PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Carnival Hippo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Naomasa Yi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Naomasa Yi acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Hippo
vs
Yi

180 cm
27
155 lbs
2 - 5 - 0

168 cm
26
151 lbs
6 - 4 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Powerful

GMMA Supplements 160
GMMA Supplements 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Carnival Hippo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Naomasa Yi!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hippo uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yi.
Yi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Yi fails to land with a series of punches.
Hippo misses with a body shot.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Yi, as that shot connected.
Yi thows a left - swing and a miss!

Yi shoots in and gets a takedown into Hippo's guard.
Yi wants to pass the guard but Hippo is keeping the position.
Hippo wants to get back to his feet but Yi is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Yi trying to control but Hippo is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yi wants to pass the guard but Hippo is keeping the position.
Hippo has Yi pulled in close to control his posture.

Carnival Hippo has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Yi ducks right into an uppercut from Hippo.
Hippo throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hippo fails to land the takedown.
A looping hook to the body misses from Yi. Hippo does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hippo scores with a three punch combo!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hippo moves away.
Yi throws a jab but it's blocked by Hippo.

Hippo bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Hippo is looking to take a break and control but Yi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Yi is looking for a sweep.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hippo tries to advance position but instead Yi slips a leg back in to half guard.
Hippo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Yi keeps working.

Yi looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Yi actively working from the bottom here.
Hippo trying to control from half guard but Yi is working away.
Yi wants to control but Hippo is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Hippo is looking to advance position but Yi won't allow it.
Yi works his way to full guard. Good work.
Hippo stopping the sweep attempt from Yi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hippo postures up.

Yi looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hippo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Hippo wants to control from the top but Yi keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Hippo avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Yi isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Hippo stacks Yi on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Hippo!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Naomasa Yi will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hippo tries to bum rush Yi with a series of wild strikes but Yi uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hippo swinging wildly here.
Yi throws a series of punches but Hippo avoids them all with ease.
Yi throws a lazy right hand but Hippo sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Yi misses with a takedown attempt - Hippo sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The crowd cheers as Hippo lands an impressive looking overhand right. Yi doesn't seem phased though.
Hippo moves out of range as Yi strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yi throws a hook to the side of Hippo's head but Hippo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hippo lands a glancing blow to the side of Yi's head.
Yi is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Hippo.
Hippo looks to land a left hand but Yi moved out of range nicely.
Yi dodges the punch combination from Hippo.
Hippo fails with the takedown.
Yi misses with a wild combination.
The fighters circling - Yi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hippo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Yi avoids it really well and circles away.
Hippo uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yi.
Yi leaves Hippo with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carnival Hippo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yi looks to land a right hand but Hippo moved out of range.
Hippo slips a jab from Yi.
Hippo uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yi.
A shot to the liver by Hippo. Beautiful body shot.
Yi rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hippo counters with a left and a right that stings Yi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yi misses with an uppercut. Hippo saw that one coming.
Hippo gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Yi counters with a nice uppercut.

Yi scores with a takedown into Hippo's guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hippo is on top in guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Yi is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Hippo trying to control the position from guard on top but Yi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hippo wants to pass the guard but Yi is keeping the position.
Yi is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Hippo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Yi is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hippo stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Yi swivels though and keeps the full guard.
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 Carnival Hippo will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Hippo displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Yi throws out the jab.
Yi misses the shot to the body.
Yi looks to land a left hand but Hippo moved out of range nicely.
Nice sprawl there from Yi as Hippo shoots in.

Yi shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Yi showed some decent athleticism there.
Hippo is looking to control Yi's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hippo avoid being mounted?
Yi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Hippo does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Hippo has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Yi is working away from the top position though.
Yi passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Hippo!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hippo tries to hold on but Yi postures up.
Yi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Hippo is looking to escape.
Naomasa Yi has got the better of the ground game so far.
Yi controlling from mount.
Hippo holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Yi tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Yi with shots to the head and body - Hippo looks very uncomfortable down there.

Hippo is rocked!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yi postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Hippo in real trouble here! The ref calls for Hippo to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:22 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Naomasa Yi!