PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Walter Payton (ranked 268 p4p, 809 weight class) and Masa Saitoh (ranked 43 p4p, 121 weight class). Payton comes into the arena with Andre Nickatina - Yeah blaring out of the sound system. Masa Saitoh is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Payton
vs
Saitoh

194 cm
31
215
17 - 5 - 0

182 cm
24
205
9 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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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 17 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Walter Payton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Masa Saitoh!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Dillan Fox and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Payton misses with a hook. Saitoh ducked under it nicely.
Saitoh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Saitoh takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Saitoh uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Payton.
Saitoh with the counter takedown but Payton avoids it easily.
Payton stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Payton wants it to stay on the feet.
Payton misses with a body shot.
Saitoh feints the counter takedown.
Saitoh lands a nice looking body shot.
Payton throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Saitoh let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Saitoh moves away from the strike by Payton.
Payton throws an off balance right hand
and Saitoh counters with a nice body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Payton throws out a powerful jab.

It looks like Masa Saitoh has been cut.
Saitoh is trying hard to land a takedown here. Payton sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Payton connects with an inside leg kick.
Payton throws a poor cross that misses

and Saitoh decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Payton's guard.
Payton definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Payton tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saitoh tries to free his leg and advance position but Payton is retaining full guard.
Saitoh throws an elbow that misses. Payton uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Saitoh's guard. Nice move by Payton!

Payton preventing the sweep.
Payton is looking to stand up but Saitoh won't let him.
Saitoh looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Payton is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Saitoh wants to sweep here but Payton controlling him for the moment.
Saitoh keeps trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payton wants to control from the top but Saitoh keeps moving.
Payton wants to get up but he can't break Saitoh's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Saitoh bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Payton's guard.

Saitoh throwing strikes but missing.
Payton managing to control the position.
Saitoh tries to free his leg and advance position but Payton is retaining full guard.
Payton pulls Saitoh in to control the position.
Saitoh postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Saitoh postures up.
Payton looking for a sweep. Not yet Payton, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Saitoh being controlled here momentarily.
Saitoh 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.
Payton wants to sweep but no luck.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Saitoh throwing strikes from guard but Payton blocks nicely.
Payton looking for a sweep. Not yet Payton, not yet.
Payton is trying to keep Saitoh in close.

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.
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.
Saitoh bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Saitoh ducks under a wild hook from Payton.
Saitoh tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Saitoh uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Payton.
Saitoh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Saitoh tries for a takedown but Payton sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Walter Payton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Masa Saitoh.
Saitoh lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Saitoh uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Payton.
Saitoh punishes Payton's body with a nice straight punch.
Saitoh defending well as Payton loads up on a big left hand.
Saitoh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

Saitoh shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Payton napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Payton regains half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Payton is looking to improve his position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Walter Payton will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Masa Saitoh's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

A clash of legs there as Saitoh blocks the low kick.
Payton darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Payton misses with a few strikes there.
Saitoh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Payton throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Saitoh counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Payton thinking.
Saitoh bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Saitoh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Saitoh uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Payton.

Saitoh drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Payton is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Saitoh off and has taken his back!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Saitoh wants to escape the position.
Masa Saitoh has got the better of the ground game so far.
Saitoh is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Payton.
Saitoh staying busy and making it hard for Payton to control.
Saitoh is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Payton.
Saitoh tries to roll but Payton sticks to his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payton is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Saitoh rolls, trying to escape but Payton keeps control of the position.
Payton keeps control of the position easily here as Saitoh tries to buck him off.
Saitoh tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Payton will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Payton tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh is trying desperately to improve position.
Payton tries to control but Saitoh wriggling away.
Saitoh can't escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Payton content just to control the position here.
Payton wants to control the pace but Saitoh is squirming around nicely.
Payton controlling the pace for now.
Saitoh is wriggling around trying to escape.
Payton trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Payton controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh is in all sorts of trouble here.
Payton content just to control the position here.
Payton looking to control but Saitoh is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Payton tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Payton looking to control but Saitoh is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh tries to reverse the position but Payton maintains control.
Payton content just to control the position here.
Payton prevents Saitoh from getting the reversal.
Payton can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Saitoh is looking to escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Payton looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Walter Payton dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Masa Saitoh's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Payton moves into the clinch.
Payton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Saitoh can do to turn this around?
Saitoh avoiding damage.
Saitoh blocks a body shot from Payton.
Saitoh is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Payton pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Payton is trying to stall.
Payton softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Payton pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payton digs a right hand underneath Saitoh's ribcage. Saitoh let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Saitoh looking to stall.
Payton misses with a hook to the ribs.
Saitoh looking for a takedown.
A short body shot lands from Payton as the two fighters clinch.

Saitoh escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Payton misses with a few strikes there.
Saitoh uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Payton.
A nice side step and Saitoh releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Walter Payton is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Saitoh shoots in but no luck this time.
Masa Saitoh has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Walter Payton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Masa Saitoh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payton throws a jab when Saitoh was well out of range.
Saitoh is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Payton rather than just go for the knockout.
Payton misses with a looping left.
Payton fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Payton thows a left - swing and a miss!
Payton throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Saitoh counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Saitoh looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ground and pound from Saitoh.
Saitoh thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Saitoh not doing much here.
Payton is looking to control Saitoh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Payton avoid being mounted?
Payton is positioning himself well to prevent Saitoh advancing to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saitoh lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Payton wants to improve his position but Saitoh is controlling well.
Saitoh is nestled in close to Payton, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Walter Payton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Payton is staying active underneath Saitoh, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Saitoh 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.
Payton keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payton wants to improve his position but Saitoh is controlling well.
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. Saitoh connects with a nice short shot to Payton's temple.
Payton is trying to maintain the position but Saitoh is very close to passing his half guard.
Payton is looking for a sweep. Saitoh is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Saitoh is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Payton sees it coming and defends easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Saitoh prevents Payton from improving his position.
Payton is trying to maintain the position but Saitoh is very close to passing his half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Masa Saitoh.
I think Payton 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Walter Payton!
Walter Payton bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.