PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Paul Paulson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yamamoto Funaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Paul Paulson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Paulson
vs
Funaki

180 cm
20
162 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

173 cm
23
161 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

Purity Fight Nutrition

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Paul Paulson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yamamoto Funaki!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Ren Mimura and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Funaki changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Paulson tries to avoid it but Funaki manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Paulson to the ground. Paulson escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Funaki slips under a jab.
Paulson tries to clinch up.
Paulson wants to clinch.
Paulson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

so Funaki counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Paulson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Funaki is one step ahead there.

Funaki drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Funaki jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Funaki is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Paulson is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Paulson has escaped and now he's on top!
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Paulson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Funaki had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Paulson is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Funaki Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Paulson's back instead.
Funaki is trying to stick to Paulson's back but Paulson is turning into Funaki. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Funaki's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Paulson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Funaki working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Paulson.
Paulson trying to stand up but can't free himself from Funaki's guard.
Paulson looking to pass the guard.

Funaki is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Paulson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Paulson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Funaki throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Paulson escapes and throws Funaki's legs to the side, diving into side control!
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.
Funaki looks gassed!
Paulson working the body and head with strikes.
Paulson working the head with strikes.

Paulson is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Funaki knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Paulson creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulson works to advance to full mount. Funaki defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Funaki takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Paulson with the ground and pound from mount.

Paulson working for a submission but Funaki is keeping him at bay.
Paulson with good strikes from the mount here!

Paulson has hold of Funaki's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Funaki manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Funaki is wriggling around trying to escape.
Paulson dominating with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Funaki sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Paulson drops an elbow to the side of Funaki's head.
Paulson prevents Funaki from improving his position.
Nice strikes from Paulson there.

Funaki looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Paulson is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Paulson lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

Funaki looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Paulson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Funaki looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Paulson working over Funaki with some ground and pound. Funaki looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Funaki looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Paulson is nestled in close to Funaki, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Paulson is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Paulson is nestled in close to Funaki, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Funaki looking for submissions off his back.

Paulson decides to return to a standing position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Funaki takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Paulson wants to clinch but Funaki slips to the side

and Funaki decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Paulson's guard.
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 Paul Paulson will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Paulson darts in trying to clinch

and Funaki counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Funaki has gone for a leg lock! Paulson slips out almost immediately though and dives into Funaki's guard.
Paulson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Funaki is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Paulson chips away with some ground and pound.
Paulson pushing down on Funaki's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Paulson drops an elbow to the side of Funaki's head.
Paulson prevents Funaki from improving his position.
Funaki has hold of Paulson's hands but Paulson slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Funaki is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Paulson is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Funaki is just riding it out for now. Paulson eventually gives up the hold.
Paulson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Paulson is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Funaki doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Paulson.

Funaki looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Funaki looking for submissions off his back.
Paulson has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Funaki is looking to improve his position but Paulson isn't that keen on the idea.
Paulson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Funaki tries to reverse the position but Paulson maintains control.
Paulson cracks Funaki with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Paulson postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Funaki looks a forlorn figure.
Paulson postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Funaki looks a forlorn figure.
Paulson lands a big shot there that rocks Funaki but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Paulson raining down shots from the mount!
Funaki is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paulson working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Paulson is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Funaki can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Funaki is trying to escape the mount.
Paulson unloading with bombs!
Funaki is trying to escape the mount.
Paulson lands a nice shot to the head.
Paulson is in the full mount, landing strikes.

Paulson is working for a guillotine from mount but Funaki frees his head quite easily.
Funaki is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paulson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Paulson working the ground and pound effectively.
Funaki bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Funaki drops back, looking for a kneebar! Paulson looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Paulson looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Paulson!
Funaki is trying to get back to half guard.
Funaki taking a bit of punishment here - Paulson scoring with strikes.
Funaki manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Funaki wants to improve his position but Paulson is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Paulson dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Paulson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Paulson tries to clinch but Funaki is having none of it.
Funaki swats away the attempt to clinch by Paulson.
Paulson tries to clinch up but Funaki circles away and keeps his distance.
Paulson tries to clinch there but Funaki circles away.
Paulson throws a head kick but Funaki moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paulson throws a right and a left that Funaki avoids nicely.
Paulson tries to close the distance and clinch but Funaki swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Paulson gets the takedown into side control.

Paulson tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Paulson has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Funaki is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Paulson's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Funaki looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Funaki is looking for a sweep. Paulson is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Paulson lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Paulson winds up and cracks Funaki with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Paulson tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

Funaki looking for submissions off his back.
Paul Paulson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Funaki looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Paulson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Funaki with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Paulson gets a clinch.

Paulson works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Paulson working some strikes from top position.

Funaki looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Yamamoto Funaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Paulson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Funaki working for a triangle but Paulson defends it easily.

Funaki working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Paulson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Paulson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Funaki throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Paulson looking to pass the guard.

Paulson drops back looking for a leg! Funaki is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Funaki manages to kick Paulson off! Paulson jumps back into Funaki's guard.
Paul Paulson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Funaki looking to hit a scissor sweep but Paulson is one step ahead there.

Funaki has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Paulson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Funaki is looking for a triangle but Paulson pushes his legs off easily.
Paulson cracks Funaki with a solid left hand.
Paulson trying to control the position from guard on top but Funaki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Paulson stands up over Funaki, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Paulson passes Funaki's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Paulson lands a nice short elbow.

Funaki looking for submissions off his back.
Paulson is nestled in close to Funaki, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Funaki flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Paulson lands a nice short elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Paulson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Paulson has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Paulson!