PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tim Horton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kichiro Kaneko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Horton
vs
Kaneko

178 cm
27
198 lbs
14 - 7 - 0

178 cm
32
186 lbs
19 - 9 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

LOD: Affordable Quality

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 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tim Horton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kichiro Kaneko!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horton with a poor takedown

and Kaneko decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Horton's guard.
Horton looking to control.
Kaneko content to stall in guard here.
Horton has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Kaneko preventing the sweep.
Kaneko with a flurry of punches that miss.
Horton not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

We're going to have a standup here because Tim Horton wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Horton has his takedown stuffed

and Kaneko counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Horton is trying to get back to full guard.
Horton trying to control from the bottom.
Kaneko lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horton is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Kaneko's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Kaneko's back!
Horton gets his hands free as Kaneko looks to control.
Kaneko avoids the strikes from Horton.

Horton is looking for the choke from the back position but Kaneko is controlling his hands well.

Horton is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Kaneko defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Kaneko trying to control the hands but Horton breaks the grip.
Kaneko tries to roll but Horton sticks to his back.
Kaneko rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.

Horton is looking for a kimura but Kaneko is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Horton to get the leverage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaneko gets back to full guard.
Horton tries to free his leg and advance position but Kaneko is retaining full guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kaneko working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Horton.
Horton tries to free his leg and advance position but Kaneko is retaining full guard.
Kaneko keeping moving, preventing Horton from controlling successfully.
Kaneko working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Horton.
Horton makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Horton tries to free his leg and advance position but Kaneko is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kaneko looking to control.
Horton postures up in Kaneko's guard and throws a big left but Kaneko blocks it.
Horton slips nicely into half guard.
Kaneko controlling the position well.
Kaneko tries to roll over but Horton keeps him under control.
Horton throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Kaneko to regain full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horton throws a big right hand that misses.
Horton loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Horton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kaneko is keeping the position for now.

Kaneko looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Horton postures up.
Horton throws a strike but Kaneko rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Horton is trying to control the position but Kaneko postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Kichiro Kaneko will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kaneko throws a sloppy head kick and Horton moves out of range easily.
Horton is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kaneko.
An inside leg kick from Kaneko misses.
Nice defenses there by Kaneko.
Horton shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Kaneko defends it nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Kaneko. No joy for Horton on that attempt.
Kaneko throws a nice inside leg kick.
Horton fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tim Horton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Horton closes the distance and clinches up with Kaneko, looking for a takedown. Horton pushes Kaneko against the cage but Kaneko circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Nice takedown defense from Kaneko. No joy for Horton on that attempt.
Horton fails with the takedown.
Kaneko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kaneko motions for Horton to come forward. Kaneko throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Kaneko thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Horton if he has to take too many more of those.

Kaneko closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Horton tries to bench press Kaneko off him but Kaneko keeps the position.
Horton gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Horton is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Kaneko's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Kaneko's back!
Horton missing with strikes.
Kaneko wants to escape the position.

Horton working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.

Horton is looking for a choke. Kaneko gets to his feet with his opponent on his back and slams him to the mat. Kaneko manages to squirm out of the attempted choke and turns into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kaneko wants to control from the top but Horton keeps moving.

Horton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Kaneko gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Kaneko trying to control but Horton is working from the bottom.
Kaneko in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kaneko looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horton looking to control.
Kaneko wants to control from the top but Horton keeps moving.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Kichiro Kaneko hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Kaneko slaps away a takedown attempt from Horton, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Horton shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Kaneko defends it nicely.

Horton shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Kaneko napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Horton working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
The ground and pound from Horton seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Horton fails to land a wild elbow strike.

Horton swings around for an armbar but Kaneko sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Horton's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horton wants to sweep but no luck.
Horton keeping moving, preventing Kaneko from controlling successfully.
Kaneko throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Horton is trying to keep Kaneko in close.
Kaneko lands a couple of elbows.
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!
Horton is trying to control the position from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kaneko works a leg free and moves into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kaneko seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Kaneko wants to pass the guard but Horton is defending well.
Kaneko is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kichiro Kaneko will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Horton takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Horton throws a shot from downtown. Kaneko moves away and avoids it.

Horton drives through with a takedown into guard.
Horton throws an elbow that misses. Kaneko uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Horton's guard. Nice move by Kaneko!
Horton tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Horton looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Horton 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.
Kaneko connects with a couple of short punches.
Horton not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Kaneko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Horton is keeping the position for now.
Horton is trying to control the position but Kaneko postures up.
Horton pulls Kaneko in close to his closed guard and prevents Kaneko from doing any damage or advancing position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tim Horton wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Horton tries for a takedown but Kaneko circles away easily

and Kaneko counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Horton's guard now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kaneko throwing strikes but missing.
Horton seems keen to control Kaneko's posture.
Kaneko postures up in Horton's guard and throws a big left but Horton blocks it.
Kaneko works over Horton with some ground and pound from guard.
Horton wants to improve his position but instead Kaneko has moved into half guard.
Kichiro Kaneko has got the better of the ground game so far.
Horton wants to control the action here but instead Kaneko manages to pass to full mount!
Horton is looking to improve his position but Kaneko isn't that keen on the idea.
Horton wants to hold on but Kaneko pushes him away.
Kaneko prevents Horton from getting the reversal.
Kaneko landing shots from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaneko looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Kaneko landing punches.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Horton taking shots to the head.
The referee warns Horton that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Kaneko can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Horton is looking to escape.
Horton is trying to escape the mount.
Kaneko with shots to the head and body - Horton looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kaneko wants to control the pace but Horton is squirming around nicely.
Kaneko scoring with strikes but Horton is staying in there.
Kaneko avoids the attempt from Horton to control.
Horton 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Kaneko throwing shots but Horton is blocking nicely.
Kaneko is looking to advance position but Horton won't allow it.
Horton is staying active underneath Kaneko, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Horton tries to roll over but Kaneko keeps him under control.

Horton looking for submissions off his back.
Horton trying to control but Kaneko postures up.
Horton has hold of Kaneko's hands but Kaneko slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Horton slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Kaneko trying to control but Horton is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Horton looking for a triangle here. Kaneko is fighting it but it looks tight! Horton pulls the arm across and this one won't last much longer! Nope, Kaneko is tapping out - this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:19 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Tim Horton!
Tim Horton thanked the fans post fight for their support.