PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Norifumi Yamabotcho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Yamabotcho
vs
Ward

168 cm
25
164 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Norifumi Yamabotcho!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dan Ward!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Robert Twigg and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamabotcho uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ward.
Ward rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Yamabotcho moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ward fails with the takedown
and Yamabotcho counters with a left to the body.
A combination from Yamabotcho does no damage.

Yamabotcho looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Yamabotcho's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Yamabotcho working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Yamabotcho throws a big elbow that misses.
Yamabotcho knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ward on the ground.
Ward trying to control the position.
Ward utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Yamabotcho throws an elbow that misses. Ward uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Yamabotcho's guard. Nice move by Ward!
Ward wants to control from the top but Yamabotcho keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamabotcho has a closed guard, preventing Ward from standing up.
Yamabotcho is trying to control the position but Ward postures up.
Ward pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Yamabotcho is keeping the position for now.
Ward wants to stand but Yamabotcho is controlling his posture from full guard.
Yamabotcho keeping moving, preventing Ward from controlling successfully.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Dan Ward wasn't active enough on the ground.
Ward shoots and misses
and Yamabotcho counters with a one-two to the body.
Some wild striking there from Yamabotcho.
Yamabotcho's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Yamabotcho duly obliges.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamabotcho swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ward counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Yamabotcho is breathing heavily.
Yamabotcho lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ward circles away quickly and effectively.
Yamabotcho throws a right and a left that both miss.
Yamabotcho throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Norifumi Yamabotcho seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A punch combination from Yamabotcho misses.
Ward shoots in and drives through. Yamabotcho sprawls well.
Norifumi Yamabotcho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dan Ward.
Ward dives in and grabs Yamabotcho's left leg, looking for a takedown. Yamabotcho pushes down on Ward's head and hops out.
No luck for Ward with that takedown attempt.
Ward misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ward showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Yamabotcho.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ward fails with the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamabotcho misses with a double jab

and Ward counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Ward.
Ward has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Yamabotcho after a bit of a struggle.
Ward gets through Yamabotcho's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

Ward escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ward is looking to clinch.

Ward pushes Yamabotcho up against the cage in a clinch.
Ward tries for a takedown. No joy.

Ward pulls guard successfully.
Ward seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Yamabotcho throwing strikes but missing.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ward throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward seems keen to control Yamabotcho's posture.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Yamabotcho throwing strikes from guard but Ward blocks nicely.
Ward trying to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Dan Ward.
Yamabotcho swats away the attempt to clinch by Ward.
Ward throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Yamabotcho closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Ward quickly recovers to half guard.
Ward wants to control but Yamabotcho is keeping busy.
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 Norifumi Yamabotcho will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Yamabotcho misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Yamabotcho blocks a head kick by Ward.
Ward pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ward shoots in for a takedown but Yamabotcho shows good takedown defense.
Ward fails with an attempt to clinch.
Yamabotcho scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Ward shoots in but Yamabotcho avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ward gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Yamabotcho counters with a series of strikes. Ward will be more careful next time no doubt.
Norifumi Yamabotcho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dan Ward.
Yamabotcho scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Some wild striking there from Yamabotcho.
Ward misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamabotcho swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Yamabotcho misses with a two punch combination.
Ward with a poor takedown

and Yamabotcho counters with a shoot takedown. Ward fights it but they end up in guard.
Ward looking for a sweep. Not yet Ward, not yet.
Ward looking to control.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Yamabotcho here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Ward is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Yamabotcho throws a big right hand that misses.
Ward is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Ward is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dan Ward has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Ward misses with a takedown attempt - Yamabotcho sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Ward swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Ward throws a head kick that misses.
A nice combination there by Yamabotcho.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch but Yamabotcho swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ward shoots in for a double leg but Yamabotcho sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Ward shoots in for a takedown but Yamabotcho shows good takedown defense.
Yamabotcho throws a series of punches but Ward moves out of range.
Nice sprawl there from Yamabotcho as Ward shoots in.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice combination there by Yamabotcho.
Nice sprawl there from Yamabotcho as Ward shoots in.
Yamabotcho throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Some wild striking there from Yamabotcho.
Nice sprawl there from Yamabotcho as Ward shoots in.
Yamabotcho's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Yamabotcho duly obliges.
Ward tries for a takedown but Yamabotcho sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Yamabotcho misses with a two punch combination.
Ward will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Yamabotcho throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ward scores with a kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward shoots in for a takedown but Yamabotcho shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Ward misses with a body shot
and Yamabotcho counters with a series of strikes. Ward will be more careful next time no doubt.
Ward fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Yamabotcho as Ward shoots in.
Ward shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Yamabotcho counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ward misses with a combination
enabling Yamabotcho to counter with a crisp jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A left and a right from Yamabotcho both land. Nice combination.
Ward looks to land a combination. Yamabotcho sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Ward tries to clinch but Yamabotcho moves out of range.
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 Norifumi Yamabotcho will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Ward is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Yamabotcho.
Ward tries to clinch there but Yamabotcho circles away.
Ward throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Yamabotcho's waist but Yamabotcho gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ward off to one side.
Ward looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Ward doesn't manage to clinch there - Yamabotcho circles away.
Yamabotcho misses with a few strikes there.
Yamabotcho stuffs the takedown attempt from Ward. Ward gets slowly back to his feet.
Norifumi Yamabotcho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dan Ward.
Nice body punch from Yamabotcho.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Yamabotcho lands with a nice combination. Ward backs away looking to recover.
Ward tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Yamabotcho manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamabotcho throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Yamabotcho uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ward.
Yamabotcho fails to land with a series of punches.
Ward has his takedown stuffed
and Yamabotcho counters with a one-two to the body.
Yamabotcho misses with a double jab.
Yamabotcho throws a series of punches but Ward moves out of range.

Ward scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Ward gets to mount! Yamabotcho was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Ward tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Yamabotcho wants to control but Ward is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ward tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Ward has hold of Yamabotcho's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Yamabotcho manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Yamabotcho tries to lock up and control but Ward gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ward putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Yamabotcho trying desperately to get to his feet.
Yamabotcho can't escape the position.
Ward wants to control the pace but Yamabotcho is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ward is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Yamabotcho is surviving well by controlling Ward's body position as best he can.
Ward fails to advance to Yamabotcho's back.
Ward in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Yamabotcho is in all sorts of trouble here.
Ward wants to control the pace but Yamabotcho is squirming around nicely.

Ward gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamabotcho keeps the fight on the outside.
Ward tries to clinch but Yamabotcho is having none of it.
Ward wants to clinch up but Yamabotcho keeps it at a distance.
Yamabotcho blocks a head kick by Ward.
Ward showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Yamabotcho.
Ward fails to land the takedown.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch up but Yamabotcho swats him away and circles back towards the center.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ward goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Dan Ward has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Norifumi Yamabotcho is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ward with a lazy takedown attempt
and Yamabotcho counters with a left and a right that stings Ward.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dan Ward comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Yamabotcho 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:29
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 28:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!