PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mana Sato (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raul Hughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Raul Hughes enters the cage!

Sato
vs
Hughes

195 cm
27
285 lbs
12 - 17 - 0

192 cm
32
275 lbs
23 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite 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 12 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mana Sato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Raul Hughes!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yuuki Gou and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hughes is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sato sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Sato closes the distance and clinches up with Hughes, looking for a takedown. Sato pushes Hughes against the cage but Hughes circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sato but Sato pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Hughes drives through with a takedown into guard.

Sato is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Hughes is aware though and is defending well.
Hughes wants to stand but Sato has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Sato is trying to control the position but Hughes postures up.
Sato trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sato working a defensive guard here.
Sato is controlling Hughes's posture.
Sato is striking off his back. Hughes thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes prevents Sato from improving his position.
Sato is looking to control Hughes's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sato avoid being mounted?
Hughes wants to stand but Sato has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Hughes not doing much here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hughes fails to land the takedown.
Mana Sato has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Raul Hughes.
Hughes fails to land the takedown.
Hughes throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Sato's waist but Sato gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hughes off to one side.

Hughes changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Sato looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Sato is trying to get back to his feet.
You can see the frustration on Sato's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sato manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Sato tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sato tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Hughes has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes tries to control but Sato wriggling away.
Sato is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sato throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Sato tries to hold on but Hughes pushes him away.
Hughes controlling his opponent.
Sato is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sato is working hard here to advance position.
Hughes takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sato swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Sato is squirming around, avoiding Hughes's attempts to control the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Raul Hughes will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Hughes shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sato but Sato pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Sato looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hughes wants to get back to full guard.
Sato stalling away here and it's allowed Hughes to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Sato wants to pass the guard but Hughes is keeping the position.
Sato has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sato throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes keeping moving, preventing Sato from controlling successfully.
Sato connects with a couple of short punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sato is fighting to break Hughes's control of his arms but Hughes is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Sato throwing strikes but missing.
Sato trying to control but Hughes is working from the bottom.
Sato trying to move into half guard but instead Hughes has managed to sweep!
Sato punching to the body, from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sato is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Sato can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Hughes controls the pace.
Hughes preventing the sweep.
Mana Sato overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Sato is controlling Hughes's posture.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Raul Hughes has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hughes dives in and grabs Sato's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sato pushes down on Hughes's head and hops out.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sato as he avoids it easily.
Mana Sato has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Raul Hughes.
Hughes shoots for a double leg takedown but Sato sprawls well. He's pushed Hughes's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Sato manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Hughes on his heels. He'll look to pass Hughes's guard now, I'm sure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sato connects with a couple of short punches.
Hughes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Sato throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Sato moves into full guard.
Hughes won't allow Sato to sweep him here.
Hughes controls from within his opponent's guard.
Sato keeping full guard, as Hughes tries to pass.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hughes controlling from the top position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Hughes wants to stand but Sato is controlling his posture from full guard.
Hughes stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sato swivels though and keeps the full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hughes stops Sato from standing up.

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

Sato is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Hughes's half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mana Sato dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're 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.

Sato misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hughes.
Hughes stuffs the takedown attempt from Sato. Sato gets slowly back to his feet.
Sato misses with a takedown attempt - Hughes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Hughes is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sato sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sato as he avoids it easily.
Nice sprawl there from Hughes as Sato shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mana Sato. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Hughes changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Sato looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
You can see the frustration on Sato's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
Hughes avoids the strikes from the bottom by Sato.
Sato is looking for a sweep.
Sato misses with a strike from the bottom.
Sato is trying to strike from the bottom but Hughes has passed into full mount.
Hughes takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sato is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Hughes controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sato wants to hold on but Hughes pushes him away.
Hughes controlling the pace for now.
Sato is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Hughes controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes trying to control but he's not successful this time.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Hughes fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sato.

Hughes closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Sato to the mat! Sato manages to get full guard.

Sato working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Hughes doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Hughes manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Sato throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sato trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Sato is striking off his back. Hughes thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.
Sato tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Still in half guard, Hughes seems content to control.
Sato is looking to control Hughes's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sato avoid being mounted?
Well, if Hughes is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sato wants to get back to full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raul Hughes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hughes has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Fujiwara scores the fight for Mana Sato!
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Raul Hughes!
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight for Mana Sato!

Mana Sato wins by split decision!