PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kaoru Hanayama (ranked 1700 p4p, 5192 weight class) and Billy Cubbedge (ranked 276 p4p, 602 weight class). Hanayama kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Hanayama vs Katsumi. Kaoru Hanayama has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hanayama
vs
Cubbedge

182 cm
34
175
21 - 20 - 0

190 cm
39
199
22 - 29 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Fantasy Threads
Stoner's Killer Apparel

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 21 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kaoru Hanayama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 29 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Billy Cubbedge !
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yuuki Gou and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Hanayama with that takedown attempt.
Hanayama throws a head kick that misses.
Hanayama throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Cubbedge on the side of the head.

Hanayama clinches.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hanayama.
Hanayama has a couple of punches blocked by Cubbedge .

Cubbedge wants the takedown. Hanayama is fighting it off but Cubbedge persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hanayama's guard against the cage.
Cubbedge throws an elbow that misses. Hanayama uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Cubbedge 's guard. Nice move by Hanayama!

Hanayama won't allow Cubbedge to sweep him here.

Hanayama got a little sloppy there for a moment and Cubbedge has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Hanayama has managed to get both his arms back between Cubbedge 's legs - danger averted.
Hanayama showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cubbedge is looking for a triangle but Hanayama pushes his legs off easily.
Hanayama trying to control but Cubbedge is working from the bottom.
Hanayama preventing the sweep.
Hanayama postures up.
Hanayama's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's two 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.

Cubbedge has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hanayama can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Hanayama trying to control the position from guard on top but Cubbedge is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hanayama sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cubbedge 's guard.
Cubbedge is looking to improve his position.
Hanayama controlling the pace.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Cubbedge looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cubbedge looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Cubbedge has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Hanayama is working away from the top position though.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Hanayama scores with a hook.
Hanayama's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Hanayama duly obliges.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hanayama looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Cubbedge looks to land a right hand but Hanayama moved out of range.
Hanayama lunges at Cubbedge with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Cubbedge 's hand.

Hanayama rushes Cubbedge and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hanayama managing to block the knees to the body from Cubbedge .

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cubbedge has clasped his hands together around Hanayama's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cubbedge is looking to take a break and control but Hanayama is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hanayama struggling a bit here.
Hanayama is looking to regain half guard here but Cubbedge keeps moving and retains side control.

Cubbedge thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Hanayama can't do much from the bottom here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cubbedge wants to control but Hanayama is keeping him busy.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kaoru Hanayama dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hanayama scores with a nice head shot.

Hanayama looking to score a takedown here. Cubbedge is defending well but Hanayama drives through and ends up in Cubbedge 's guard.
Hanayama's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Cubbedge has his foot on Hanayama's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Hanayama works his way back into a safe position though.
Hanayama passes into half guard.

Cubbedge looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Hanayama trying to control the pace.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanayama is trying to control the action in half guard but Cubbedge is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hanayama is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cubbedge can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hanayama 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.
Cubbedge is looking for a sweep. Hanayama is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hanayama is looking to take a break and control but Cubbedge is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hanayama sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Hanayama seems to be working for a kimura but Cubbedge defends the submission attempt.

That's two 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.

Cubbedge looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Cubbedge trying to control here.
Cubbedge missing with punches from the bottom.

Hanayama is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Cubbedge sees it coming and defends easily.

Hanayama is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Cubbedge has managed to free his arm - good work.
Cubbedge slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanayama advances position into side control!
Cubbedge is looking for a sweep.
Hanayama wants to control but Cubbedge is keeping him busy.
Hanayama is really struggling to control Cubbedge but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Cubbedge is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Cubbedge wants to control but Hanayama postures up.

That's four 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.
Cubbedge is letting Hanayama control him for a moment.
Cubbedge is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Hanayama looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Cubbedge is trying to get back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cubbedge manages to get back to half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kaoru Hanayama dominated that second round.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Hanayama is working Cubbedge over against the cage.
Hanayama lands with a light punch inside.

Cubbedge gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Cubbedge content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Hanayama keeping moving, preventing Cubbedge from controlling successfully.
Hanayama avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hanayama preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hanayama keeping moving, preventing Cubbedge from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanayama has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Hanayama's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanayama keeping moving, preventing Cubbedge from controlling successfully.
Hanayama is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Cubbedge felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Hanayama is pressing down on Cubbedge 's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cubbedge is holding on for now.
Cubbedge is looking for a sweep. Hanayama is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Cubbedge is trying to maintain the position but Hanayama is very close to passing his half guard.

Hanayama is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cubbedge is trying to control but can't.
Hanayama stalling.
Hanayama is looking to advance position but Cubbedge won't allow it.
Kaoru Hanayama overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hanayama keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Cubbedge trying to control from the bottom.
Cubbedge wants to get back to full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Hanayama instigates a clinch.
Hanayama lands a right hand that snaps the head of Cubbedge backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cubbedge has Hanayama pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Cubbedge pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Hanayama tumbling to the mat - Cubbedge dives into Hanayama's guard.

Hanayama has his foot on Cubbedge 's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Cubbedge works his way back into a safe position though.
Hanayama looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hanayama controls Cubbedge momentarily but Cubbedge frees himself.
Cubbedge trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hanayama utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hanayama is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Cubbedge landing with the ground and pound.
Hanayama has control of Cubbedge 's left arm, preventing Cubbedge from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cubbedge passes into half guard.
Hanayama wants to control but Cubbedge is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Cubbedge is trying to work for a kimura but Hanayama is defending well.
Cubbedge is thwarting Hanayama's attempts to control the position.
Billy Cubbedge has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cubbedge looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cubbedge throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Cubbedge is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Billy Cubbedge .
I think Hanayama 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 29:28

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