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 comes to the cage accompanied by Dance Yourself Clean. Ricardo Rodriguez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kotaro
vs
Rodriguez

194 cm
35
139 lbs
23 - 20 - 1

178 cm
27
124 lbs
13 - 6 - 1

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 - 1, 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 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Ricardo Rodriguez!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Winston Howard and Bruno Hogan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kotaro throws a nice head kick!
Rodriguez shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kotaro as he avoids it easily.
Kotaro stuffs the takedown.

Kotaro forces Rodriguez back against the cage and clinches.
Rodriguez is trying to pull guard but Kotaro turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Yoshida Kotaro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Kotaro uses from the top position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Rodriguez keeping moving, preventing Kotaro from controlling successfully.
Kotaro pushes down on Rodriguez's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Kotaro sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kotaro throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez is controlling Kotaro's position as best he can from this difficult position.

Rodriguez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Rodriguez tries to get to full guard but Kotaro has control of the leg.
Kotaro lands strikes from half guard.

Rodriguez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Rodriguez wants to control but Kotaro is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Kotaro is stalling here. Rodriguez is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Kotaro seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Rodriguez has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Kotaro taking punishment in the form of punches.
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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Kotaro tries to bench press Rodriguez off him but Rodriguez keeps the position.
Rodriguez taking a breather here.
Kotaro is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Rodriguez prevents Kotaro from escaping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez happy to just control the position for now.
The strikes coming from Rodriguez are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Kotaro is looking to regain half guard here but Rodriguez keeps moving and retains side control.
Kotaro is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Kotaro tries to buck Rodriguez off but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Kotaro is trying to control Rodriguez's posture but Rodriguez avoids it.
Rodriguez laying and praying for a moment but Kotaro takes advantage and regains half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kotaro kicks off Rodriguez and gets to his feet.
Kotaro stuffs the takedown attempt from Rodriguez. Rodriguez gets slowly back to his feet.
Rodriguez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kotaro paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Rodriguez rushes Kotaro and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Kotaro landing knees to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Kotaro breaks the clinch.
Rodriguez shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Kotaro defends it nicely.
Rodriguez closes the distance and clinches up with Kotaro, looking for a takedown. Rodriguez pushes Kotaro against the cage but Kotaro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
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 the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Rodriguez throws a looping overhand right but Kotaro ducks down to avoid it.
Kotaro throws a head kick that half lands.
Rodriguez fails with the takedown
and Kotaro counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Ricardo Rodriguez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rodriguez has a takedown stuffed.
Rodriguez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kotaro sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kotaro slaps away a takedown attempt from Rodriguez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Yoshida Kotaro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez shoots in but Kotaro avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kotaro keeps the fight on the outside.
Kotaro lands with a kick to the temple. Rodriguez shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Rodriguez shoots in looking for a takedown but Kotaro manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Rodriguez's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Rodriguez shoots in looking for a takedown. Kotaro tries to sprawl out of it but Rodriguez keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kotaro manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A left lands for Kotaro.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kotaro lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kotaro paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kotaro slaps away a takedown attempt from Rodriguez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Rodriguez darts in trying to clinch
and Kotaro counters with a left to the body.

Rodriguez shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ricardo Rodriguez has got the better of the ground game so far.
Kotaro trying to control from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kotaro with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Kotaro has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rodriguez is working away from the top position though.
Kotaro moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rodriguez trying to control the position from guard on top but Kotaro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kotaro looking to control.
Kotaro avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rodriguez passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Kotaro avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Rodriguez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro defending against the ground and pound.
Check out the look on Rodriguez's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Kotaro avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Rodriguez.
Kotaro tries to buck Rodriguez off but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Rodriguez throws an elbow but Kotaro slips to the side and avoids it well.
Kotaro struggling a bit here.
Rodriguez taking a breather here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
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.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Rodriguez is looking to clinch.
Rodriguez closes the distance and clinches up with Kotaro, looking for a takedown. Rodriguez pushes Kotaro against the cage but Kotaro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rodriguez looks to land a left hand but Kotaro moved out of range nicely.
Kotaro throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Rodriguez shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Rodriguez was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rodriguez is working Kotaro over with some ground and pound from side control.
Rodriguez wants to control but Kotaro is keeping him busy.
Rodriguez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kotaro tries to escape but Rodriguez is in control.
Rodriguez passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Kotaro!
Rodriguez is landing with some decent strikes but Kotaro is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Rodriguez looking to control and managing it successfully.
Rodriguez's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Rodriguez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Rodriguez lands a big elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Rodriguez lands a couple of good shots and Kotaro has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kotaro looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Kotaro rolls, trying to escape but Rodriguez keeps control of the position.
Rodriguez trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Kotaro doesn't escape.
Well, with Rodriguez on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Kotaro is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rodriguez missing with strikes from the back.
Rodriguez controlling the position well here. Kotaro rolled but Rodriguez kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Rodriguez scores with punches and elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro rolls, trying to escape but Rodriguez keeps control of the position.
Kotaro looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Rodriguez connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Kotaro to escape the position.
Rodriguez lands punches and elbows.
Rodriguez throwing damaging strikes from the back! Kotaro could be in trouble here!
Rodriguez misses with an elbow to the head.
Rodriguez tries to get the hooks in deep but Kotaro pushed the leg off.
Rodriguez is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kotaro is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Kotaro is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

Rodriguez has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Kotaro has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rodriguez trying to control momentarily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Rodriguez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rodriguez 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Rodriguez!