PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kenta Michinoku (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nag Hambukoo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Michinoku comes to the cage accompanied by Yamato Suite Four. Hambukoo is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Darkest Hour. Michinoku has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Michinoku
vs
Hambukoo

173 cm
22
152 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

165 cm
28
157 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kenta Michinoku!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nag Hambukoo!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Edson Gomes and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hambukoo connects with a body shot.
Michinoku slips a jab from Hambukoo.
Michinoku is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Michinoku throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Hambukoo misses with a wild body shot.
Michinoku looks to land a left hand but Hambukoo moved out of range nicely.
Michinoku swings for the body but Hambukoo moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hambukoo swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Michinoku finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Hambukoo will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michinoku on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Hambukoo looks to land a combination. Michinoku sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Hambukoo shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Michinoku is looking to stand up but Hambukoo isn't so interested in that idea.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hambukoo trying to control but Michinoku is working from the bottom.
Michinoku wants to stand and escape but Hambukoo is having none of it.
Hambukoo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Michinoku works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hambukoo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Michinoku is keeping the position for now.
Hambukoo has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Hambukoo is looking to work some ground and pound but Michinoku has wrist control.
Hambukoo controlling from the top position.
Michinoku knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hambukoo on the ground.

Michinoku scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Michinoku throws a hook but Hambukoo avoids it easily.
Some bone on bone action there as Hambukoo checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hambukoo misses with a looping left.
Hambukoo misses with a straight left.
Michinoku displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hambukoo.
Nag Hambukoo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Michinoku misses with a hook. Hambukoo ducked under it nicely.
Hambukoo tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Michinoku counters with a nice leg kick.
Hambukoo lands a right hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Hambukoo.
Michinoku stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Michinoku wants it to stay on the feet.
Kenta Michinoku has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nag Hambukoo.
Some wild striking there from Hambukoo.
Hambukoo uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Michinoku.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hambukoo feints and as Michinoku raises his hands in defense, Hambukoo changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Nag Hambukoo will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hambukoo shoots in for a double leg but Michinoku sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Hambukoo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Michinoku.

Hambukoo looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Michinoku!
Michinoku is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Hambukoo takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Michinoku is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Michinoku really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hambukoo won't let Michinoku get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Hambukoo controlling from mount.
Hambukoo trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Michinoku is working to get back to half guard.
Michinoku tries to buck Hambukoo off but he can't manage it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

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.
Hambukoo lands with some strikes.
Hambukoo unloads with some shots from mount but Michinoku bucks and avoids them well.
Hambukoo tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Michinoku wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Hambukoo.
Hambukoo pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Hambukoo controlling the pace for now.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hambukoo looking to control but Michinoku is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hambukoo is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Michinoku to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Michinoku shrugs it off.
Hambukoo punching from mount but Michinoku doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Hambukoo in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Michinoku is squirming around, avoiding Hambukoo's attempts to control the action.
Hambukoo with the ground and pound from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hambukoo landing punches.
Hambukoo landing strikes from the mount.

Hambukoo goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Michinoku is on top in guard.
Michinoku is fighting to break Hambukoo's control of his arms but Hambukoo is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Hambukoo wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hambukoo is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Hambukoo is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Michinoku is aware though and is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nag Hambukoo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hambukoo swings for the body but Michinoku moves out of range.
Michinoku swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hambukoo misses with a takedown
and Michinoku counters with an inside leg kick.
Hambukoo throws an overhand right that lands on Michinoku's shoulder, as Michinoku tries to avoid the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Michinoku throws a hook to the side of Hambukoo's head but Hambukoo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hambukoo bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A shot to the body from Hambukoo misses
and Michinoku counters with a good low kick that Hambukoo was not able to check.
Michinoku stuffs the takedown.
Hambukoo lunges at Michinoku with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Michinoku's hand.
Hambukoo shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Michinoku pinned against the cage. Michinoku gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kenta Michinoku has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nag Hambukoo.
Hambukoo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Michinoku defends it nicely.
Hambukoo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

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.
Hambukoo shoots in for a takedown but Michinoku shows good takedown defense.
Hambukoo throws a hook but Michinoku blocks it.
Michinoku slaps away a takedown attempt from Hambukoo, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Hambukoo misses with an uppercut. Michinoku saw that one coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Michinoku.
Hambukoo throws a body punch but Michinoku moves out of range.
Hambukoo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Michinoku misses the jab.
Hambukoo thows a body shot but no joy.
Hambukoo works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

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.

Hambukoo fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Michinoku sprawls well initially but Hambukoo persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Hambukoo seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Michinoku does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Kenta Michinoku has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hambukoo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hambukoo is trying to control. Michinoku wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Michinoku wants to improve his position but Hambukoo is controlling well.
Hambukoo seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Michinoku does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hambukoo frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Nag Hambukoo.
I've got Hambukoo winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nag Hambukoo!