PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kenshin Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Haris Bajric (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Yamamoto
vs
Bajric

169 cm
26
147 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

172 cm
24
147 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

//buriedALIVE// Fight Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenshin Yamamoto!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Haris Bajric!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Hirohito Nitta and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bajric goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Bajric misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yamamoto.
Bajric gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Yamamoto counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Yamamoto slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Bajric has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Yamamoto has passed into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamamoto taking a breather here.
Yamamoto cracks Bajric with a big elbow.
Bajric is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Yamamoto asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Yamamoto is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Bajric's shoulder. That is not cool.
This has been an exciting period of action!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Bajric throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
Yamamoto just content to control the position.
Bajric really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Yamamoto. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kenshin Yamamoto just wasn't active enough.
Bajric swinging wildly here.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bajric looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bajric throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bajric fails to land with a series of punches.
Bajric looks to land a combination but Yamamoto avoids it well.
Bajric throws a right hand that Yamamoto ducks under and follows up with a left that Yamamoto also avoids with ease.
Yamamoto walks into a stiff left hand from Bajric.
Bajric rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Yamamoto moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Bajric blocks a jab.
Bajric swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Bajric uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Yamamoto has time to react.
Bajric throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Yamamoto throws a series of punches but Bajric avoids them all with ease.
Bajric fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Yamamoto looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Yamamoto misses with a looping right.
Bajric moves out of range of the strikes.
Bajric looks to score with a jab to the body but Yamamoto is just out of range.
Bajric throws a nice looking combination but Yamamoto bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bajric lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Yamamoto circles away quickly and effectively.
Good exchange - Bajric coming out on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto throws a shot from downtown. Bajric moves away and avoids it.
Bajric ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yamamoto moves away.
Sloppy strikes from Bajric. Those never looked like landing.
Bajric tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Yamamoto swivels and escapes.
Yamamoto misses with a head kick.
Bajric closes the distance looking to clinch

and Yamamoto counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Yamamoto is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Yamamoto lands a couple of elbows.

Bajric looking for a guillotine here but Yamamoto defends easily.
Yamamoto advances position into side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto controlling the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yamamoto lands a few punches from side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Yamamoto gets to mount! Bajric was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Yamamoto putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bajric tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The referee warns Bajric that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenshin Yamamoto dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bajric rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Yamamoto moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Yamamoto looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

Bajric looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Yamamoto passes into side control.
Yamamoto passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Bajric!
Yamamoto sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Bajric working to try and regain half guard.
Yamamoto lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Bajric hang on?
Yamamoto avoids the attempt from Bajric to control.
Bajric 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto trying to control the pace.

Bajric actively working from the bottom here.
Yamamoto working the head and body with strikes.

Bajric actively working from the bottom here.
Yamamoto is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Yamamoto moves into full mount! Bajric won't be happy about that!
Yamamoto unloading with bombs!

It looks like Haris Bajric has been cut.
Yamamoto postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Bajric looks a forlorn figure.
Yamamoto has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Yamamoto lands a heavy elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
BOOM! Yamamoto connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Yamamoto takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Yamamoto is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Bajric can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Yamamoto landing punches.
Bajric is desperately trying to improve his position but Yamamoto has a good base and remains in mount.
Yamamoto takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kenshin Yamamoto has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
No joy there for Bajric, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Bajric will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Yamamoto gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Bajric blocks a body shot from Yamamoto.

Yamamoto is trying to trip Bajric. He has hold of a leg but Bajric is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Yamamoto persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

Bajric has an active guard here but Yamamoto has managed to pass into half guard.

Bajric looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yamamoto moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Bajric.
Bajric is breathing heavily.
Yamamoto working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Bajric is being controlled here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Yamamoto advances to mount.
Bajric can't escape the position.
Bajric flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenshin Yamamoto dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Haris Bajric's cut.
That's time! Yamamoto's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Bajric misses with a double jab.

Bajric gets caught napping as Yamamoto dives in and scores a takedown. Bajric manages to retain guard.
Yamamoto slips nicely into half guard.
Yamamoto is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Yamamoto controlling the pace.

Bajric looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Yamamoto controlling the pace.

Bajric looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Yamamoto is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Bajric for as long as he can get away with.
Kenshin Yamamoto 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.
Yamamoto is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
A nice elbow there by Yamamoto.
Bajric tries to lock up and control but Yamamoto gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bajric is in all sorts of trouble here.
Yamamoto controlling his opponent.
Yamamoto has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Yamamoto has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Bajric's face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto controlling the pace for now.
Bajric can't escape the position.
Yamamoto working Bajric over with strikes here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yamamoto controlling from the full mount.
Bajric is looking to get to half guard.
Bajric is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Yamamoto controlling from mount.
Bajric is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Yamamoto is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Bajric is surviving well by controlling Yamamoto's body position as best he can.
Yamamoto lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Yamamoto controlling from the full mount.

Yamamoto has hold of Bajric's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Bajric manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Haris Bajric has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kenshin Yamamoto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bajric keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Yamamoto landing strikes, looking to finish!
Yamamoto in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Yamamoto content just to control the position here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamamoto avoids the attempt from Bajric to control.
Yamamoto looking to control and managing it successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yamamoto connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenshin Yamamoto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Yamamoto, 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kenshin Yamamoto!
Kenshin Yamamoto is the new bantamweight champion!