PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joe McGaleb (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chika Haruka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). McGaleb's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZnhuOEUFXA. Chika Haruka has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

McGaleb
vs
Haruka

180 cm
23
195 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

169 cm
22
196 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Joe McGaleb!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chika Haruka!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yuuki Gou and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A solid leg kick lands there for McGaleb.
Haruka takes a swing at McGaleb's ribcage but misses.
Haruka lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McGaleb circles away quickly and effectively.
McGaleb uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Haruka.
Haruka rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McGaleb moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Haruka throws a big shot that misses.
McGaleb shoots in and drives through. Haruka sprawls well.
Haruka stuffs the takedown.
Haruka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Chika Haruka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Haruka lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as McGaleb backs up against the cage.
Haruka throws a right and a left that both miss.
McGaleb is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Haruka is defended easily by McGaleb.
McGaleb fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe McGaleb. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McGaleb takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Haruka rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and McGaleb counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by McGaleb.
McGaleb tries to free his leg and advance position but Haruka is retaining full guard.
McGaleb looking to sit in guard and control but Haruka gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Haruka prevents McGaleb from getting back to his feet.
Haruka wants to control from the top but McGaleb keeps moving.
Haruka is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McGaleb will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
McGaleb controls Haruka momentarily but Haruka frees himself.
McGaleb tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Chika Haruka.
Haruka throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

McGaleb looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Haruka working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from McGaleb.
McGaleb postures up in Haruka's guard and throws a big left but Haruka blocks it.
McGaleb has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Haruka wants to stand and escape but McGaleb is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haruka has control of McGaleb's left arm, preventing McGaleb from doing any damage.
McGaleb passes Haruka's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Haruka on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

McGaleb wants to work for an arm triangle but Haruka is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Haruka makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Haruka.
Haruka controls McGaleb momentarily but McGaleb frees himself.
McGaleb thows a big elbow that misses.
McGaleb stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Haruka swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Haruka is on top in guard.
McGaleb working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Haruka.
Haruka preventing the sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
McGaleb is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Haruka wants to control from the top but McGaleb keeps moving.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McGaleb has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Haruka postures up in McGaleb's guard and throws a big left but McGaleb blocks it.
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 Joe McGaleb will probably get the nod.
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.

Haruka throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Haruka misses with a jab, cross combination.
Haruka lands a head shot.
No joy there for Haruka, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
McGaleb bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A decent looking cross lands there for Haruka.
Haruka misses with a combination

and McGaleb counters by moving into the clinch.
McGaleb lands a shoulder strike.
McGaleb goes for a takedown in the clinch but Haruka prevents it.
McGaleb jumps guard but Haruka stands there with McGaleb around his waist. McGaleb gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

McGaleb breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haruka falls off balance throwing a combination

and McGaleb counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Haruka can do anything to dispel that myth.

McGaleb looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Haruka taking some punishment here, with McGaleb in his half guard.
McGaleb is just content to waste time from the top position. Haruka takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McGaleb working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
McGaleb trying to control the position from guard on top but Haruka is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
McGaleb postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
McGaleb throws a big right hand that misses.
McGaleb keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Haruka's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
McGaleb postures up.
Haruka keeping moving, preventing McGaleb from controlling successfully.
Haruka avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McGaleb throws a big right hand that misses.
McGaleb trying to control the position from guard on top but Haruka is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haruka keeping full guard, as McGaleb tries to pass.
McGaleb thows a big elbow that misses.
McGaleb postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
McGaleb is looking to work some ground and pound but Haruka has wrist control.
McGaleb trying to control but Haruka is working from the bottom.
McGaleb trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McGaleb throws and elbow that misses. Haruka uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in McGaleb's guard. Nice move by Haruka!
Haruka looking to sit in guard and control but McGaleb gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Haruka utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Haruka manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
McGaleb is in all sorts of trouble here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Haruka working the ground and pound effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe McGaleb dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Haruka keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Haruka fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Haruka feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits McGalebs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Haruka misses with a few strikes there.
Haruka lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
McGaleb fails in his attempt to clinch.
Haruka throws a head kick that misses.
Haruka just misses with a punch to the body.

McGaleb closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
McGaleb is trying to control the action in half guard but Haruka is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
McGaleb looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Haruka with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McGaleb throwing shots but Haruka is blocking nicely.

McGaleb seems to be looking for submissions.

McGaleb is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Haruka has managed to free his arm - good work.
Haruka is trying to stand up here but McGaleb is controlling him well.
Haruka is trying to maintain the position but McGaleb is very close to passing his half guard.
Haruka avoiding damage under a succession of punches from McGaleb.

McGaleb seems to be working for a kimura but Haruka defends the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haruka is controlling McGaleb's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Haruka takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
McGaleb trying to control from half guard but Haruka is working away.
Haruka pushes McGaleb off looking to stand but McGaleb dives back in and keeps control.
Haruka blocking the ground and pound attempt from McGaleb.
Joe McGaleb overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Haruka is trying to get back to full guard.
McGaleb wants to stand up but Haruka is controlling the position.
Joe McGaleb is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

McGaleb is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Haruka wants to get back to full guard.
McGaleb sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
McGaleb is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McGaleb looking to control but Haruka is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

McGaleb has hold of Haruka's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Haruka manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Chika Haruka has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
McGaleb sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Haruka tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McGaleb controlling from the full mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe McGaleb showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for McGaleb, 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe McGaleb!