PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Shinya Kawajiri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Barack Bush (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barack Bush has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kawajiri
vs
Bush

175 cm
28
140 lbs
5 - 20 - 0

180 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shinya Kawajiri!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Barack Bush!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Hirohito Nitta and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bush doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Kawajiri counters with a nice uppercut.
Bush tries to clinch but Kawajiri moves away
and Kawajiri counters with a straight right hand.

Bush gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kawajiri to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Kawajiri stands up from Bush's guard - Kawajiri perhaps looking for a knockout.
Bush moves to clinch but Kawajiri breaks away

and Kawajiri counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Kawajiri.
Bush wants to stand and escape but Kawajiri is having none of it.
Bush trying to strike off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kawajiri wanted to stand there but Bush had control of the position.
Bush is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Kawajiri won't allow Bush to sweep him here.

Kawajiri stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Some wild striking there from Bush.

Kawajiri scores with a takedown into Bush's guard.
Kawajiri wants to stand but Bush has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bush lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Kawajiri!
Bush misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Poor strikes thrown by Bush there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

Bush is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Kawajiri can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kawajiri is desperately trying to improve his position but Bush has a good base and remains in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kawajiri blocking the ground and pound.
Bush throws some wild stikes that Kawajiri manages to avoid easily.
Kawajiri is looking to get to half guard.
Kawajiri slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Kawajiri is breathing heavily.
Bush is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Bush is looking to advance position but Kawajiri won't allow it.
Kawajiri knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Bush on the ground.

Kawajiri looking for a kimura from the bottom but Bush passes into side control!
Kawajiri managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Bush.
Kawajiri is looking for a sweep.
Bush misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bush tries for a kimura but Kawajiri is defending well.

Bush wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Kawajiri, who protects the arm well.
Bush has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Kawajiri regains half guard.
Bush is keen to just control but Kawajiri is a slippery customer.
Bush tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Kawajiri.
Bush has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kawajiri is in trouble now - Bush has advanced to mount!
Kawajiri really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinya Kawajiri dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Bush tries to clinch up

and Kawajiri counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Bush's guard now.

Bush is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kawajiri is aware though and is defending well.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bush is on top in guard.
Kawajiri working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bush.
Bush wants to get up but he can't break Kawajiri's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Kawajiri looking for a guillotine here but Bush defends easily.
Bush postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kawajiri is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Bush is aware though and is defending well.
Bush has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kawajiri is proving hard to escape from.
Kawajiri on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Kawajiri tries to get out of the position.

Bush is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Bush pushing down on Kawajiri's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
It looks like Bush is going to stand back up.
Bush not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Kawajiri avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bush.
Shinya Kawajiri overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Kawajiri is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Bush pulls his head out easily.
Bush wants to stand but Kawajiri has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Kawajiri wants to get back to full guard but Bush has passed into side control.
Kawajiri is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Kawajiri's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Bush looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Kawajiri is avoiding damage well.
Bush passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Kawajiri!
Bush looking to ground and pound but Kawajiri is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kawajiri is desperately trying to improve his position but Bush has a good base and remains in mount.
Kawajiri tries to lock up and control but Bush gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bush punching from mount but Kawajiri doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Bush won't let Kawajiri get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Kawajiri keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Bush working for a guillotine from mount but Kawajiri is in no mood to give up.
Kawajiri flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Bush throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

Bush has hold of Kawajiri's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Kawajiri manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Bush misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Kawajiri holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Bush tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Kawajiri wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Bush.
Kawajiri is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Bush throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Bush throws some wild stikes that Kawajiri manages to avoid easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bush throws some wild stikes that Kawajiri manages to avoid easily.
Kawajiri avoids a series of strikes thrown by Bush.
Poor strikes thrown by Bush there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Kawajiri takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Barack Bush showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Bush closes the distance but Kawajiri moves to the side

and Kawajiri counters with a nice double leg into side control. Bush won't be happy with that.
Bush sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

Kawajiri is trying to work for a kimura but Bush is defending well.
The fighters are battling for position here. Bush manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bush is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Kawajiri is controlling him.
Bush manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Kawajiri tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kawajiri is working hard here to advance position.
Bush misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Bush throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Bush misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Kawajiri really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bush looking to finish with strikes here!
Kawajiri is looking to get to half guard.
Bush throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bush looking to finish with strikes here!
Bush looking to finish with strikes here!
Kawajiri is trying to escape the mount.
Bush thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Bush throws some wild stikes that Kawajiri manages to avoid easily.
Kawajiri really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bush throwing strikes here but Kawajiri is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kawajiri holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Bush tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Bush thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

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.
Bush sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Kawajiri is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Kawajiri is trying desperately to improve position.
Bush looking to finish Kawajiri with some ground and pound. This is bad for Kawajiri!

Bush looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Bush misses with a head shot.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bush throws some wild stikes that Kawajiri manages to avoid easily.
Poor strikes thrown by Bush there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Kawajiri is looking to improve his position but Bush isn't that keen on the idea.

And that's the end of the fight!
Barack Bush comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bush 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 28:29
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Barack Bush!