PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Yoshida Kotaro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Rodriguez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kotaro kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Dance Yourself Clean. Ricardo Rodriguez told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Kotaro
vs
Rodriguez

194 cm
35
139 lbs
23 - 20 - 0

178 cm
27
127 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good knees
Experienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
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 23 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yoshida Kotaro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ricardo Rodriguez!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Eliza Hachem and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kotaro blocks a jab.
Rodriguez with a poor takedown
and Kotaro counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Rodriguez rushes Kotaro and presses him up against the cage.
Kotaro is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Rodriguez is keeping busy.

Kotaro breaks the clinch.
Kotaro defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez shoots in and drives through. Kotaro sprawls well.
Yoshida Kotaro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kotaro is fending him off so far but Rodriguez persists. Nope, Kotaro circles away and we're back to standing.
Kotaro cracks Rodriguez with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
A head kick by Rodriguez misses

and Kotaro counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Kotaro tries to land a knee to the head but Rodriguez blocks with his arms.
Kotaro digs a right hand underneath Rodriguez's ribcage. Rodriguez let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Kotaro breaks from the clinch.
Rodriguez is looking to clinch but Kotaro is avoiding it.
Yoshida Kotaro is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez fails with a takedown attempt.

Kotaro gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Rodriguez is trying to pull guard but Kotaro has him pressed against the cage.
Kotaro tries to land a knee to the head but Rodriguez blocks with his arms.
Rodriguez tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Kotaro smiles and moves away.
Rodriguez takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Rodriguez with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kotaro counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rodriguez looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown
and Kotaro counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Kotaro gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rodriguez to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Rodriguez slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rodriguez trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro wants to stand up but Rodriguez is controlling him.
Kotaro wants to sweep but no luck.
Kotaro wants to stand and escape but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Kotaro will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rodriguez tries to free his leg and advance position but Kotaro is retaining full guard.
Rodriguez controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rodriguez falls off balance throwing a combination
and Kotaro counters with a big head kick but Rodriguez shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown
and Kotaro counters with a nice uppercut.
Rodriguez tries to score a power double leg takedown but Kotaro sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Rodriguez somewhat.
Rodriguez shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Kotaro but Kotaro pushes him off and we're back to square one.
A head kick misses from Rodriguez.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kotaro stalks Rodriguez and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Rodriguez's face. Rodriguez staggers backwards, shaken.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Yoshida Kotaro will probably get the nod.
That's time! Kotaro's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Rodriguez takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Rodriguez is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kotaro's half guard.
Kotaro wants to get back to full guard.
Rodriguez seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Kotaro controlling the position well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rodriguez slows the pace down in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Kotaro is staying active underneath Rodriguez, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Ricardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez rushes Kotaro and presses him up against the cage.

Rodriguez drags the fight down to the ground.
Kotaro trying to control but Rodriguez is working from the bottom.

Rodriguez looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Kotaro really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rodriguez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Kotaro tries to free his leg and advance position but Rodriguez is retaining full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodriguez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Yoshida Kotaro wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Rodriguez has his takedown stuffed
and Kotaro counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Rodriguez gets a double leg takedown into Kotaro's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kotaro wants to stand and escape but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Rodriguez advances to half guard.
Rodriguez works his foot free and advances to mount.

Rodriguez looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro taking shots to the head.
Rodriguez with a couple of short strikes.
Rodriguez takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Rodriguez lands with some strikes.
Kotaro is trying to stand up.
Rodriguez content just to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez with shots to the head and body - Kotaro looks very uncomfortable down there.
Rodriguez controlling from the full mount.
Rodriguez throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Kotaro because Rodriguez loaded up on that one.
Kotaro working to try and regain half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rodriguez looking to finish with strikes here!
Kotaro working to try and regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Rodriguez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Rodriguez shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kotaro as he avoids it easily.
Rodriguez fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rodriguez doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Rodriguez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rodriguez shoots in but no luck this time.
Yoshida Kotaro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Rodriguez.
Kotaro lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Rodriguez throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kotaro's waist but Kotaro gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rodriguez off to one side.
Rodriguez swinging wildly here.
Rodriguez on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown
and Kotaro counters with a left and a right that stings Rodriguez.
Rodriguez with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kotaro counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Rodriguez shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Kotaro defends it nicely.
Rodriguez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Kotaro gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kotaro wants to stand but Rodriguez is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez sitting in guard here, content to control.
Rodriguez looking to sit in guard and control but Kotaro gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Rodriguez is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Kotaro wants to control from the top but Rodriguez keeps moving.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Kotaro displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rodriguez with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kotaro counters with a good low kick that Rodriguez was not able to check.
Rodriguez fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Rodriguez has a takedown stuffed.
Kotaro is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Rodriguez misses the jab.
Rodriguez shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Kotaro counter with a right hand.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rodriguez misses with a series of wild punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Yoshida Kotaro.
I think Kotaro has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 29:29
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 29:28
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30

The fight is ruled a draw!