PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Go Hasegawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Benjamin Val (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Go Hasegawa has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hasegawa
vs
Val

167 cm
18
142 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

175 cm
22
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Go Hasegawa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Benjamin Val!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

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

Hasegawa has his foot on Val's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Val works his way back into a safe position though.
Hasegawa is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Val really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hasegawa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Hasegawa had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Val defends it easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hasegawa is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Val defends well.

Hasegawa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Val is aware though and is defending well.
Val must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hasegawa keeping moving, preventing Val from controlling successfully.

Hasegawa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Val gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Val stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hasegawa swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Hasegawa throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Val avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Hasegawa is breathing heavily.
Val is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Val trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hasegawa's guard.
Val slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Hasegawa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Val is aware though and is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Hasegawa keeping moving, preventing Val from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Benjamin Val.
Hasegawa shoots in for a double leg but Val sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Val 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.

Hasegawa working for a triangle but Val defends it easily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Val content to stall in guard here.

Hasegawa working for a triangle but Val defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Val gets to his feet - Hasegawa follows without any prompting.
Val wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

Val closes the distance and clinches.

Val escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Val bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Val scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Val controlling the position.

Val looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hasegawa is looking for a sweep.

Val is trying to get an arm triangle but Hasegawa is defending well.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Val decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Hasegawa has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Hasegawa fails with the takedown

and Val counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Val.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Val ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Val no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Hasegawa stops Val from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Benjamin Val 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.

Val thuds his shin into the meat of Hasegawa's side.

Hasegawa gets caught flat footed, as Val shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hasegawa looking for a guillotine here but Val defends easily.
Go Hasegawa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Val slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Val lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Hasegawa is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Val stands up and waves to Hasegawa to follow him.

Val scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hasegawa wants to control but Val postures up.
Val wants to control but Hasegawa is keeping him busy.
Val is staying tight to Hasegawa's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Hasegawa tries to buck Val off but Val is having none of it.
Hasegawa is not content to let Val control the position.
Hasegawa tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Val wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Val decides to stand back up. Val steps back and let's Hasegawa get back to his feet.

Val shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hasegawa napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee asks Val politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Val prefers to stall for the moment though.

Val is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hasegawa knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Val wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hasegawa keeps working.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Val is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Hasegawa is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Hasegawa sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Hasegawa tries to get to full guard but Val has control of the leg.
Val controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Val moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Hasegawa.
Hasegawa is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Hasegawa is trying to escape the position but Val is controlling the position.
Hasegawa is trying to work for a sweep but Val has mounted him!
Val is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Hasegawa keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Val putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Val with the ground and pound from mount.
Val lands a nice shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hasegawa is in all sorts of trouble here.
Val landing shots from mount.
Hasegawa is looking to get to half guard.
Val punishing his opponent with strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Val sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Val looking to control but Hasegawa is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Hasegawa takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Val putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

Val looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Val controlling from the full mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benjamin Val showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Val lands a front kick.
Hasegawa shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Val as he jumps to the side.

Hasegawa gets caught napping as Val dives in and scores a takedown. Hasegawa manages to retain guard.

Hasegawa has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Val can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Val is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Val pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hasegawa is keeping the position for now.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Hasegawa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Val is aware though and is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Val stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hasegawa swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Val is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Val's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Val trying to control but Hasegawa is working from the bottom.

Hasegawa looking for a guillotine here but Val defends easily.
Val slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Benjamin Val was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Val closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Val controlling the action here.
Val lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Val controlling the pace.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hasegawa actively working from the bottom here.

Val decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Val shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hasegawa napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hasegawa tries to buck Val off but Val is having none of it.
Val wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hasegawa keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Hasegawa's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Check out the look on Val's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Val is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hasegawa knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Val wants to control but Hasegawa is keeping him busy.
Hasegawa is looking to regain half guard here but Val keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Val decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hasegawa to his feet.
Hasegawa gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Val counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Go Hasegawa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hasegawa actively working from the bottom here.
Val frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Hasegawa tries to reverse the position but Val maintains control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hasegawa is trying to stand up.
Val blocks Hasegawa's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Benjamin Val is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Val is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Hasegawa has managed to escape the submission attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Benjamin Val comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Val has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benjamin Val!