PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Higashi Sato (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Han Lee (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Sato
vs
Lee

177 cm
25
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
21
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Higashi Sato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Han Lee!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Hirohito Nitta and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lee with a lazy takedown attempt

and Sato decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lee's guard.
Sato looking to sit in guard and control but Lee gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Lee wants to control from the top but Sato keeps moving.
Sato wants to sweep but no luck.
Sato avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sato not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sato scores with a short punch from the bottom.
Sato wants to sweep here but Lee controlling him for the moment.
Sato is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Lee is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Sato pulls his head out easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lee wants to control but Sato is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Lee tries to get to full guard but Sato has control of the leg.
Sato is taking a breather. Lee says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Sato prevents Lee from standing back up.
Sato passes to full mount!
Lee can't escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sato looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Sato punishing his opponent with strikes.
Sato lands a big shot there that rocks Lee but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sato avoids the attempt from Lee to control.
Sato lands a couple of good shots and Lee has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Sato wants to control but Lee is keeping busy.
Lee trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Sato tries to keep control of the position but Lee is staying busy.
Sato lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Lee.
Sato is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Sato gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Sato gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Sato apologises and we restart here on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sato shoots in but Lee avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Sato looking to score a takedown here. Lee is defending well but Sato drives through and ends up in Lee's guard.
Sato pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lee is keeping the position for now.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sato's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sato sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sato'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lee trying to control the position.
Lee keeping moving, preventing Sato from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Lee dives in and grabs Sato's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sato pushes down on Lee's head and hops out.

Sato drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Higashi Sato dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Lee tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sato manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lee tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Lee looks to land a combination but Sato avoids it well.

Sato throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Lee was covering up waiting for the punch and Sato finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Lee has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Sato has passed into side control.
Lee tries to bench press Sato off him but Sato keeps the position.
Sato working the ground and pound.
Higashi Sato overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato is chipping away with strikes.
Sato working the body and head with strikes.
Sato cracks Lee with a big right hand but Lee just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lee is looking for a sweep.
Lee is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Sato working the ground and pound.
Sato taking a break here but Lee is having none of it and regains half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sato perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Lee is refusing to be controlled, as Sato sits in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lee has hold of Sato's hands but Sato slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Sato trying to pass the guard but Lee defending well.
Lee is pressing down on Sato's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Sato advances position into side control!
Sato scores with punches from side control.
Lee is breathing heavily.
Sato is looking to take a break and control but Lee is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Lee is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Sato's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lee is trying to maintain the position but Sato is very close to passing his half guard.
Lee is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sato takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sato connects with a nice short shot to Lee's temple.
Sato takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sato is pressing down on Lee's thigh, looking to free his foot. Lee is holding on for now.
Lee is not content to let Sato control the position.
Sato looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Lee with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Sato stalling.
Lee trying to get back to full guard but Sato takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Higashi Sato dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Lee gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sato decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lee's guard.
Sato trying to control but Lee is working from the bottom.
Lee is trying to keep Sato in close.
Sato trying to control but Lee is working from the bottom.

Lee has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Sato can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sato postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sato is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lee can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sato postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sato is working Lee over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sato is stalling in the full guard.
Sato working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lee's head.
Lee wants to stand up but Sato is controlling him.
Lee takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sato stays in close to Lee's body and controls the position.
Higashi Sato is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lee will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Sato stays in close to Lee's body and controls the position.
Lee keeping full guard, as Sato tries to pass.
Sato content to stall in guard here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Higashi Sato.
Lee connects with a single shot there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lee will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sato fails with a takedown attempt.

Sato shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sato showed some decent athleticism there.
Sato is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Lee!
Sato controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sato with the ground and pound from mount.
Lee is trying to escape the mount.
Sato controlling from the full mount.
Sato scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Han Lee has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sato connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Higashi Sato showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sato, 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Higashi Sato!