PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Shinya Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Norifumi Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Yamamoto
vs
Yamamoto

167 cm
22
147 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

160 cm
23
134 lbs
9 - 8 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shinya Yamamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Norifumi Yamamoto!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Shinya Yamamoto is defended easily by Norifumi Yamamoto.
Norifumi Yamamoto fails to land with a series of punches.
Shinya Yamamoto throws a head kick but Norifumi Yamamoto moves out of range.
A head kick misses from Norifumi Yamamoto.

Shinya Yamamoto throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Norifumi Yamamoto tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Shinya Yamamoto is in Norifumi Yamamoto's guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto wants to stand and escape but Shinya Yamamoto is having none of it.
Shinya Yamamoto wants to pass the guard but Norifumi Yamamoto is keeping the position.
Norifumi Yamamoto is looking to stand up but Shinya Yamamoto isn't so interested in that idea.
Shinya Yamamoto trying to control but Norifumi Yamamoto is working from the bottom.

Shinya Yamamoto thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Shinya Yamamoto scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Shinya Yamamoto trying to control but Norifumi Yamamoto is working from the bottom.
Shinya Yamamoto throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Norifumi Yamamoto works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Shinya Yamamoto throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Norifumi Yamamoto works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Shinya Yamamoto trying to control but Norifumi Yamamoto is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto looking to pass the guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Norifumi Yamamoto keeping moving, preventing Shinya Yamamoto from controlling successfully.

Shinya Yamamoto has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Norifumi Yamamoto throws a sloppy head kick and Shinya Yamamoto moves out of range easily.

Shinya Yamamoto closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Norifumi Yamamoto did well to prevent Shinya Yamamoto getting side control.
Norifumi Yamamoto tries to kick Shinya Yamamoto off but Shinya Yamamoto keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Shinya Yamamoto has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Norifumi Yamamoto defends it well.
Norifumi Yamamoto keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Shinya Yamamoto missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Norifumi Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto not doing much here.
Norifumi Yamamoto on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Shinya Yamamoto works his way into full mount!
Shinya Yamamoto lands a heavy elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Shinya Yamamoto jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Norifumi Yamamoto manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Shinya Yamamoto looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinya Yamamoto dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sloppy strikes from Norifumi Yamamoto. Those never looked like landing.
Norifumi Yamamoto misses with a two punch combination.
Norifumi Yamamoto throws a body kick that misses.
Norifumi Yamamoto slaps away a takedown attempt from Shinya Yamamoto, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shinya Yamamoto misses with a takedown attempt - Norifumi Yamamoto sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Norifumi Yamamoto misses with a double jab.
Shinya Yamamoto looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Norifumi Yamamoto is fending him off so far but Shinya Yamamoto persists. Nope, Norifumi Yamamoto circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shinya Yamamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shinya Yamamoto slips a jab and a cross from Norifumi Yamamoto.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norifumi Yamamoto throws a right and a left that Shinya Yamamoto avoids nicely.
Norifumi Yamamoto swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Shinya Yamamoto fails with the takedown
enabling Norifumi Yamamoto to counter with a crisp jab.
Norifumi Yamamoto is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Shinya Yamamoto shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Norifumi Yamamoto pinned against the cage. Norifumi Yamamoto gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Shinya Yamamoto is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Norifumi Yamamoto rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Shinya Yamamoto moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Norifumi Yamamoto throws a right hand that Shinya Yamamoto ducks under and follows up with a left that Shinya Yamamoto also avoids with ease.
Norifumi Yamamoto looks to land a combination but Shinya Yamamoto avoids it well.
Norifumi Yamamoto fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norifumi Yamamoto misses with a jab, cross combination.

Shinya Yamamoto dives in and scores a takedown into Norifumi Yamamoto's guard.
Shinya Yamamoto trying to control but Norifumi Yamamoto is working from the bottom.
Norifumi Yamamoto can't keep his opponent in guard - Shinya Yamamoto advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Norifumi Yamamoto is trying to stand back up but Shinya Yamamoto is controlling him

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Norifumi Yamamoto defends it well.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Shinya Yamamoto is trying to work for a kimura but Norifumi Yamamoto is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shinya Yamamoto is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Shinya Yamamoto stops Norifumi Yamamoto from getting back to his feet.

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a kimura but Norifumi Yamamoto is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Shinya Yamamoto to get the leverage.
Norifumi Yamamoto is refusing to be controlled, as Shinya Yamamoto sits in half guard.
Shinya Yamamoto not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Norifumi Yamamoto manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Shinya Yamamoto works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Norifumi Yamamoto throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Shinya Yamamoto keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Shinya Yamamoto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Norifumi Yamamoto's head.
Norifumi Yamamoto tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shinya Yamamoto is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Shinya Yamamoto lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Norifumi Yamamoto hang on?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinya Yamamoto dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Shinya Yamamoto has a takedown stuffed.
Norifumi Yamamoto swinging wildly here.
Shinya Yamamoto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Norifumi Yamamoto.
Norifumi Yamamoto looks to land a combination but Shinya Yamamoto avoids it well.

Shinya Yamamoto drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Shinya Yamamoto passes Norifumi Yamamoto's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto trying to control here.
Shinya Yamamoto seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Norifumi Yamamoto does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norifumi Yamamoto is trying to stand up here but Shinya Yamamoto is controlling him well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Norifumi Yamamoto blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shinya Yamamoto.
Norifumi Yamamoto blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shinya Yamamoto.

Shinya Yamamoto looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Norifumi Yamamoto is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Shinya Yamamoto's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Shinya Yamamoto's back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
A nice elbow there by Norifumi Yamamoto.
Norifumi Yamamoto connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Shinya Yamamoto wants to control but Norifumi Yamamoto is having none of it.
Norifumi Yamamoto connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Norifumi Yamamoto wants to control the pace but Shinya Yamamoto is squirming around nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shinya Yamamoto gets back to half guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shinya Yamamoto's head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shinya Yamamoto avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Norifumi Yamamoto.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shinya Yamamoto works his way to full guard. Good work.
Norifumi Yamamoto loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Norifumi Yamamoto must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Norifumi Yamamoto would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Norifumi Yamamoto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Shinya Yamamoto is controlling Norifumi Yamamoto's posture.

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a triangle but Norifumi Yamamoto pushes his legs off easily.
Shinya Yamamoto keeping moving, preventing Norifumi Yamamoto from controlling successfully.

Shinya Yamamoto looking for a guillotine here but Norifumi Yamamoto defends easily.
Norifumi Yamamoto throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Shinya Yamamoto works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Norifumi Yamamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Shinya Yamamoto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Norifumi Yamamoto throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Shinya Yamamoto throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Shinya Yamamoto looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Shinya Yamamoto is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Norifumi Yamamoto defends well.
Shinya Yamamoto looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Norifumi Yamamoto advances to half guard.
Shinya Yamamoto won't allow Norifumi Yamamoto to pass to mount.
Shinya Yamamoto trying to hold on to Norifumi Yamamoto's head to control him but Norifumi Yamamoto postures up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Norifumi Yamamoto wants to get back to his feet.
Norifumi Yamamoto winds up and cracks Shinya Yamamoto with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

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 Shinya Yamamoto.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shinya Yamamoto, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shinya Yamamoto!
Shinya Yamamoto managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Valhalla Fight Wear, into his post fight interview.