PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nathanial Irwin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kyoshi Sakei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nathanial Irwin has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Irwin
vs
Sakei

204 cm
25
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

168 cm
25
137 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 Tokyo, Nathanial Irwin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kyoshi Sakei!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Kenichi Hosakawa and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sakei throws a sloppy head kick
and Irwin counters with a one-two to the body.
Irwin moves out of range as Sakei strikes.
Irwin is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Irwin really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Irwin closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Irwin lands in his opponent's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Irwin avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakei is adopting a defensive guard.
Irwin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Irwin avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Sakei bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Irwin's guard.

Irwin utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sakei seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakei stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Irwin swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sakei stays in close to Irwin's body and controls the position.
Sakei pushing down on Irwin's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Sakei sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Irwin defending well though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakei is trying to control. Irwin wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Sakei thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sakei content to control rather than advance.
Irwin is looking to escape.
Sakei keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Sakei is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Irwin is just riding it out for now. Sakei eventually gives up the hold.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sakei missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

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.

Sakei is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Irwin has managed to free his arm - good work.

Sakei looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Irwin is trying to maintain the position but Sakei is very close to passing his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kyoshi Sakei dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Irwin looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Irwin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Irwin has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Sakei is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Irwin trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sakei's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Irwin got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sakei has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Irwin has managed to get both his arms back between Sakei's legs - danger averted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Irwin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sakei works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

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

Sakei has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Irwin doesn't defend quickly enough and Sakei has managed to lock this one up! Can Irwin escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Sakei on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Kyoshi Sakei!