PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Demian Maia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kaoru Hanayama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maia comes to the cage accompanied by Vida Bandida. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Maia
vs
Hanayama

185 cm
29
200 lbs
13 - 5 - 0

187 cm
34
199 lbs
23 - 13 - 0

Great wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

ADCC Champion
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Untouchable Fight Gear
Cyclone Nutrition Company

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Demian Maia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kaoru Hanayama!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Paul Aken and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maia takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Maia pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Hanayama shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hanayama showed some decent athleticism there.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Maia is refusing to be controlled, as Hanayama sits in half guard.
Hanayama is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Hanayama wants to take a breather but Maia is having none of it.
Hanayama thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Maia's head.
Hanayama thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Maia's head.
Hanayama content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Maia is looking to control Hanayama's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Maia avoid being mounted?
Maia on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Maia looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanayama trying to control the action but Maia is working from the bottom.
Maia tries to get to full guard but Hanayama has control of the leg.
Hanayama thows a huge punch but Maia dodges it nicely.
Maia is staying active underneath Hanayama, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Hanayama is just content to waste time from the top position. Maia takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Hanayama trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hanayama trying to control but Maia is working from the bottom.

Hanayama avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Maia keeping moving, preventing Hanayama from controlling successfully.
Hanayama landing with the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maia looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hanayama is one step ahead there.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Hanayama trying to control but Maia is working from the bottom.
Maia has Hanayama pulled in close to control his posture.
Maia manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Hanayama is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hanayama sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hanayama wants to improve his position but Maia is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanayama is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Maia's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Maia's back!
Maia tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Maia wants to try and get back to his feet.
Maia is trying to escape the mount.
Maia gets back to half guard.
Well, if Hanayama 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.
Maia keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Maia looking for submissions off his back.
Hanayama seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Maia does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Maia wants to improve his position but Hanayama is controlling well.
Hanayama throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maia trying to control but Hanayama postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hanayama lands a nice short elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hanayama trying to mount his opponent but Maia defends it.
Maia is trying to stand back up but Hanayama is controlling him

Maia manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Maia shoots in and drives through. Hanayama sprawls well.
Kaoru Hanayama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab from Maia misses.
Maia keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Hanayama shoots in and gets a takedown into Maia's guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hanayama loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hanayama postures up in Maia's guard and throws a big left but Maia blocks it.
Maia preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hanayama is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Maia looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Hanayama passes into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kaoru Hanayama dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hanayama changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Maia looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Maia manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Maia wants to control but Hanayama is keeping him busy.
Hanayama trying to control from the bottom.

Maia wants to work for an arm triangle but Hanayama is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Hanayama blocking the ground and pound attempt from Maia.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Maia wants to advance to full mount but Hanayama doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Hanayama has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Maia controlling from the top position.
Hanayama keeping full guard, as Maia tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanayama has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Maia has passed into side control.
Hanayama takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

Hanayama is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Maia's leg. Oh but that's left an opportunity for Maia! He's got an arm triangle... it looks tight! He's rotating and Hanayama has tapped! This one is allllll over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:28 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Demian Maia!
After winning the bout, Demian Maia thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.