PBP Commentary

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

Curry
vs
Kane

205 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

174 cm
20
130 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Very confident

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Federico Curry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Keoni Kane!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Curry has Kane up against the cage in a clinch.
Curry fails to pull guard.

Kane breaks the clinch.
Curry has a takedown stuffed.
Kane tries a head kick but it misses.

Kane gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kane lands a body punch in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Kane as Curry tries to tie him up.
Kane lands a good knee to the midsection. Curry won't want to take too many of those.

Kane breaks from the clinch.

Kane has closed the distance and engaged Curry in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kane pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kane tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Curry manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
It looked like Curry was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

Curry closes the distance and clinches.

Kane escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Curry is trying hard to land a takedown here. Kane sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Federico Curry. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kane doesn't manage to clinch there - Curry circles away.
Curry appears to be looking for a big counter.

Kane clinches with his opponent.
Curry trying to stall but Kane improves his position.
Nice body punch from Kane - that landed with a thud.
Kane trying to land knees to the body.
Kane blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Curry tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Kane just stands there and leans against the cage.
Kane unloads a knee to the mid-section. Curry lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Curry tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

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

Kane gets in close and instigates a clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Kane just misses with a elbow thrown towards Curry's brow.

Kane breaks from the clinch.
Kane tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Curry is able to avoid easily.
Kane pivots, looking for a leg kick but Curry is out of range and Kane settles back down.
Curry attempts a counter takedown but Kane avoids it well and moves away.
Curry falls off balance throwing a combination

and Kane moves into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kane lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Kane escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Kane closes the distance and clinches.
Curry tries to break free but Kane pushes him back against the cage.

Kane breaks from the clinch.
Curry closes the distance and clinches up with Kane, looking for a takedown. Curry pushes Kane against the cage but Kane circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Kane clinches up with Curry and pushes him back against the cage.
Curry tries to pull guard but Kane forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Curry looking to throw knees to the head but Kane is blocking nicely.
Curry avoiding damage as Kane throws knees to the body.
Kane is trying to drag Curry to the mat but Curry just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kane tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Curry fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kane tries to score a body lock takedown but Curry shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Curry managing to block the knees to the body from Kane.
Curry is trying to pull guard but Kane turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Kane tries to score a body lock takedown but Curry shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Kane looks winded!
Curry tries to pull guard but Kane holds him up against the cage and eventually Curry drops back down to his feet.
Kane lands an elbow inside.

Curry manages to pull guard.
Kane is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Kane stands up from Curry's guard - Kane perhaps looking for a knockout.
Kane tries to clinch but Curry moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Keoni Kane dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kane shoots in looking for a takedown but Curry manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kane's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Curry is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kane to keep the fight standing.

Kane pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kane tries to close the distance and clinch up but Curry swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kane fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
As Kane looks to move away, Curry throws a big counter combo but Kane just gets out of the way.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kane has Curry up against the cage in a clinch.
Curry leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kane controlling the action here for a moment.
Curry leaning against his opponent.
Curry looking to stall.
Kane tries to pull guard but Curry won't allow it.
Federico Curry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Keoni Kane.
Curry wants a takedown but no success here.
Kane manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Curry pulls Kane into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kane is looking to stand up but Curry won't let him.
Curry being controlled here, momentarily.
Curry lands an upkick as Kane stands over him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Curry is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Kane wants to get up but he can't break Curry's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Kane postures up.
Curry wants to sweep here but Kane controlling him for the moment.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Kane would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

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

Curry closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kane wants to get back to his feet but Curry drags him back down.
Kane felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Kane is breathing heavily.
Curry working the ground and pound from side control.
Curry is looking to take a break and control but Kane is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Curry prevents Kane from escaping the position.
Curry scoring with punches from side control.
Kane takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Kane is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Curry will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
An elbow from Curry crashes against the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kane manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

Curry actively working from the bottom here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Kane in particular looking to stall.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Curry tries to get to full guard but Kane has control of the leg.
Kane wants to stand up but Curry has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Curry makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Curry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Federico Curry will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Kane closes the distance and pushes Curry back into the cage.
Curry fails to pull the fight into his guard.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Curry takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Curry's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Curry jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kane walks away with a smile on his face. Curry gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kane throws a combination that misses

and Curry counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Curry throwing strikes from guard but Kane blocks nicely.
Curry postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Curry prevents Kane from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kane is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Kane manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Kane takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kane lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Kane breaks the clinch.
Kane tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Kane gets a clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kane obliges.
Curry scores with a nice hook to the head.

Kane has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Curry uses from the top position.
Kane has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kane preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kane wants to stand and escape but Curry is having none of it.
Curry really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Curry scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Curry with a flurry of punches that miss.
Curry is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Kane wants to stand and escape but Curry is having none of it.
Curry loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Federico Curry overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Kane has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Curry has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Keoni Kane seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Curry tries to pull guard but Kane forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Federico Curry. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Curry pulls guard effortlessly.
Kane sitting in guard here, content to control.
Kane preventing the sweep.
Curry not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Kane gets to his feet. Curry looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kane closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Curry managing to block the knees to the body from Kane.
Kane is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Curry jumps guard and drags Kane to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kane controlling from the top position.
Kane would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Curry is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Curry manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Kane must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kane wants to stand but Curry has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Kane is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Curry is trying to control the position but Kane postures up.
Curry is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Keoni Kane.
I think Kane 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Keoni Kane!
After the fight, Keoni Kane was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.