PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Senan Whelan (ranked 3535 p4p, 408 weight class) and Takeshi Kamiya (ranked 4235 p4p, 460 weight class). Whelan comes to the cage accompanied by The Stranglers - Golden Brown. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Whelan
vs
Kamiya

178 cm
25
180 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
196 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Senan Whelan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Takeshi Kamiya!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Russell Pearce and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Whelan drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Kamiya has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Hilo Hit Squad. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.

Whelan postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Kamiya is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Whelan, into his guard.

Kamiya must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kamiya trying to control but Whelan is working from the bottom.
Whelan keeping full guard, as Kamiya tries to pass.
Kamiya chips away with some ground and pound.

Whelan has his foot on Kamiya's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kamiya works his way back into a safe position though.

Whelan is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Kamiya looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kamiya is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whelan keeping moving, preventing Kamiya from controlling successfully.
Kamiya really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Whelan. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kamiya has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Whelan to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Kamiya is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Whelan pulls down on the head and he's put Kamiya to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:26 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Senan Whelan!
Senan Whelan was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.