PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Welles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kato Hanzo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Welles
vs
Hanzo

181 cm
18
175 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

173 cm
18
176 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

Hellbent, Inc.
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Deadly Venom Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thomas Welles!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kato Hanzo!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Hirohito Nitta and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Welles slips under a jab.
Welles throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hanzo's waist but Hanzo gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Welles off to one side.
Welles fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hanzo.

Welles closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Hanzo is refusing to be controlled, as Welles sits in half guard.
Hanzo wants to get back to full guard.
Welles uses his free foot to push down on Hanzo's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Hanzo.
Welles landing strikes, looking to finish!
Welles sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Hanzo is trying desperately to improve position.
Hanzo wants to control but Welles is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Welles can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Hanzo is looking to escape.
Hanzo tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Welles lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Hanzo hang on?
Welles with a couple of short strikes.
Hanzo tries to lock up and control but Welles gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Welles sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Welles wants to control the pace but Hanzo is squirming around nicely.

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.
Hanzo is trying to escape the mount.
Welles punishing his opponent with strikes.
Hanzo is squirming around, avoiding Welles's attempts to control the action.
Hanzo keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Hanzo wants to control but Welles is having none of it.
Hanzo bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Welles trying to keep a closed guard but Hanzo is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo passes Welles's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Hanzo blocks the strikes from Welles.
Nice strikes from Hanzo there.
Hanzo is nestled in close to Welles, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Welles slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Hanzo tries to free his leg and advance position but Welles is retaining full guard.
Welles 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.
Welles is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Hanzo flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Welles is taking a breather. Hanzo 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.
Hanzo tries to roll over but Welles keeps him under control.
Welles is taking a breather. Hanzo 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo gets back to full guard.
Welles postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Welles preventing the sweep.

Welles drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Welles jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Welles drops back, looking for a kneebar! Hanzo looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Hanzo looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Hanzo!
Welles is breathing heavily.
Welles is trying to improve his position.
Hanzo wants to control but Welles is keeping him busy.
Welles is trying to get back to half guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo wants to control but Welles is keeping him busy.
Welles is looking to regain half guard here but Hanzo keeps moving and retains side control.
Welles taking punishment in the form of punches.
Hanzo throws an elbow but Welles slips to the side and avoids it well.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nice sprawl there from Hanzo as Welles shoots in.
Nice takedown defense from Hanzo. No joy for Welles on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Welles. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Welles changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Hanzo tries to avoid it but Welles manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Hanzo to the ground. Hanzo escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Thomas Welles seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Welles shoots in for a takedown but Hanzo shows good takedown defense.
Welles misses with a series of wild punches.
A jab from Hanzo does it's job there.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheers as Hanzo lands an impressive looking overhand right. Welles doesn't seem phased though.

Hanzo clinches up with Welles and pushes him back against the cage.
Hanzo tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Hanzo lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Welles is rocked!
Hanzo misses with a knee to the head.
Oh Welles is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hanzo working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Hanzo looking to throw knees to the head but Welles is blocking nicely.
Hanzo misses with a knee to the head.
Hanzo gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Welles.
Welles seems to have got his legs back now.
Welles wants a takedown but no success here.
Hanzo looking to throw knees to the head but Welles is blocking nicely.
Welles tries for a takedown. No joy.
Welles drops down looking for an ankle pick but Hanzo pulls his leg out and moves away.
Welles misses with a double jab.
Welles shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hanzo as he avoids it easily.

Welles shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Welles showed some decent athleticism there.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Welles seems to be working for a kimura but Hanzo defends the submission attempt.
Welles looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hanzo with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hanzo is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Welles looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Welles is keen to just control but Hanzo is a slippery customer.
Welles controlling the pace.
Hanzo wants to get back to full guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.

Welles scores with a takedown into Hanzo's guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Welles pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hanzo is keeping the position for now.
Hanzo looking for a sweep. Not yet Hanzo, not yet.
Welles slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Hanzo.
Welles trying to control from half guard but Hanzo is working away.
Still in half guard, Welles seems content to control.
Hanzo controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Hanzo wants to get back to full guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo gets back to full guard.
Hanzo throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Hanzo is trying to keep Welles in close.
Welles is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hanzo wants to sweep but no luck.
Welles stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hanzo swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hanzo wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Welles trying to control the position from guard on top but Hanzo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Welles looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Hanzo is fending him off so far but Welles persists. Nope, Hanzo circles away and we're back to standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Welles dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Welles slips a straight right by Hanzo.

Welles gets a takedown into half guard.
Welles winds up and cracks Hanzo with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Hanzo punching from the bottom.
Welles wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hanzo keeps working.
Hanzo makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Hanzo.
Hanzo looking for a sweep. Not yet Hanzo, not yet.
Hanzo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hanzo lands a couple of decent looking body shots there.
Hanzo bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Welles's guard.
Hanzo is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanzo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hanzo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Welles is keeping the position for now.
Hanzo is breathing heavily.
Welles is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Welles escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Hanzo gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Hanzo wants to pass the guard but Welles is keeping the position.
Welles wants to sweep but no luck.
Welles striking off his back but it's not causing Hanzo any problems.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
The fighters circling - Hanzo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Hanzo misses with a head kick.
Welles tries for a takedown but Hanzo sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Welles looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's two 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.
Hanzo looks to land a right hand but Welles moved out of range.
Welles fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Welles. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hanzo slow jab from Welles misses its intended target.
Hanzo takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
The fighters circling - Hanzo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Welles ducks under a wild hook from Hanzo.
Hanzo throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Welles sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Hanzo throws an overhand right that lands on Welles's shoulder, as Welles tries to avoid the shot.

Hanzo lands a high kick to the side of Welles's head that stuns him and send him tumbling down to the canvas! Hanzo dives into guard, looking to finish.

It looks like Thomas Welles has been cut.
Welles is trying to control the position but Hanzo postures up.
Hanzo must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Welles 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.
Hanzo trying to control but Welles is working from the bottom.
Hanzo passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Welles's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Hanzo tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Hanzo has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Welles wants to get back to his feet but Hanzo drags him back down.
Hanzo working the head with strikes.
Hanzo throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Hanzo postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Welles striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
Welles wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Welles shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Hanzo as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Hanzo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Welles.
Welles shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hanzo as he avoids it easily.
Welles moves out of range of the strikes.
Hanzo is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Welles shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hanzo but Hanzo pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Hanzo throws a hook but Welles blocks it.
Welles shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hanzo pinned against the cage. Hanzo gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Welles shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hanzo as he avoids it easily.
Welles shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Hanzo as he jumps to the side.
Thomas Welles is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Welles tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Hanzo swivels and escapes.
Hanzo connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Welles looks for a takedown but Hanzo sprawls well.
Welles throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hanzo's waist but Hanzo gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Welles off to one side.
Hanzo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Welles scores with a one two! Hanzo had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Welles fails with the takedown.
Welles tries to clinch up
and Welles takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Welles fails with the takedown.
Welles doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Hanzo counter with a right hand.

Welles feints and as Hanzo raises his hands in defense, Welles changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Welles passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Welles working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo holds on to Welles's head and controls the position momentarily.
Hanzo gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Hanzo makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Hanzo.
Hanzo 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.
Hanzo looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Welles puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Hanzo is looking to improve his position.
Welles moves nicely into side control.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo is looking for a sweep.
Welles is putting a hurting on Hanzo here, landing some big shots from side control.
Hanzo is looking for a sweep.
Hanzo tries to strike but it doesn't land.

Welles tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Hanzo throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Hanzo sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Welles blocks the strikes from Hanzo.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hanzo manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Welles slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Welles wants to control but Hanzo is keeping him busy.
Hanzo sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Hanzo works his way to full guard. Good work.
Thomas Welles overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hanzo keeping moving, preventing Welles from controlling successfully.
Hanzo working a defensive guard here.

Welles drops back looking for a leg! Hanzo is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Hanzo manages to kick Welles off! Welles jumps back into Hanzo's guard.
Welles is looking to work some ground and pound but Hanzo has wrist control.
Welles preventing the sweep.
Welles scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hanzo 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.
Welles trying to control but Hanzo is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
No luck for Welles with that takedown attempt.
Welles shoots and misses
and Hanzo counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hanzo swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Welles tries for a takedown but Hanzo circles away easily
and Hanzo counters with a series of strikes that really hurt Welles! The ref looks into his eyes and sees nobody home - he's called the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 9:36 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Kato Hanzo!