PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Paul Isley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yuki Tihiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tihiro has chosen Jyo as his entrance music. Paul Isley could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Yuki Tihiro's chin.

Isley
vs
Tihiro

196 cm
22
220 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

188 cm
31
210 lbs
3 - 10 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Paul Isley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yuki Tihiro!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Ren Mimura and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tihiro tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Isley swivels and escapes.
Isley stuffs the takedown.
An attempted straight right counter from Isley misses the target.
Nice sprawl there from Isley as Tihiro shoots in.
Paul Isley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yuki Tihiro.
Nice takedown defense from Isley. No joy for Tihiro on that attempt.
As Tihiro looks to move away, Isley throws a big counter combo but Tihiro just gets out of the way.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Isley but Isley pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Isley keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Isley leaves Tihiro with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Isley lands with an uppercut that bounces Tihiro off the cage and back into range.
Isley scores with a sloppy right hand. Tihiro should have avoided that one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Isley tries to bum rush Tihiro with a series of wild strikes but Tihiro uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Tihiro is defended easily by Isley.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Isley preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tihiro content to control rather than advance.

That's two 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.
It looks like Tihiro might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Let's hope that Tihiro has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Isley connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tihiro's hands.

It looks like Yuki Tihiro has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Isley leaves Tihiro with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Isley throwing a counter right hand but Tihiro manages to avoid it.
Tihiro with a lazy takedown attempt
and Isley counters with a left and a right that stings Tihiro.
Tihiro closes the distance and clinches up with Isley, looking for a takedown. Tihiro pushes Isley against the cage but Isley circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Isley lands a nice shot that snaps Tihiro's head back.
Tihiro fails with the takedown.
Tihiro misses with a takedown
and Isley counters with a right hand to the body.
Tihiro looks winded!
Isley darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Tihiro scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Isley is trying to stand up here but Tihiro is controlling him well.
Isley moves into full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Isley wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tihiro trying to move into half guard but instead Isley has managed to sweep!

Isley not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Tihiro wants to sweep but no luck.
Tihiro has control of Isley's left arm, preventing Isley from doing any damage.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Isley pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tihiro is keeping the position for now.
Isley is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tihiro looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Isley 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Isley dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Yuki Tihiro's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Isley stuns Tihiro with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Isley scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Tihiro avoids a punch combination nicely.
Isley lands with a right hand.
Isley fails in his attempt to clinch.
Isley fails with an attempt to clinch.
Good standup being displayed there by Isley as he connects with a hook.
Tihiro uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Isley.
Isley is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tihiro can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Isley lands a nice hook to Tihiro's body. Tihiro takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Isley as he jumps to the side.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Isley enables Tihiro to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Isley manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tihiro controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tihiro trying to control the position from guard on top but Isley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Isley can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Tihiro controls the pace.
Tihiro stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Isley swivels though and keeps the full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Isley is on top in guard.

Isley wants to control from the top but Tihiro keeps moving.

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.
Tihiro controls Isley momentarily but Isley frees himself.
Tihiro has his hands on Isley's head, controlling the position.
Isley has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Tihiro is trying to keep Isley in close.
Tihiro is pulling down on Isley's head. It's preventing any offense from Isley, at least for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Isley trying to control the position from guard on top but Tihiro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Isley moves into range and connects with a jab.
Paul Isley is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Tihiro gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Isley counters with a straight right hand.
Isley digs a good body shot into Tihiro's ribs.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Paul Isley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yuki Tihiro.
Isley scores with a hook.
Isley misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Tihiro counters by clinching up.
Isley wants to stall.
Tihiro prevents a body shot from Isley.
Isley looking to stall.
Isley tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tihiro has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Isley is trying to keep an underhook but Tihiro manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Isley gets back to full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tihiro being controlled here momentarily.
Isley has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tihiro stays in close to Isley's body and controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Isley dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Yuki Tihiro's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Tihiro.
Tihiro wants to lay and pray for a moment but Isley keeps working.
Isley tries to improve position but can't.
Isley is not content to let Tihiro control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tihiro is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Isley will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tihiro is continuing to stall.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Isley is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

That's two 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.
Isley scores with a hook.
Tihiro shoots in but Isley avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Tihiro doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Isley counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Tihiro shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Tihiro takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Tihiro wants to take a breather but Isley is having none of it.
Tihiro is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Tihiro looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Isley moves into full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Isley has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Isley wants to stand but Tihiro is controlling the position.
Tihiro 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Isley looking for a sweep. Not yet Isley, not yet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Paul Isley is winning the standup battle so far.
Isley throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Tihiro.
Isley throws a series of strikes that have Tihiro backpedaling.
Isley lands with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Isley, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Tihiro takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Tihiro swats away the attempt to clinch by Isley.
Tihiro is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Paul Isley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Isley jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Isley tries to close the distance and clinch but Tihiro swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Tihiro tries to counter by closing the distance.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Paul Isley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yuki Tihiro.
Isley misses with a jab, cross combination.
Isley throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tihiro tries for a takedown but Isley sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Tihiro shoots in for a takedown but Isley shows good takedown defense.
Isley scores with a body shot.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tihiro tries for a takedown but Isley sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Isley displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Tihiro.
Yuki Tihiro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Isley throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Tihiro stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Isley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Isley, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Isley!
Paul Isley decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.