PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Douglas Steinhof (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kotetsu Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Steinhof
vs
Yamamoto

180 cm
21
155 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

168 cm
20
149 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Douglas Steinhof!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kotetsu Yamamoto!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Steinhof looks to land a combination but Yamamoto avoids it well.
Yamamoto lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Yamamoto stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Yamamoto wants it to stay on the feet.
Steinhof walks into a stiff left hand from Yamamoto.
Steinhof misses with a lunging right hand
and Yamamoto counters with a nice uppercut.
Steinhof tries for a takedown but Yamamoto circles away easily
and Yamamoto counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Yamamoto cracks Steinhof with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Steinhof pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Steinhof seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
The fighters circling - Yamamoto throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Steinhof appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Steinhof falls off balance throwing a combination
and Steinhof takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Steinhof throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Yamamoto.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yamamoto lands a nice looking body shot.
Yamamoto lands a jab to Steinhof's midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steinhof fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Steinhof. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yamamoto cracks Steinhof with a right hand to the side of the head.
Yamamoto staying out of range there.
Steinhof shoots in but Yamamoto avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Yamamoto wants to counter with a clinch but Steinhof pushes him away.
Steinhof shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Yamamoto as he jumps to the side.
Steinhof misses with a takedown attempt
and Yamamoto counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Steinhof has his takedown stuffed
and Yamamoto counters with a nice uppercut.
Decent striking displayed by Yamamoto there.
Steinhof shoots in for a takedown but Yamamoto shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Yamamoto wants to counter with a clinch but Steinhof pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steinhof has his takedown stuffed
and Yamamoto counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Steinhof is breathing heavily.
Steinhof shoots in but no luck this time.
Kotetsu Yamamoto is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Steinhof throws a head kick that misses
and Yamamoto counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yamamoto lands a nice hook to Steinhof's body. Steinhof takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Yamamoto scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Steinhof fails with the takedown
and Yamamoto counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Steinhof tries for a takedown but Yamamoto circles away easily
and Yamamoto counters with a left to the body.
Steinhof gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Yamamoto takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Steinhof avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steinhof throws a predictable looking body shot

and Yamamoto counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Steinhof blocking some punches.
Yamamoto has Steinhof pushed against the cage.
Yamamoto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Steinhof is looking to break free of the clinch but Yamamoto has double underhooks.
A body shot lands from Yamamoto.
Yamamoto throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Yamamoto struggles to land a body shot inside as Steinhof controls his hands.
A short right from Yamamoto on the inside.
Yamamoto tries a body shot but Steinhof blocks it.
Yamamoto slowing the pace effectively.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yamamoto is fighting off a takedown attempt but Steinhof is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Yamamoto to the mat. Yamamoto regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Yamamoto preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Steinhof loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Yamamoto pulls Steinhof in to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yamamoto utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Steinhof prevents Yamamoto from getting back to his feet.
Steinhof being controlled here momentarily.
Let's hope that Yamamoto 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.
Yamamoto's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Steinhof working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kotetsu Yamamoto dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Steinhof shoots in for a takedown but Yamamoto shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Yamamoto defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Steinhof.
Steinhof looks to score with a jab to the body but Yamamoto is just out of range.
Douglas Steinhof is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Steinhof tries for a takedown but Yamamoto circles away easily
and Yamamoto counters with a lovely shot to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Steinhof. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Steinhof shoots in but Yamamoto avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Yamamoto has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
Steinhof closes this distance looking for a takedown but Yamamoto circles away.
Yamamoto appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Yamamoto shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Steinhof eats them both and turns towards Yamamoto to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
A jab from Yamamoto finds it's way through Steinhof's defenses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamamoto lands a jab to Steinhof's midsection.
Yamamoto shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Steinhof eats them both and turns towards Yamamoto to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Steinhof lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A punch combination from Steinhof misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Steinhof.
Yamamoto scores with a jab to the body.
Horrible takedown attempt by Steinhof or perhaps it was just good defense by Yamamoto, which made it look bad.
Steinhof slips under a jab from Yamamoto.
Steinhof pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Steinhof gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
A left and a right from Yamamoto both land. Nice combination.
Steinhof takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

Steinhof is rocked!
Yamamoto connects with the punch.
Oh Steinhof is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Steinhof has his takedown stuffed
and Yamamoto counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Steinhof shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Yamamoto but Yamamoto pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Yamamoto throws a right and a left that Steinhof avoids nicely.
And Steinhof counters with a quick kick to the body but Yamamoto blocks it.
Steinhof seems to have got his legs back now.
Steinhof will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Steinhof shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Yamamoto counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Yamamoto connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Steinhof momentarily.
Yamamoto stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Yamamoto wants it to stay on the feet.
Yamamoto now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Yamamoto tests Steinhof's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Steinhof misses with a double jab
enabling Yamamoto to counter with a crisp jab.
Steinhof with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Yamamoto to score with a decent uppercut.
Yamamoto ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steinhof takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Steinhof has his takedown stuffed
and Yamamoto cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Steinhof on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Yamamoto lands with a nice body punch.
Steinhof looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Steinhof gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Steinhof blocks a jab.
Steinhof rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Yamamoto counters with a nice uppercut.
Yamamoto jabs Steinhof to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Yamamoto tests Steinhof's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Yamamoto's corner calls for a 1-2. Yamamoto obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamamoto throws a jab but it's blocked by Steinhof.
A low kick from Steinhof misses
and Yamamoto counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Steinhof shoots in for a takedown but Yamamoto shows good takedown defense.
Yamamoto cracks a nice hook into Steinhof's ribs.

Yamamoto gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Yamamoto tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Steinhof's elbow.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Yamamoto.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Yamamoto creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Yamamoto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yamamoto has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Steinhof blocks a body shot from Yamamoto.

Steinhof turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Steinhof working away.
Yamamoto avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Steinhof.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kotetsu Yamamoto showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. 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.

Steinhof doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Yamamoto counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Steinhof takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Steinhof misses with a takedown attempt
and Yamamoto counters with a nice body shot.
Steinhof throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Yamamoto counters with a nice uppercut.
Yamamoto thows a left - swing and a miss!
Yamamoto lands a nice shot to the body.
Steinhof doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Yamamoto counters with a lovely straight right hand!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Steinhof. 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.
Steinhof throws a head kick that misses

and Yamamoto counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto tries to throw a body punch but Steinhof avoids it by throwing Yamamoto back against the cage.
Steinhof has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Yamamoto is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto controlling the action here for a moment.
Steinhof blocks a body shot from Yamamoto.
Yamamoto misses with a punch to the body.
Yamamoto lands a body shot.
Yamamoto tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Steinhof's elbow.
Steinhof looking for a takedown.
Yamamoto is stalling here.
Yamamoto lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Steinhof or not.
Yamamoto softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steinhof is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Yamamoto gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Yamamoto lands a nice uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Kotetsu Yamamoto seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Yamamoto misses with a punch to the body.
Steinhof prevents a body shot from Yamamoto.
Yamamoto controlling the action here for a moment.
A short left from Yamamoto.
Yamamoto tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Steinhof's elbow.
Yamamoto is defending well against a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Yamamoto works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Yamamoto slows down the pace here.
Steinhof has Yamamoto pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Yamamoto manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Kotetsu Yamamoto is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Yamamoto.
Steinhof is trying to drag Yamamoto to the mat but Yamamoto just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

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.
Steinhof looking for a takedown.
Yamamoto is pressed up against the cage. Steinhof has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Yamamoto down to the mat. Yamamoto avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Douglas Steinhof has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
No luck for Steinhof with that takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kotetsu Yamamoto comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Yamamoto winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 26:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 26:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kotetsu Yamamoto!
Post fight, an emotional Kotetsu Yamamoto said 'We are NJPW!!!'.