PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yoko Honda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Conner Valkyrie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Conner Valkyrie will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Honda
vs
Valkyrie

195 cm
27
275 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

195 cm
20
260 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Spartan Nutrition 160Q with Proof

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yoko Honda!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Conner Valkyrie!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Taro Takaoka and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Honda steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Valkyrie.
Honda misses with a takedown
and Valkyrie counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A jab from Valkyrie does it's job there.
Honda uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Valkyrie.
Conner Valkyrie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Valkyrie looks to land a left hand but Honda moved out of range nicely.
Honda closes this distance looking for a takedown but Valkyrie circles away.
Honda shoots in and drives through. Valkyrie sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yoko Honda. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Honda.
Valkyrie is letting Honda control him for a moment.
Honda grinds an elbow into Valkyrie's temple.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Honda is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Valkyrie has escaped the position, nice work there.
The strikes coming from Honda are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Honda cracks Valkyrie with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Honda content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Valkyrie is not content to let Honda control the position.
Honda in side control, just content to control the action for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Honda has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Check out the look on Honda's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Honda tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Honda has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Honda remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Honda is looking to take a break and control but Valkyrie is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Honda working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
You can see the frustration on Valkyrie's face as Honda controls the position.
Honda working the ground and pound from side control.

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.
Valkyrie seems a little lost for a moment, as Honda dominates the positioning.
Honda cracks Valkyrie with a big elbow.
Honda taking a breather here.
Honda scores with a couple of short elbows.
Honda sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Valkyrie is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Honda is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Valkyrie's shoulder. That is not cool.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Honda advances to mount.
Valkyrie in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoko Honda dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Honda fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Valkyrie! But no joy.
Honda shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Valkyrie as he avoids it easily.
Valkyrie misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Honda.
Honda keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Valkyrie throws a hook but Honda avoids it easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Honda is defended easily by Valkyrie.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yoko Honda. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Honda fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters circling - Valkyrie throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Honda shoots in looking for a takedown but Valkyrie manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Honda's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Valkyrie fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valkyrie connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Honda's hands.
Valkyrie just misses with a punch to the body.
Honda fails with the takedown
and Valkyrie counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Valkyrie lands an overhand right.
Good standup being displayed there by Valkyrie as he connects with a hook.
Honda shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Valkyrie counters with a big right hand! Oh Honda is in trouble here! Valkyrie follows up with more strikes and that's it! The ref has stopped it!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Conner Valkyrie!
Conner Valkyrie is the new heavyweight champion!
An out of breath Conner Valkyrie thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.