PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Chase (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kengo Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Chase
vs
Watanabe

180 cm
24
194 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

182 cm
26
193 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Dangerous GnP
Brawler
Solid 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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Johnny Chase!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kengo Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Ren Mimura and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Watanabe shoots in and bounces Chase off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Watanabe throws an elbow that misses. Chase uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Watanabe's guard. Nice move by Chase!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chase looking to pass the guard.

Chase has gone for a leg lock! Watanabe slips out almost immediately though and dives into Chase's guard.
Watanabe working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Chase's head.
Watanabe looking to sit in guard and control but Chase gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Watanabe keeping full guard, as Chase tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe is controlling Chase's posture.
Watanabe bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Chase's guard.
Watanabe throws a strike but Chase rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Watanabe wants to stand up but Chase is controlling him.

Chase has gone for a leg lock! Watanabe slips out almost immediately though and dives into Chase's guard.
Watanabe controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Watanabe landing with the ground and pound.
Watanabe trying to control the position from guard on top but Chase is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Watanabe tries to free his leg and advance position but Chase is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Watanabe is controlling the pace.
Watanabe throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Chase taking some punishment here, with Watanabe in his half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Watanabe lands a nice short elbow.
Chase is not content to let Watanabe control the position.
Watanabe controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe working the head and body with strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Watanabe is controlling the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Watanabe connects with a nice short shot to Chase's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kengo Watanabe dominated that 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.

Watanabe shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Watanabe working the head and body with strikes.
Watanabe not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Kengo Watanabe has got the better of the ground game so far.
Watanabe is stalling here. Chase is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Watanabe seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Chase has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Watanabe wants to get back to his feet but Chase is dominant here and he's now got Watanabe's back!

Chase looking for the RNC.
Watanabe manages to reverse the position and now he's in Chase's guard. Nice work there by Watanabe.
Watanabe makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Watanabe stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Chase swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Watanabe trying to control but Chase is working from the bottom.
Chase being controlled here, momentarily.
Chase keeping moving, preventing Watanabe from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Watanabe passes Chase's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Watanabe trying to control the action but Chase is working from the bottom.
Watanabe looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Chase with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Nice strikes from Watanabe there.
Chase is not content to let Watanabe control the position.
Watanabe is looking to advance position but Chase won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe working over Chase with some ground and pound. Chase looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Watanabe is nestled in close to Chase, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Chase is staying active underneath Watanabe, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Watanabe moves nicely into side control.
Watanabe works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Watanabe landing strikes.
Watanabe slows the pace down.
Check out the look on Watanabe's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Watanabe is putting a hurting on Chase here, landing some big shots from side control.
Watanabe working the head and body with strikes.
Watanabe scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Chase to see if he's OK.
Watanabe landing a few strikes.
Watanabe working the ground and pound.
Watanabe scoring with punches from side control.
Chase is working to avoid the ground and pound but Watanabe connects with a decent elbow.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Watanabe is looking to take a break and control but Chase is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Watanabe cracks Chase with an elbow. That is naaassty.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kengo Watanabe showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Watanabe throws the kick towards the body but Chase avoids it.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Chase enables Watanabe to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Chase manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Watanabe throws an elbow that misses. Chase uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Watanabe's guard. Nice move by Chase!
Chase looking to pass the guard.
Watanabe managing to control the position.
Watanabe wants to stand but Chase is controlling the position.
Watanabe 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 one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Watanabe passes to side control.
Watanabe lands a decent elbow from side control.
Chase takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Watanabe is looking to take a break and control but Chase is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe controlling the position from side mount.
Chase is working to avoid the ground and pound but Watanabe connects with a decent elbow.
Watanabe lands a nice forearm strike.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chase takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Watanabe advances to full mount.
Watanabe lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Chase hang on?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chase is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Watanabe looking to control and managing it successfully.
Watanabe breaks from Chase's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Kengo Watanabe is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Watanabe looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Watanabe controlling from the full mount.
Watanabe postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Chase looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Watanabe is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Chase can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Watanabe looking to finish Chase with some ground and pound. This is bad for Chase!
Watanabe putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Watanabe working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Chase is rocked!
Watanabe is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Oh Chase is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Watanabe postures up and throws a massive shot that knocks Chase out cold! Two more strikes to his unconscious opponent for good luck and this one is all over! Watanabe goes absolutely crazy with his corner! Wow, you can see how much that win means to him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Kengo Watanabe!
After winning the bout, Kengo Watanabe thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.