PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Donnie O Brien (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yoshida Kotaro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). O Brien 's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Rocky Road to Dublin. The crowd seem to be enjoying Kotaro's choice of entrance music: Dance Yourself Clean. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

O Brien
vs
Kotaro

172 cm
35
142 lbs
35 - 19 - 1

194 cm
34
139 lbs
22 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Knockout power

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 35 - 19 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Donnie O Brien !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yoshida Kotaro!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Donatello Bradman and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
O Brien bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
O Brien shoots in and drives through. Kotaro sprawls well.
O Brien throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Kotaro connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Nice defenses there by Kotaro.
Kotaro is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Kotaro displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as O Brien throws out the jab.
O Brien throws an overhand right that lands on Kotaro's shoulder, as Kotaro tries to avoid the shot.
Kotaro misses with a hook.
Kotaro dodges the punch combination from O Brien .
O Brien shoots in and drives through. Kotaro sprawls well.
O Brien misses with a takedown attempt - Kotaro sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donnie O Brien . That's going to take a lot out of him.
O Brien has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from O Brien there as he acknowledges the shot.
O Brien misses with a combination
enabling Kotaro to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kotaro connects with the punch.
O Brien goes for a double leg but Kotaro avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Kotaro continues to drive forward.
O Brien blocks an uppercut.
Kotaro lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kotaro using the Thai plumb to throw knees but O Brien has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kotaro lands a nice elbow.

Kotaro breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
O Brien throws a right hand that misses
and Kotaro counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
O Brien swings widly with a right hand

and Kotaro holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kotaro looking to throw knees to the head but O Brien is blocking nicely.
O Brien takes a knee right on the jaw!
O Brien can't get the takedown.
Kotaro working O Brien over with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Kotaro has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Kotaro lands a left hand that snaps the head of O Brien backwards.
Kotaro throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but O Brien blocks it with crossed arms.
Kotaro scores with a knee to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

O Brien ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. O Brien no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kotaro trying to control the position from guard on top but O Brien is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
O Brien wants to sweep but no luck.
Kotaro would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
O Brien keeping moving, preventing Kotaro from controlling successfully.
Kotaro has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of O Brien is proving hard to escape from.

Kotaro avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro trying to stand up but can't free himself from O Brien 's guard.
Kotaro forces his way into half guard.

Kotaro seems to be looking for submissions.
O Brien trying to control from the bottom.
Kotaro seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien is not content to let Kotaro control the position.
Kotaro is pressing down on O Brien 's thigh, looking to free his foot. O Brien is holding on for now.
Kotaro trying to control the action but O Brien is working from the bottom.
O Brien is pressing down on Kotaro's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Kotaro engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Yoshida Kotaro.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from O Brien is defended easily by Kotaro.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoshida Kotaro 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.

Kotaro staying out of range there.
O Brien misses the jab.
O Brien wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

O Brien throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Kotaro tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. O Brien is in Kotaro's guard.
O Brien looking to pass the guard.
Kotaro keeping moving, preventing O Brien from controlling successfully.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Kotaro manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kotaro misses with a punch to the body.
Kotaro is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. O Brien is defending well for now.
Kotaro goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Kotaro lands an elbow just above O Brien 's eye.
Kotaro tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Kotaro with a knee to the head.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Kotaro.
Kotaro misses with a knee to the head.
O Brien blocks an elbow strike from Kotaro.
O Brien on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Kotaro lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Kotaro escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
O Brien throws out a powerful jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Brien shoots in for a takedown but Kotaro shows good takedown defense.
Donnie O Brien is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

O Brien closes the distance and clinches.
Kotaro lands with a left to the head.
A short right from Kotaro on the inside.
Kotaro missing with knees to the body.
O Brien jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kotaro walks away with a smile on his face. O Brien gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kotaro showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from O Brien .
Kotaro steps to the side to avoid the strikes from O Brien .
O Brien shoots in for a takedown but Kotaro shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donnie O Brien . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
O Brien closes this distance looking for a takedown but Kotaro circles away.
O Brien swats away the attempt to clinch by Kotaro.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from O Brien misses the target.

O Brien changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Kotaro looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Kotaro tries to buck O Brien off but O Brien is having none of it.
Kotaro tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Kotaro manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Kotaro trying to control from the bottom.
O Brien wants to pass the guard but Kotaro is defending well.
O Brien wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kotaro keeps working.
Kotaro wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien wants to control but Kotaro is keeping him busy.
O Brien looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
O Brien wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kotaro keeps working.

Donnie O Brien has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Kotaro cracks O Brien with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kotaro slips a jab from O Brien .
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Brien misses with a looping right.
Yoshida Kotaro is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kotaro lands a head shot.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Kotaro. O Brien shrugs it off though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Donnie O Brien will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

O Brien throws a right and a left that both miss.
O Brien throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Kotaro counters with a stiff right hand.
Kotaro bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
O Brien throws out a loose jab but Kotaro uses good head movement to avoid it.
O Brien shoots in but Kotaro avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Kotaro with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
O Brien tries for a takedown but Kotaro circles away easily
and Kotaro counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Kotaro moves into range and clinches up with O Brien .
Kotaro tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Kotaro working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Brien jumps guard but Kotaro stands there with O Brien around his waist. O Brien gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donnie O Brien . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kotaro obliges.
Kotaro lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kotaro tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and O Brien avoids it.

O Brien pulls guard successfully.
Kotaro must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kotaro postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kotaro in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
O Brien bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kotaro's guard.
Kotaro is controlling O Brien 's posture.

Kotaro uses the cage to get back to his feet.
O Brien tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kotaro swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A lazy left from Kotaro finds it's target.
O Brien swings widly with a right hand
letting Kotaro counter with a right hand.
Kotaro misses with an uppercut. O Brien saw that one coming.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A punch lands to the side of O Brien 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Donnie O Brien seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kotaro stuffs the takedown.
Kotaro slips under a jab from O Brien .
O Brien throws a combination that misses
and Kotaro counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

O Brien closes the distance and pushes Kotaro back into the cage.
O Brien is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kotaro to keep the fight standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Brien avoiding damage as Kotaro throws knees to the body.
Kotaro lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Kotaro with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kotaro tries to land a knee to the head but O Brien blocks with his arms.
Kotaro struggles to land a body shot inside as O Brien controls his hands.
Kotaro misses with a knee strike.
Kotaro misses with a knee strike.
Kotaro landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

O Brien jumps guard and drags Kotaro to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kotaro wants to get up but he can't break O Brien 's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Kotaro wants to control from the top but O Brien keeps moving.

O Brien working for a triangle but Kotaro defends it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Kotaro!
Kotaro is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Kotaro is desperately trying to improve his position but O Brien has a good base and remains in mount.
Kotaro manages to regain half guard. Good work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Brien trying to control the action but Kotaro is working from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yoshida Kotaro comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kotaro 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 28:29
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yoshida Kotaro!
An out of breath and clearly excited Yoshida Kotaro thanked Black Belt Nutrition #=========||=========# for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).