PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Chris John (ranked 164 p4p, 176 weight class) and Katsu Yamasaki (ranked 20 p4p, 23 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think John might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Don't Stop Me Now. Katsu Yamasaki has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Chris John's chin.

John
vs
Yamasaki

178 cm
26
160
18 - 3 - 1

176 cm
29
157
16 - 6 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Kersikov's Vitamin Clinic (160)
Champion Apparel

Shadow Realm Apparel
NARCOS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chris John!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Katsu Yamasaki!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, James Atkins and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamasaki takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
John throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
John with a hook.
John throws a looping overhand right but Yamasaki ducks down to avoid it.
Yamasaki dives in for a single leg takedown but John sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
John half committed to a counter leg kick.
John ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yamasaki moves away.
John just misses with a punch to the body.
John looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
John misses the jab.
John scoring well with a low kick there.
John throws a body shot but no joy.
Yamasaki drops down looking to force a counter takedown but John defends it well.
Yamasaki swings and misses with a hook to the body.
It looked like John wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Yamasaki throws a jab when John was well out of range.
Yamasaki moves out of range as John throws a body kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamasaki walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
A jab from Yamasaki misses.
John throws a wild body kick that Yamasaki sees coming a mile off.
Yamasaki misses with a jab, cross combination.
John scores with a decent looking hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yamasaki looks to throw the jab but John is out of range.
Yamasaki ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamasaki lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Nice uppercut there from John.
Yamasaki lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
John misses with a straight left.
John throws a nice inside leg kick.
John clobbers Yamasaki with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Yamasaki is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in John's half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
John won't allow Yamasaki to pass to mount.
John trying to control but Yamasaki postures up.
John missing with punches from the bottom.
Yamasaki works his foot free and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
John is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
John tries to strike from the bottom but he's left himself exposed and Yamasaki has taken his back.
John is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

John defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Yamasaki's arms.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Yamasaki looking for the choke but no joy.
John wants to get back to his feet.

Yamasaki has his opponent's back but John is looking to stand. He manages to get to his feet and shakes off Yamasaki.
Yamasaki swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Yamasaki moves away from the strike by John.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
John looks for the body kick but Yamasaki saw that one coming.
Yamasaki scores with a decent looking hook.
Yamasaki scores with a jab to the jaw.
Chris John is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Yamasaki connects with a right hand. John shakes it off.
John thows a left - swing and a miss!
Yamasaki avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Yamasaki wants to counter with a clinch but John pushes him away.
This has been an exciting period of action!
John has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from John there as he acknowledges the shot.
Yamasaki lands the left hand.
Yamasaki misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from John.
John misses with a body kick.
John misses with a body kick.
Yamasaki feints the counter takedown.
Yamasaki jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Yamasaki decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
John is looking to escape.
John tries to kick Yamasaki off in order to stand up. Yamasaki Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
John is trying to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Katsu Yamasaki will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A big right from Yamasaki misses.
John connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Yamasaki's hands.
John throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Yamasaki takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
John scores with a nice head shot.
Yamasaki ducks right into an uppercut from John.
John swings and misses with a hook to the body.
John throws an overhand right that lands on Yamasaki's shoulder, as Yamasaki tries to avoid the shot.
Chris John seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick misses from John.
Yamasaki feints the counter takedown.
John connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Yamasaki momentarily.
Yamasaki tries to close the distance and clinch but John swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
John scores with a jab to the jaw.
John tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yamasaki was well out of range. Poor timing from John.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yamasaki thows a left - swing and a miss!
John connects with a body shot that sends Yamasaki's belly button to the back.
Sloppy strikes from Yamasaki. Those never looked like landing.
John tries a head kick but it misses.
Yamasaki jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Yamasaki darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

John has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Yamasaki is on him like a limpet, forcing John back against the cage.
John lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Yamasaki backwards.
John throws a punch but it's blocked by Yamasaki.
Yamasaki tries to pull guard but John won't allow it.
Yamasaki tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. John smiles and moves away.
Nice straight punches there by John. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of John.
John takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yamasaki catches John with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
A big right from Yamasaki misses.
Yamasaki throws a big shot that misses.
John misses the shot to the body.
Chris John is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamasaki misses with a straight left.
Yamasaki misses with a hook. John ducked under it nicely.
John looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
The fighters circling - Yamasaki throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Yamasaki has a takedown stuffed.
Chris John has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Katsu Yamasaki.
John slips under a jab.

John gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
John lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Yamasaki or not.
John lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Yamasaki's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
John throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
John lands on the inside with an uppercut.
John gets through Yamasaki's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

John manages to break the clinch.
John misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yamasaki.
Nice straight punches there by John. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of John.

John has managed to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
John is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Yamasaki jumps guard and drags John to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
John would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Yamasaki looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Yamasaki is on top in guard.

John has his feet on Yamasaki's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
John is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yamasaki can do to turn this around?
A big right from John misses.
Yamasaki lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
John throws a nice outside leg kick.
Yamasaki with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling John to score with a decent uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
John getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yamasaki throws a hook but John avoids it easily.
Yamasaki uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Yamasaki shoots in for a takedown but John shows good takedown defense.
Yamasaki blocks a leg kick.
John throws a hook but Yamasaki avoids it easily.
Yamasaki cracks John with a good jab.
Horrible takedown attempt by Yamasaki or perhaps it was just good defense by John, which made it look bad.
The fight stays on the outside here - Yamasaki looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
John is looking for a counter combo.
John lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Yamasaki at a distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yamasaki throws a lazy right hand but John sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
John throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
John connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Yamasaki slips under a jab.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Chris John dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Nice uppercut there from John.
John with a nice cross.
Yamasaki slips a jab from John.
John uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Yamasaki.
A looping hook to the body misses from Yamasaki. John does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yamasaki shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
John with the inside leg kick.
Nice uppercut there from John.

Yamasaki is rocked!
Yamasaki throws a hook but John avoids it easily.
Yamasaki is still on wobbly legs! Can John finish him?
John darts in and lands a big hook, right on the button! Yamasaki's legs crumble underneath him as he falls to the canvas! The ref tackles John before he gets to land any more shots to his stricken foe.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:35 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Chris John!
Chris John was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.