PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kenji Nojima (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pete Walker (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?

Nojima
vs
Walker

173 cm
19
165 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

173 cm
20
154 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenji Nojima!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Pete Walker!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shigeki Sano and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Nojima with that takedown attempt.
Nojima throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Walker on the side of the head.
Nojima throws a nice looking combination but Walker bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Walker on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Walker throws a right hand that Nojima ducks under and follows up with a left that Nojima also avoids with ease.

Nojima closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Walker is defending against the submission attempts here by Nojima.
Walker is trying to maintain the position but Nojima is very close to passing his half guard.
Nojima thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Nojima thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Walker's head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walker trying to control from the bottom.
Nojima looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Walker with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Walker is looking for a sweep. Nojima is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nojima shoots for a double leg takedown but Walker sprawls well. He's pushed Nojima's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Walker has Nojima up against the cage in a clinch.
Walker is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Nojima gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Walker throws an elbow that misses.

Walker pulls guard.

Walker had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Nojima is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Walker Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Nojima's back instead.
Walker controlling well, preventing Nojima from escaping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Walker working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Walker looks gassed!
Nojima is really stuck here.
Nojima manages to reverse the position and now he's in Walker's guard. Nice work there by Nojima.
Nojima distracts Walker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Nojima scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nojima with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nojima keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Walker's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Nojima lands a couple of digs.
Nojima makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Walker is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Nojima working some strikes from top position.
Nojima wants to pass the guard but Walker is keeping the position.
Nojima postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Walker manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Nojima manages to get himself to full guard.
Nojima bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Walker's guard.

Walker working for the choke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walker controlling well, preventing Nojima from escaping the position.
Nojima rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Walker content to control rather than advance.
Walker prevents Nojima from improving his position.
Walker moves into full mount! Nojima won't be happy about that!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Kenji Nojima will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Walker fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nojima lands a jab-cross combination.

It looks like Pete Walker has been cut.
Horrible takedown by Nojima or perhaps it was just good defense by Walker which made him look bad.
Walker uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nojima.
Walker stuffs the takedown attempt from Nojima. Nojima gets slowly back to his feet.
Nojima throws a left and a right that both miss

and Walker counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Nojima!

Walker looking to secure an arm triangle but Nojima defends it well.
Nojima is trying to escape the mount.
Nojima is squirming around, avoiding Walker's attempts to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nojima is looking to improve his position but Walker isn't that keen on the idea.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nojima is working hard here to advance position.
Walker takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Nojima is in all sorts of trouble here.

Walker working for a guillotine from mount but Nojima is in no mood to give up.
Walker wants to control the pace but Nojima is squirming around nicely.

Walker has hold of Nojima's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Nojima manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Walker can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nojima is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Nojima swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.

Walker working for a submission but Nojima is keeping him at bay.

Walker is working close to his opponent, looking to work a submission by the looks of things. Oh, he's managed to get a guillotine from mount as his opponent reached up! That looks tiiiiight! Will he tap? YES, he's tapped! Impressive submission by Walker!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:49 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Pete Walker!