PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Forest Gump (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lion Takanori (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Forest Gump could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Lion Takanori's chin.

Gump
vs
Takanori

178 cm
22
150 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

166 cm
19
151 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Improved boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Forest Gump!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lion Takanori!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Takanori throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A punch combination from Takanori misses.
Takanori wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Takanori misses with a wild combination.
Takanori tries to bum rush Gump with a series of wild strikes but Gump uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Gump tries a head kick but it misses.
Takanori dips to his left and cracks Gump with an uppercut!
Takanori throws a right hand that Gump ducks under and follows up with a left that Gump also avoids with ease.
Takanori keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
The crowd cheers as Takanori lands an impressive looking overhand right. Gump doesn't seem phased though.
Takanori misses with a wild body shot.
Gump shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Gump lands a nice looking kick to the body. Takanori takes a step back to recover.
Takanori walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Gump checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gump misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Forest Gump. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gump dodges the punch combination from Takanori.
Gump tries to close the distance and clinch up but Takanori swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gump shoots in but no luck this time.
Takanori throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Takanori misses with the combination.
Takanori misses with a wild body shot.
Takanori swinging wilding here.
Donk. Takanori catches Gump right on the button with a cross.
Takanori throws a right hand that Gump ducks under and follows up with a left that Gump also avoids with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Gump connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Gump closes the distance and clinches up with Takanori, looking for a takedown. Gump pushes Takanori against the cage but Takanori circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Takanori blocks the body kick.
A low kick from Takanori misses

and Gump counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Gump.
Gump won't allow Takanori to sweep him here.

Takanori working for a triangle but Gump defends it easily.
Takanori looks gassed!

Takanori is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Gump preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Takanori throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Takanori wants to sweep here but Gump controlling him for the moment.
Gump cracks Takanori with a solid left hand.
Takanori looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gump is one step ahead there.
Gump would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Gump avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gump stays in close to Takanori's body and controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Gump scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Gump is looking to take a break and control but Takanori is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gump will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Takanori is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Gump's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Gump looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Takanori wants to control but Gump is keeping busy and won't allow it.
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 Forest Gump will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Takanori throws a jab when Gump was well out of range.
Gump throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Takanori's waist but Takanori gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gump off to one side.
Takanori misses with a double jab.
Takanori throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Gump counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Gump.
Takanori tries to break the clinch but Gump is controlling the position.
Takanori wants to get back to striking at distance but Gump won't allow it.
Gump tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Takanori smiles and moves away.
Gump shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Forest Gump. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gump slips a straight right by Takanori.
Takanori throws out a powerful jab.
Takanori swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Takanori is breathing heavily.
Takanori throws a nice looking combination but Gump bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Gump is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Forest Gump is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gump fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Takanori sprawls well initially but Gump persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Takanori is trying to stand back up but Gump is controlling him
Gump passes the guard and advances to mount!
Takanori is trying to escape the mount.
Takanori is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
BOOM! Gump connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Gump lands with some strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gump looking to control and managing it successfully.
Takanori tries to hold on but Gump postures up.
Takanori gets back to half guard.
Takanori wants to improve his position but Gump is controlling well.
Gump is looking to take a break and control but Takanori is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gump tries to pass to full mount but Takanori defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takanori is looking to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Takanori moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Gump wants to stand but Takanori has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Gump avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Gump stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Gump fails to land the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takanori throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
No joy there for Takanori, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Gump shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Takanori manages to get to full guard.

Takanori has his foot on Gump's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Gump works his way back into a safe position though.
Takanori looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Takanori keeping busy on the bottom but Gump has passed one foot through into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Forest Gump dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Gump misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Takanori swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Takanori misses with a two punch combination.
Gump keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gump rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Takanori moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Gump misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice sprawl there from Takanori as Gump shoots in.
Gump shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Takanori throws a left and a right that both miss

and Gump counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Takanori wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Takanori had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Gump is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Takanori Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Gump's back instead.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Takanori looking for the choke from the back.

Gump is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Takanori gets his way!

Gump showing good submission defense here.
Takanori throwing wild punches that miss their target.

Takanori is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Gump defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takanori gets his hands free as Gump looks to control.
Forest Gump overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Gump is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

Takanori is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Gump has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

Takanori is persistently looking for the submission but Gump is defending it well.
Gump staying busy and making it hard for Takanori to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Takanori is looking for the choke from the back position but Gump is controlling his hands well.

Takanori looking for the choke from the back.
Gump tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!

Takanori jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Gump is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Gump and Takanori has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

Takanori is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Gump knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Gump is trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Takanori is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Gump has escaped the position, nice work there.
Takanori wants to stand but Gump is controlling his arm.

Takanori wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gump, who protects the arm well.
Gump is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Lion Takanori has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Takanori is looking for a kimura here.
Takanori is thwarting Gump's attempts to control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Forest Gump.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gump, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Forest Gump!