PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Veron Totto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yuki Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Totto comes into the arena with Rob Zombie - Feel So Numb blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Totto
vs
Yamamoto

184 cm
28
209 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

188 cm
26
206 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Powerful

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Veron Totto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Yuki Yamamoto!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Cecil Peabody and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Totto checks the leg kick nicely there.
Yamamoto checks the leg kick nicely there.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Totto goes for a takedown attempt but Yamamoto pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Totto throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Totto dives in and scores a takedown into Yamamoto's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yamamoto keeping moving, preventing Totto from controlling successfully.
Yamamoto wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamamoto is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Yamamoto really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Totto. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Totto trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Yamamoto working a defensive guard here.
Yamamoto pulls Totto in close to prevent any damage.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Yuki Yamamoto hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Totto gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Yamamoto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Totto.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Totto gets through Yamamoto's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Yamamoto misses with a knee strike.
Totto scores with a shot to the side of Yamamoto's head.
Yamamoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Totto is defending well for now.
Yamamoto working Totto over with knees to the body.
Totto taking a breather.
Totto tries to stall but Yamamoto uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Totto creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Yamamoto letting Totto take a breather here.
I was talking to Totto's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Totto is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Yamamoto is keeping busy.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Veron Totto.
Yamamoto throws a nice outside leg kick.
Yamamoto throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Yamamoto fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Totto is out of range.
Yuki Yamamoto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto tries to land a front kick but Totto steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

Totto manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Yamamoto on his heels. He'll look to pass Yamamoto's guard now, I'm sure.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yamamoto has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Yamamoto is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Totto advances to half guard.
Totto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Yamamoto's head.
Totto with the ground and pound but Yamamoto uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Totto landing some decent shots from guard.
Totto tries to free his leg and advance position but Yamamoto is retaining full guard.
Totto preventing the sweep.
Totto not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Yamamoto is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Totto trying to control the position from guard on top but Yamamoto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Totto seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Yamamoto bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Totto's head backwards.
Totto on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Totto misses with the combination.
Yamamoto does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
We've been informed that Yamamoto has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Totto misses with a series of wild punches.

Yamamoto closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Yamamoto looking to throw knees to the head but Totto is blocking nicely.
Yamamoto throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Totto blocks it with crossed arms.
Yamamoto trying to land knees to the body.
Totto avoiding damage as Yamamoto throws knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Totto has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Yamamoto is trying to keep an underhook but Totto manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Totto is looking for a kimura here.
Totto 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.
Totto wants to take a breather but Yamamoto is having none of it.

Totto wants to work for an arm triangle but Yamamoto is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Yamamoto is looking to improve his position.
Totto is looking to take a break and control but Yamamoto is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Totto is controlling the pace.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Totto seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Yamamoto does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Totto on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Yamamoto. Yamamoto obviously looking to wear him down.
Horrible takedown by Totto or perhaps it was just good defense by Yamamoto which made him look bad.
Yamamoto misses with a head kick.
Yamamoto wants to slow Totto down by chopping away at his legs.
Yamamoto dodges the punch combination from Totto.
Veron Totto is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Totto misses with a two punch combination.
Totto uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Yamamoto.
Totto lands a jab to Yamamoto's midsection.
Yamamoto is looking to chop away at Totto's legs.
A head kick misses from Yamamoto.
Totto tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Yamamoto defends well and Totto ends up having to push Yamamoto into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Totto has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Yamamoto uses from the top position.
Yamamoto won't allow Totto to sweep him here.
Totto throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Yamamoto wants to control from the top but Totto keeps moving.
Totto keeping full guard, as Yamamoto tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Yamamoto wants to pass the guard but Totto is keeping the position.
Yamamoto trying to control but Totto is working from the bottom.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Yuki Yamamoto wasn't active enough on the ground.
Totto scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Totto tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Totto on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Yamamoto. Yamamoto obviously looking to wear him down.
Yamamoto throws a leg kick but Totto sees it coming and moves out of range.
An inside leg kick from Yamamoto misses.
Yamamoto keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Veron Totto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A slapping leg kick lands for Yamamoto.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto slaps away a takedown attempt from Totto, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Yamamoto misses with an attempted mid kick.
Yuki Yamamoto seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Yamamoto connects with a leg kick. Totto looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Totto 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.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yamamoto is pulling down on Totto's head to control his posture.
Yamamoto wants to sweep here but Totto controlling him for the moment.
Totto sitting in guard here, content to control.
Yamamoto bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Totto's guard.
Yamamoto slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Totto wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Totto controls Yamamoto momentarily but Yamamoto frees himself.
Yamamoto slips nicely into half guard.
Yamamoto wants to lay and pray for a moment but Totto keeps working.
Totto is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Yamamoto is pressing down on Totto's thigh, looking to free his foot. Totto is holding on for now.
Totto trying to control but Yamamoto postures up.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yamamoto is looking to advance position but Totto won't allow it.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Totto misses with a wild combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Totto instigates a clinch.
Yamamoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Totto is defending well for now.
Totto drops down looking for an ankle pick but Yamamoto pulls his leg out and moves away.
A head kick misses from Yamamoto.
Totto checks the leg kick.
Totto lands a lovely overhand right.
Yamamoto throws a chopping leg kick but Totto manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

Yamamoto gets tackled into the cage by Totto. Totto maintains the clinch.
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!
Yamamoto is defending well against a takedown attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yamamoto taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Yamamoto trying to land knees to the body.
Yamamoto tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Totto has hold of one of Yamamoto's legs. Yamamoto is fighting the takedown attempt but Totto gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Yuki Yamamoto will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

A leg kick checked by Totto.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto throws a front kick aimed at Totto's knee but Totto avoids it well.

Yamamoto has taken the fight to the clinch.
Totto is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Yamamoto is keeping busy.
Yamamoto crunches a lovely knee into Totto's ribcage.
Yamamoto throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Totto blocks it with crossed arms.
Totto drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Yamamoto gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Yamamoto obliges.
Yamamoto misses with a knee to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yamamoto missing with knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Totto blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Yamamoto lands a nice knee to the body.
Yamamoto looking to throw knees to the head but Totto is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Totto avoids it.
Totto manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Totto.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Totto stalls.
Yamamoto is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Totto managing to block the knees to the body from Yamamoto.
Yamamoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Totto is defending well for now.
Yamamoto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Totto.
Yamamoto misses with a knee to the head.
Yamamoto tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Yamamoto with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Totto manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Totto wants to sweep here but Yamamoto controlling him for the moment.

Yamamoto got a little sloppy there for a moment and Totto has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Yamamoto has managed to get both his arms back between Totto's legs - danger averted.
Yamamoto wants to control from the top but Totto keeps moving.
Yamamoto stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Totto swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Yamamoto is looking to pass into half guard but Totto pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Totto is in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Totto is stalling in the full guard.
Yamamoto keeping moving, preventing Totto from controlling successfully.
Yamamoto has momentary wrist control but Totto slips an elbow through the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Totto chips away with some ground and pound.
Totto is stalling in the full guard.
Totto looking to pass the guard.
Totto is looking to work some ground and pound but Yamamoto has wrist control.
Totto wants to pass the guard but Yamamoto is keeping the position.
Yamamoto not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Totto won't allow Yamamoto to sweep him here.
Totto pushing down on Yamamoto's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Well, if Totto is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto wants to improve his position but Totto is controlling well.
Yamamoto wants to control but Totto is keeping busy.
Yamamoto blocking the ground and pound attempt from Totto.
Yamamoto is trying to get back to full guard.
Yamamoto trying to control from the bottom.
Totto is looking to take a break and control but Yamamoto is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Totto is controlling the pace.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Totto lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Yamamoto at a distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Yuki Yamamoto.
I think Yamamoto has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:29
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yuki Yamamoto!