PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rinya Nakamura (ranked 1796 p4p, 2764 weight class) and Joel Gomez (ranked 140 p4p, 195 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Nakamura
vs
Gomez

170 cm
26
142
4 - 1 - 0

190 cm
25
135
3 - 1 - 0

Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Big heart

Good takedowns
Brawler
Solid chin

BANZAI NUTRITION

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rinya Nakamura!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Joel Gomez!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Chris Saunders and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nakamura stuffs the takedown.
Gomez wants to clinch
and Nakamura counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

It looks like Joel Gomez has been cut.
Gomez throws a lazy head kick
and Nakamura counters with a three punch combo that has Gomez backing up. Gomez nods at Nakamura to acknowledge the strikes.
Nakamura definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
A head kick misses from Nakamura.
Gomez shoots in looking for a takedown but Nakamura manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Gomez's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Gomez with a lazy takedown attempt
and Nakamura connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rinya Nakamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joel Gomez.
Gomez shoots in but no luck this time.
Gomez shoots and misses

and Nakamura counters with a leg kick then a big left hand that sends Gomez down! Nakamura is looking to finish but Gomez is intelligently defending himself.

Gomez is rocked!
Gomez looks winded!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nakamura is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Gomez is still in real trouble! Can Nakamura finish him?
Nakamura cracks Gomez with a solid left hand.
Nakamura sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Nakamura is in close to Gomez's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nakamura stands up over Gomez, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Gomez throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Nakamura engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gomez working a defensive guard here.
Gomez seems to have recovered his senses.
Nakamura 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.
Nakamura makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Gomez keeping moving, preventing Nakamura from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gomez wants to sweep here but Nakamura controlling him for the moment.
Gomez utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Nakamura with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Nakamura's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Nakamura is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Nakamura throws a strike but Gomez rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nakamura is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Gomez is looking to control Nakamura's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gomez avoid being mounted?

Gomez is defending against the submission attempts here by Nakamura.
Nakamura sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gomez defending well though.
Nakamura missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nakamura slips a nice elbow through Gomez's hands, connecting with Gomez's forehead.
Gomez is looking to control Nakamura's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gomez avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakamura sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gomez defending well though.
Nakamura seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nakamura is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nakamura seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Gomez wants to get back to full guard.
Nakamura missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Nakamura is trying to control. Gomez wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Nakamura is trying to work for a kimura but Gomez is defending well.
Nakamura controlling the action here.
Nice strikes from Nakamura there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakamura stalling away here and it's allowed Gomez to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Nakamura engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Nakamura throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gomez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gomez trying to keep a closed guard but Nakamura is proving a slippery customer.
Nakamura throws a strike but Gomez rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nakamura is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Nakamura content to control rather than advance.
Gomez has hold of Nakamura's hands but Nakamura slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rinya Nakamura dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joel Gomez's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nakamura throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Nakamura is looking to land body kicks.
Gomez is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Nakamura cracks Gomez with an open hand slap.
Gomez throws a sloppy head kick and Nakamura moves out of range easily.
Nakamura is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gomez can do to turn this around?
Gomez tries for a takedown but Nakamura circles away easily
and Nakamura cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nakamura connects with a looping right hand.
Gomez shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Nakamura defends it nicely.
An attempted straight right counter from Nakamura misses the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nakamura keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Rinya Nakamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joel Gomez.
Gomez misses with a takedown
and Gomez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nakamura lands a big shot that drops Gomez! Can he finish him?
Nakamura slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Gomez is breathing heavily.

Nakamura tries for a kimura but Gomez is defending well.
Nakamura is chipping away with strikes.
Nakamura throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Nakamura is looking to take a break and control but Gomez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gomez is trying to improve his position.
Nakamura is looking to take a break and control but Gomez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nakamura is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Gomez knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Nakamura misses with the ground and pound.
Gomez manages to get back to half guard.
Gomez is not content to let Nakamura control the position.
Gomez gets full guard.
Nakamura working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Nakamura got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gomez has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Nakamura has managed to get both his arms back between Gomez's legs - danger averted.
Gomez keeping moving, preventing Nakamura from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakamura throws a big right hand that misses.
Gomez looking to control but Nakamura passes into half guard.
Nakamura is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Gomez wants to get back to his feet.
Gomez blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nakamura.
Nakamura is keen to just control but Gomez is a slippery customer.
Nakamura thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gomez's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nakamura is just content to waste time from the top position. Gomez takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Nakamura stays in close to Gomez's body and controls the position.
Nakamura preventing the sweep.
Nakamura trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Gomez keeping moving, preventing Nakamura from controlling successfully.
Nakamura postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Nakamura 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.
Rinya Nakamura overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nakamura throws a strike but Gomez rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nakamura wants to sweep but no luck.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rinya Nakamura dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Joel Gomez'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. 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.

No luck for Gomez with that takedown attempt.
Nakamura displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gomez.
Nakamura throws a big counter combination but Gomez scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Gomez lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Gomez throws a right hand that misses
and Nakamura counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Joel Gomez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gomez.
Rinya Nakamura has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joel Gomez.
Nakamura scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nakamura swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Gomez.
Nakamura rushes Gomez and starts throwing punches like they are going out of style! Gomez is up against the cage and has nowhere to go. Nakamura piles on the pressure and Gomez crumples to the floor! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Rinya Nakamura!
After winning the bout, Rinya Nakamura thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.
Joel Gomez spoke after the fight, saying 'I’ll be back and better next time , it just wasn’t my night tonight . THANK YOU TO ALL THE FANS !'.