PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kichiro Hironaka (ranked 5759 p4p, 4543 weight class) and Rodolfo Mcclain (ranked 543 p4p, 463 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Hironaka
vs
Mcclain

191 cm
18
215
0 - 1 - 0

190 cm
18
220
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good gas tank

BANZAI NUTRITION

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Kichiro Hironaka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rodolfo Mcclain!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Josh West and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hironaka shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mcclain as he avoids it easily.
Mcclain only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Mcclain misses with a leg kick.
Hironaka misses the shot to the body.
Hironaka shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Mcclain but Mcclain pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Hironaka gets the takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Mcclain's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hironaka postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Hironaka creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Mcclain sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hironaka looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Mcclain is avoiding damage well.
Hironaka trying to control the action but Mcclain is working from the bottom.
Hironaka looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Mcclain is avoiding damage well.
Hironaka advances nicely into full mount.

Hironaka looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Mcclain avoids a series of strikes thrown by Hironaka.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mcclain avoids a series of strikes thrown by Hironaka.
Mcclain blocking the ground and pound.
Hironaka punching from mount but Mcclain doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Hironaka throws some wild stikes that Mcclain manages to avoid easily.
Hironaka wants to control the pace but Mcclain is squirming around nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hironaka has control of Mcclain's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Mcclain regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Hironaka wants to control the pace but Mcclain is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcclain tries to lock up and control but Hironaka gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Hironaka trying to control but Mcclain is having none of it.
Mcclain blocking the ground and pound.
Hironaka scoring with strikes but Mcclain is staying in there.
Hironaka throwing strikes here but Mcclain is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

Hironaka goes for an armbar but Mcclain turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Mcclain.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Hironaka holds on and takes a little breather.
Mcclain wants to control from the top but Hironaka keeps moving.
Hironaka is trying to control the position but Mcclain postures up.
Mcclain stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hironaka swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Mcclain avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kichiro Hironaka dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Hironaka shoots in but Mcclain avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Mcclain thinks about the counter body kick.

Hironaka closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Hironaka lands in his opponent's guard.
Kichiro Hironaka overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mcclain is trying to keep Hironaka in close.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hironaka gets to his feet. Mcclain looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Hironaka tries to clinch but Mcclain moves out of range.

Hironaka shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hironaka showed some decent athleticism there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hironaka is looking to take a break and control but Mcclain is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hironaka looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Hironaka has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Hironaka trying to control the action but Mcclain is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Hironaka gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
A nice inside leg kick there by Mcclain. That's going to slow Hironaka down.
Mcclain defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Hironaka.
Mcclain avoids the head kick by Hironaka.
Mcclain flicks out a counter leg kick but Hironaka steps away.
Hironaka is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mcclain can do to turn this around?
Hironaka throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Mcclain's waist but Mcclain gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hironaka off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kichiro Hironaka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mcclain throws a sloppy head kick and Hironaka moves out of range easily.

Hironaka forces Mcclain back against the cage and clinches.
Mcclain crunches a lovely knee into Hironaka's ribcage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcclain working hard to break the clinch.
Hironaka scores with a shoulder strike.
Stalling in the clinch from Hironaka.
Hironaka stalling in the clinch but Mcclain improves position.
Hironaka jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Mcclain walks away with a smile on his face. Hironaka gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Hironaka fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Mcclain sprawls well initially but Hironaka persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Hironaka is trying to control the action in half guard but Mcclain is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mcclain blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hironaka.
Hironaka is just content to waste time from the top position. Mcclain takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Hironaka postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mcclain keeping moving, preventing Hironaka from controlling successfully.
Hironaka slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Hironaka has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Hironaka stands up and waves to Mcclain to follow him.

Mcclain gets caught napping as Hironaka dives in and scores a takedown. Mcclain manages to retain guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mcclain looking to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kichiro Hironaka dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Hironaka misses with a series of wild punches.
Mcclain flicks out a counter leg kick but Hironaka steps away.
Mcclain slaps away a takedown attempt from Hironaka, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Hironaka moves into range and clinches up with Mcclain.
Hironaka throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hironaka dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Mcclain gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Hironaka.
Hironaka trying to stall but Mcclain improves his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mcclain trying to land knees to the body.
Hironaka looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kichiro Hironaka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mcclain misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hironaka.
Mcclain lands a knee to the body.
Mcclain misses with a knee strike.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Hironaka misses with an elbow strike.
Hironaka blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Mcclain tries a knee to the head but Hironaka blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hironaka wants to break free but Mcclain has control.
Hironaka tries to pull guard but Mcclain holds him up against the cage and eventually Hironaka drops back down to his feet.

Hironaka has picked Mcclain up - he's going for a ride! Hironaka dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Mcclain is staying active underneath Hironaka, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Hironaka looks to land a strike but Mcclain avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

Hironaka decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Hironaka manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Mcclain on his heels. He'll look to pass Mcclain's guard now, I'm sure.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hironaka throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Mcclain works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hironaka looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Hironaka trying to control but Mcclain is working from the bottom.
Hironaka in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hironaka lands a couple of digs.
Hironaka trying to control the position from guard on top but Mcclain is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Kichiro Hironaka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mcclain shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Hironaka shoots in for a double leg but Mcclain sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Mcclain wants to counter with a clinch but Hironaka pushes him away.
Hironaka fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Mcclain throws a fast counter high kick but Hironaka manages to duck under it in time.

Hironaka shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Mcclain napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hironaka decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Rodolfo Mcclain has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kichiro Hironaka is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Mcclain lands a big head kick that sends Hironaka tumbling to the mat! Mcclain takes a step backwards and waves Hironaka back to his feet - he wants the finish!

And that's the end of the fight!
Rodolfo Mcclain comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hironaka 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 29:28
Judge Josh West scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kichiro Hironaka!