PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Koji Sobando (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shrab Kabovik (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Sobando
vs
Kabovik

169 cm
27
169 lbs
7 - 8 - 0

179 cm
26
160 lbs
6 - 9 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Koji Sobando!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shrab Kabovik!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shigeki Fujiwara and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sobando misses with a jab, cross combination.

Sobando closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Kabovik is staying active underneath Sobando, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Kabovik tries to get to full guard but Sobando has control of the leg.
Sobando not doing much here.
Kabovik really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sobando. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sobando is thwarting Kabovik's attempts to control the position.
Kabovik wants to get back to full guard.
Kabovik is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sobando's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sobando's back!
Sobando is in bad spot here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobando looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Kabovik lands shots from the back.
Sobando staying busy and making it hard for Kabovik to control.
Sobando has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Sobando wants to escape the position.
Sobando has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Kabovik.
Kabovik somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Kabovik throwing sloppy strikes.
A lull in the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobando is trapped and Kabovik is scoring with shots to the head and body.
Kabovik is punishing Sobando with some ground and pound.
Sobando can't escape the position.
Sobando manages to reverse the position and now he's in Kabovik's guard. Nice work there by Sobando.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sobando sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Kabovik's guard.
Kabovik tries to get to full guard but Sobando has control of the leg.
Kabovik keeps trying to improve his position.
Sobando thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kabovik's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kabovik trying to control here.
Sobando keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Sobando not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Kabovik is trying to maintain the position but Sobando is very close to passing his half guard.
Sobando prevents Kabovik from improving his position.

Sobando wants to work for an arm triangle but Kabovik is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Kabovik tries to roll over but Sobando keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Sobando wants to control but Kabovik is keeping him busy.
Sobando sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kabovik defending well though.

Sobando is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kabovik doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Sobando.
Kabovik is looking for a sweep. Sobando is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sobando thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kabovik's head.
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 Koji Sobando will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Kabovik tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Kabovik tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sobando swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Koji Sobando seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kabovik moves into range and clinches up with Sobando.
Kabovik lands a right hand.
Kabovik works on Sobando's body with a couple of short punches.
The referee calls for Kabovik to work.

Sobando successfully pulls guard.

Kabovik content to sit in guard, stalling... Great. Oh but he could get punished here because Sobando has locked up a guillotine! Sobando's face is contorted as he sqeezes tight on the submission attempt - will he finish? Kabovik is holding on here and Sobando must be using up a lot of energy. Kabovik has gone limp! He's out! He's out cold! Sobando gets to his feet, tossing aside his stricken foe. Arms raised, he milks the applause from the crowd. Great submission!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Koji Sobando!
An out of breath Koji Sobando thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.