PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Gone Boy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yushiko Tanaka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Boy
vs
Tanaka

180 cm
25
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Gone Boy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Yushiko Tanaka!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Boy!

Boy clinches with his opponent.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Boy avoiding damage as Tanaka throws knees to the body.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Boy as Tanaka tries to tie him up.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Boy.
Boy goes for a takedown in the clinch but Tanaka prevents it.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Tanaka stalling.
Tanaka tries to land knees in the clinch but Boy avoids the damage to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boy wants to take the fight to the mat but Tanaka manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Boy wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Tanaka leaning his opponent against the cage.
Tanaka tries to stall but Boy uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boy working hard to break the clinch.
Boy blocks an uppercut.
Boy is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Tanaka pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gone Boy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Boy lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Tanaka slows down the pace here.
Come on Boy - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Tanaka controlling the action here for a moment.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Yushiko Tanaka.
Tanaka fails in his attempt to clinch.
Tanaka tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Boy paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Boy moves into the clinch.
Tanaka missing with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tanaka creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Tanaka misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Boy.
Boy really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Boy gets control of Tanaka's arms and successfully pulls guard. Boy will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Boy is pulling down on Tanaka's head to control his posture.
Tanaka is looking to stand up but Boy won't let him.
Boy manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Tanaka manages to get himself to full guard.

Tanaka wants to stand and escape but Boy is having none of it.
Tanaka avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Tanaka being controlled here, momentarily.
Boy is standing up over Tanaka. Tanaka looks to escape but Boy dives into side control.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tanaka can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Boy controls the position.
Tanaka is trying to get back to his feet.
Tanaka tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.

Boy is persistently looking for the submission but Tanaka is defending it well.

Tanaka is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tanaka is trying to stand back up.

That's four 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.
Boy controls the position.
Tanaka is trying to get back to his feet but Boy has full control of the position and if anything, Tanaka has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Boy throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Boy is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

Tanaka fending off the submission attempt from Boy.
Tanaka is trying to get back to his feet but Boy has full control of the position and if anything, Tanaka has just worked his way into a worse spot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gone Boy dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Boy scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Boy fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Boy uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tanaka.
Boy is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tanaka can do to turn this around?
Boy looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Boy misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Tanaka wants to counter with a clinch but Boy pushes him away.

Boy gets in close and instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boy throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Tanaka has Boy pressed against the cage, preventing Boy from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Tanaka tries to throw a body punch but Boy avoids it by throwing Tanaka back against the cage.
Boy jumps guard but Tanaka stands there with Boy around his waist. Boy gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gone Boy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boy tries to break free but Tanaka pushes him back against the cage.
Tanaka misses with a punch on the inside.
Boy managing to block the knees to the body from Tanaka.
Boy wants a takedown but no success here.
Boy tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Tanaka just stands there and leans against the cage.
Tanaka is trying to maintain a safe position but Boy gets an underhook and turns Tanaka into the cage.
Boy on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tanaka misses with a knee to the head.
Boy avoiding damage as Tanaka throws knees to the body.
Tanaka throws a punch but it's blocked by Boy.
Boy is trying to push Tanaka away but Tanaka has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Tanaka just misses with a elbow thrown towards Boy's brow.
Boy tries to pull guard but Tanaka forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Tanaka scores a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boy blocks an elbow strike from Tanaka.
Boy tries to land knees in the clinch but Tanaka avoids the damage to the body.
Boy avoids a wild elbow strike from Tanaka.
Boy is stalling here.
Tanaka looking to throw knees to the head but Boy is blocking nicely.

Boy pulls guard effortlessly.
Tanaka wants to stand but Boy is controlling his posture from full guard.

Boy looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Boy managing to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Boy tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Tanaka wants to stand but Boy has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Boy pulls Tanaka in close to his closed guard and prevents Tanaka from doing any damage or advancing position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Tanaka dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Boy. That did some damage!
Tanaka tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Boy paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four 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.
Horrible takedown attempt by Boy or perhaps it was just good defense by Tanaka, which made it look bad.
Tanaka is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Tanaka tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Tanaka wants to clinch up but Boy keeps it at a distance.
Gone Boy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tanaka tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Boy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Boy throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Tanaka's waist but Tanaka gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Boy off to one side.
Boy misses with a takedown attempt - Tanaka sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Boy rushes Tanaka and presses him up against the cage.
Boy has had enough of the clinch but Tanaka keeps him there for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Yushiko Tanaka will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Tanaka.
Boy throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Tanaka is looking for the big counter here.
Boy shoots in but Tanaka avoids the takedown attempt easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Boy is defended easily by Tanaka.
Boy shoots for a double leg takedown but Tanaka sprawls well. He's pushed Boy's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gone Boy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tanaka throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Tanaka tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Boy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Boy is looking to counter punch.
Boy avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Boy shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tanaka but Tanaka pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanaka throws a quick inside leg kick.
Tanaka stuffs the takedown attempt from Boy. Boy gets slowly back to his feet.
Tanaka tries to clinch there but Boy circles away.
Boy shoots in but no luck this time.
Tanaka leaves Boy with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Tanaka tries to clinch
and Boy counters with a three punch combo that has Tanaka backing up. Tanaka nods at Boy to acknowledge the strikes.

Tanaka gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boy managing to block the knees to the body from Tanaka.
Tanaka slowing the pace effectively.
Tanaka tries to land knees in the clinch but Boy avoids the damage to the body.
Yushiko Tanaka seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Tanaka trying to stall but Boy improves his position.
Boy is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Tanaka to keep the fight standing.
Boy letting Tanaka take a breather here.
Tanaka lands an elbow inside.
Boy is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Tanaka lands a good knee to the midsection. Boy won't want to take too many of those.
Tanaka is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Tanaka keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Boy's efforts to push away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tanaka is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Tanaka struggles to land a body shot inside as Boy controls his hands.
A head punch on the inside from Tanaka fails to land.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Tanaka looking to slow down the pace here.
Boy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Tanaka walks away with a smile on his face. Boy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Tanaka fails with an attempt to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Tanaka looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
No luck for Boy with that takedown attempt.
Tanaka tries to clinch but Boy is having none of it.
Boy lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.

Tanaka clinches with his opponent.
Boy dodges an elbow strike from Tanaka.
Tanaka looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Tanaka is looking to control Boy's arms but Boy gets an underhook and turns him. Now Tanaka has his back to the cage.
Tanaka crunches a lovely knee into Boy's ribcage.
Tanaka is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Boy is keeping busy.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tanaka goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Boy wants a takedown.
Tanaka tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yushiko Tanaka comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Tanaka 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 William Peck scores the fight for Gone Boy!
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight for Yushiko Tanaka!
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight for Yushiko Tanaka!

Yushiko Tanaka wins by split decision!