PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Synyster Gates (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Larry Tanaka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gates
vs
Tanaka

192 cm
21
215 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
211 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

No Contest Clothing

Demon Clothing Company and Laundry

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Synyster Gates!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Larry Tanaka!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Robert Twigg and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch lands to the side of Gates 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Gates tries a head kick but it misses.

Gates closes the distance and clinches.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Gates obliges.
Gates using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Tanaka on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Gates scores a nice knee to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Gates missing with knees to the body.
Gates is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tanaka is defending well for now.
Gates landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Gates.
Gates tries a knee to the head but Tanaka blocks it.
Gates blocks a body shot from Tanaka.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanaka tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Gates obliges.
Tanaka misses with a hook from the clinch.
Gates using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Gates utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Tanaka is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Tanaka swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Tanaka swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Gates lands a nice elbow.
Tanaka misses with a punch on the inside.
Gates is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tanaka is defending well for now.
Gates using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Gates landing some nice looking knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gates landing knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Tanaka.
Gates stalling in the clinch.
Gates lands a knee to the body.
Tanaka taking a breather.
Gates lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Gates landing knees to the head.
Gates missing with knees to the body.
Gates lands a knee to the body.
Gates is breathing heavily.
A nice left hand lands by Tanaka.
Gates tries to land knees in the clinch but Tanaka avoids the damage to the body.
Tanaka misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tanaka is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Gates lands an elbow just above Tanaka 's eye.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gates scores a nice knee to the body.
Gates blocks an uppercut.
Gates throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Gates landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Tanaka avoids the elbow strike from Gates, against the cage.
Gates lands a good knee to the midsection. Tanaka won't want to take too many of those.
Gates stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Gates missing with knees to the body.
Come on Gates - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Gates crunches a lovely knee into Tanaka's ribcage.
Gates throws a knee to the head but misses.
Tanaka misses with some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gates stalling against the cage.
Gates pushes off an throws an elbow but Tanaka leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Gates.
Good body shot from Tanaka.
Gates is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Tanaka is keeping busy.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gates has Tanaka pushed against the cage.
Gates blocking some punches.
Gates blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tanaka throws a head punch that misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gates manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Gates.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Synyster Gates dominated that round.
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.

Gates throws a head kick that misses.
Gates throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Tanaka throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Gates counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Gates clinches up against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Gates.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Tanaka swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Gates connects with a knee to the head.
Gates blocking some punches.
Tanaka avoids a wild elbow strike from Gates.
Tanaka swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Gates with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Tanaka struggles to land a body shot inside as Gates controls his hands.
Tanaka fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Gates missing with knees to the body.
Gates trying to stall but Tanaka improves his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knees to the body from Gates.
Gates blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Gates with a knee to the head.
Synyster Gates has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gates is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tanaka is defending well for now.
Tanaka struggles to land a body shot inside as Gates controls his hands.
Tanaka takes an elbow to the forehead.
Gates is looking to control Tanaka's arms but Tanaka gets an underhook and turns him. Now Gates has his back to the cage.
Gates connects with a knee to the head.
Tanaka is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Gates leaning against his opponent.
Gates tries to land knees in the clinch but Tanaka avoids the damage to the body.
Gates is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tanaka is defending well for now.
Gates connects with a nasty looking knee right to Tanaka's face.
Tanaka tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gates crunches a lovely knee into Tanaka's ribcage.
Tanaka slows down the pace here.
Tanaka avoiding damage as Gates throws knees to the body.
Gates stalling in the clinch but Tanaka improves position.
Tanaka avoiding damage as Gates throws knees to the body.
Tanaka misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tanaka wants to stall.
Tanaka working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gates prevents a body shot from Tanaka.
Tanaka is trying to maintain a safe position but Gates gets an underhook and turns Tanaka into the cage.
Tanaka fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tanaka lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Gates or not.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tanaka tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gates's elbow.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Gates tries a knee to the head but Tanaka blocks it.
Gates is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tanaka is defending well for now.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Tanaka works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Tanaka misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tanaka tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Tanaka tries to work over Gates's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Gates with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Tanaka content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Tanaka working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Tanaka misses with a hook from the clinch.
Gates stalling in the clinch but Tanaka improves position.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gates.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tanaka doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Gates.
Gates tries a knee to the head but Tanaka blocks it.
Gates using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tanaka has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Tanaka working aggressively here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tanaka doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
With the fighters up against the cage, Gates throws an elbow but misses.
Gates has Tanaka pushed against the cage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Tanaka.

It looks like Synyster Gates has been cut.
Tanaka misses with a short punch on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gates unloads a knee to the mid-section. Tanaka lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Tanaka fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tanaka lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Gates or not.
Tanaka struggles to land a body shot inside as Gates controls his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Larry Tanaka will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Synyster Gates's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Gates misses with a two punch combination.
Tanaka throws a half hearted mid kick.
Gates misses with a head kick.
Tanaka just misses with a punch to the body.
Tanaka waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gates.
Gates bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gates avoids the body shot from Tanaka.
Gates takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Gates fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Tanaka, pushing him back against the cage.
Tanaka displaying some good clinch control by pressing Gates up against the cage.
Tanaka misses with a body punch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gates working Tanaka over with knees to the body.
Tanaka blocks the elbow strike.
Tanaka tries to throw a body punch but Gates avoids it by throwing Tanaka back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanaka avoiding damage.
Gates lands a knee to the head.
Tanaka is trying to stall.
Tanaka tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Gates tries to stall but Tanaka uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Gates throws an elbow that misses.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Gates.
Tanaka lands with a light punch inside.
Gates dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Tanaka is trying to maintain a safe position but Gates gets an underhook and turns Tanaka into the cage.
Gates tries a knee to the head but Tanaka blocks it.
Tanaka looking to slow down the pace here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gates tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Tanaka scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Tanaka misses with a punch to the body.
Gates blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Tanaka misses with a punch to the body.
Gates tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tanaka avoids it.
Tanaka tries to work over Gates's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Tanaka misses with a punch on the inside.
Tanaka blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tanaka is trying to maintain a safe position but Gates gets an underhook and turns Tanaka into the cage.
Tanaka misses with some punches.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Gates is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tanaka misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gates.
Tanaka goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Gates lands a good knee to the midsection. Tanaka won't want to take too many of those.
Gates misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tanaka.
Tanaka works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Gates blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tanaka misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gates.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Tanaka misses with a punch on the inside.
Tanaka blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tanaka on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tanaka looking to slow down the pace here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tanaka throws a head punch that misses.
Gates blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Tanaka misses with a punch on the inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tanaka trying to control the position but instead, Gates has worked for underhooks and has pushed Tanaka into the cage.
Tanaka has a couple of punches blocked by Gates.
Tanaka working aggressively here.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Gates obliges.
Tanaka tries to throw a body punch but Gates avoids it by throwing Tanaka back against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tanaka's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Tanaka tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gates's elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Larry Tanaka comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Tanaka has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Larry Tanaka!
A very excited looking Larry Tanaka made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.