PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lewis Tsushima (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Samuels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tsushima comes into the arena with Eminem - Till I Collapse blaring out of the sound system. Sam Samuels has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Tsushima
vs
Samuels

184 cm
22
216 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

188 cm
24
212 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

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LHK Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Lewis Tsushima!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sam Samuels!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Sosuke Kotani and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Samuels fails with the takedown.
A nice combination there by Samuels.

It looks like Lewis Tsushima has been cut.
Samuels stuns Tsushima with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Samuels swinging wilding here.
A big right from Tsushima misses.
Samuels tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tsushima was well out of range. Poor timing from Samuels.
Tsushima throws a shot from downtown. Samuels moves away and avoids it.
Tsushima with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Samuels to score with a decent uppercut.
Samuels lands a body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice body punch from Samuels.
Tsushima swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Samuels swinging wilding here.
Tsushima misses the shot to the body.
A punch combination from Tsushima misses.

Samuels shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Samuels is keen to just control but Tsushima is a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Samuels in particular looking to stall.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tsushima wants to get back to full guard.
Samuels tries to pass to full mount but Tsushima defends it.
Samuels looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Samuels is stalling here. Tsushima is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Samuels seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Tsushima has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
The ground and pound from Tsushima seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Samuels tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Samuels can't do much from the bottom here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tsushima connects with the punch.

It looks like Sam Samuels has been cut.
Tsushima clobbers Samuels with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Samuels fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Tsushima comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Samuels dives in and grabs Tsushima's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tsushima pushes down on Samuels's head and hops out.
Samuels looks gassed!
Tsushima throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Tsushima feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Tsushima won't allow Samuels to sweep him here.

Samuels has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Tsushima can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Tsushima wants to control from the top but Samuels keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samuels looking to hit a scissor sweep but Tsushima is one step ahead there.
Tsushima in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Tsushima trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Tsushima is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Samuels keeping moving, preventing Tsushima from controlling successfully.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Tsushima lands with a right hand.
Samuels ducks under a wild hook from Tsushima.
Samuels misses with a straight right.
Tsushima slips a jab from Samuels.
Samuels keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Samuels slips a jab and a cross from Tsushima.
Samuels shoots in for a takedown but Tsushima shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Lewis Tsushima has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Samuels.
Samuels lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
A jab from Tsushima misses.
Samuels ducks under a wild hook from Tsushima.
Tsushima moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
A punch combination from Samuels misses.
Samuels misses with the combination.
Tsushima lands a head shot.
Samuels tries to score a power double leg takedown but Tsushima sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Samuels somewhat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tsushima throws a sloppy body shot
and Samuels counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Samuels throws a big shot that misses.
Tsushima misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Samuels.
Tsushima misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Samuels.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Lewis Tsushima will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Tsushima scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Tsushima keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Tsushima takes a swing at Samuels's ribcage but misses.
Samuels ducks under a wild hook from Tsushima.
Tsushima misses with an uppercut.
Tsushima defending well as Samuels loads up on a big left hand.
Tsushima swings away with a body shot that misses
and Tsushima takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Samuels shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Tsushima defends it nicely.
Lewis Tsushima is winning the standup battle so far.

Tsushima is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Samuels's half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Tsushima looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Samuels is pressing down on Tsushima's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Samuels is on top in guard.
Samuels trying to control the position from guard on top but Tsushima is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Samuels pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tsushima is keeping the position for now.
Tsushima looking to hit a scissor sweep but Samuels is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Samuels looking to pass the guard.
Tsushima wants to sweep but no luck.
Samuels pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tsushima is keeping the position for now.
Samuels is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Tsushima throws a looping overhand right but Samuels ducks down to avoid it.
Tsushima slips a straight right by Samuels.
Tsushima uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Samuels.

Samuels scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samuels is looking to take a break and control but Tsushima is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Tsushima tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Samuels throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Samuels tries to move to mount but Tsushima blocks the move with his legs.

Samuels tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Tsushima is trying to get back to half guard.
Samuels fails to land a wild elbow strike.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Samuels uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Tsushima.
Samuels doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Tsushima throws a big shot that misses.
Samuels uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tsushima.
Samuels bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Sam Samuels is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tsushima misses the shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Lewis Tsushima will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Tsushima slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Samuels lands a body shot.
Nice sprawl there from Tsushima as Samuels shoots in.
Tsushima just misses with a punch to the body.
Samuels misses with a two punch combination.
Tsushima uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Samuels.
Tsushima misses with a jab, cross combination.
Samuels shoots in looking for a takedown. Tsushima tries to sprawl out of it but Samuels keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Tsushima manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Tsushima lands with a straight right. Samuels didn't see that one coming.
Samuels lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Samuels loads up on a big right hand but Tsushima slips the punch.
Donk. Samuels catches Tsushima right on the button with a cross.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Samuels tries to score a power double leg takedown but Tsushima sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Samuels somewhat.
Lewis Tsushima has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Samuels.
Samuels takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Samuels digs a good hook to Tsushima's body.
Samuels throws a shot from downtown. Tsushima moves away and avoids it.
Samuels connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tsushima's hands.
Tsushima will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A jab from Tsushima misses.
Samuels misses with a jab, cross combination.
Samuels swings for the body but Tsushima moves out of range.
Tsushima keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Tsushima looks to land a combination but Samuels avoids it well.

Samuels fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Tsushima sprawls well initially but Samuels persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Tsushima is trying to stand back up but Samuels is controlling him

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsushima avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Samuels.
Samuels trying to pass the guard but Tsushima defending well.
Tsushima is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Samuels's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Samuels's back!
Tsushima is hanging on to Samuels's back as he tries to escape.
Tsushima avoiding Samuels 's attempts to control his hands.
Samuels wants to escape the position.

Tsushima is persistently looking for the submission but Samuels is defending it well.
Tsushima misses with punches from the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Tsushima's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Tsushima just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Samuels looking very determined here, making life difficult for Tsushima.
Samuels tries to escape but Tsushima has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Samuels prevents Tsushima from getting a body triangle.
Tsushima is trying to stick to Samuels's back but Samuels is turning into Tsushima. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Tsushima's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Samuels.
Lewis Tsushima is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Samuels pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tsushima is keeping the position for now.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Samuels throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Tsushima loads up on a big right hand but Samuels slips the punch.

Samuels shoots in and bounces Tsushima off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Tsushima is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Tsushima pulls Samuels in close to prevent any damage.
Samuels pushes down on Tsushima's leg and manages to get into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sam Samuels comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Tsushima has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lewis Tsushima!