PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sam Samuels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kazushi Yamazaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Samuels
vs
Yamazaki

188 cm
27
212 lbs
11 - 3 - 0

186 cm
27
215 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Syndicate Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sam Samuels!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kazushi Yamazaki!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Kenichi Hosakawa and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamazaki lands a nice hook to Samuels's body. Samuels takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Yamazaki lands a jab-cross combination.

It looks like Sam Samuels has been cut.
Samuels throws a lazy right hand but Yamazaki sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Samuels punishes Yamazaki's body with a nice straight punch.
Yamazaki misses with a body shot
and Samuels counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Samuels throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Yamazaki takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yamazaki throws a combination that misses
and Samuels counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Yamazaki throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Yamazaki tries to bum rush Samuels with a series of wild strikes but Samuels uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Samuels throws a big shot that misses.

Samuels feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Samuels is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Samuels postures up and lands a big shot to Yamazaki's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Samuels missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Samuels is standing up over Yamazaki. Yamazaki looks to escape but Samuels dives into side control.
Yamazaki wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Yamazaki stops Samuels from passing to mount.
Yamazaki regains half guard.
Yamazaki is staying active underneath Samuels, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Samuels thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Yamazaki's head.
Yamazaki looks like he's trying to stand up.
Samuels trying to control the action but Yamazaki is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Samuels is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Yamazaki doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Samuels.
Samuels not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Samuels is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Yamazaki has managed to free his arm - good work.
Samuels uses his free foot to push down on Yamazaki's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Yamazaki.
Samuels trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Samuels goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Yamazaki is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Samuels has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Yamazaki is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Samuels.
Yamazaki working away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamazaki wants to lay and pray for a moment but Samuels keeps working.
Samuels tries to improve position but can't.
Yamazaki wants to stand but Samuels is controlling his arm.
Samuels tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Samuels has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Samuels is working hard here to advance position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Yamazaki rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Samuels moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Yamazaki misses with a double jab
and Samuels cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Samuels waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yamazaki.
Yamazaki swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Samuels connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Yamazaki throws a combination that misses
and Samuels counters with a stiff right hand.
Samuels lands a body shot.
Yamazaki shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Samuels has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Samuels is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Samuels blocks a jab.
A shot to the body from Yamazaki misses
and Samuels counters with a nice body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Samuels dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sam Samuels's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Yamazaki swings for the body but Samuels moves out of range.
Kazushi Yamazaki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Yamazaki swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Samuels counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Yamazaki!
You get the feeling that Yamazaki really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Samuels unloading with bombs!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Samuels is working close to his opponent, looking to work a submission by the looks of things. Oh, he's managed to get a guillotine from mount as his opponent reached up! That looks tiiiiight! Will he tap? YES, he's tapped! Impressive submission by Samuels!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:36 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Sam Samuels!
Sam Samuels retains his light heavyweight title!