PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kenjiro Tokugawa (ranked 2228 p4p, 22057 weight class) and Damian Dilbrandt (ranked 268 p4p, 499 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Tokugawa
vs
Dilbrandt

178 cm
26
168
8 - 10 - 0

180 cm
31
164
7 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

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 8 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kenjiro Tokugawa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Damian Dilbrandt!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Ivan Kurochkin and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tokugawa uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Dilbrandt.
As Dilbrandt backs away, Tokugawa returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Tokugawa misses with a wild body shot.
Tokugawa throws a head kick that misses.
Tokugawa bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dilbrandt misses with a hook. Tokugawa ducked under it nicely.
That kick from Tokugawa tenderised Dilbrandt's leg. Dilbrandt is trying to keep his angry face on.
Dilbrandt throws out a loose jab but Tokugawa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Dilbrandt misses with a wild combination.
As Dilbrandt backs away, Tokugawa returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.

Tokugawa closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Dilbrandt did well to prevent Tokugawa getting side control.
Tokugawa prevents Dilbrandt from standing back up.
Dilbrandt wants to control but Tokugawa is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Tokugawa thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Tokugawa seems to be working for a kimura but Dilbrandt defends the submission attempt.
Tokugawa has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Tokugawa there.
Dilbrandt really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Tokugawa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tokugawa not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Tokugawa scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Dilbrandt controlling the position well.
Tokugawa not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Tokugawa thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Tokugawa is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Tokugawa not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dilbrandt is looking for a sweep. Tokugawa is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Tokugawa lands strikes from half guard.
Dilbrandt avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tokugawa.
Dilbrandt is looking for a sweep. Tokugawa is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Tokugawa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dilbrandt's head.
Tokugawa working over Dilbrandt with some ground and pound. Dilbrandt looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Dilbrandt trying to hold on to Tokugawa's head to control him but Tokugawa postures up.
Dilbrandt tries to roll over but Tokugawa keeps him under control.
Dilbrandt avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tokugawa.
Dilbrandt is trying to maintain the position but Tokugawa is very close to passing his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dilbrandt keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tokugawa working the head and body with strikes.
Tokugawa throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dilbrandt wants to improve his position but Tokugawa is controlling well.
Dilbrandt avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tokugawa.
Well, if Tokugawa is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Tokugawa is trying to control the action in half guard but Dilbrandt is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Dilbrandt is trying to control but can't.
Tokugawa working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dilbrandt wants to get back to full guard.

Tokugawa is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Tokugawa scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Tokugawa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dilbrandt's head.
Dilbrandt is trying is best to control the position here.
Tokugawa looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Tokugawa missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tokugawa lands strikes from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tokugawa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kenjiro Tokugawa dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Dilbrandt throws a leg kick but Tokugawa moved away.
Kenjiro Tokugawa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dilbrandt moves out of range as Tokugawa throws a body kick.
A clash of legs there as Dilbrandt blocks the low kick.

Tokugawa closes the distance and clinches.
Dilbrandt avoiding damage as Tokugawa throws knees to the body.
Tokugawa is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dilbrandt can do to turn this around?
Dilbrandt blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Dilbrandt stalling in the clinch but Tokugawa improves position.
Dilbrandt's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Dilbrandt's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A quick uppercut on the inside from Tokugawa.
Tokugawa can't find room to land a body shot as Dilbrandt controls the action.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tokugawa lands a hook that snaps the head of Dilbrandt backwards.
Dilbrandt misses with a body punch.
Tokugawa lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Dilbrandt doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Tokugawa creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Tokugawa blocks an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dilbrandt looking to slow down the pace here.
A shot in the inside from Tokugawa.

Tokugawa manages to break the clinch.
Tokugawa uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dilbrandt.
Dilbrandt scores with a decent looking hook.
Tokugawa goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Dilbrandt gets tackled into the cage by Tokugawa. Tokugawa maintains the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tokugawa.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Tokugawa lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Damian Dilbrandt has been cut.
Dilbrandt misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tokugawa stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Tokugawa misses with a body punch.
I was talking to Tokugawa's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Dilbrandt digs a right hand underneath Tokugawa's ribcage. Tokugawa let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Tokugawa prevents a body shot from Dilbrandt.
Dilbrandt lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tokugawa misses with a body punch.
Tokugawa blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Dilbrandt blocks a body shot from Tokugawa.
Dilbrandt working aggressively here.
Tokugawa doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice body punch from Tokugawa - that landed with a thud.

Tokugawa pulls guard successfully.
Dilbrandt throwing strikes but missing.
Tokugawa keeping moving, preventing Dilbrandt from controlling successfully.
Dilbrandt looking to pass the guard.
Dilbrandt must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Tokugawa wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tokugawa keeping moving, preventing Dilbrandt from controlling successfully.
Dilbrandt working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Dilbrandt controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Kenjiro Tokugawa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Dilbrandt preventing the sweep.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Dilbrandt with a nice calf kick.
Dilbrandt misses with a body shot
and Tokugawa makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
A low kick from Dilbrandt misses

and Tokugawa counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Tokugawa lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Tokugawa scores with a shoulder strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tokugawa lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Tokugawa lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Dilbrandt blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Dilbrandt takes a knee to the side of the body.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Tokugawa.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tokugawa working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Tokugawa makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Tokugawa scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Dilbrandt is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Tokugawa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Tokugawa successfully pulls guard.
Tokugawa controls Dilbrandt momentarily but Dilbrandt frees himself.
Tokugawa manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Dilbrandt manages to get himself to full guard.

Tokugawa trying to control the position from guard on top but Dilbrandt is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kenjiro Tokugawa dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Damian Dilbrandt's cut.
That's time! Tokugawa's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. 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.

Tokugawa decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Tokugawa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Tokugawa is keen to just control but Dilbrandt is a slippery customer.
Tokugawa is thwarting Dilbrandt's attempts to control the position.
Dilbrandt is doing well to control the position and prevent Tokugawa from advancing to side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tokugawa seems to be working for a kimura but Dilbrandt defends the submission attempt.
Dilbrandt blocking the ground and pound attempt from Tokugawa.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dilbrandt is looking to control Tokugawa's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Dilbrandt avoid being mounted?
Tokugawa working over Dilbrandt with some ground and pound. Dilbrandt looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Dilbrandt wants to improve his position but Tokugawa is controlling well.
Ground and pound from Tokugawa.
Tokugawa is thwarting Dilbrandt's attempts to control the position.
Tokugawa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dilbrandt's head.
Tokugawa working the head and body with strikes.
Tokugawa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tokugawa sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Dilbrandt defending well though.
Tokugawa prevents Dilbrandt from standing back up.
Tokugawa lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Dilbrandt on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Tokugawa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Dilbrandt is rocked!

That has opened up Damian Dilbrandt's cut even more.
Tokugawa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Dilbrandt is still in real trouble! Can Tokugawa finish him?

Damian Dilbrandt's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Tokugawa lands a massive shot from half guard that has rocked Dilbrandt! More strikes land and this one is all over! Tokugawa jumps to his feet and is applauded loudly by the crowd!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Kenjiro Tokugawa!