PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kye Lawson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kajou Ryuhei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ryuhei has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Kajou Ryuhei will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Lawson
vs
Ryuhei

179 cm
24
172 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
168 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kye Lawson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kajou Ryuhei!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Yukihiro Shimada and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lawson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Ryuhei looks gassed!

Lawson shoots in and gets a takedown into Ryuhei's guard.
Lawson postures up in Ryuhei's guard and throws a big left but Ryuhei blocks it.
Lawson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ryuhei swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Lawson wants to control from the top but Ryuhei keeps moving.
Lawson tries to free his leg and advance position but Ryuhei is retaining full guard.
Lawson wanted to stand there but Ryuhei had control of the position.
Lawson trying to control but Ryuhei is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kye Lawson just wasn't active enough.
Ryuhei misses with a takedown attempt
and Lawson counters with a head kick.
Lawson lets loose with a powerful body kick. Ryuhei will feel that in the morning.
Good standup being displayed there by Lawson as he connects with a hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lawson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Lawson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawson wants to take a breather but Ryuhei is having none of it.
Lawson prevents Ryuhei from standing back up.

Lawson is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Lawson trying to control the pace.
Lawson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Lawson is pressing down on Ryuhei's thigh, looking to free his foot. Ryuhei is holding on for now.
Ryuhei tries to roll over but Lawson keeps him under control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Lawson trying to control from half guard but Ryuhei is working away.
Lawson tries to stand but can't do so whilst Ryuhei controls his leg.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Lawson in particular looking to stall.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kye Lawson just wasn't active enough.
Ryuhei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Lawson counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Lawson wants to get back to his feet.
Ryuhei controlling the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lawson prevents Ryuhei from improving his position.
Ryuhei is positioning himself well to prevent Lawson advancing to mount.
Ryuhei wants to get back to his feet.
Lawson has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Ryuhei works to full guard.
Ryuhei wants to stand but Lawson is controlling the position.

That's four 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.
Lawson trying to control the position from guard on top but Ryuhei is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ryuhei wants to stand but Lawson is controlling the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lawson stuffs the takedown.
Kye Lawson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kajou Ryuhei.
Ryuhei misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Ryuhei throws a body punch but Lawson moves out of range.
Ryuhei leaves Lawson with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Lawson pushes Ryuhei up against the cage in a clinch.

Lawson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ryuhei with a lazy takedown attempt

so Lawson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kye Lawson dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ryuhei tries to score a power double leg takedown but Lawson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Ryuhei somewhat.
Lawson tries to clinch up.
A punch combination from Ryuhei misses.

Lawson drives through with a takedown into guard.
Ryuhei looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Lawson postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Lawson wants to control from the top but Ryuhei keeps moving.

Lawson stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Ryuhei is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Lawson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Lawson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawson throwing strikes here but Ryuhei is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Ryuhei is looking to improve his position but Lawson isn't that keen on the idea.
Lawson avoids the attempt from Ryuhei to control.
Ryuhei is looking to get to half guard.
Lawson tries to control but Ryuhei wriggling away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ryuhei is looking to improve his position but Lawson isn't that keen on the idea.

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.
Lawson lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Ryuhei is wriggling around trying to escape.
Lawson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Lawson tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ryuhei keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Lawson moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Ryuhei has worked his arm free - good work by Ryuhei!
Ryuhei is not content to let Lawson control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ryuhei is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Ryuhei slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Lawson wants to stand but Ryuhei has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Ryuhei is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Lawson seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Lawson being controlled here momentarily.
Lawson stopping the sweep attempt from Ryuhei.

Kye Lawson has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Lawson changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Ryuhei looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Ryuhei is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Ryuhei is trying to control Lawson's posture but Lawson avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kye Lawson dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Nice sprawl there from Ryuhei as Lawson shoots in.
Lawson has his takedown stuffed

and Ryuhei counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Ryuhei scores with a shoulder strike.
Ryuhei wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Lawson has him pressed against the cage.
Lawson tries to pull guard but Ryuhei won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kye Lawson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ryuhei changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Lawson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Ryuhei misses with a series of wild punches.
Lawson moves in looking to clinch but Ryuhei pushes him off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lawson shoots in for a takedown but Ryuhei shows good takedown defense.
Lawson shoots in but Ryuhei avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ryuhei darts in trying to clinch
and Lawson counters with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ryuhei on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Lawson looks for a takedown but Ryuhei sprawls well.
Ryuhei throws a combination. Lawson tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Ryuhei looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ryuhei tries to clinch but Lawson moves out of range.

Lawson shoots in and gets a takedown into Ryuhei's guard.
Lawson won't allow Ryuhei to get back to his feet.
Ryuhei trying to control the position.
Lawson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Ryuhei has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Lawson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ryuhei is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Ryuhei tries to stand but can't do so whilst Lawson controls his leg.
Ryuhei is trying to control. Lawson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Ryuhei wants to stand but Lawson has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Ryuhei not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawson tries to kick Ryuhei off but Ryuhei keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Lawson punching from the bottom.
Ryuhei seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Lawson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ryuhei is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Lawson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ryuhei is working away from the top position though.

Ryuhei is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Lawson has managed to free his arm - good work.

Ryuhei wants to work for an arm triangle but Lawson is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Ryuhei seems to be working for a kimura but Lawson defends the submission attempt.

Ryuhei seems to be looking for submissions.
Kajou Ryuhei has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lawson trying to hold on to Ryuhei's head to control him but Ryuhei postures up.
Kye Lawson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Ryuhei seems to be looking for submissions.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kajou Ryuhei comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Lawson has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 29:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:27
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kye Lawson!