PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Vernon Reeves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yuki Hagiwara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yuki Hagiwara has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Vernon Reeves's chin.

Reeves
vs
Hagiwara

197 cm
20
140 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

167 cm
24
138 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Likes comics

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Vernon Reeves!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yuki Hagiwara!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yuuki Gou and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Reeves tries for a takedown but Hagiwara sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Reeves really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Hagiwara scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Reeves works his way to full guard. Good work.
Hagiwara trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Reeves wants to sweep here but Hagiwara controlling him for the moment.
Hagiwara throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hagiwara tries to free his leg and advance position but Reeves is retaining full guard.
Hagiwara engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Hagiwara pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Reeves is keeping the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reeves trying to control the position.
Hagiwara works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Reeves has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Hagiwara is working away from the top position though.
Hagiwara slows the pace down in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Reeves trying to control from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Hagiwara shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Reeves's guard.
Reeves is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hagiwara has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Reeves is proving hard to escape from.
Reeves working a defensive guard here.
Reeves will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hagiwara slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Reeves is pulling down on Hagiwara's head to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hagiwara is stalling in the full guard.
Reeves looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Reeves darts in looking for a takedown but Hagiwara gets double underhooks and turns Reeves into the cage.
Reeves fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hagiwara steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Reeves.
Hagiwara dives in and grabs Reeves's left leg, looking for a takedown. Reeves pushes down on Hagiwara's head and hops out.
Yuki Hagiwara seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Hagiwara changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Reeves looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Reeves can't do much from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hagiwara has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Reeves fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vernon Reeves. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hagiwara closes this distance looking for a takedown but Reeves circles away.
Reeves shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hagiwara pinned against the cage. Hagiwara gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Reeves shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hagiwara but Hagiwara pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Hagiwara lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yuki Hagiwara dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Hagiwara has closed the distance and engaged Reeves in a clinch.
Hagiwara fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Reeves wants to stall.
Hagiwara stalling in the clinch.
Hagiwara blocking some punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Come on Hagiwara - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Hagiwara manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hagiwara working for a triangle but Reeves defends it easily.
Reeves preventing the sweep.
Reeves is looking to stand up but Hagiwara won't let him.
Reeves trying to control but Hagiwara is working from the bottom.

Hagiwara is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Hagiwara has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Hagiwara bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Reeves's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Reeves controls Hagiwara momentarily but Hagiwara frees himself.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Reeves is on top in guard.

Hagiwara looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hagiwara's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Reeves trying to control the position from guard on top but Hagiwara is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hagiwara looking to hit a scissor sweep but Reeves is one step ahead there.

Hagiwara has his foot on Reeves's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Reeves works his way back into a safe position though.
Reeves chips away with some ground and pound.
Hagiwara wants to sweep here but Reeves controlling him for the moment.

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.
Reeves is looking to work some ground and pound but Hagiwara has wrist control.
Reeves is standing up over Hagiwara. Hagiwara looks to escape but Reeves dives into side control.
Hagiwara sneaks back into half guard.
Reeves tries to stand and escape but Hagiwara is controlling the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hagiwara throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Reeves manages to pass to side control.
Reeves tries to stand but Hagiwara controls the position and pulls Reeves into his guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yuki Hagiwara showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Hagiwara manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Reeves on his heels. He'll look to pass Reeves's guard now, I'm sure.
Hagiwara throws a big right hand that misses.
Hagiwara has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Reeves is proving hard to escape from.
Hagiwara is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hagiwara wants to pass the guard but Reeves is keeping the position.
Reeves trying to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Reeves is really struggling to control Hagiwara but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Hagiwara trying to stand up but can't free himself from Reeves's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reeves keeping moving, preventing Hagiwara from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hagiwara lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Reeves at a distance.

Hagiwara manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Reeves on his heels. He'll look to pass Reeves's guard now, I'm sure.
Reeves keeping moving, preventing Hagiwara from controlling successfully.
Reeves has his hands on Hagiwara's head, controlling the position.
Hagiwara is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hagiwara controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reeves working a defensive guard here.
Hagiwara throwing strikes from guard but Reeves blocks nicely.
Reeves wants to get back to his feet but Hagiwara is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Reeves not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Reeves has a takedown stuffed.
Vernon Reeves is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Reeves tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Hagiwara defends well and Reeves ends up having to push Hagiwara into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Hagiwara shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Reeves is trying to defend but Hagiwara finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Hagiwara content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hagiwara tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Reeves.
Hagiwara wants to pass to mount but Reeves is defending the position.

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.
Hagiwara is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Hagiwara is working for a submission of some sort.
Reeves is holding on to half guard well.
Hagiwara is trying to control the action in half guard but Reeves is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hagiwara is thwarting Reeves's attempts to control the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Vernon Reeves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Yuki Hagiwara is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Hagiwara tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Reeves was well out of range. Poor timing from Hagiwara.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yuki Hagiwara comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hagiwara has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 26:30
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 26:30
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yuki Hagiwara!
A relieved looking Yuki Hagiwara thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.