PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tomomi Tsuruta (ranked 339 p4p, 577 weight class) and Rhymin Slayin (ranked 57 p4p, 87 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Tsuruta
vs
Slayin

192 cm
38
209
33 - 20 - 0

190 cm
35
226
26 - 21 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

SMESH Nutrition 160Q
Paddy's Enhancing Drugs (160Q)

Conquer

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 33 - 20 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tomomi Tsuruta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 21 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rhymin Slayin!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Slayin misses with an attempted mid kick.
Tsuruta wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Tsuruta connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Slayin uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta scores with a body shot.
Slayin misses with an uppercut
enabling Tsuruta to counter with a crisp jab.
Tsuruta with a hook.
Slayin's corner calls for a 1-2. Slayin obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Slayin uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tsuruta.
Slayin throws a counter combo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Slayin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Slayin throws a head kick that misses

and Tsuruta holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Tsuruta misses with a punch to the body.
Slayin tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Tsuruta lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tsuruta lands a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuruta lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Slayin backwards.
Slayin tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Slayin prevents a body shot from Tsuruta.
Slayin swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Slayin fails to land.
Slayin tries to work over Tsuruta's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Slayin tries to land a knee to the head but Tsuruta blocks with his arms.
Tsuruta stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Slayin looks winded!
Tsuruta lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Nice body punch from Tsuruta - that landed with a thud.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Slayin backwards.
Still in the clinch, Tsuruta scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tsuruta lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Slayin or not.
Tsuruta lands with a right to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Slayin.
I was talking to Tsuruta's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Tsuruta blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Slayin takes a shot to the head.
Tsuruta lands a left hand that snaps the head of Slayin backwards.
Tsuruta lands with a short shot to the head.
Slayin misses with a punch on the inside.
Tsuruta lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta swings away with an uppercut that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tsuruta.
Slayin trying to land knees to the body.
Tsuruta is leaning against Slayin and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Tsuruta lands a body punch.
Tsuruta is leaning against Slayin and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Tsuruta misses with a punch to the body.
Tsuruta lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Slayin blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Slayin tries a body shot but Tsuruta blocks it.
Tsuruta lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Tsuruta lands a shot to the body.
Tsuruta stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Tsuruta lands a body shot in the clinch.
Tsuruta scores with a nice hook to the head.
Tsuruta lands a right hand that snaps the head of Slayin backwards.
Tsuruta softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Tsuruta creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Tsuruta softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Tsuruta presses Slayin against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Tsuruta lands a left hand.
A short uppercut from Tsuruta.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta is working Slayin over against the cage.
Tsuruta misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tsuruta works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Tsuruta lands with a left to the head.
Tsuruta lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Tsuruta looking to stall.
Tsuruta scores with a nice hook to the head.
Tsuruta gets through Slayin's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Tsuruta lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Tsuruta misses with a body punch.
Slayin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Slayin tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Slayin takes a shot to the head.
A head punch on the inside from Slayin fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Tsuruta fails to land.
Tsuruta misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tsuruta tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Tsuruta blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Tsuruta misses with some punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tsuruta misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Tsuruta takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Tsuruta lands with a left to the head.
Tsuruta works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Slayin misses with a body punch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Slayin.
Slayin tries to throw a body punch but Tsuruta avoids it by throwing Slayin back against the cage.
Slayin misses with the head strike.
Slayin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Slayin lands with a light punch inside.
Slayin lands a shoulder strike.
Slayin blocking some punches.
Tsuruta lands a body shot in the clinch.
A left hand lands to the body for Tsuruta.
Tsuruta lands with a short shot to the head.
Tsuruta lands with a left to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tsuruta lands a hook that snaps the head of Slayin backwards.
Still in the clinch, Tsuruta scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tsuruta is working Slayin over against the cage.
Tsuruta working some nice short punches in the clinch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tomomi Tsuruta 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.

Tsuruta lands with a straight right. Slayin didn't see that one coming.
Tsuruta lands with a hook. Slayin tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Tsuruta throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Slayin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Tsuruta throws a body shot but no joy.
Tsuruta jabs at Slayin's body.
Slayin thows a left - swing and a miss!
Slayin throws out a leg kick but Tsuruta moves out of range and Slayin only half commits.
Rhymin Slayin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsuruta misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Slayin.
It seemed like Slayin was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Tsuruta lands a nice shot to the body.
Tsuruta is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Slayin can do to turn this around?
Slayin loads up on a big right hand but Tsuruta slips the punch.
Tsuruta is looking to counter the offense by Slayin and move into the clinch.
Tsuruta ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Slayin is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuruta lands with a shot to the body.

Slayin closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Tsuruta fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Slayin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tsuruta makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Tsuruta throws a punch but it's blocked by Slayin.
Tsuruta lands an uppercut.
Tsuruta can't find room to land a body shot as Slayin controls the action.
Tsuruta gets through Slayin's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Tsuruta throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Slayins head.
Slayin blocks a body shot from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Tsuruta lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tsuruta has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tsuruta.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Tsuruta lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Tsuruta is pushing Slayin up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Tsuruta pushes Slayin back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Slayin has a couple of punches blocked by Tsuruta.
Slayin blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Slayin has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Tsuruta seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Slayin can turn it around.
A short uppercut from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta lands a shot to the body.
A body shot lands from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta pushes Slayin back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tsuruta lands with a short shot to the head.
Tsuruta works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
A body shot lands from Tsuruta.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Tsuruta creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Slayin fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tsuruta makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Tsuruta working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Tsuruta works on Slayin's body with a couple of short punches.
Tsuruta throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tsuruta scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Tsuruta gets through Slayin's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

Slayin is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta is trying to maintain a safe position but Slayin gets an underhook and turns Tsuruta into the cage.
Tsuruta is working Slayin over against the cage.
Tsuruta goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Tsuruta lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Slayin.
Tsuruta scores with a nice hook to the head.
Still in the clinch, Tsuruta scores with a nice short uppercut.
Slayin is still on wobbly legs! Can Tsuruta finish him?
Tsuruta effectively controlling the action here.
Tsuruta gets through Slayin's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Slayin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Tsuruta lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Slayin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tsuruta lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Tsuruta on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tsuruta wants to stall.
Tsuruta softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Tsuruta has a couple of punches blocked by Slayin.
Tsuruta tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Slayin's elbow.
Slayin blocks a body shot from Tsuruta.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tsuruta misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Tsuruta throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Slayins head.
Slayin tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Tsuruta taking a breather.
Slayin seems to have recovered his senses.
Tsuruta digs a right hand underneath Slayin's ribcage. Slayin let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Slayin scores with a knee to the head.
Tsuruta pushes Slayin back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tomomi Tsuruta has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Slayin misses with some punches.
A short right from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Slayin throws a punch but it's blocked by Tsuruta.
Slayin tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Tsuruta's elbow.
Tsuruta lands with a light punch inside.
Tsuruta lands a body punch in the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Slayin blocks a body shot from Tsuruta.
Tsuruta misses with a punch on the inside.
Tsuruta avoiding damage.
Tsuruta blocking some punches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tomomi Tsuruta dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

A shot to the liver by Tsuruta. Beautiful body shot.
Tsuruta ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Slayin moves away.
Tsuruta looks to score with a jab to the body but Slayin is just out of range.
Nice uppercut lands for Slayin. That snapped Tsuruta's head back.
Tsuruta misses with a wild body shot.
A jab from Tsuruta does it's job there.
Tsuruta fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Slayin manages to avoid it.
Slayin walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsuruta slips under a jab.
Tsuruta tries to counter by clinching up but Slayin breaks away and moves out of range.
Rhymin Slayin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Slayin on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Slayin slips under a jab from Tsuruta.
Slayin tries a quick counter leg kick but Tsuruta is wise to it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Slayin takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Slayin takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Tsuruta swings for the body but Slayin moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Tsuruta. Slayin does a little dance to reset his feet.
A slow jab from Slayin misses its intended target.
Tsuruta throws out a loose jab but Slayin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tsuruta misses with a straight left.
Slayin takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Tsuruta throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Slayin shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Rhymin Slayin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta lands with an uppercut that bounces Slayin off the cage and back into range.
Tsuruta misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Slayin.
Slayin cracks Tsuruta with a good jab.

Slayin drives through and clinches with Tsuruta against the cage.
Tsuruta works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Slayin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Tsuruta blocks a punch to the side of the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tsuruta struggles to land a body shot inside as Slayin controls his hands.
Tsuruta throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Slayins head.
Tsuruta scores with a shoulder strike.
Good body shot from Tsuruta.
Slayin misses with a knee strike.
Tsuruta lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Tsuruta misses with a punch on the inside.
Tsuruta digs a right hand underneath Slayin's ribcage. Slayin let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Tsuruta misses with a punch to the body.
A shot in the inside from Tsuruta.
The referee calls for Tsuruta to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuruta scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Slayin pushes off an throws an elbow but Tsuruta leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Tsuruta makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Tsuruta softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Tsuruta lands a shoulder strike.
Tsuruta can't find room to land a body shot as Slayin controls the action.
Tsuruta goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Tsuruta lands an uppercut.
Tomomi Tsuruta is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Slayin swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Tsuruta stalling the fight.
Slayin lands a right hand.
Slayin misses with the head strike.
Slayin misses with a knee to the head.
Tsuruta lands a right hand.
Slayin throws a head punch that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Slayin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Slayin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Slayin misses with a knee to the head.
Slayin fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Slayin has a couple of punches blocked by Tsuruta.
Tsuruta prevents a body shot from Slayin.
Slayin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Tsuruta prevents a body shot from Slayin.
Slayin working aggressively here.
Slayin misses with the head strike.
Slayin throws an elbow but it misses.
Slayin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Slayin working aggressively here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tomomi Tsuruta showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Tsuruta 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tomomi Tsuruta!
Tomomi Tsuruta really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that 160Q Energy for $150 logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.