PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kenji Kawakami (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abel Stamp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kawakami
vs
Stamp

170 cm
22
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

172 cm
22
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Improved boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Freakin Supplements

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kenji Kawakami!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Abel Stamp!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Illya Tyunina and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stamp lands with a nice combination. Kawakami backs away looking to recover.
Kawakami throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Stamp counters with a three punch combo that has Kawakami backing up. Kawakami nods at Stamp to acknowledge the strikes.
A big right from Kawakami misses.
Stamp dodges the punch combination from Kawakami.
Abel Stamp seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stamp misses with a double jab
and Kawakami counters with a two punch combo.
Kawakami looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Stamp is fending him off so far but Kawakami persists. Nope, Stamp circles away and we're back to standing.
Stamp works Kawakami's body with a nice hook.
Kawakami cracks Stamp with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Stamp swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Kawakami counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Stamp thinking.
Kawakami misses with a body shot

and Stamp counters by moving into the clinch.

Stamp pulls guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Stamp is on top in guard.
Stamp must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kawakami looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kawakami is working hard here to advance position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stamp wants to stand but Kawakami is controlling his posture from full guard.
Stamp won't allow Kawakami to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamp landing with the ground and pound.
Stamp trying to control the position from guard on top but Kawakami is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kawakami is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kawakami misses with a combination
and Stamp counters with a one-two to the body.
Stamp throws a left and a right that both miss
and Kawakami counters with a two punch combo.
Stamp lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Kawakami misses with a wild combination.
Stamp swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
letting Kawakami counter with a right hand.
Stamp lands a jab to the head.
Kawakami throws a right hand that Stamp ducks under and follows up with a left that Stamp also avoids with ease.
Stamp avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kawakami throws a series of punches but Stamp moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Stamp throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Horrible takedown by Kawakami or perhaps it was just good defense by Stamp which made him look bad.
Kawakami misses with a hook.

Stamp scores a takedown into full mount!
Stamp is landing with some decent strikes but Kawakami is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

It looks like Kenji Kawakami has been cut.
Kawakami is wriggling around trying to escape.
Stamp working the ground and pound effectively.
Kawakami is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Kawakami is breathing heavily.
Stamp working the ground and pound effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stamp tries to control but Kawakami wriggling away.
Stamp cracks Kawakami with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Stamp cracks Kawakami with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kawakami is trying to escape the mount.
Stamp landing strikes from the mount.

Kenji Kawakami's cut is getting worse.
Kawakami gets back to half guard.
Stamp scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Stamp in particular looking to stall.
Stamp wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kawakami keeps working.
Stamp lands with a punch from half guard.
Kawakami wants to control but Stamp is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Stamp stands up and beckons Kawakami to join him on the feet.
A left and a right from Stamp both land. Nice combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kawakami misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Stamp rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kawakami moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Stamp takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Stamp misses with a double jab
and Stamp takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stamp connects with a solid leg kick.
Stamp misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kawakami misses with a double jab
and Stamp counters with a two punch combo.
Stamp will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Stamp.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Stamp.
Kawakami slips a jab and a cross from Stamp.
Stamp misses with a double jab
and Kawakami counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Stamp throws a right hand that Kawakami ducks under and follows up with a left that Kawakami also avoids with ease.

Stamp scores with a takedown into Kawakami's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abel Stamp dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kenji Kawakami's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kawakami swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Stamp counters with a shoot takedown. Kawakami fights it but they end up in guard.
Stamp pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kawakami is keeping the position for now.
Stamp content to stall in guard here.
Kawakami throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Kawakami keeping moving, preventing Stamp from controlling successfully.
Stamp content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Stamp stopping the sweep attempt from Kawakami.

Stamp gets to his feet - Kawakami follows without any prompting.
No joy there for Stamp, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kawakami doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Stamp counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Stamp wants to control from the top but Kawakami keeps moving.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kawakami is striking off his back. Stamp thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kawakami looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Stamp is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Kawakami!
Stamp working Kawakami over with strikes here.
Kawakami is squirming around, avoiding Stamp's attempts to control the action.
Stamp blocks Kawakami's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Stamp with the ground and pound from mount.
Stamp putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
BOOM! Stamp connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The referee warns Kawakami that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
A nice elbow there by Stamp.
Kawakami is looking to get to half guard.
Stamp trying to control but Kawakami is having none of it.

Stamp working for a guillotine from mount but Kawakami is in no mood to give up.
Kawakami regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamp takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Kawakami is trying to get back to full guard.
Kawakami moves into full guard.
Stamp working some strikes from top position.
Kawakami manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Stamp manages to get himself to full guard.
Stamp throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Stamp looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kawakami is one step ahead there.
Stamp is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Kawakami wants to control from the top but Stamp keeps moving.
Stamp wants to get back to his feet but Kawakami is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Stamp throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stamp keeping moving, preventing Kawakami from controlling successfully.

Kawakami avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Kawakami scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Kawakami goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Kawakami rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Stamp moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Stamp throws a right and a left that Kawakami avoids nicely.
A punch combination from Kawakami misses.
Stamp defending well as Kawakami loads up on a big left hand.
Kawakami tries to clinch
and Stamp counters with a nice uppercut.
Stamp uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kawakami.
Kawakami looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Kawakami lands with a nice combination. Stamp backs away looking to recover.
Kawakami throws a right hand that Stamp ducks under and follows up with a left that Stamp also avoids with ease.
Stamp dodges the punch combination from Kawakami.
Kawakami with a poor takedown
and Stamp counters with a good low kick that Kawakami was not able to check.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stamp falls off balance throwing a combination
and Kawakami connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kawakami scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Kawakami rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Stamp moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Kawakami!
Kawakami throws a combination that misses

and Stamp counters with a nice double leg into side control. Kawakami won't be happy with that.
Stamp really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kawakami. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kawakami manages to get back to half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Stamp lands a nice short elbow.
Stamp lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Stamp seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Kawakami works his way to full guard. Good work.
Stamp throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kawakami works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Stamp slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Kawakami taking a bit of punishment here - Stamp scoring with strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kawakami is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Stamp's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kawakami tries to roll over but Stamp keeps him under control.
Stamp slips a nice elbow through Kawakami's hands, connecting with Kawakami's forehead.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abel Stamp showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Kenji Kawakami's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Stamp throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kawakami swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Stamp counters with a thumping low kick.

Stamp clinches.

Stamp escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kawakami with a poor takedown

and Stamp counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Kawakami!
Kawakami is looking to get to half guard.
Stamp landing shots from mount.
Kawakami is in all sorts of trouble here.
A nice elbow there by Stamp.
Stamp with a couple of short strikes.
Kawakami slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Stamp seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kawakami does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Kawakami looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Stamp is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Stamp takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Stamp decides to return to a standing position.
Stamp misses with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kawakami uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stamp.
Kawakami falls off balance throwing a combination

and Stamp counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Kawakami looking for a guillotine here but Stamp defends easily.
Stamp postures up in Kawakami's guard and throws a big left but Kawakami blocks it.
Kawakami working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Stamp.
Kawakami is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kawakami takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Stamp tries to get to full guard but Kawakami has control of the leg.
Kawakami lands with a punch from half guard.

Kawakami 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.
Kawakami is keen to just control but Stamp is a slippery customer.
Abel Stamp has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamp pushes Kawakami off looking to stand but Kawakami dives back in and keeps control.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Kawakami takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Kawakami prevents Stamp from improving his position.
Kawakami winds up and cracks Stamp with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Kawakami is looking to take a break and control but Stamp is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kawakami trying to pass the guard but Stamp defending well.
Stamp wants to get back to his feet.
Kawakami throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kawakami landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stamp slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kawakami prevents Stamp from getting back to his feet.
Stamp working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kawakami.

Stamp kicks Kawakami off and gets to his feet.
Stamp throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Kawakami counters with a nice double leg into side control. Stamp won't be happy with that.
You can see the frustration on Stamp's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Kawakami tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Kawakami has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Stamp wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Kawakami is chipping away with strikes.
Stamp is trying to get back to his feet.
Kawakami advances to mount.
Kawakami putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

It looks like Abel Stamp has been cut.
Kawakami lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Stamp hang on?

Kawakami is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Stamp is surviving well by controlling Kawakami's body position as best he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kawakami connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Kawakami cracks Stamp with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kawakami tries to control but Stamp wriggling away.
Stamp throwing hammer fists to the chest of Kawakami. What's that going to do exactly?
Kawakami in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Kawakami has control of Stamp's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Stamp regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Kawakami 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.
Stamp working to try and regain half guard.
Kawakami with the ground and pound from mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kawakami punishing his opponent with strikes.
Stamp is trying to escape the mount.

Kawakami jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Stamp is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Stamp and Kawakami has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Kenji Kawakami has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kawakami cracks Stamp with a big right hand but Stamp just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenji Kawakami showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Stamp has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abel Stamp!