PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Blake The Snake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yoshio Shibasaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

The Snake
vs
Shibasaki

225 cm
23
265 lbs
1 - 8 - 0

213 cm
25
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very quick

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Blake The Snake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yoshio Shibasaki!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Ren Mimura and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shibasaki has his takedown stuffed

and The Snake counters with a single leg into guard. Shibasaki didn't expect that.
The Snake would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Shibasaki wants to stand and escape but The Snake is having none of it.
The Snake is in close to Shibasaki's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The Snake trying to control the position from guard on top but Shibasaki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shibasaki trying to strike off his back.
The Snake trying to control the position from guard on top but Shibasaki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The Snake postures up.
The Snake will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The Snake passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shibasaki is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked The Snake off and has taken his back!
The Snake's corner are yelling at him, telling him to just focus on controlling Shibasaki's hands.
The Snake wants to control his opponent's hands but Shibasaki gets his hands free.

Shibasaki has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, The Snake has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Shibasaki trying to control.
Shibasaki scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The Snake breaks Shibasaki's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The Snake trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The Snake is breathing heavily.
Shibasaki not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The Snake wants to control from the top but Shibasaki keeps moving.

Shibasaki looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Shibasaki has a closed guard, preventing The Snake from standing up.
Shibasaki will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Shibasaki is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Shibasaki winds up and cracks The Snake with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Shibasaki works his foot free and advances to mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shibasaki lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Shibasaki wants to control the pace but The Snake is squirming around nicely.

Shibasaki stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Shibasaki is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shibasaki moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

It looks like Blake The Snake has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shibasaki moves in looking to clinch but The Snake pushes him off.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Shibasaki is defended easily by The Snake.
Shibasaki looks for a takedown but The Snake sprawls well.
Blake The Snake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yoshio Shibasaki.
Shibasaki shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shibasaki throws a lazy body kick
and The Snake counters with a flying knee. Nice.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Shibasaki fails with a takedown attempt.
Shibasaki dives in and grabs The Snake's left leg, looking for a takedown. The Snake pushes down on Shibasaki's head and hops out.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yoshio Shibasaki dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Blake The Snake's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

The Snake stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and The Snake wants it to stay on the feet.

The Snake rushes Shibasaki and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Shibasaki looking for a takedown.
The Snake keeps control of Shibasaki as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
The Snake blocking some punches.
The Snake slowing the pace effectively.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with The Snake for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Shibasaki is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables The Snake to keep the fight standing.
Blake The Snake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yoshio Shibasaki.
The Snake slows down the pace here.
Shibasaki wants to get back to striking at distance but The Snake won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shibasaki tries to pull guard but The Snake won't allow it.
Shibasaki fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Shibasaki is looking to break free of the clinch but The Snake has double underhooks.

The Snake jumps into guard, dragging Shibasaki to the mat.
Shibasaki wants to control from the top but The Snake keeps moving.
The Snake keeping full guard, as Shibasaki tries to pass.
The Snake keeping moving, preventing Shibasaki from controlling successfully.
Shibasaki is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Yoshio Shibasaki wasn't active enough on the ground.
Nice takedown defense from The Snake. No joy for Shibasaki on that attempt.
Shibasaki shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts The Snake as he jumps to the side.
A head kick by Shibasaki misses

and The Snake counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by The Snake.
The Snake stalling.
Shibasaki has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
The Snake just leaning against Shibasaki, taking a breather.
Shibasaki tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. The Snake smiles and moves away.
Shibasaki tries to clinch there but The Snake circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The Snake defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shibasaki.

The Snake changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Shibasaki looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Shibasaki is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The Snake working the body and head with strikes.

The Snake is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Shibasaki has escaped the position, nice work there.
Shibasaki is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The Snake is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Shibasaki has escaped the position, nice work there.
The Snake avoids the strikes from the bottom by Shibasaki.
The Snake prevents Shibasaki from escaping the position.
The Snake working away.
Shibasaki sneaks back into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shibasaki trying to control but The Snake postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Blake The Snake will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Blake The Snake'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. This is the final round!

Shibasaki misses with a low kick as The Snake jumps back.
The Snake will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

The Snake looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Shibasaki is looking to improve his position.
The Snake really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The Snake blocks the strikes from Shibasaki.

Shibasaki actively working from the bottom here.
The Snake wants to control but Shibasaki is keeping him busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shibasaki trying to control from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Yoshio Shibasaki hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Shibasaki getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Shibasaki looks for the body kick but The Snake saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The Snake blocks a head kick by Shibasaki.
Shibasaki throws a leg kick that misses.
Shibasaki misses with a takedown attempt

and The Snake counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Shibasaki's guard now.
Shibasaki keeping moving, preventing The Snake from controlling successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shibasaki is looking to stand up but The Snake isn't so interested in that idea.
The Snake wants to control from the top but Shibasaki keeps moving.
Shibasaki working a defensive guard here.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Blake The Snake wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
The Snake avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

The Snake forces Shibasaki back against the cage and clinches.
Shibasaki looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

The Snake escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shibasaki throws a head kick but The Snake moves out of range.
Shibasaki tries to clinch up but The Snake circles away and keeps his distance.

The Snake forces Shibasaki back against the cage and clinches.
The Snake is trying to pull guard but Shibasaki turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Shibasaki throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but The Snake blocks it with crossed arms.
The Snake dodges an elbow strike from Shibasaki.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A right hand to the body from The Snake.

Shibasaki is fighting off a takedown attempt but The Snake is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Shibasaki to the mat. Shibasaki regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Shibasaki is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Shibasaki avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Shibasaki looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shibasaki wants to stand but The Snake is controlling the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The Snake preventing the sweep.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Blake The Snake.
I think The Snake 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 29:30
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:29
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!