PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rob Evans (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shinya Imanari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Imanari's choice of entrance music: Era - Ameno. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Evans
vs
Imanari

185 cm
24
270 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

175 cm
25
245 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Powerful

Knock Out Artistry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rob Evans!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shinya Imanari!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, George Francis and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Evans throws a body punch but Imanari moves out of range.
Imanari fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Imanari closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Imanari lands in his opponent's guard.
Imanari pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Evans is keeping the position for now.
Imanari trying to control but Evans is working from the bottom.
Imanari advances position into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans is looking to regain half guard here but Imanari keeps moving and retains side control.
Imanari wants to lay and pray for a moment but Evans keeps working.
Evans regains half guard, as Imanari was trying to land strikes.
Evans is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Imanari's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Imanari's back!

That's two 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.
Evans avoiding Imanari 's attempts to control his hands.
Evans doesn't have the hooks in and Imanari manages to turn into his guard.
Imanari wants to control from the top but Evans keeps moving.
Evans is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Imanari is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Imanari postures up in Evans's guard and throws a big left but Evans blocks it.

Imanari thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Evans trying to keep a closed guard but Imanari is proving a slippery customer.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Imanari ducks under a wild hook from Evans.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Evans shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Imanari is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Evans jumps into side control!

Evans decides to stand up, so the ref orders Imanari to his feet.
Imanari fails to land the takedown.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Evans lands with an overhand left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rob Evans dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Evans throws a lazy right hand but Imanari sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Evans just misses with a punch to the body.
Imanari misses with a takedown attempt

and Evans counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Imanari tries to get to full guard but Evans has control of the leg.
Imanari is looking to control Evans's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Imanari avoid being mounted?
Evans is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Imanari tries to roll over but Evans keeps him under control.

Imanari looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Evans prevents Imanari from improving his position.
Evans content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Imanari tries to close the distance and clinch but Evans swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
A big right from Evans misses.
Evans wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Imanari keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Evans.

Evans closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Evans lands in his opponent's guard.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Imanari is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Evans defends well.
Imanari is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Evans is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Imanari looking to control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Imanari wants to sweep here but Evans controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rob Evans dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Imanari tries for a takedown but Evans circles away easily

and Evans counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Imanari's guard now.
Imanari wants to hit a switch here but Evans passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Imanari there!
Imanari is trying desperately to improve position.
Evans takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Imanari for as long as he can get away with.
Imanari wants to hold on but Evans pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Evans tries to control but Imanari wriggling away.
Imanari manages to control the position for a moment.
Imanari tries to reverse the position but Evans maintains control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Rob Evans overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Imanari is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four 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.
Evans controlling his opponent.
Imanari is desperately trying to improve his position but Evans has a good base and remains in mount.
Rob Evans is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Imanari is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Shinya Imanari has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Imanari wants to control but Evans is having none of it.
Evans looking to control and managing it successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rob Evans showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Evans 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rob Evans!