PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Shelton Harrison (ranked 25223 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryusuke Akabane (ranked 4147 p4p, 191 weight class). Ryusuke Akabane is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Harrison
vs
Akabane

203 cm
18
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

168 cm
25
138 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shelton Harrison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ryusuke Akabane!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harrison darts in looking for a takedown but Akabane gets double underhooks and turns Harrison into the cage.

Akabane shoots in and bounces Harrison off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

Harrison has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Akabane is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Harrison can't break the clinch.
Akabane with a knee to the head.

It looks like Shelton Harrison has been cut.
Akabane lands an elbow inside.
Akabane lands a body punch in the clinch.

Akabane gets control of Harrison's arms and successfully pulls guard. Akabane will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harrison is stalling in the full guard.
Akabane is controlling Harrison's posture.

Akabane manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harrison jumps guard but Akabane stands there with Harrison around his waist. Harrison gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Akabane lands a body shot in the clinch.
Harrison tries to break free but Akabane pushes him back against the cage.
Harrison really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Akabane has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Harrison uses from the top position.
Harrison controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Akabane pulls Harrison in to control the position.
Harrison will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Harrison won't allow Akabane to get back to his feet.
Harrison trying to control the position from guard on top but Akabane is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akabane is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Harrison postures up in Akabane's guard and throws a big left but Akabane blocks it.

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

Akabane has taken the fight to the clinch.
Akabane tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Akabane successfully pulls guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Akabane utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Harrison missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Harrison working some strikes from top position.
Harrison would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Harrison loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Harrison 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.
Akabane is looking to stand up but Harrison isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akabane working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Harrison.
Harrison with a flurry of punches that miss.
Akabane avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Harrison throws a strike but Akabane rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Akabane scoring with punches to the head and body.
Akabane tries to free his leg and advance position but Harrison is retaining full guard.
Akabane trying to control but Harrison is working from the bottom.

Harrison throws his legs up looking for a submission but Akabane uses it to pass to side control.
Harrison dodges the ground and pound from Akabane.
Akabane throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Akabane staying calm.

Akabane stands up and beckons Harrison to his feet.
Akabane slaps away a takedown attempt from Harrison, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shelton Harrison. That's going to take a lot out of him.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

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

Harrison tries to keep at a distance but Akabane has taken the fight into the clinch.
Akabane lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryusuke Akabane dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Shelton Harrison's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Akabane lands with a nice body punch.
Harrison shoots in but Akabane avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Harrison fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Akabane has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Akabane misses with the combination.

Akabane closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Akabane pulls guard effortlessly.
Akabane preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Harrison trying to control the position from guard on top but Akabane is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Harrison with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Akabane working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Harrison.
Akabane wants to stand but Harrison is controlling the position.

Akabane manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

Akabane gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Harrison manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Shelton Harrison is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Harrison enables Akabane to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Harrison manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Ryusuke Akabane has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Harrison has his feet on Akabane's thighs here. He's pushed Akabane off and worked for a very quick armbar from the bottom! He's flipped onto his stomach and he's cranking hard on the arm! Akabane screams in pain and taps out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:51 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Shelton Harrison!