PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Lil Russo (ranked 2454 p4p, 2465 weight class) and Mario Yamasaki (ranked 300 p4p, 301 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Yamasaki's choice of entrance music: 2Pac - The Warriors Way. Mario Yamasaki is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Russo
vs
Yamasaki

180 cm
21
180
4 - 1 - 0

167 cm
30
170
12 - 9 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Uncle Rufus Clothing .Co

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lil Russo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mario Yamasaki!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Illya Tyunina and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamasaki throws a right hand that Russo ducks under and follows up with a left that Russo also avoids with ease.
Lil Russo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Russo clinches.

Russo jumps guard and drags Yamasaki to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Russo is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Yamasaki is controlling him.
Yamasaki won't allow Russo to sweep him here.
Russo is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Yamasaki is controlling him.
Yamasaki must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamasaki is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamasaki is standing up over Russo. Russo looks to escape but Yamasaki dives into side control.
Russo is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Russo tries to get to full guard but Yamasaki has control of the leg.

That's two 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.
Yamasaki looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Russo regains full guard. Nicely done.

Russo looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Yamasaki stands up from Russo's guard - Yamasaki perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Yamasaki.
Russo on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

It looks like Lil Russo has been cut.
Yamasaki lands a jab to Russo's midsection.
Yamasaki closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Yamasaki scores with a jab.
Yamasaki throws a looping overhand right but Russo ducks down to avoid it.
Russo definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Russo cracks Yamasaki with a right hand to the side of the head.
Yamasaki works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Yamasaki feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Russos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Yamasaki throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Russo swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Russo fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Yamasaki, pushing him back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo prevents Yamasaki from breaking the clinch.
Russo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Russo scores with a shoulder strike.
Russo lands with a right to the head.
Yamasaki wants to break the clinch but can't.
Russo throws a punch but it's blocked by Yamasaki.
Russo tries to pull guard but Yamasaki holds him up against the cage and eventually Russo drops back down to his feet.
A right hook to the body lands for Russo.
Russo jumps guard but Yamasaki turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Russo lands with a short punch from the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A head punch on the inside from Russo fails to land.
Russo lands with a left to the head.
Russo prevents Yamasaki from breaking the clinch.
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 Lil Russo will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Lil Russo's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

The fight stays on the outside here - Russo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Yamasaki throws out a counter right but Russo avoids it with no problem.
Russo throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A little jabbing left from Yamasaki on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Yamasaki keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The fighters circling - Russo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Yamasaki misses with a wild combination.

Russo moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamasaki blocks an uppercut.
Russo misses with an elbow strike.
Russo lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Yamasaki.
Russo digs a right hand into Yamasaki's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Yamasaki's gas tank.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo swings wildly with an uppercut but Yamasaki uses good head movement to avoid it.
Russo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yamasaki can do to turn this around?
Russo creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Russo lands a hook that snaps the head of Yamasaki backwards.
Russo lands an uppercut.
Russo lands a body shot in the clinch.
A left hand lands to the body for Russo.
Lil Russo has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Yamasaki tries to break the clinch but Russo is controlling the position.
A nice right hand lands inside from Russo.
A short left from Russo.
Russo misses with a punch on the inside.
Russo lands a nice shot to the body.
Yamasaki is breathing heavily.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Russo.
Yamasaki wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Russo has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo can't find room to land a body shot as Yamasaki controls the action.
Russo jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Yamasaki walks away with a smile on his face. Russo gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Russo moves in looking to clinch but Yamasaki pushes him off.

Russo clinches.
Russo misses with a short punch on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A hook to the body from Russo.
Russo working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Russo decides to pull guard.
Yamasaki won't allow Russo to get back to his feet.
Russo trying to keep a closed guard but Yamasaki is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamasaki won't allow Russo to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamasaki wanted to stand there but Russo had control of the position.
Russo pulls Yamasaki in close to prevent any damage.
Russo wants to sweep here but Yamasaki controlling him for the moment.

Russo is looking for a triangle here but Yamasaki uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Russo regains half guard.
Yamasaki trying to control from Russo's half guard. Russo has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Yamasaki passes into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yamasaki moves nicely into side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lil Russo dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lil Russo's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Yamasaki misses with a looping right.
Russo lands a jab to the nose.
Russo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Yamasaki moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Russo closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Yamasaki throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Lil Russo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice jab there from Russo.
Russo lands with an overhand left.
Russo cracks Yamasaki with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Lil Russo is winning the standup battle so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yamasaki swinging wildly here.
Russo is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Russo moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamasaki staying out of range there.
Nice defenses there by Russo.
Russo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Yamasaki paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Russo fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Yamasaki, pushing him back against the cage.
Russo throws a head punch that misses.
A shot in the inside from Russo.
Russo is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Yamasaki to keep the fight standing.
Russo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Russo pushes Yamasaki back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Russo swings wildly with an uppercut but Yamasaki uses good head movement to avoid it.
A left hand lands to the body for Russo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Russo scores with a nice short uppercut.
Russo creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Russo lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Yamasaki backwards.
Russo misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Russo misses with some punches.
Russo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Russo lands a body shot in the clinch.
Yamasaki takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A short right from Russo on the inside.
Yamasaki is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Russo lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Yamasaki blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Russo is trying to pull guard but Yamasaki has him pressed against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamasaki is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Russo jumps guard but Yamasaki stands there with Russo around his waist. Russo gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lil Russo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Russo lands a left hand.
Russo comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Russo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Russo tries to work over Yamasaki's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Russo.
Russo tries to pull guard but Yamasaki holds him up against the cage and eventually Russo drops back down to his feet.
Yamasaki looking to slow down the pace here.
Russo misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo tries to pull guard but Yamasaki holds him up against the cage and eventually Russo drops back down to his feet.
Russo scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Russo misses with a hook from the clinch.

Russo jumps into guard, dragging Yamasaki to the mat.
Russo wants to stand but Yamasaki is controlling the position.
Russo manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Yamasaki manages to get himself to full guard.

Russo is in close to Yamasaki's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Mario Yamasaki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lil Russo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Russo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lil Russo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Russo 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lil Russo!
An out of breath Lil Russo thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.