PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Shinji Asaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Te Shudo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Te Shudo is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Asaki
vs
Shudo

164 cm
25
139 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

150 cm
25
142 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Prefers standup

Sun-Tzu
Victory! Sports Nutrition

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, Shinji Asaki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Te Shudo!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Shirou Masuda and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Asaki shoots and misses
enabling Shudo to counter with a crisp jab.
Shudo scores with a jab.
Asaki seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Asaki throws a leg kick
and Shudo counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Shudo scores with a jab to the head.
Shudo scores with a hook.
Asaki shoots in looking for a takedown. Shudo tries to sprawl out of it but Asaki keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Shudo manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Asaki shoots for a double leg takedown but Shudo sprawls well. He's pushed Asaki'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 Shinji Asaki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shudo lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Asaki at a distance.
Shudo tries to clinch but Asaki is having none of it.
Shudo lands with a hook. Asaki tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shudo looks to clinch

and Asaki counters with a takedown into side control.
Asaki throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Asaki wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Shudo, who protects the arm well.
Shudo is trying to escape the position but Asaki is controlling the position.
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.

Asaki tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Asaki tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The ground and pound from Asaki seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Shudo defending against the ground and pound.
Asaki has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Asaki is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Shudo has escaped the position, nice work there.
Shudo is trying to control Asaki's posture but Asaki avoids it.
Asaki taking a breather here.

Asaki looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Asaki grinds an elbow into Shudo's temple.
Asaki sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Shudo is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Shudo stops Asaki from passing to mount.

Asaki thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Asaki in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

Asaki is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Shudo is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Asaki is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Asaki landing strikes.

Asaki is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Shudo has escaped the position, nice work there.

Asaki tries for a kimura but Shudo is defending well.
Shudo is being controlled here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinji Asaki dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Shudo fails in his attempt to clinch.
Shudo lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Shudo should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Shudo lands with a thumping leg kick.
Shudo will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Asaki waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Shudo.
It seemed like Shudo was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Shudo takes a swing at Asaki's ribcage but misses.
Asaki swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Asaki fails with a takedown attempt.
It seemed like Shudo was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Asaki shoots for a double leg takedown but Shudo sprawls well. He's pushed Asaki's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Shudo swinging wildly here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Asaki.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shinji Asaki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shudo moves in looking to clinch but Asaki pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shudo misses with a jab, cross combination.
Shudo jabs at Asaki's body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Shudo swings wildly with an uppercut but Asaki uses good head movement to avoid it.
Asaki wants to take the fight to the mat but Shudo manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Asaki has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Shudo is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Asaki looking for a takedown.
Asaki is trying to pull guard but Shudo has him pressed against the ropes.
Shudo lands a left hand that snaps the head of Asaki backwards.
Asaki blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Asaki pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Asaki throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Shudo was covering up waiting for the punch and Asaki finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Asaki with a flurry of punches that miss.
Shudo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Asaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Shudo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Asaki slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Asaki's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Asaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Shudo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Asaki sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shudo has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Horrible takedown attempt by Asaki or perhaps it was just good defense by Shudo, which made it look bad.
Shudo looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Te Shudo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Shudo tries to clinch but Asaki moves out of range.
Shudo throws a big shot that misses.
Shudo fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Asaki looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Asaki throws a strike but Shudo rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Shudo has eaten all the pies!
Shudo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Asaki wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Shudo preventing the sweep.

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

Asaki is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Asaki utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Te Shudo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Shudo lands a jab to the head.
Shudo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
It looked like Asaki was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Shudo.
Asaki gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Shinji Asaki is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Asaki closes the distance and clinches up with Shudo, looking for a takedown. Asaki pushes Shudo against the ropes but Shudo circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Shudo is looking to clinch.
Shudo throws a leg kick but Asaki sees it coming and moves out of range.
Shudo scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Asaki shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Shudo counters with a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shudo takes a swing at Asaki's ribcage but misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shudo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Shudo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Asaki circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shudo tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Shudo throws a leg kick but Asaki sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Asaki ducks under a wild hook from Shudo.
Asaki shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Shudo sprawls well. Shudo wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Asaki gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shinji Asaki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Asaki shoots in for a takedown but Shudo shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Asaki looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Shudo tries to close the distance and clinch but Asaki swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Shudo wants to clinch.
Asaki was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
A chopping leg kick lands by Shudo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Asaki dodges the punch combination from Shudo.
Shudo throws a right and a left that both miss.
Asaki keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Shudo.
Asaki staying out of range there.
Shudo tries to clinch there but Asaki circles away.
Shudo lands a jab to the head.
Asaki takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Nice straight punches there by Shudo. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Shudo.
Te Shudo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Asaki tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Shudo defends well and Asaki ends up having to push Shudo into the ropes where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Asaki takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shudo misses with a few strikes there.
Asaki avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Shudo tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Shudo clinches up with Asaki and pushes him back against the ropes.
Te Shudo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Shudo is trying to force a seperation but Asaki has the dominant position.
Asaki is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Shudo pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Shudo is trying to maintain a safe position but Asaki gets an underhook and turns Shudo into the ropes.
Asaki has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Shudo after a bit of a struggle.
Asaki goes for a takedown in the clinch but Shudo prevents it.
Shudo throws a punch but it's blocked by Asaki.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shudo gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Asaki.
Shudo gets underhooks to prevent Asaki's takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Asaki keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shudo's efforts to push away.
Shudo misses with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Asaki is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Shudo is keeping busy.
Shinji Asaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Asaki misses with a punch to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Te Shudo comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Shudo 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Te Shudo!
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight for Te Shudo!
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight for Te Shudo!

Te Shudo wins by unanimous decision!
After winning the bout, Te Shudo thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.