PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between James Mitchell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tatsuya Suuou (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for James Mitchell has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Mitchell
vs
Suuou

187 cm
19
137 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

167 cm
25
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, James Mitchell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tatsuya Suuou!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Michael Johnstone and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Suuou darts in and clinches Mitchell up against the cage.
Mitchell using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Suuou has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Suuou lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Mitchell has hold of Suuou's hands but Suuou slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Suuou lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Mitchell tries to get to full guard but Suuou has control of the leg.
Suuou with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Suuou winds up and cracks Mitchell with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Suuou looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Well, if Suuou is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Suuou slips a nice elbow through Mitchell's hands, connecting with Mitchell's forehead.
Mitchell is looking for a sweep. Suuou is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Suuou scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Suuou prevents Mitchell from improving his position.
Suuou performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Mitchell moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Suuou controls from within his opponent's guard.
It looks like Suuou 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suuou scoring with punches to the head and body.
Suuou stays in close to Mitchell's body and controls the position.
Suuou's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Mitchell swinging wildly here.
And Suuou tries to counter it with a takedown but Mitchell pushes his down on his head and steps out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Suuou with a lazy takedown attempt
and Mitchell counters with a leg kick.
Suuou takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Suuou darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Suuou keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Suuou is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Mitchell trying to control from the bottom.
Suuou works his way into side control.
A lull in the action here as Suuou stalls from top position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mitchell takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tatsuya Suuou dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Suuou shoots in for a takedown but Mitchell shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Suuou shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Suuou was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Suuou is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Mitchell will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Suuou tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Suuou has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Suuou has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The referee asks Suuou politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Suuou prefers to stall for the moment though.
Mitchell is looking for a sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mitchell seems a little lost for a moment, as Suuou dominates the positioning.
Mitchell tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Suuou wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Suuou happy to just control the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mitchell is working to avoid the ground and pound but Suuou connects with a decent elbow.
Suuou in side control lands a decent elbow.
Suuou controlling the position.
Mitchell tries to buck Suuou off but Suuou is having none of it.
Suuou controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Suuou works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Suuou controlling from side mount.
Tatsuya Suuou has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mitchell can't do much from the bottom here.
Mitchell is trying to escape the position but Suuou is controlling the position.
Let's hope that Suuou 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suuou working the body and head with strikes.
Suuou content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Suuou has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mitchell struggling a bit here.
Suuou controls the position from side control.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Suuou is continuing to stall.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
James Mitchell is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Suuou has Mitchell up against the cage in a clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Mitchell.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mitchell is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Suuou has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Mitchell after a bit of a struggle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tatsuya Suuou showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Mitchell lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
A nice inside leg kick there by Mitchell. That's going to slow Suuou down.
Mitchell tries to clinch but Suuou is having none of it.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Mitchell thumps Suuou with a low kick.
Mitchell cracks the inside of Suuou's front leg.
Suuou on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Mitchell throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Suuou is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Mitchell's half guard.
Suuou controlling the pace.
Suuou drops an elbow to the side of Mitchell's head.
Mitchell is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Suuou sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Suuou looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Mitchell with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Suuou stalling.
More stalling from Suuou.
Mitchell wants to get back to his feet.
Suuou seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Mitchell trying to control from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Suuou is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Mitchell!
Suuou looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Suuou content just to control the position here.
The adventures of Suuou the control monster continue. Boring.
Mitchell really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Mitchell is looking to get to half guard.
Suuou controlling from the full mount.
Suuou raining down shots from the mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Suuou cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Suuou controlling his opponent.

Suuou swings around for an armbar and he's got it! Wow, that came out of nowhere! What a finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:38 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Tatsuya Suuou!