PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between James Durham (ranked 6130 p4p, 0 weight class) and Minoru Yamamoto (ranked 23331 p4p, 0 weight class). Minoru Yamamoto is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Durham
vs
Yamamoto

185 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

163 cm
23
150 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, James Durham!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Minoru Yamamoto!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Ren Mimura and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamamoto clobbers Durham with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
James Durham seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Durham wants to clinch up but Yamamoto keeps it at a distance.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Yamamoto!

Yamamoto gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Durham sitting in guard here, content to control.
Durham scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Durham in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Durham showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Yamamoto wants to stand up but Durham is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Durham is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Yamamoto is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Yamamoto has escaped and now he's on top!

Durham really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Yamamoto gets to his feet - Durham follows without any prompting.

Durham dives in and scores a takedown into Yamamoto's guard.
Yamamoto is looking to stand up but Durham isn't so interested in that idea.
Durham will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Durham's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Durham with a nice head shot there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Durham sitting in guard here, content to control.
Durham is looking to stand up but Yamamoto won't let him.
Durham won't allow Yamamoto to get back to his feet.
Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Durham manages to pass to side control.
Durham has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Durham moves into full mount! Yamamoto won't be happy about that!
Yamamoto wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.

Yamamoto defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Durham.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Durham with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Durham sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four 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.
Yamamoto taking shots to the head.
Durham looking to control and managing it successfully.
Durham looking to control but Yamamoto is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Yamamoto looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yamamoto squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Durham dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Yamamoto lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Yamamoto scores with a jab to the body.
Durham shoots in but Yamamoto avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Durham avoids a punch combination nicely.
It looked like Durham was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Durham avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Durham gets the takedown into side control.
Yamamoto tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Durham working the ground and pound effectively.
Yamamoto is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto taking shots to the head.
Yamamoto wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Durham content just to control the position here.
Durham lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Yamamoto is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Durham lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Yamamoto hang on?
Durham wants to control the pace but Yamamoto is squirming around nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Durham looking to control and managing it successfully.
Durham scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Yamamoto is trying to stand up.
Durham with shots to the head and body - Yamamoto looks very uncomfortable down there.
Yamamoto is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
James Durham overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Durham controlling from the full mount.
Durham scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Yamamoto?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Durham takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Durham tries to control but Yamamoto wriggling away.
Yamamoto really wants to buck Durham off and get back to his feet.

Durham is working for a guillotine from mount but Yamamoto frees his head quite easily.
Durham with good strikes from the mount here!
Durham looking to control and managing it successfully.
Durham has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Yamamoto's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Durham with shots to the head and body - Yamamoto looks very uncomfortable down there.
Durham takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Durham has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Yamamoto is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Yamamoto is in a horrible position here. Durham smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Durham postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Yamamoto looks a forlorn figure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Durham dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Yamamoto throws a right and a left that Durham avoids nicely.

Durham shoots in and bounces Yamamoto off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Durham manages to pass to side control.

Durham stops Yamamoto from getting back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Durham tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Yamamoto.
Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Durham content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Yamamoto won't allow Durham to pass to mount.
Durham sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's two 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.
Durham seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Durham seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Durham closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Yamamoto quickly recovers to half guard.

Yamamoto pushes Durham off and gets back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Yamamoto gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Durham stands up and waves to Yamamoto to follow him.
Yamamoto lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Durham wants to clinch up but Yamamoto keeps it at a distance.

Yamamoto gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Durham to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Durham manages to pass to side control.
Yamamoto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Durham wants to pass to mount but Yamamoto is defending the position.
Durham takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Minoru Yamamoto has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James Durham is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yamamoto tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to James Durham.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Durham, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Durham!