PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Franko Mia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tsuyoshi Tamatso (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mia kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is .. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Mia
vs
Tamatso

180 cm
26
178 lbs
17 - 10 - 0

180 cm
26
176 lbs
14 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Franko Mia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Tsuyoshi Tamatso!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mia with a lazy takedown attempt
and Tamatso counters with an inside leg kick.
Mia misses with a lunging right hand
and Tamatso counters with a nice kick to the body.
Mia rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Tamatso counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Tamatso.

Mia gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Mia wants to pass the guard but Tamatso is defending well.
Tamatso blocking the ground and pound attempt from Mia.
Tamatso trying to control here.
Tamatso is trying to stand.
Mia throwing shots but Tamatso is blocking nicely.
Mia thows a huge punch but Tamatso dodges it nicely.

Mia is working for a submission of some sort.
Mia landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mia prevents Tamatso from standing back up.
Mia looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Tamatso wants to control but Mia is keeping busy.
Tamatso wants to improve his position but Mia is controlling well.
Mia throwing shots but Tamatso is blocking nicely.
Mia missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mia sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tamatso defending well though.
Tamatso is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Mia working Tamatso over with strikes.

Mia is working for a submission of some sort.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mia is thwarting Tamatso's attempts to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Mia is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Tamatso avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Mia.
Mia prevents Tamatso from improving his position.
Tamatso slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tamatso is adopting a defensive guard.
Mia with a nice head shot there.
Mia postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Mia trying to control the position from guard on top but Tamatso is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mia throwing strikes but missing.
Mia won't allow Tamatso to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mia accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mia passes into half guard.
Tamatso gets full guard.
Mia wants to control from the top but Tamatso keeps moving.
Mia with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Tamatso is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Mia is controlling him.
Mia is working Tamatso over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Tamatso is on top in guard.
Mia working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tamatso.
Mia manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Tamatso is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mia postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Tamatso looks a forlorn figure.
Tamatso tries to hold on but Mia pushes him away.
Mia wants to control the pace but Tamatso is squirming around nicely.
Tamatso tries to hold on but Mia pushes him away.
Tamatso is in all sorts of trouble here.
Mia controlling the pace for now.
Mia 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.
Mia wants to control the pace but Tamatso is squirming around nicely.
Tamatso is looking to get to half guard.
Mia looking to ground and pound but Tamatso is blocking nicely.
Tamatso working to try and regain half guard.
Mia looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franko Mia 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.

Mia scores with a punch to the head.
Tamatso throws a leg kick but Mia checks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice takedown defense from Tamatso. No joy for Mia on that attempt.
Mia misses with a left hand
and Tamatso cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mia with a poor takedown
and Tamatso counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Tamatso misses with a kick to the body.
Mia misses with a hook.
Mia jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Mia misses with a hook to the body

and Tamatso counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Tamatso trying to control the position from guard on top but Mia is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mia tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tamatso postures up.
Tamatso stays in close to Mia's body and controls the position.
Mia controlling Tamatso's posture.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Mia throws a right hand that misses
and Tamatso counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mia misses with a body shot
and Tamatso counters with a nice body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mia steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tamatso.
Mia misses with a hook
and Tamatso counters with an inside leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mia throws a lazy uppercut
and Tamatso counters with a left to the body.
Tamatso throws a looping overhand right but Mia ducks down to avoid it.
Mia throws a good cross that connects.
Franko Mia seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mia misses with a body punch
and Tamatso counters with a thumping low kick.
Tamatso tries to clinch but Mia is having none of it.
Tamatso pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mia misses with a takedown attempt
and Tamatso counters with a nice leg kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Franko Mia. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mia misses with a jab to the body
and Tamatso counters with an inside leg kick.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Tamatso - that will leave a mark!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tamatso is looking to chop away at Mia's legs.
Mia dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tamatso bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Mia's head backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsuyoshi Tamatso showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Mia misses with a body shot
and Tamatso counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Tamatso misses with a low kick.
Mia throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Tamatso counters with a nice body kick.

Mia gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Tamatso to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Tamatso controlling from the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mia working a defensive guard here.
Tamatso trying to control the position from guard on top but Mia is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Tsuyoshi Tamatso wasn't active enough on the ground.
Tamatso is looking to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mia takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Tamatso, right into the meat.
Mia misses with a hook
and Tamatso counters with a nice low kick that buckles Mia's knee momentarily.

Mia gets the takedown into side control.
Franko Mia overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Tamatso tries to improve position but can't.
Mia prevents Tamatso from escaping the position.
Tamatso is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Mia off and has taken his back!
Mia prevents Tamatso from getting a body triangle.
Tamatso lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Mia.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tamatso is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Tamatso gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Tamatso gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Tamatso apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Tamatso keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mia misses with a double jab
and Tamatso counters with a slapping leg kick.
Mia throws a jab when Tamatso was well out of range.
Mia misses with a two punch combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Mia misses with a looping left.
Tamatso throws the left hand but Mia avoids the punch easily.
Mia falls off balance throwing a combination

and Tamatso counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tamatso.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mia looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Tamatso is stalling in the full guard.
Mia manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Tamatso steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Mia.
Mia misses with a left hand

and Tamatso counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tamatso.
Mia is trying to keep Tamatso in close.
Tamatso slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tamatso postures up.
Mia avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mia wants to sweep but no luck.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Tamatso lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A shot to the body from Mia misses
and Tamatso counters with a stiff right hand.
Mia shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Tamatso cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mia throws a poor cross that misses
and Tamatso counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Mia misses with an uppercut. Tamatso saw that one coming.

Tamatso closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Mia.
Tamatso lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mia stalling in the clinch but Tamatso improves position.
Tamatso lands a shot to the body.
Mia working hard to break the clinch.
Mia tries to break the clinch but Tamatso is controlling the position.
Tamatso lands a body punch in the clinch.
Mia wants to get back to striking at distance but Tamatso won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tamatso lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Mia or not.
Tamatso keeps control of Mia as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Mia throws a punch but it's blocked by Tamatso.
Tamatso lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Mia working hard to break the clinch.
Tamatso works on Mia's body with a couple of short punches.
Mia fails to pull guard.
Tamatso lands a hook that snaps the head of Mia backwards.
Mia wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Franko Mia. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mia takes a knee to the side of the body.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
A nice right hand lands inside from Tamatso.
Mia blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tamatso putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Mia in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Mia is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Tamatso has Mia pushed against the cage.
Mia is trying to break the clinch but Tamatso has him pressed against the cage.
Tamatso stops a takedown attempt from Mia.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mia is trying to break free.
Tamatso is stalling here.
Tamatso has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Tamatso receives a warning from the referee for stalling.
A nice left hand lands by Tamatso.
Tamatso lands a shoulder strike.
Mia takes an elbow to the temple.

It looks like Franko Mia has been cut.

Mia escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Tamatso walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Mia checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Mia misses with a body shot

and Tamatso counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Tamatso in particular looking to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsuyoshi Tamatso dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Franko Mia's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Mia misses with a takedown attempt
and Tamatso counters with a nice uppercut.
Mia misses with a takedown

and Tamatso counters with a shoot takedown. Mia fights it but they end up in guard.
Tamatso is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Mia has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Tamatso is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Mia.
Mia takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mia is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Tamatso off and has taken his back!
Tamatso can't escape the position.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Mia's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

Tamatso fending off the submission attempt from Mia.
Mia gets his hands free as Tamatso looks to control.
Tamatso wants to get back to his feet.
Tamatso controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad spot.
Mia lands a shot to the head.
Tamatso can't escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mia scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Tamatso has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.

Mia is persistently looking for the submission but Tamatso is defending it well.

Tamatso is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Mia not allowing Tamatso to control his hands.
Franko Mia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
I really don't envy Tamatso right now.
Tamatso grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Tamatso covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Tamatso is really stuck here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mia lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Mia trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Tamatso doesn't escape.
Tamatso breaks Mia's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Mia wants to control but Tamatso passes easily into half guard.
Tamatso throws a strike but Mia avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Tamatso is fighting to break Mia's control of his arms but Mia is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Tamatso won't allow Mia to sweep him here.
Tamatso is stalling in the full guard.
Tamatso looking to sit in guard and control but Mia gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Tsuyoshi Tamatso is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tamatso is trying to control the position but Mia postures up.
Mia throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Tamatso works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Mia working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mia throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Tamatso works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Mia throws a big right hand that misses.
Mia throws a big right hand that misses.
Mia postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Tamatso keeping moving, preventing Mia from controlling successfully.
Mia stopping the sweep attempt from Tamatso.
Tamatso has control of Mia's left arm, preventing Mia from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Tsuyoshi Tamatso.
Well Tamatso 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 44:49
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 45:49
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 45:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tsuyoshi Tamatso!