PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joey Ju (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martin Van Buren (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Ju
vs
Van Buren

170 cm
23
130 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

160 cm
18
138 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Joey Ju!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Martin Van Buren!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Taro Takaoka and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ju looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Van Buren!
Van Buren gets back to half guard.
Ju is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Van Buren looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ju seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Van Buren looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ground and pound from Ju.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ju thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Van Buren's head.
Ju missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Ju controlling the action here.

We're going to have a standup here because Joey Ju wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Ju drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Van Buren has his foot on Ju's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ju works his way back into a safe position though.

Van Buren looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ju passes into half guard.
Ju content to control rather than advance.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.

Van Buren looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ju is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Van Buren looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ju thows a huge punch but Van Buren dodges it nicely.
Ju with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Ju stands up and beckons Van Buren to join him on the feet.
Ju looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Van Buren scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Ju takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Van Buren fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ju shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Ju postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Van Buren to stand up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Buren avoids the head kick by Ju.
Ju throws a sloppy head kick and Van Buren moves out of range easily.

Ju shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ju showed some decent athleticism there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ju seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Van Buren looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joey Ju dominated that round.
That's time! Ju's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ju scores with a nice body kick.

Ju manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Van Buren on his heels. He'll look to pass Van Buren's guard now, I'm sure.

Ju gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Ju closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Van Buren to the mat! Van Buren manages to get full guard.
Ju controls from within his opponent's guard.
Ju slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Van Buren tries to buck Ju off but Ju is having none of it.

Ju working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Buren is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Van Buren manages to work his way to half guard, despite Ju's best efforts.
Ju slows the pace down in half guard.

Ju decides to stand and escape the position.
Joey Ju seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Ju.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ju stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Ju closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Van Buren did well to prevent Ju getting side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Buren moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Van Buren escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Ju gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Van Buren is looking for a triangle but Ju pushes his legs off easily.

Van Buren had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ju defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Van Buren working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Ju has passed into half guard!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ju stands up and beckons Van Buren to join him on the feet.
No luck for Van Buren with that takedown attempt.

Van Buren gets tackled into the cage by Ju. Ju maintains the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ju manages to break the clinch.

Ju shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ju showed some decent athleticism there.
Ju with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Van Buren with the active half guard here but Ju passes nicely into side control.
Van Buren managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Ju.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ju is staying tight to Van Buren's torso, preventing him from escaping.

Ju decides to stand back up. Ju steps back and let's Van Buren get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joey Ju dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Van Buren enables Ju to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Van Buren manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Van Buren working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Ju has passed into half guard!

Van Buren looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Ju pushes past his half guard into mount!
Van Buren working to try and regain half guard.
Ju content just to control the position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Buren tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Ju unloads with some shots from mount but Van Buren bucks and avoids them well.
Van Buren is trying desperately to improve position.
Ju tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Ju looking for a guillotine from mount but Van Buren is having none of it.
Ju thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Martin Van Buren has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ju controlling from mount.
Ju seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Van Buren for as long as he can get away with.
Van Buren is trying to escape the mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ju content just to control the position here.
Van Buren 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.
Ju scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ju controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Joey Ju just wasn't active enough.

Ju shoots in and bounces Van Buren off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Van Buren keeping moving, preventing Ju from controlling successfully.

Ju is posturing up here but Van Buren has hold of an arm and he's gone for an armbar! Ju tries to roll out but it's too tight and Ju has to tap! Slick submission there by Van Buren!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:47 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Martin Van Buren!