PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Carl Menger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akiyo Nishiura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Menger comes to the cage accompanied by Bring Back The Music - by Sweatshop Union. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Akiyo Nishiura was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Menger
vs
Nishiura

170 cm
30
157 lbs
17 - 10 - 0

172 cm
35
147 lbs
33 - 17 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Carl Menger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 17 - 1, fighting out of New York, Akiyo Nishiura!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Dillan Fox and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Nishiura clinches up with Menger and pushes him back against the cage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Menger is working for takedown but Nishiura is calmly controlling the position for now.
Nishiura lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Menger lands a knee to the head.
A right handed body shot lands from Nishiura.
Menger misses with some punches.

Menger escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nishiura lands a slapping body shot.

Nishiura has Menger up against the cage in a clinch.
Nishiura struggles to land a body shot inside as Menger controls his hands.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nishiura.
Nishiura lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Menger prevents a body shot from Nishiura.
Menger lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Menger holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Menger fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Nishiura lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Menger or not.
Nishiura misses with a body punch.
Menger looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Menger's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Menger swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Nishiura counters with a nice kick to the body.
Menger looks to land a body kick but Nishiura moved away.
Menger uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nishiura.

Nishiura takes the fight into the clinch.
Nishiura pushes Menger back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

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

Menger scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Nishiura stops Menger from passing to mount.
Menger working the ground and pound but Nishiura is defending the strikes.
Menger advances to full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Menger swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Nishiura is now in Menger's guard. A big mistake from Menger there, giving up the dominant position!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nishiura trying to control the position from guard on top but Menger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Menger looking for a sweep. Not yet Menger, not yet.
Nishiura tries to free his leg and advance position but Menger is retaining full guard.
Menger lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Nishiura!
Nishiura is in all sorts of trouble here.
Menger misses with a head shot.
Nishiura in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Menger prevents Nishiura from getting the reversal.
Menger avoids the attempt from Nishiura to control.
Nishiura sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Nishiura looking for submissions off his back.
Menger looks to land a strike but Nishiura avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Menger throws a strike but Nishiura rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Nishiura stopping the sweep attempt from Menger.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Nishiura avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Nishiura wants to pass the guard but Menger is keeping the position.
Nishiura is stalling in the full guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Menger can't keep his opponent in guard - Nishiura advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Menger is pressing down on Nishiura's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Menger keeping full guard, as Nishiura tries to pass.
Menger has a closed guard, preventing Nishiura from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Akiyo Nishiura will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Menger keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Nishiura.
Nishiura slaps away a takedown attempt from Menger, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Menger ducks under a wild hook from Nishiura.
Menger bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Menger shoots for a double leg takedown but Nishiura sprawls well. He's pushed Menger's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Good work by Menger as he checks the leg kick.
Nice shot lands for Menger.
Nishiura looks to score with a jab to the body but Menger is just out of range.
Menger slips under a jab.
Carl Menger is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nishiura bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Menger's head backwards.

It looks like Carl Menger has been cut.
Menger scores with a shot to the body.
Nishiura misses with an attempted mid kick.
Menger bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Menger fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carl Menger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head kick misses from Nishiura.
Menger avoids the body shot from Nishiura.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nishiura dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice takedown defense from Nishiura. No joy for Menger on that attempt.
Nishiura attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Nishiura connects with a solid leg kick.
Nishiura uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Menger has time to react.
Menger wants to clinch.
Some bone on bone action there as Nishiura checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Nishiura looks to score with a jab to the body but Menger is just out of range.
Menger is looking to clinch but Nishiura is avoiding it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nishiura looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nishiura keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Menger tries to close the distance and clinch up but Nishiura swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nishiura throws a front kick that sends Menger stumbling back into the cage.
Menger works over Nishiura's head and body with a nice combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nishiura turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Carl Menger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nishiura misses the jab.
Menger dips to his left and cracks Nishiura with an uppercut!
Nishiura looks to land a left hand but Menger moved out of range nicely.
Menger swings for the body but Nishiura moves out of range.
Nishiura lands with a nice body kick.
Menger scores with a punch to the head.

Nishiura rushes Menger and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Menger working hard to break the clinch.

Menger manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Menger has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Nishiura off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Nishiura misses the shot to the body.
Nishiura fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Menger cracks Nishiura with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nishiura misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nishiura lands a nice looking body shot.
Menger will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nishiura tries a head kick but it misses.
A head kick misses from Menger.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nishiura. Menger does a little dance to reset his feet.
Menger moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Menger misses with a looping left.

Menger gets a double leg takedown into Nishiura's guard.
Menger throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Menger wants to pass the guard but Nishiura is keeping the position.
Menger throws a big right hand that misses.
Menger 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.

Nishiura working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Menger doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Menger manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Menger with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Menger trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Nishiura manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Nishiura wants to control from the top but Menger keeps moving.
Nishiura wants to stand but Menger is controlling his posture from full guard.
Menger lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Nishiura!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A nice elbow there by Menger.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Akiyo Nishiura will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Carl Menger's cut.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Menger misses with a head kick.
Menger takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Nishiura slips under a jab from Menger.
Menger lands a two punch combo.

Menger feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Menger is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Nishiura is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Menger looking to pass the guard.
Nishiura is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nishiura working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Menger.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nishiura is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Menger is working Nishiura over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Menger tries to free his leg and advance position but Nishiura is retaining full guard.
Menger stands up over Nishiura, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Nishiura avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Menger trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Menger has gone for a leg lock! Nishiura slips out almost immediately though and dives into Menger's guard.
Nishiura is looking to stand up but Menger won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nishiura is posturing up here but Menger has hold of an arm and he's gone for an armbar! Nishiura tries to roll out but it's too tight and Nishiura has to tap! Slick submission there by Menger!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:30 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Carl Menger!