PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Xavier Francis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Daisuke Nakahara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daisuke Nakahara has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Francis
vs
Nakahara

182 cm
18
160 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

177 cm
20
161 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Xavier Francis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Daisuke Nakahara!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Taro Takaoka and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Francis is defended easily by Nakahara.
Nakahara's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Nakahara duly obliges.
Nakahara looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Nakahara uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Francis.
Francis fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nakahara manages to avoid it.
Nakahara will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Nakahara paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Nakahara scores with a body shot.
Francis circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nakahara tries to clinch up.
Nakahara misses with the combination.
Daisuke Nakahara seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nakahara tries to bum rush Francis with a series of wild strikes but Francis uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nakahara lands with a shot to the body.

Francis looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Nakahara!
Francis lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Francis is landing with some decent strikes but Nakahara is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Francis landing strikes from the mount.
Nakahara tries to reverse the position but Francis maintains control.
Nakahara slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Nakahara wants to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Francis slows the pace down in half guard.

Nakahara kicks off Francis and gets to his feet.

Francis scores with a takedown into Nakahara's guard.
Francis chips away with some ground and pound.
Francis has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Francis chips away with some ground and pound.
Nakahara preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Francis throws a big right hand that misses.
Francis passes into half guard.
Francis takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Francis slips a nice elbow through Nakahara's hands, connecting with Nakahara's forehead.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Francis missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Nakahara is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Francis controlling the action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Francis lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis prevents Nakahara from standing back up.
Francis working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Nakahara throws a strike from the bottom but Francis passes into side control!
Nakahara wants to control but Francis postures up.
Nakahara is not content to let Francis control the position.
Nakahara regains half guard there - taking advantage of Francis's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.

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.

Nakahara actively working from the bottom here.
Nakahara looks gassed!
Francis stops Nakahara from getting back to his feet.
Francis wants to control but Nakahara is keeping him busy.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Francis misses with a wild body shot.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Francis.
Francis misses with a takedown attempt - Nakahara sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Xavier Francis. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Francis misses with a few strikes there.
Nakahara doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Francis counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Francis.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Francis 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Francis dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Francis blocks a jab.
Nakahara just misses with a punch to the body.
Nakahara lands a head shot.
Nakahara misses with a series of wild punches.

Francis feints and as Nakahara raises his hands in defense, Francis changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Francis wants to pass the guard but Nakahara is keeping the position.
Nakahara keeping moving, preventing Francis from controlling successfully.
Francis trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Francis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nakahara looking to hit a scissor sweep but Francis is one step ahead there.
Nakahara is trying to control the position but Francis postures up.
Xavier Francis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nakahara working for a triangle but Francis defends it easily.
Nakahara is breathing heavily.
Francis landing with the ground and pound.
Nakahara wants to sweep here but Francis controlling him for the moment.
Nakahara working a defensive guard here.
Nakahara is looking to stand up but Francis isn't so interested in that idea.
Francis content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Francis keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Nakahara's head.

Nakahara is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Francis defends well.
Francis is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Francis wants to control from the top but Nakahara keeps moving.
Francis with a nice head shot there.
Francis passes into half guard.
Francis looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nakahara with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Francis connects with a nice short shot to Nakahara's temple.
Francis is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Francis keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Ground and pound from Francis.
Francis drops an elbow to the side of Nakahara's head.
Nakahara is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Francis scores with a couple of nice shots.
Francis is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Francis scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakahara is looking for a sweep. Francis is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Nakahara has hold of Francis's hands but Francis slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Francis scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Francis seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Francis looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nakahara with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Francis lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Francis working Nakahara over with strikes.
Francis lands with a punch from half guard.
Francis working the head and body with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Francis perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Francis dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

A combination from Nakahara does no damage.

Francis drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Francis tries to free his leg and advance position but Nakahara is retaining full guard.
Francis with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Nakahara utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Nakahara is trying to keep Francis in close.

Nakahara has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Francis should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Nakahara has tightened it up now! Francis should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:45 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Daisuke Nakahara!