PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tetsuo Kawakada (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Gotti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kawakada
vs
Gotti

192 cm
19
220 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

190 cm
26
215 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tetsuo Kawakada!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Gotti!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Gwen Towbar and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gotti keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Kawakada lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Gotti defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Kawakada.
Gotti tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kawakada manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Gotti drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kawakada trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

Kawakada working for a triangle but Gotti defends it easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kawakada is on top in guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Gotti can do anything to dispel that myth.
Gotti pulls Kawakada in to control the position.
Kawakada throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gotti works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kawakada prevents Gotti from getting back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kawakada trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kawakada pushes down on Gotti's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Kawakada not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kawakada prevents Gotti from standing back up.
Kawakada uses his free foot to push down on Gotti's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Gotti.
Gotti really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kawakada. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Gotti is trying to stand up.
A nice elbow there by Kawakada.
Gotti keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Kawakada unloads with some shots from mount but Gotti bucks and avoids them well.
Kawakada lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kawakada lands a big elbow.
Gotti is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

Gotti defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Kawakada.
Gotti is looking to get to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kawakada is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gotti has managed to escape the submission attempt.

Kawakada looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Kawakada punching from mount but Gotti doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Kawakada throws some wild stikes that Gotti manages to avoid easily.
Gotti holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Kawakada tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Kawakada landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kawakada looking to ground and pound but Gotti is blocking nicely.
Kawakada dominating with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kawakada with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

Kawakada wants to finish this one by submission but Gotti is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Kawakada.
Kawakada working Gotti over with strikes here.

Kawakada working for a guillotine from mount but Gotti is in no mood to give up.
Gotti is desperately trying to improve his position but Kawakada has a good base and remains in mount.
Gotti takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gotti in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Kawakada throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gotti wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Kawakada.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kawakada jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Gotti manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Gotti is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Kawakada is controlling him well.
Kawakada 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.
Gotti taking a bit of punishment here - Kawakada scoring with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gotti is looking for a sweep.
Kawakada misses with the ground and pound.
Kawakada misses with the ground and pound.

Kawakada tries for a kimura but Gotti is defending well.
Gotti dodges the ground and pound from Kawakada.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kawakada working away.
Kawakada creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tetsuo Kawakada 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.

Kawakada fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gotti avoids it really well and circles away.

Kawakada scores with a takedown into Gotti's guard.
Gotti avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gotti looking to control.
Kawakada won't allow Gotti to get back to his feet.
Kawakada stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gotti swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kawakada scoring with some ground and pound.
Kawakada loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kawakada in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kawakada is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gotti can do to turn this around?
Gotti can't keep his opponent in guard - Kawakada advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Gotti won't allow Kawakada to pass to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti trying to control from the bottom.
Tetsuo Kawakada overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kawakada takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Kawakada is working for a submission of some sort.
Gotti pushes Kawakada off looking to stand but Kawakada dives back in and keeps control.
Kawakada throwing shots but Gotti is blocking nicely.
Kawakada not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Kawakada thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Kawakada is working for a submission of some sort.
Kawakada seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kawakada missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Gotti is looking to escape.

Kawakada is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Kawakada passes to side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kawakada has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Gotti!
Kawakada working some short elbows here. He postures up to throw some more ground and pound but Gotti slips a leg through to get back to half guard. Nice work.
Kawakada throwing shots but Gotti is blocking nicely.
Kawakada throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Gotti tries to get to full guard but Kawakada has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gotti wants to get back to his feet.
Kawakada winds up and cracks Gotti with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gotti is in trouble now - Kawakada has advanced to mount!

Kawakada is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gotti has managed to escape the submission attempt.

Kawakada is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Gotti can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kawakada cracks Gotti with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kawakada throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Kawakada landing strikes from the mount and Gotti is in trouble!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Gotti defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Kawakada.
Gotti sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

Kawakada is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Gotti has managed to free his arm - good work.
Gotti blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kawakada.

Kawakada is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kawakada throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kawakada throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Kawakada is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Kawakada missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tetsuo Kawakada dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Kawakada keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Gotti changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kawakada tries to avoid it but Gotti manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kawakada to the ground. Kawakada escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gotti avoids the body shot from Kawakada.

Kawakada closes the distance and pushes Gotti back into the cage.
Kawakada tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Gotti tries a body shot but Kawakada blocks it.
Kawakada jumps guard but Gotti turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Kawakada has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Gotti uses from the top position.
Kawakada has a closed guard, preventing Gotti from standing up.
Kawakada bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Gotti's guard.
Kawakada throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gotti wants to stand and escape but Kawakada is having none of it.
Kawakada is in close to Gotti's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kawakada throws a big right hand that misses.
Gotti wants to get back to his feet but Kawakada is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Gotti takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gotti working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kawakada.
Gotti controls Kawakada momentarily but Kawakada frees himself.
Kawakada passes Gotti's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Gotti is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Kawakada scores with a couple of nice shots.
Kawakada wants to free his trapped foot but Gotti is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Gotti blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kawakada.
Kawakada trying to pass the guard but Gotti defending well.
Kawakada throwing shots but Gotti is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kawakada throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Kawakada is looking for a kimura here.

Kawakada is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gotti sees it coming and defends easily.
Kawakada moves into full mount! Gotti won't be happy about that!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gotti tries to lock up and control but Kawakada gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Kawakada misses with a head shot.
Gotti wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Kawakada.
Kawakada sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kawakada with a couple of short strikes.
Gotti is looking to improve his position but Kawakada isn't that keen on the idea.
Gotti wants to hold on but Kawakada pushes him away.
Kawakada connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

Kawakada is working for a guillotine from mount but Gotti frees his head quite easily.
Gotti avoids a series of strikes thrown by Kawakada.
Gotti is in a horrible position here. Kawakada smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

Kawakada working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kawakada looking to ground and pound but Gotti is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gotti avoids a series of strikes thrown by Kawakada.
Kawakada thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Gotti working to try and regain half guard.
Kawakada landing shots from mount.
Gotti wants to get back to his feet.
Kawakada fails to take his opponent's back.

Kawakada has control of Gotti's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Gotti regains control of the situation pretty easily.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gotti wants to try and get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tetsuo Kawakada showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kawakada 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tetsuo Kawakada!