PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Danny Dawkins (ranked 4891 p4p, 3759 weight class) and Akira Tanahashi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Dawkins
vs
Tanahashi

180 cm
25
177
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
18
180
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Danny Dawkins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Akira Tanahashi!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Gregory Folan and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tanahashi darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

It looks like Danny Dawkins has been cut.
Dawkins turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Tanahashi just misses with a punch to the body.
Dawkins misses with the combination.
Despite the aggression on Tanahashi's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Dawkins fails to land with a series of punches.
Dawkins tries for a takedown but Tanahashi sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Dawkins is looking to clinch.
Tanahashi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Dawkins.
Tanahashi thuds his right hand into Dawkins's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Dawkins closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Tanahashi did well to prevent Dawkins getting side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tanahashi blocking the ground and pound attempt from Dawkins.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Dawkins seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Tanahashi for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanahashi is trying to control but can't.
Dawkins controlling the action here.
Tanahashi tries to roll over but Dawkins keeps him under control.
Tanahashi looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Dawkins is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Dawkins working the ground and pound effectively.
Dawkins controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins landing strikes from the mount and Tanahashi is in trouble!
Dawkins throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Tanahashi because Dawkins loaded up on that one.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dawkins sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Dawkins thowing shots but they're missing.
Dawkins content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tanahashi is trying to escape the mount.
Dawkins sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Tanahashi keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Dawkins misses with a head shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Dawkins looking to finish with strikes here!
Dawkins controlling the pace for now.
Tanahashi is looking to improve his position but Dawkins isn't that keen on the idea.
Dawkins tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Dawkins throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tanahashi is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Dawkins looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danny Dawkins dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Danny Dawkins'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.

No luck for Dawkins with that takedown attempt.
Dawkins fails to land with a series of punches.
Dawkins is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tanahashi can do to turn this around?
Tanahashi dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Tanahashi chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Dawkins can pounce on him.
Tanahashi looks to score with a jab to the body but Dawkins is just out of range.
Dawkins uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Tanahashi.

Dawkins gets the takedown into side control.
Tanahashi avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Dawkins.
Tanahashi tries to bench press Dawkins off him but Dawkins keeps the position.
Tanahashi managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Dawkins.
You can see the frustration on Tanahashi's face as Dawkins controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanahashi managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Dawkins.
Dawkins is staying tight to Tanahashi's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Tanahashi is looking for a sweep.
Dawkins controlling the position.
Dawkins throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Dawkins creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Dawkins controls the position from side control.
Dawkins throws a strike aimed at the side of Tanahashi's head but Tanahashi avoids it well.
Dawkins controls the position from side control.
Dawkins has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Tanahashi is trying to control Dawkins's posture but Dawkins avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins in side control, just content to control the action for now.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Dawkins takes the fight into the clinch.
Dawkins fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tanahashi tries to break the clinch but Dawkins is controlling the position.
Dawkins blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Tanahashi avoiding damage as Dawkins throws knees to the body.
Dawkins tries a body shot but Tanahashi blocks it.
Dawkins has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Tanahashi is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tanahashi misses with the head strike.
Dawkins tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danny Dawkins. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dawkins is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Tanahashi is defending well.
Tanahashi avoiding damage as Dawkins throws knees to the body.
Dawkins lands a body punch in the clinch.
Tanahashi lands a hook to the side of the head.
Dawkins wants to stall.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Dawkins doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tanahashi lands a body shot in the clinch.
Dawkins is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Tanahashi gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Tanahashi cracks Dawkins with a nice body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danny Dawkins dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Danny Dawkins's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Tanahashi's corner calls for a 1-2. Tanahashi obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Dawkins misses with a double jab
and Tanahashi counters with a straight right hand.
Dawkins shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Tanahashi makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Dawkins changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Tanahashi looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Dawkins sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Tanahashi is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Tanahashi seems a little lost for a moment, as Dawkins dominates the positioning.
Tanahashi is trying to improve his position.
Sloppy strikes there by Dawkins.
A lull in the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dawkins throwing shots but missing, from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dawkins scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Tanahashi to see if he's OK.
Dawkins is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Tanahashi is trying to get back to half guard.
Dawkins remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

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.
The ground and pound from Dawkins seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Tanahashi wants to control but Dawkins postures up.
Dawkins tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Dawkins is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Tanahashi will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Dawkins continues to stall.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Dawkins dives in and grabs Tanahashi's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tanahashi pushes down on Dawkins's head and hops out.

Dawkins drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Dawkins preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Dawkins loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Dawkins stays in close to Tanahashi's body and controls the position.
Dawkins's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Danny Dawkins overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Dawkins 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Dawkins attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.

Dawkins fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Tanahashi to the ground. Dawkins is now in Tanahashi's guard.
Dawkins is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Akira Tanahashi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Further stalling from Dawkins.

And that's the end of the fight!
Danny Dawkins showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dawkins, 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danny Dawkins!