PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kazuhira Honda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenta Yamashita (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Honda comes to the cage accompanied by Zetsubou Billy - Maximum The Hormone. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Honda
vs
Yamashita

170 cm
18
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

195 cm
18
152 lbs
1 - 2 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp (95% quick laundry)

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kazuhira Honda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenta Yamashita!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Honda shoots in for a double leg but Yamashita sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Honda moves into the clinch successfully.

Honda jumps guard and drags Yamashita to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Honda looking to control.
Yamashita seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Yamashita trying to control the position from guard on top but Honda is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yamashita slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Honda might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Yamashita working away.
Honda is trying to improve his position.
Honda is letting Yamashita control him for a moment.
Yamashita is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Honda tries to bench press Yamashita off him but Yamashita keeps the position.
Honda is trying to control Yamashita's posture but Yamashita avoids it.
Yamashita happy to just control the position for now.
Honda is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Yamashita wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Honda, who protects the arm well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Honda is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Honda is working hard here to advance position.
Yamashita just content to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Let's hope that Yamashita has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Honda is trying to get back to his feet.
Honda gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Yamashita in particular looking to stall.
Honda tries to roll over but Yamashita keeps him under control.
Yamashita wants to pass to mount but Honda is defending the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamashita takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Kenta Yamashita wasn't active enough on the ground.
Honda tries to clinch there but Yamashita circles away.

Honda shoots in and gets a takedown into Yamashita's guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Honda missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Yamashita has control of Honda's left arm, preventing Honda from doing any damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Honda trying to control but Yamashita is working from the bottom.
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 Kazuhira Honda will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Honda has his takedown stuffed

so Yamashita counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Yamashita wants to control from the top but Honda keeps moving.

Honda has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Yamashita is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Honda.
Honda is being controlled here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Honda holds on to Yamashita's head and controls the position momentarily.
Honda is looking to reverse the position.
Honda being controlled for a moment.
Honda is trying to improve his position.
Honda regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamashita is controlling the pace.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Kenta Yamashita wasn't active enough on the ground.

Yamashita looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Honda wants to get back to full guard.
Honda trying to control but Yamashita postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamashita seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Yamashita shoots in looking for a takedown. Honda tries to sprawl out of it but Yamashita keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Honda manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Honda slaps away a takedown attempt from Yamashita, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Honda is looking to clinch but Yamashita is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Honda shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Honda trying to advance position but Yamashita counters by regaining guard.

Yamashita escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Honda gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Yamashita looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Honda 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenta Yamashita showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Honda moves into the clinch.
Honda is trying to drag Yamashita to the mat but Yamashita just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Yamashita turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Yamashita manages to end up in side control.
Honda is looking to regain half guard here but Yamashita keeps moving and retains side control.
Yamashita is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Honda's shoulder. That is not cool.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamashita is looking to take a break and control but Honda is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Honda tries to get back to half guard but can't.
What's Honda going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Honda struggling a bit here.
Yamashita moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Yamashita fails with the takedown

and Honda counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Yamashita is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Honda wants to control from the top but Yamashita keeps moving.
Yamashita keeping full guard, as Honda tries to pass.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Honda is stalling in the full guard.
Yamashita keeping moving, preventing Honda from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Kazuhira Honda wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Yamashita looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Yamashita throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Honda tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Yamashita is in Honda's guard.
Yamashita controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Yamashita stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Honda swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamashita is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Kenta Yamashita hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Yamashita tries for a takedown but Honda circles away easily

and Honda holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kazuhira Honda has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kenta Yamashita.

Honda has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Yamashita clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Yamashita trying to control the action but Honda just sinks the hooks in.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Kazuhira Honda.
I think Honda has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kazuhira Honda!
A very excited looking Kazuhira Honda rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.