PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Hagen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Junko Hatoru (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Junko Hatoru will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Hagen
vs
Hatoru

178 cm
26
195 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

180 cm
26
192 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tom Hagen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Junko Hatoru!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hatoru tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hagen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hagen avoids a punch combination nicely.
A slow jab from Hagen misses its intended target.
Hatoru ducks right into an uppercut from Hagen.

It looks like Junko Hatoru has been cut.
Hatoru swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Hatoru moves out of range of the leg kick from Hagen.
Hagen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hagen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Hatoru. Those never looked like landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hagen misses the jab.
Hagen misses with a straight left.

Hatoru gets caught flat footed, as Hagen shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Hatoru controls Hagen momentarily but Hagen frees himself.
Hagen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hagen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hagen throwing strikes from guard but Hatoru blocks nicely.
Hagen controls from within his opponent's guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hatoru closes the distance and lands a one-two.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hagen misses with a takedown attempt
and Hatoru counters with a series of strikes. Hagen will be more careful next time no doubt.
Hagen slips under a jab.
Hagen walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Hatoru checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Hagen misses with a hook to the body
and Hatoru counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Hatoru moves out of range as Hagen strikes.
A solid body kick from Hatoru.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hagen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hagen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Hagen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hatoru looks for the body kick but Hagen saw that one coming.
Hagen misses with a looping left.
Hatoru throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hagen.
Hagen pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hatoru slips a straight right by Hagen.
Hatoru throws a right and a left that Hagen avoids nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Hagen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Junko Hatoru's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hagen manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Hatoru on his heels. He'll look to pass Hatoru's guard now, I'm sure.
Hagen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hagen wants to control from the top but Hatoru keeps moving.
Hagen stays in close to Hatoru's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tom Hagen just wasn't active enough.
Hagen fails with a takedown attempt.
Hagen is looking to land body kicks.

Hagen dives in and scores a takedown into Hatoru's guard.
Hagen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Hatoru looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hagen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Hagen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hatoru keeping moving, preventing Hagen from controlling successfully.
Hagen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Tom Hagen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Hagen misses with a wild body shot.
Hatoru keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hatoru moves out of range as Hagen strikes.
Hagen takes a swing at Hatoru's ribcage but misses.
Hatoru explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hatoru looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Junko Hatoru is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hagen checks the leg kick nicely there.
Tom Hagen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hagen thows a body shot but no joy.
Hagen shoots in looking for a takedown but Hatoru manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Hagen's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Hagen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hatoru misses with a wild combination.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Hagen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Hagen dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Junko Hatoru's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Hatoru feints a jab promting Hagen to slip. Hatoru then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Hagen slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Hagen misses with an uppercut.
Hatoru keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hatoru rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hagen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hagen misses with a straight right.
Hatoru tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hatoru steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hagen.
Hagen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Hatoru.
Hagen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Hatoru lands a front kick.

Hagen 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.
Hagen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hatoru is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hagen trying to control the position from guard on top but Hatoru is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hagen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Tom Hagen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Hatoru misses with a leg kick.
Hagen closes the distance and clinches up with Hatoru, looking for a takedown. Hagen pushes Hatoru against the cage but Hatoru circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Hagen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Hatoru sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hagen throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hatoru's waist but Hatoru gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hagen off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Hagen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hagen throws a poor cross that misses
and Hatoru finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Hagen throws the left hand but Hatoru avoids the punch easily.
Hagen will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Junko Hatoru is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hagen shoots in and drives through. Hatoru sprawls well.
Nice takedown defense from Hatoru. No joy for Hagen on that attempt.
Hagen tries to move into range but Hatoru moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hagen throws a hook to the side of Hatoru's head but Hatoru sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hatoru throws a right and a left that Hagen avoids nicely.
Hagen blocks a head kick by Hatoru.
Nice sprawl there from Hatoru as Hagen shoots in.
Hatoru wants to clinch.

Hagen gets a takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom Hagen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Hagen 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Hagen!
A relieved looking Tom Hagen thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.