PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nissho Sakurai (ranked 5113 p4p, 3449 weight class) and Travis Henderson (ranked 555 p4p, 425 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Sakurai
vs
Henderson

176 cm
18
171
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
179
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Kore Fight Nutrition

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 London, Nissho Sakurai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Travis Henderson !
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shirou Masuda and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sakurai tries to clinch but Henderson moves out of range.
Henderson blocks a low kick nicely.
Henderson is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Henderson blocks the body kick.
Sakurai throws a wild body kick that Henderson sees coming a mile off.

Henderson clinches.
Sakurai misses with an elbow strike.
Henderson can't break the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Henderson is trying to break the clinch but Sakurai has him pressed against the cage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Henderson - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Henderson managing to block the knees to the body from Sakurai.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sakurai throws a knee to the head but misses.
Henderson tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Sakurai just stands there and leans against the cage.
Sakurai throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Henderson blocks it with crossed arms.
Sakurai lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Travis Henderson has been cut.
Henderson misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakurai tries to land knees in the clinch but Henderson avoids the damage to the body.
Sakurai using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Henderson has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sakurai missing with knees to the body.
Sakurai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henderson avoids it.
Sakurai utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Henderson slows down the pace here.
Sakurai tries to land knees in the clinch but Henderson avoids the damage to the body.
Sakurai connects with a nasty looking knee right to Henderson 's face.
Sakurai throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sakurai missing with knees to the body.
Sakurai missing with knees to the body.
Henderson has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Sakurai avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Sakurai throws an elbow but it misses.
Henderson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai throws a knee to the head but misses.

Henderson gets a trip takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henderson prevents Sakurai from improving his position.
Sakurai is trying to maintain the position but Henderson is very close to passing his half guard.
Sakurai pushes Henderson off but Henderson dives into side control.
Henderson fails to land a wild elbow strike.

Henderson decides to stand back up.

Sakurai moves into range and clinches up with Henderson .
Sakurai lands a nice shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Henderson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Henderson working hard to break the clinch.
Henderson managing to block the knees to the body from Sakurai.

Henderson successfully pulls guard.
Sakurai wants to control from the top but Henderson keeps moving.
Sakurai wanted to stand there but Henderson had control of the position.
Sakurai trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sakurai tries to stand but Henderson is controlling from the bottom.
Sakurai chips away with some ground and pound.
Sakurai knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Henderson on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai wanted to stand there but Henderson had control of the position.
Henderson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sakurai won't allow Henderson to get back to his feet.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Sakurai throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Henderson on the side of the head.
Sakurai wants to clinch up but Henderson keeps it at a distance.
Henderson closes the distance and clinches up with Sakurai, looking for a takedown. Henderson pushes Sakurai against the cage but Sakurai circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Nissho Sakurai has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Travis Henderson .
Henderson has a takedown stuffed.
Henderson looks winded!
Sakurai looks for the body kick but Henderson saw that one coming.
Sakurai just misses with a punch to the body.
Henderson fails with the takedown.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nissho Sakurai dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Travis Henderson 's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Sakurai throws a head kick but Henderson moves out of range.

Sakurai rushes Henderson and presses him up against the cage.

Henderson breaks from the clinch.

Henderson drives through with a takedown into Sakurai's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Sakurai is trying to control the position but Henderson postures up.
Henderson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Henderson is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Henderson works over Sakurai with some ground and pound from guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sakurai is on top in guard.

Henderson is breathing heavily.
Sakurai postures up in Henderson 's guard and throws a big left but Henderson blocks it.
Henderson keeping full guard, as Sakurai tries to pass.
Sakurai has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Henderson is proving hard to escape from.
Henderson manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Sakurai manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sakurai working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Henderson .
Henderson stays in close to Sakurai's body and controls the position.
Henderson prevents Sakurai from getting back to his feet.

Henderson stands and steps away. Sakurai gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Sakurai is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Henderson can do to turn this around?
Sakurai throws an overhand right that lands on Henderson 's shoulder, as Henderson tries to avoid the shot.

Henderson fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Sakurai sprawls well initially but Henderson persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Sakurai pushes Henderson off looking to stand but Henderson dives back in and keeps control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai tries to get to full guard but Henderson has control of the leg.

Henderson is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Sakurai doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Henderson .
Sakurai is looking to control Henderson 's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sakurai avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Sakurai moves into full guard.
Henderson is stalling in the full guard.
Henderson won't allow Sakurai to get back to his feet.

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!
A head kick from Henderson lands but Sakurai takes it in his stride.
Sakurai fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Henderson is out of range.

Sakurai gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Travis Henderson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Travis Henderson 's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Sakurai rushes Henderson and presses him up against the cage.
Henderson managing to block the knees to the body from Sakurai.
Sakurai scores with a nice hook to the head.
Sakurai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henderson avoids it.
Henderson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Sakurai is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Henderson is trying to break the clinch but Sakurai has him pressed against the cage.
Sakurai lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Henderson avoiding damage as Sakurai throws knees to the body.
Sakurai misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Henderson .
Sakurai with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson is trying to maintain a safe position but Sakurai gets an underhook and turns Henderson into the cage.
Sakurai tries to land knees in the clinch but Henderson avoids the damage to the body.
Henderson is trying to force a seperation but Sakurai has the dominant position.

Henderson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Henderson shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sakurai but Sakurai pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Henderson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakurai connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Henderson momentarily.

Henderson tries to keep at a distance but Sakurai has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sakurai utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sakurai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henderson avoids it.
Henderson dodges an elbow strike from Sakurai.
Sakurai trying to land knees to the body.
Sakurai creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Sakurai misses with a knee to the head.
Henderson fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sakurai with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai tries to land a knee to the head but Henderson blocks with his arms.
Sakurai misses with a knee to the head.
Sakurai misses with an elbow over the top.
A nice right hand lands inside from Sakurai.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sakurai.
Sakurai lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Sakurai lands a knee to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Henderson blocks the elbow strike.
Sakurai pushes Henderson back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Sakurai connects with a knee to the head.
Sakurai missing with knees to the body.
Sakurai misses with an elbow strike.
Henderson avoiding damage as Sakurai throws knees to the body.
Sakurai lands a knee to the head.
Sakurai is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Henderson is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson blocks the elbow strike.

Henderson breaks from the clinch.

Sakurai rushes Henderson and presses him up against the cage.
Sakurai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henderson avoids it.
Henderson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Henderson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Sakurai uses from the top position.
Sakurai trying to stand up but can't free himself from Henderson 's guard.
Sakurai keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Henderson 's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakurai trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sakurai tries to stand but Henderson is controlling from the bottom.
Sakurai throws an elbow that misses. Henderson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sakurai's guard. Nice move by Henderson !

Henderson stops Sakurai from standing up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nissho Sakurai showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Sakurai 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nissho Sakurai!