PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between David Millar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Naoki Yoshikuni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). David Millar has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Millar
vs
Yoshikuni

190 cm
22
163 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

176 cm
22
165 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, David Millar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Naoki Yoshikuni!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Robert Twigg and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yoshikuni stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Yoshikuni wants it to stay on the feet.
Yoshikuni avoids a punch combination nicely.

Millar shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Millar showed some decent athleticism there.
Yoshikuni regains full guard. Nicely done.
Millar advances position into side control!
Yoshikuni manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Millar makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Millar.
Yoshikuni pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Millar is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

Millar working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Yoshikuni doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Yoshikuni manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Yoshikuni advances to half guard.

Yoshikuni is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Millar sees it coming and defends easily.
Millar is pressing down on Yoshikuni's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Connects with an elbow from the bottom, proving to the judges that he's still active off his back.
Yoshikuni stopping the sweep attempt from Millar.
Yoshikuni pushing down on Millar's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Millar is refusing to be controlled, as Yoshikuni sits in half guard.
Millar is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Yoshikuni's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Yoshikuni's back!

Yoshikuni defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

Yoshikuni defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Millar's arms.
Millar is breathing heavily.
Millar is trying to stick to Yoshikuni's back but Yoshikuni is turning into Millar. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Millar's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Yoshikuni.
Yoshikuni won't allow Millar to sweep him here.
Millar really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Yoshikuni passes Millar's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Yoshikuni is keen to just control but Millar is a slippery customer.
Yoshikuni tries to pass to full mount but Millar defends it.
Yoshikuni thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Millar's head.
Millar tries to get to full guard but Yoshikuni has control of the leg.
Yoshikuni wants to free his trapped foot but Millar is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Yoshikuni throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Millar fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Yoshikuni shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Yoshikuni is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Naoki Yoshikuni will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Millar misses with a wild body shot.
Yoshikuni comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Millar keeps the fight on the outside.
Yoshikuni tries to close the distance and clinch but Millar swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Yoshikuni takes a swing at Millar's ribcage but misses.
Millar fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Millar tries for a takedown but Yoshikuni circles away easily

and Yoshikuni decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Millar's guard.
Millar looking to hit a scissor sweep but Yoshikuni is one step ahead there.
Yoshikuni looking to pass the guard.
Yoshikuni trying to control but Millar is working from the bottom.

Millar working for a triangle but Yoshikuni defends it easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yoshikuni wants to control from the top but Millar keeps moving.
Millar will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Millar trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Yoshikuni stands and throws Millar's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Yoshikuni thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Yoshikuni is looking to take a break and control but Millar is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Millar is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Yoshikuni is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Millar has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Millar is looking for a sweep.
Yoshikuni wants to lay and pray for a moment but Millar keeps working.
Millar is looking to reverse the position.
Millar sneaks back into half guard.
Yoshikuni trying to mount his opponent but Millar defends it.
Millar is striking from the bottom but he's now found himself mounted! Oh dear - not enough focus on defense there.

Yoshikuni has control of Millar's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Millar regains control of the situation pretty easily.

Yoshikuni is going olschool here, as he tries to force Millar to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Millar shrugs it off.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Naoki Yoshikuni showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Yoshikuni misses with a body shot.
Yoshikuni tries to clinch there but Millar circles away.
Yoshikuni dodges the punch combination from Millar.
Millar fails to land with a series of punches.
Millar wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Yoshikuni wants to clinch.
Yoshikuni slaps away a takedown attempt from Millar, before circling back to the center of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yoshikuni tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Millar was well out of range. Poor timing from Yoshikuni.
Yoshikuni is looking to clinch but Millar is avoiding it.
Millar shoots and misses

and Yoshikuni counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Yoshikuni not doing much here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yoshikuni wants to free his trapped foot but Millar is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Yoshikuni is trying to work for a kimura but Millar is defending well.

Yoshikuni is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Millar is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:38 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Naoki Yoshikuni!