PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yuffie Kisaragi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicky Santoro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kisaragi comes to the cage accompanied by Bezimienni - Walka. Yuffie Kisaragi has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kisaragi
vs
Santoro

182 cm
24
220 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

191 cm
23
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Yuffie Kisaragi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nicky Santoro!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Santoro has his takedown stuffed

and Kisaragi counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Kisaragi working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Santoro's head.
Kisaragi wants to control from the top but Santoro keeps moving.
Kisaragi postures up.
Santoro wants to sweep but no luck.
Kisaragi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kisaragi tries to free his leg and advance position but Santoro is retaining full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Santoro is on top in guard.
Kisaragi keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.
Santoro passes Kisaragi's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santoro trying to control from half guard but Kisaragi is working away.
Santoro missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Santoro seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kisaragi does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Santoro slows the pace down in half guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Kisaragi is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Santoro's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Santoro's back!
Santoro trying to control but not successfully.
Santoro breaks Kisaragi's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.

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.
Kisaragi striking off his back but it's not causing Santoro any problems.
Santoro wants to pass the guard but Kisaragi is keeping the position.
Santoro trying to control but Kisaragi is working from the bottom.
Santoro is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Kisaragi had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Santoro defends it easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Santoro wants to get up but he can't break Kisaragi's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro wants to pass the guard but Kisaragi is keeping the position.
Kisaragi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Santoro's corner is telling him to maintain position.

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.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Nicky Santoro.

Kisaragi shoots in and gets a takedown into Santoro's guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Santoro holds on and takes a little breather.
Santoro looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kisaragi is one step ahead there.
Santoro is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Santoro manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Kisaragi tries to hold on but Santoro postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yuffie Kisaragi 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.

Santoro shoots and misses

and Kisaragi counters with a shoot takedown. Santoro fights it but they end up in guard.
Kisaragi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Santoro is keeping the position for now.
Kisaragi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Santoro is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Santoro is trying to control the position but Kisaragi postures up.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Kisaragi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Santoro 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.

Kisaragi stands and steps away. Santoro gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kisaragi misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Santoro tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Kisaragi counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Santoro!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Santoro tries to reverse the position but Kisaragi maintains control.
Santoro sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Kisaragi is thwarting Santoro's attempts to control the position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Santoro manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Santoro keeping moving, preventing Kisaragi from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Santoro pushes Kisaragi off and scrambles back to his feet.
Kisaragi with a poor takedown

and Santoro counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Kisaragi!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Santoro controlling the pace for now.
Santoro thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Santoro controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro throws some wild stikes that Kisaragi manages to avoid easily.
Santoro punching from mount but Kisaragi doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Santoro tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Santoro looking to secure an arm triangle but Kisaragi defends it well.
Santoro wants to control the pace but Kisaragi is squirming around nicely.

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.
Santoro controlling his opponent.
Santoro trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Yuffie Kisaragi will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Santoro moves in looking to clinch but Kisaragi pushes him off.
Santoro closes the distance but Kisaragi moves to the side

and Kisaragi counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Santoro's guard now.
Santoro wants to sweep but no luck.
Kisaragi has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Kisaragi slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Kisaragi working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Santoro is not content to let Kisaragi control the position.
Santoro is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Kisaragi's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santoro is trying to maintain the position but Kisaragi is very close to passing his half guard.
Kisaragi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Santoro does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Santoro looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Santoro trying to control but Kisaragi postures up.
Santoro tries to roll over but Kisaragi keeps him under control.
Kisaragi content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

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.
Kisaragi is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kisaragi is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Santoro!
Santoro wants to control but Kisaragi is having none of it.
Santoro keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Santoro tries to hold on but Kisaragi postures up.
Yuffie Kisaragi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro is trying desperately to improve position.
Santoro is squirming around, avoiding Kisaragi's attempts to control the action.
Santoro bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Kisaragi pulls Santoro in close to prevent any damage.
Santoro forces his way into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Santoro escapes and gets back to his feet.
Santoro has his takedown stuffed

and Kisaragi counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Santoro's guard now.
Santoro trying to control the position.
Kisaragi is looking to stand up but Santoro won't let him.
Santoro keeping moving, preventing Kisaragi from controlling successfully.
Kisaragi stopping the sweep attempt from Santoro.
Nicky Santoro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Santoro had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Kisaragi defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yuffie Kisaragi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kisaragi, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yuffie Kisaragi!