PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bernard McCurtney (ranked 1695 p4p, 3615 weight class) and Kyoji Horiguchi (ranked 120 p4p, 211 weight class). McCurtney's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, "Green card". Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

McCurtney
vs
Horiguchi

170 cm
20
144
7 - 2 - 0

165 cm
28
140
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Good kicks
Determined

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bernard McCurtney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kyoji Horiguchi!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Percy O'Donnell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horiguchi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from McCurtney.
McCurtney looks to land a left hand but Horiguchi moved out of range nicely.
A combination from McCurtney does no damage.
McCurtney throws a right and a left that both miss.
Horiguchi looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? McCurtney is fending him off so far but Horiguchi persists. Nope, McCurtney circles away and we're back to standing.
Horiguchi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and McCurtney connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Horiguchi scrambles back to his feet.
McCurtney walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Horiguchi checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
A little jabbing left from Horiguchi on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
McCurtney looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Horiguchi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as McCurtney throws out the jab.
Horiguchi is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Horiguchi misses with a head kick.
McCurtney throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
McCurtney misses with a straight left.
Horiguchi misses with a combination
and McCurtney counters with a one-two to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Horiguchi gets a takedown into half guard.
Horiguchi wants to pass the guard but McCurtney is defending well.
Horiguchi is thwarting McCurtney's attempts to control the position.
Horiguchi is looking to take a break and control but McCurtney is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Horiguchi is trying to work for a kimura but McCurtney is defending well.
McCurtney is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCurtney is trying to control but can't.
McCurtney is looking to get back to full guard here but Horiguchi has managed to pass to side control instead.
McCurtney is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
McCurtney is working hard here to advance position.
Horiguchi sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but McCurtney is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
McCurtney is looking for a sweep.
Horiguchi in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Horiguchi tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Horiguchi has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Horiguchi trying to control the action but McCurtney is working from the bottom.
McCurtney is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Horiguchi wants to lay and pray for a moment but McCurtney keeps working.
McCurtney is looking to regain half guard here but Horiguchi keeps moving and retains side control.
McCurtney gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
McCurtney is wriggling around trying to escape.
McCurtney tries to hold on but Horiguchi pushes him away.
McCurtney manages to work a leg through to get back to half guard here. Good work there by McCurtney, under a barage of strikes from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
McCurtney is squirming around, avoiding Horiguchi's attempts to control the action.
Horiguchi tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
McCurtney keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Horiguchi has control of McCurtney's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and McCurtney regains control of the situation pretty easily.
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 Bernard McCurtney will probably get the nod.
That's time! McCurtney's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Horiguchi throws a sloppy head kick and McCurtney moves out of range easily.
Horiguchi checks the leg kick.
Bernard McCurtney is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
McCurtney throws a right and a left that both miss.
A lazy left from McCurtney finds it's target.
McCurtney throws a nice looking combination but Horiguchi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
McCurtney seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
McCurtney lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Horiguchi is rocked!
A shot to the body from McCurtney misses
and Horiguchi counters with a solid body kick.
McCurtney loads up on a big right hand but Horiguchi slips the punch.
McCurtney tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
McCurtney dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
McCurtney connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi avoids them all with ease.
McCurtney scores with a jab to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCurtney jabbing away but nothing is landing.
McCurtney misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
McCurtney scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
McCurtney lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Horiguchi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Horiguchi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by McCurtney.
McCurtney connects with a body shot.
McCurtney is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Horiguchi can do to turn this around?
McCurtney is looking to score with low kicks.
Horiguchi throws a counter combo.
McCurtney throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Horiguchi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Horiguchi throws a counter combo.
McCurtney showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi scores with a push kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi moves out of range.
Horiguchi throws a counter combo.
McCurtney throws a combination that misses
and Horiguchi counters with a two punch combo.
Bernard McCurtney is winning the standup battle so far.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
McCurtney throws a jab when Horiguchi was well out of range.
Horiguchi tries a head kick but it misses.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi moves out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Horiguchi! But no joy.
McCurtney misses with a two punch combination.
McCurtney throws a big shot that misses.
A punch combination from Horiguchi misses.
Horiguchi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from McCurtney.
Good shot there by McCurtney.
McCurtney throws a right and a left that Horiguchi avoids nicely.
As McCurtney backs off Horiguchi throws a huge counter combo but McCurtney manages to avoid it all.

Oooooh!!! McCurtney has knocked Horiguchi down with a huge combo! McCurtney steps away and waves a wobbly Horiguchi back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Horiguchi is still on wobbly legs! Can McCurtney finish him?
Nice straight punches there by McCurtney. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of McCurtney.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi fails to land with a series of punches.
McCurtney throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
An inside leg kick from McCurtney misses.
Horiguchi avoids the body shot from McCurtney.
Horiguchi seems to have recovered his senses.

Horiguchi fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging McCurtney to the ground. Horiguchi is now in McCurtney's guard.
McCurtney wants to hit a sweep here but Horiguchi passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for McCurtney there!
McCurtney tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Horiguchi working away from the top, dropping strikes.
McCurtney is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Horiguchi looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi working McCurtney over with strikes here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Horiguchi wants to control the pace but McCurtney is squirming around nicely.
Horiguchi controlling the position easily from mount.
Horiguchi thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

Horiguchi is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but McCurtney is surviving well by controlling Horiguchi's body position as best he can.
Horiguchi tries to push McCurtney's head away but McCurtney is holding on tight.
McCurtney manages to regain half guard. Good work.
McCurtney misses with some strikes from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bernard McCurtney dominated that second round.
That's time! 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.

McCurtney misses with a body punch
and Horiguchi counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Bernard McCurtney is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McCurtney misses with a hook. Horiguchi ducked under it nicely.
Despite the aggression on Horiguchi's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Horiguchi shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with McCurtney but McCurtney pushes him off and we're back to square one.
McCurtney thuds his right hand into Horiguchi's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Bernard McCurtney seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McCurtney scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Horiguchi bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of McCurtney's head.
McCurtney scores with a sloppy right hand. Horiguchi should have avoided that one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Horiguchi has a takedown stuffed.
McCurtney throws a right and a left that both miss.
Horiguchi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A head kick misses from Horiguchi.
McCurtney throws a big counter combination but Horiguchi scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCurtney just misses with a punch to the body.
Horiguchi shapes to counter with a head kick.
Horiguchi avoids the head kick by McCurtney.
McCurtney walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Horiguchi checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Horiguchi ducks under a wild hook from McCurtney.
Horiguchi shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with McCurtney but McCurtney pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Bernard McCurtney has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kyoji Horiguchi.
Horiguchi lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McCurtney circles away quickly and effectively.
A quick step to the side and McCurtney tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi avoids them all with ease.
Horiguchi is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
McCurtney lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
A head kick by McCurtney misses
and Horiguchi counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A shot to the body from McCurtney misses
enabling Horiguchi to counter with a crisp jab.
A low kick from McCurtney misses
enabling Horiguchi to counter with a crisp jab.
Horiguchi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A lazy left from Horiguchi finds it's target.
McCurtney throws a series of punches but Horiguchi avoids them all with ease.
Horiguchi avoids a punch combination nicely.
Horiguchi tries a head kick but it misses.
McCurtney lands a nice shot that snaps Horiguchi's head back.
McCurtney lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
McCurtney throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Horiguchi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. McCurtney tries to avoid it but Horiguchi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag McCurtney to the ground. McCurtney escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Horiguchi takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Horiguchi misses with a two punch combination.
Horiguchi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Horiguchi lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCurtney throws a low kick but Horiguchi moves out of range easily.
Bernard McCurtney is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A head kick by McCurtney misses
and Horiguchi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
McCurtney lands a right hook to the body.
McCurtney looks to score with a jab to the body but Horiguchi is just out of range.
Some wild striking there from McCurtney.
Horiguchi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from McCurtney.
McCurtney tries to bum rush Horiguchi with a series of wild strikes but Horiguchi uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A clash of legs there as Horiguchi blocks the low kick.
McCurtney tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Horiguchi was well out of range. Poor timing from McCurtney.
McCurtney will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
As McCurtney backs off Horiguchi throws a huge counter combo but McCurtney manages to avoid it all.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Some wild striking there from McCurtney.
Horiguchi looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Horiguchi drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
McCurtney swinging wildly here.
McCurtney connects with a jab.
McCurtney misses with a looping left.
Kyoji Horiguchi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
McCurtney jabs Horiguchi to the body, keeping him at a distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bernard McCurtney showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for McCurtney, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bernard McCurtney!
Bernard McCurtney thanked the fans post fight for their support.