PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shinsuke Mitsurugi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Greg Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mitsurugi kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is The Rising Sun. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Mitsurugi
vs
Smith

182 cm
26
172 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

188 cm
28
190 lbs
8 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Sully's Bar & Grill
Arcticus University: London

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Shinsuke Mitsurugi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Greg Smith!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mitsurugi throws a body shot but no joy.
Mitsurugi has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Smith will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Smith throws a lazy right hand but Mitsurugi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
As Smith looks to move away, Mitsurugi throws a big counter combo but Smith just gets out of the way.
Smith slips a straight right by Mitsurugi.
Smith scores with a spinning back kick!
Smith throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Mitsurugi instigates a clinch.
Smith lands a left hand that snaps the head of Mitsurugi backwards.
Mitsurugi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
Smith blocks an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Mitsurugi fails to land.
Mitsurugi misses with a punch on the inside.
Smith blocking some punches.
Smith blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Smith throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Mitsurugi breaks from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Smith throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mitsurugi avoids the head kick by Smith.
Mitsurugi dodges the punch combination from Smith.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mitsurugi ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Mitsurugi closes the distance and pushes Smith back into the cage.
Mitsurugi blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Mitsurugi misses with a punch on the inside.
Mitsurugi blocks an elbow strike.
Mitsurugi dodges an elbow strike from Smith.
Mitsurugi lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Mitsurugi's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Mitsurugi works the jab nicely.
Mitsurugi throws a leg kick but Smith sees it coming and moves out of range.
Smith keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mitsurugi avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Greg Smith seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mitsurugi uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

It looks like Greg Smith has been cut.
Smith checks a leg kick.
Mitsurugi sizes up Smith with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Smith misses with a body punch
and Mitsurugi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

It looks like Shinsuke Mitsurugi has been cut.
Smith tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Mitsurugi circles away from the clinch attempt.

Mitsurugi pushes Smith up against the cage in a clinch.
Mitsurugi lands a body punch in the clinch.
Smith blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Smith blocks an uppercut.
Smith fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Smith misses with a punch on the inside.
Mitsurugi blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Mitsurugi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Mitsurugi has a couple of punches blocked by Smith.
Mitsurugi tries to work over Smith's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Smith throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A shot in the inside from Smith.
Mitsurugi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Smith misses with some punches.
Smith wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mitsurugi has him pressed against the cage.
Mitsurugi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Mitsurugi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Mitsurugi.
Mitsurugi misses with a body punch.
Mitsurugi lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Smith working aggressively here.
Mitsurugi lands with a short shot to the head.
Mitsurugi blocks an uppercut.
Smith lands a hook that snaps the head of Mitsurugi backwards.
Mitsurugi stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A short uppercut from Smith.
Smith stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Mitsurugi swings wildly with an uppercut but Smith uses good head movement to avoid it.
Smith throws a head punch that misses.
Mitsurugi misses with a body punch.
Smith throws an elbow that misses.
Mitsurugi lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Mitsurugi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mitsurugi scores with a hook to the body.
Mitsurugi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A right hand to the body from Mitsurugi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mitsurugi working aggressively here.
A nice left hand lands by Mitsurugi.
Smith tries to stall but Mitsurugi uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Mitsurugi lands a hook that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
Smith is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Mitsurugi is keeping busy.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Smith just misses with a elbow thrown towards Mitsurugi's brow.
Mitsurugi is leaning against Smith and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Smith lands with a right to the head.
Mitsurugi lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Mitsurugi avoids the damage to the body.
Mitsurugi's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Smith scores with a nice hook to the head.
Mitsurugi lands a hook that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
A shot in the inside from Mitsurugi.
A left hand lands to the body for Mitsurugi.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mitsurugi lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mitsurugi lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mitsurugi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Mitsurugi misses with a punch to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Smith.
Mitsurugi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinsuke Mitsurugi dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Smith lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mitsurugi circles away quickly and effectively.
Mitsurugi avoids a punch combination nicely.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Mitsurugi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Smith moves away.
Smith throws a series of punches but Mitsurugi moves out of range.
Smith misses with a head kick.
Smith wants to clinch.
Mitsurugi pivots, looking for a leg kick but Smith is out of range and Mitsurugi settles back down.
Smith is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Smith misses with a head kick.

Mitsurugi closes the distance and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mitsurugi avoids the elbow strike from Smith, against the cage.
Mitsurugi lands a shoulder strike.
Mitsurugi on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Mitsurugi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smith can do to turn this around?
Mitsurugi avoids the elbow strike from Smith, against the cage.
Smith tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch on the inside from Mitsurugi fails to land.
Smith lands a shoulder strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mitsurugi lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Smith or not.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Mitsurugi here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Smith misses with a body punch.
Mitsurugi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Mitsurugi avoids a wild elbow strike from Smith.
Mitsurugi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Smith lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Mitsurugi backwards.
Smith tries to stall but Mitsurugi uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Smith manages to break the clinch.
Smith ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Mitsurugi avoids a kick to the body.
Mitsurugi fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Smith has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Smith looks to land a combination but Mitsurugi avoids it well.
A combination from Smith does no damage.
Mitsurugi throwing a counter right hand but Smith manages to avoid it.
Mitsurugi throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Smith counters with a one-two to the body.
Smith fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Some wild striking there from Smith.
Smith is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mitsurugi cracks the inside of Smith's front leg.
A solid leg kick lands there for Mitsurugi.
Smith chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Mitsurugi can pounce on him.
Smith misses the shot to the body.
Smith throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
The fighters circle momentarily. Mitsurugi darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Mitsurugi takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Smith fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mitsurugi manages to avoid it.
A lazy left from Mitsurugi finds it's target.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Mitsurugi.
Greg Smith is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Smith connects with the punch.
A punch combination from Smith misses.
Mitsurugi with a nice cross.

Mitsurugi lands a big head kick that sends Smith tumbling to the mat! Mitsurugi takes a step backwards and waves Smith back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Smith is rocked!
Mitsurugi lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Smith falls backwards - clearly groggy! Mitsurugi dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Shinsuke Mitsurugi!
In his post fight interview, Shinsuke Mitsurugi started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.