaki looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kazuo Sasaki.

Sasaki shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Pound is on top in guard.

Pound gets to his feet. Sasaki looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Sasaki looks to land a combination but Pound avoids it well.
Pound shoots and misses
letting Sasaki counter with a right hand.
Sasaki fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sasaki throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Pound throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Sasaki counters with a three punch combo that has Pound backing up. Pound nods at Sasaki to acknowledge the strikes.

Pound drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ground Pound showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Sasaki misses with a series of wild punches.
Pound looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kazuo Sasaki is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pound shoots in looking for a takedown. Sasaki tries to sprawl out of it but Pound keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sasaki manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Sasaki shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Pound sprawls well. Pound wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Sasaki gets slowly back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch lands to the side of Pound 's head but he takes it in his stride.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sasaki scores with a punch to the head.
Sasaki lands a jab-cross combination.
Sasaki lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Sasaki throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Sasaki throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Pound.
Pound misses with a hook to the body
and Sasaki counters with a nice uppercut.
Pound looks to clinch

and Sasaki counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Pound has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sasaki is working away from the top position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sasaki wants to stand up but Pound is controlling the position.
Pound won't allow Sasaki to pass to mount.
The fighters are battling for position here. Pound manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Ground Pound has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pound wants to sweep but no luck.
Sasaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Pound is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sasaki in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Sasaki has gone for a leg lock! Pound slips out almost immediately though and dives into Sasaki's guard.

Sasaki looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pound showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Pound trying to control the position from guard on top but Sasaki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Sasaki is looking for a triangle but Pound pushes his legs off easily.
Sasaki being controlled here, momentarily.

Sasaki wriggles free and stands up.

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.

Pound shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Pound controlling from mount.
Sasaki slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Kazuo Sasaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Still in half guard, Pound seems content to control.
Pound wants to take a breather but Sasaki is having none of it.
Ground Pound is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Sasaki is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Pound pulls his head out easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kazuo Sasaki showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Pound 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ground Pound!