PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Goro Daimon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Hawk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mike Hawk is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Daimon
vs
Hawk

210 cm
25
268 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

200 cm
20
265 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Goro Daimon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mike Hawk!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Taro Takaoka and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Daimon scores with a takedown into Hawk's guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Daimon is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Daimon won't allow Hawk to sweep him here.

Hawk has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Daimon can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Hawk is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Daimon missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Daimon throws a strike but Hawk rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Daimon looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Hawk drops back looking for a leg! Daimon is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Daimon manages to kick Hawk off! Hawk jumps back into Daimon's guard.
Hawk postures up and lands a big shot to Daimon's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daimon striking from the bottom.
Daimon keeping moving, preventing Hawk from controlling successfully.
Daimon looking for a sweep. Not yet Daimon, not yet.
Daimon is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hawk trying to control but Daimon is working from the bottom.
Hawk preventing the sweep.
Daimon throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Connects with an elbow from the bottom, proving to the judges that he's still active off his back.
Daimon on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Daimon tries to get out of the position.
Daimon striking off his back, scoring a few points.
Daimon knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hawk on the ground.

Daimon pushes Hawk off and scrambles back to his feet.
Daimon closes this distance looking for a takedown but Hawk circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawk misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hawk throws a head kick but Daimon moves out of range.

Daimon closes the distance and pushes Hawk back into the ropes.
Hawk fails to pull guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Daimon gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Daimon throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Daimon is looking to take a break and control but Hawk is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hawk trying to control from the bottom.
Daimon thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Hawk's head.
Daimon looks to land a strike but Hawk avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Daimon wants to control from the top but Hawk keeps moving.
Daimon lands a couple of elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hawk is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Hawk is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Daimon defends well.
Daimon throws a strike but Hawk rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Hawk wants to control from the top but Daimon keeps moving.
Daimon trying to control the position.
Hawk preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Hawk's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Daimon is trying to control the position but Hawk postures up.
Hawk slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Hawk wants to lay and pray for a moment but Daimon keeps working.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hawk gets to mount! Daimon was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Daimon throwing hammer fists to the chest of Hawk. What's that going to do exactly?
Hawk trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Daimon wants to control but Hawk is having none of it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Hawk is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Daimon has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Daimon is working to get back to half guard.
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 Goro Daimon will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Hawk stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hawk wants it to stay on the feet.
Hawk slaps away a takedown attempt from Daimon, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Hawk clinches.
Hawk jumps guard but Daimon stands there with Hawk around his waist. Hawk gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Hawk tries for a takedown but Daimon manages to get underhooks.
Daimon has Hawk pressed against the ropes, preventing Hawk from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hawk gets underhooks to prevent Daimon's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Goro Daimon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawk working hard to break the clinch.
Hawk tries to pull guard but Daimon holds him up against the ropes and eventually Hawk drops back down to his feet.
Hawk prevents a takedown attempt there.

Hawk manages to pull guard.
Daimon slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawk has control of Daimon's left arm, preventing Daimon from doing any damage.
Daimon in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Hawk is looking for a triangle but Daimon pushes his legs off easily.
Hawk has momentary wrist control but Daimon slips an elbow through the middle.
Daimon has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Daimon throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Daimon accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hawk working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Daimon.
Daimon missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Daimon avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Hawk keeping full guard, as Daimon tries to pass.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawk controls Daimon momentarily but Daimon frees himself.
Hawk avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hawk keeping moving, preventing Daimon from controlling successfully.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Hawk looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Daimon in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Daimon throws an elbow that misses. Hawk uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Daimon's guard. Nice move by Hawk!
Daimon is trying to control the position but Hawk postures up.
Daimon keeping full guard, as Hawk tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawk wants to control from the top but Daimon keeps moving.
Daimon is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Daimon has his hands on Hawk's head, controlling the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Hawk trying to control the position from guard on top but Daimon is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Goro Daimon.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Daimon.
Hawk is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Daimon off and has taken his back!

Hawk has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Hawk has the hooks in. Daimon is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawk not allowing Daimon to control his hands.
Daimon is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Hawk is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Daimon turns into Hawk and is now in his guard.
Hawk lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Daimon!
Daimon is trying desperately to improve position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Daimon sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Hawk seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Daimon does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Hawk prevents Daimon from improving his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Mike Hawk will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Daimon will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Daimon fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Daimon has his takedown stuffed
and Hawk counters with a left and a right that stings Daimon.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Goro Daimon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawk shoots in but no luck this time.
Daimon with a poor takedown
and Hawk counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Daimon is lucky that one didn't land flush.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Hawk enables Daimon to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Hawk manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Hawk looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Hawk keeping moving, preventing Daimon from controlling successfully.
Daimon postures up in Hawk's guard and throws a big left but Hawk blocks it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Daimon tries to free his leg and advance position but Hawk is retaining full guard.
Daimon trying to control the position from guard on top but Hawk is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hawk escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Daimon gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Daimon throws a big elbow that misses.

Hawk throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Daimon missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Daimon is looking to work some ground and pound but Hawk has wrist control.
Hawk is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Daimon is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawk thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Daimon misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Hawk stalling.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Daimon tries to kick Hawk off but Hawk keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Hawk takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hawk trying to control from half guard but Daimon is working away.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Daimon avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hawk.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawk wants to lay and pray for a moment but Daimon keeps working.
Daimon manages to get to full guard.
Daimon will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Daimon throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Hawk looking to pass the guard.
Hawk passes Daimon's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Daimon is trying is best to control the position here.
Daimon wants to improve his position but Hawk is controlling well.
Hawk trying to control the action but Daimon is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawk stops Daimon from getting back to his feet.
Daimon is on the bottom, trying to hold on to half guard. He's throwing a few small shots here, to keep his opponent honest.
Daimon is staying active underneath Hawk, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Daimon wants to get back to his feet.

Hawk is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Daimon sees it coming and defends easily.
Daimon keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hawk is looking to take a break and control but Daimon is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Daimon is looking for a sweep. Hawk is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Daimon is refusing to be controlled, as Hawk sits in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Hawk comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hawk has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Mike Hawk!