PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bill Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kubys Marianskis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kubys Marianskis told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Smith
vs
Marianskis

150 cm
18
130 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

199 cm
18
135 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Bill Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kubys Marianskis!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Shirou Masuda and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marianskis misses with a head kick.
Smith throws a low kick but Marianskis avoids it.
Marianskis tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Smith could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Nice sprawl there from Smith as Marianskis shoots in.
Marianskis changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Smith tries to avoid it but Marianskis manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Smith to the ground. Smith escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Smith is trying hard to land a takedown here. Marianskis sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Smith shoots in looking for a takedown. Marianskis tries to sprawl out of it but Smith keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Marianskis manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Smith shoots in for a double leg but Marianskis sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Smith. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marianskis stuffs the takedown.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Smith.

Marianskis gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Marianskis with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Marianskis throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Smith blocks it with crossed arms.
Marianskis fails to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith is trying to break free.
Smith avoids a wild elbow strike from Marianskis.
Smith is looking for a takedown up against the ropes. Marianskis gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Marianskis gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Smith.
Marianskis is pressed up against the ropes. Smith has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Marianskis down to the mat. Marianskis avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Marianskis is looking to clinch but Smith is avoiding it.

Smith moves into the clinch.
Marianskis misses with a knee strike.
Marianskis trying to control the position but instead, Smith has worked for underhooks and has pushed Marianskis into the ropes.

Smith decides to pull guard.
Smith utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis trying to control but Smith is working from the bottom.
Marianskis throwing strikes from guard but Smith blocks nicely.
Marianskis works over Smith with some ground and pound from guard.
Marianskis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Marianskis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marianskis controlling from the top position.
Marianskis wants to control from the top but Smith keeps moving.
Smith is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Marianskis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Marianskis throwing strikes from guard but Smith blocks nicely.
Marianskis working some strikes from top position.
Marianskis trying to control the position from guard on top but Smith is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Marianskis throwing strikes but missing.

Marianskis gets to his feet - Smith follows without any prompting.
Marianskis tries to close the distance and clinch but Smith swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Marianskis forces Smith back against the ropes and clinches.
Marianskis is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Smith takes an elbow to the temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis is trying to maintain a safe position but Smith gets an underhook and turns Marianskis into the ropes.
Marianskis throws a head punch that misses.
Smith tries to break the clinch but Marianskis is controlling the position.
Marianskis looking to throw knees to the head but Smith is blocking nicely.
Smith has had enough of the clinch but Marianskis keeps him there for the moment.
Marianskis connects with a knee to the head.

Marianskis manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Marianskis controls Smith momentarily but Smith frees himself.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Marianskis keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.
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.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Marianskis uses the ropes to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kubys Marianskis dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Smith closes this distance looking for a takedown but Marianskis circles away.
Marianskis wants to clinch up but Smith keeps it at a distance.

Marianskis clinches up with Smith and pushes him back against the ropes.

Marianskis manages to pull guard.
Smith trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Marianskis looking to control.
Smith with a flurry of punches that miss.
Marianskis has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Marianskis pulls Smith in close to prevent any damage.
Smith trying to control but Marianskis is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marianskis not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Kubys Marianskis hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Smith looks to land a combination. Marianskis sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Smith moves into range and clinches up with Marianskis.
Smith has Marianskis pressed up against the ropes and is working for takedown. Marianskis manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Marianskis breaks from the clinch.
Bill Smith is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Marianskis wants to clinch up but Smith keeps it at a distance.
Marianskis darts in trying to clinch
and Smith counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Smith shoots in looking for a takedown but Marianskis manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Smith's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Smith. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Horrible takedown by Marianskis or perhaps it was just good defense by Smith which made him look bad.
Marianskis tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Smith manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Smith tries to pull guard but Marianskis won't allow it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Smith can't break the clinch.
Marianskis tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Smith just stands there and leans against the ropes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Marianskis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Smith instigates a clinch.
Smith has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Marianskis after a bit of a struggle.
Marianskis tries to land a knee to the head but Smith blocks with his arms.
Marianskis misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.

Marianskis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Smith changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Marianskis tries to avoid it but Smith manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Marianskis to the ground. Marianskis escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Marianskis avoids a punch combination nicely.

Marianskis clinches up against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Marianskis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Smith misses with a double jab.
Smith circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nice sprawl there from Smith as Marianskis shoots in.

Smith tries to keep at a distance but Marianskis has taken the fight into the clinch.
Smith is looking to take this one to the mat.

Marianskis manages to break the clinch.

Marianskis moves into the clinch successfully.
Marianskis misses with some punches.
Smith dodges an elbow strike from Marianskis.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marianskis breaks the clinch.
Marianskis fails in his attempt to clinch.
Smith tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Marianskis swivels and escapes.
Smith misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Marianskis tries to clinch but Smith is having none of it.
Marianskis dives in and grabs Smith's left leg, looking for a takedown. Smith pushes down on Marianskis's head and hops out.
Marianskis is looking to clinch.

Smith gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith is looking to take this one to the mat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Marianskis manages to break the clinch.

Marianskis takes the fight into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kubys Marianskis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Marianskis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Smith defends it nicely.
Smith tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Smith shoots in looking for a takedown but Marianskis manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Smith's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Marianskis has taken the fight to the clinch.
Marianskis pushes off an throws an elbow but Smith leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.

Smith pulls guard effortlessly.
Marianskis wants to control from the top but Smith keeps moving.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Marianskis is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Smith looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marianskis trying to control but Smith is working from the bottom.

Kubys Marianskis has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Marianskis moves in looking to clinch but Smith pushes him off.
Marianskis fails with an attempt to clinch.
Smith shoots in for a double leg but Marianskis sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nice sprawl there from Smith as Marianskis shoots in.
Marianskis shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Smith counters by moving into the clinch.
Bill Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kubys Marianskis.

Marianskis manages to pull guard.
Smith has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Smith prevents Marianskis from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith postures up.
Marianskis wants to stand up but Smith is controlling him.
Smith forces his way into half guard.
Smith knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Marianskis on the ground.
Smith trying to control the action but Marianskis is working from the bottom.
Marianskis makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Marianskis.
Kubys Marianskis has got the better of the ground game so far.
Smith stopping the sweep attempt from Marianskis.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Smith!
Smith is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Marianskis sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Marianskis is landing with some decent strikes but Smith is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Marianskis looking to control but Smith is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marianskis raining down hammerfists from mount.
Smith blocking the ground and pound.
Kubys Marianskis is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Marianskis is landing with some decent strikes but Smith is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Marianskis throwing strikes here but Smith is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Smith might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Marianskis tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Smith keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Bill Smith has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marianskis postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Smith looks a forlorn figure.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kubys Marianskis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Marianskis 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kubys Marianskis!