PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Xavie Santo (ranked 3777 p4p, 6014 weight class) and Akechi Yamato (ranked 440 p4p, 579 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Santo
vs
Yamato

182 cm
25
177
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
19
175
2 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Xavie Santo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Akechi Yamato!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Russell Pearce and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Santo is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Yamato's half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Yamato is defending against the submission attempts here by Santo.
Santo missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Santo seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamato wants to improve his position but Santo is controlling well.
Santo content to control rather than advance.

Santo 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.
Santo tries to stand and escape but Yamato is controlling the position.

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.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yamato is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Santo scores with a couple of nice shots.
Santo is looking to advance position but Yamato won't allow it.
Yamato is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santo controlling the pace.

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

Santo closes the distance and clinches.

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

Santo gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Santo tries to pull guard but Yamato forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Santo jumps guard.

Santo has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Yamato can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Santo wants to stand and escape but Yamato is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamato sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Yamato must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Santo is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Yamato defends well.
Yamato trying to control the position from guard on top but Santo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yamato controlling from the top position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Santo keeping moving, preventing Yamato from controlling successfully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Xavie Santo dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Santo has his takedown stuffed

and Yamato counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Yamato pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Santo is keeping the position for now.
Yamato preventing the sweep.
Yamato trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Santo controlling the position.
Santo tries to strike from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Santo throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Santo had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Yamato defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamato is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Yamato is breathing heavily.
Yamato trying to control but Santo is working from the bottom.
Santo is pulling down on Yamato's head. It's preventing any offense from Yamato, at least for the moment.

Yamato got a little sloppy there for a moment and Santo has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Yamato has managed to get both his arms back between Santo's legs - danger averted.
Yamato is looking to pass into half guard but Santo pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Santo is in guard.

Yamato has a closed guard, preventing Santo from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santo trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Santo controlling from the top position.
Santo seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Yamato for as long as he can get away with.
Our spies down at at Cozad MMA Tokyo inform us that Yamato has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santo slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Santo wants to stand but Yamato has him controlled and pulls him back into his guard.
Santo showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Santo has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Yamato wants to sweep here but Santo controlling him for the moment.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Yamato preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Santo feints and as Yamato raises his hands in defense, Santo changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Xavie Santo 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!

Santo moves into the clinch.
Santo stalling against the cage.
Santo is pressed up against the cage. Yamato has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Santo down to the mat. Santo avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Santo throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Yamato was covering up waiting for the punch and Santo finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Yamato is looking to stand back up but Santo counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Yamato.
Yamato takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Santo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Yamato defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santo landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Yamato won't allow Santo to pass to mount.

Santo is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Yamato is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Santo connects with a nice short shot to Yamato's temple.
Santo winds up and cracks Yamato with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santo controlling the action here.
Santo throwing shots but Yamato is blocking nicely.
Xavie Santo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Santo seems to be looking for submissions.
Santo working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Santo missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Yamato keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santo working the head and body with strikes.
Santo performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Santo slips a nice elbow through Yamato's hands, connecting with Yamato's forehead.
Santo stalling.
Santo tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Santo stalling.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Santo gets a clinch.

Santo pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Xavie Santo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Santo will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
And Yamato tries to counter it with a takedown but Santo pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Santo drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Xavie Santo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Santo has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:27
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xavie Santo!