PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kenji Sakuraba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricky Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kenji Sakuraba has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sakuraba
vs
Smith

180 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

186 cm
25
176 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Top Dogs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenji Sakuraba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ricky Smith!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sakuraba with a poor takedown
and Smith counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Smith connects with a right hand. Sakuraba shakes it off.
Sakuraba fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Sakuraba shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Sakuraba was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Sakuraba is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Smith will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Smith is trying to control Sakuraba's posture but Sakuraba avoids it.

Sakuraba is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Smith knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Smith struggling a bit here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sakuraba trying to control the action but Smith is working from the bottom.
Smith is trying to buck Sakuraba off.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Sakuraba swings around for an armbar but Smith sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Sakuraba's guard.
Sakuraba controls Smith momentarily but Smith frees himself.
Smith trying to control but Sakuraba is working from the bottom.
Smith must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smith tries to stand but Sakuraba is controlling from the bottom.

Sakuraba has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Smith can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Smith wants to pass the guard but Sakuraba is keeping the position.
Smith is looking to stand up but Sakuraba won't let him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to control from the top but Sakuraba keeps moving.
Sakuraba trying to keep a closed guard but Smith is proving a slippery customer.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Smith displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

It looks like Kenji Sakuraba has been cut.
Smith scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Sakuraba fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kenji Sakuraba. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sakuraba shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Smith counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sakuraba shoots and misses
and Smith counters with a nice body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith stalks Sakuraba and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Sakuraba's face. Sakuraba staggers backwards, shaken.

Sakuraba is rocked!
We've been informed that Smith has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smith lands a jab and follows it up with a massive straight that knocks Sakuraba out cold! Sakuraba is crumpled in the corner, his head only propped up by the cage! That's one for the organiziational promos right there! Wow, what a finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:15 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Ricky Smith!
Ricky Smith thanked the fans post fight for their support.