PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between James Mayer De Rothschild (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tokugawa Kazunari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Rothschild comes to the cage accompanied by Money. Kazunari has chosen The Seeker as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Mayer De Rothschild
vs
Kazunari

175 cm
37
147 lbs
29 - 16 - 1

160 cm
32
143 lbs
21 - 9 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best Nutrition

Hellbent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 29 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Mayer De Rothschild!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tokugawa Kazunari!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

De Rothschild looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Kazunari!
De Rothschild trying to control the position but Kazunari is working away.
Kazunari is trying to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Rothschild is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Kazunari's shoulder. That is not cool.
Kazunari manages to work his way to half guard, despite De Rothschild's best efforts.
De Rothschild takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
De Rothschild moves nicely into side control.
De Rothschild slows the pace down.
Kazunari tries to buck De Rothschild off but De Rothschild is having none of it.
Kazunari wants to control but De Rothschild postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
We've been hearing good reports from De Rothschild's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
De Rothschild working the strikes but Kazunari uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
De Rothschild seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Kazunari tries to get to full guard but De Rothschild has control of the leg.
Kazunari is trying to maintain the position but De Rothschild is very close to passing his half guard.
De Rothschild stalling away here and it's allowed Kazunari to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
De Rothschild controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Rothschild pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kazunari is keeping the position for now.
Kazunari looking for a sweep. Not yet Kazunari, not yet.
Kazunari striking off his back but it's not causing De Rothschild any problems.
De Rothschild trying to control the position from guard on top but Kazunari is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kazunari is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Kazunari is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
De Rothschild slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

James Mayer De Rothschild has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
De Rothschild keeps the fight on the outside.
Kazunari avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kazunari connects with a single shot there.
De Rothschild misses with a wild body shot.
Kazunari connects with a crisp jab.
De Rothschild moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
De Rothschild pushes Kazunari away with a front kick.
Kazunari throws a low kick but De Rothschild avoids it.
De Rothschild throws a good cross that connects.
A lazy body kick from Kazunari

and De Rothschild counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
De Rothschild tries to throw a body punch but Kazunari avoids it by throwing De Rothschild back against the cage.

De Rothschild breaks from the clinch.
De Rothschild fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Kazunari on the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Rothschild fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
De Rothschild fails in his attempt to clinch.
De Rothschild misses with a hook
and Kazunari counters with a nice body kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kazunari tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
De Rothschild throws a half hearted mid kick.
De Rothschild lands a head shot.
Kazunari is looking to chop away at De Rothschild's legs.

Kazunari closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
De Rothschild can't find room to land a body shot as Kazunari controls the action.

De Rothschild manages to break the clinch.
De Rothschild throws the kick towards the body but Kazunari avoids it.
Kazunari throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
De Rothschild lands a jab.
De Rothschild fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kazunari manages to avoid it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kazunari cracks the inside of De Rothschild's front leg.
Kazunari has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
De Rothschild throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
De Rothschild dives in and grabs Kazunari's left leg, looking for a takedown. Kazunari pushes down on De Rothschild's head and hops out.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Mayer De Rothschild 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.

Kazunari gets caught flat footed, as De Rothschild shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

De Rothschild avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
De Rothschild trying to control the position from guard on top but Kazunari is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Rothschild stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kazunari swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kazunari is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kazunari bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in De Rothschild's guard.
Kazunari is looking to work some ground and pound but De Rothschild has wrist control.
De Rothschild utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazunari is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
De Rothschild is trying to keep Kazunari in close.
De Rothschild keeping full guard, as Kazunari tries to pass.
De Rothschild is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kazunari throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as De Rothschild works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
De Rothschild not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
James Mayer De Rothschild overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
De Rothschild looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kazunari is one step ahead there.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kazunari with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Rothschild looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kazunari is one step ahead there.
Kazunari trying to control the position from guard on top but De Rothschild is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kazunari lands a couple of decent looking shots.
De Rothschild utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kazunari trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kazunari trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kazunari with a flurry of punches that miss.
De Rothschild working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Rothschild controlling the position.
Kazunari throws a strike but De Rothschild rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
De Rothschild wants to control from the top but Kazunari keeps moving.
Kazunari trying to control the position.
De Rothschild trying to control but Kazunari is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kazunari looking to hit a scissor sweep but De Rothschild is one step ahead there.

We're going to have a standup here because James Mayer De Rothschild wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A decent looking cross lands there for De Rothschild.
De Rothschild bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Kazunari's head.
Kazunari takes a body punch but keeps moving.
De Rothschild works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Kazunari avoids the body shot from De Rothschild.
De Rothschild tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kazunari paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kazunari attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Kazunari keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from De Rothschild.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Rothschild circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kazunari throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kazunari is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kazunari cracks a nice hook into De Rothschild's ribs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tokugawa Kazunari will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

De Rothschild's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and De Rothschild duly obliges.
De Rothschild looks to land a left hand but Kazunari moved out of range nicely.
Kazunari keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kazunari connects with a single shot there.
Good work by Kazunari as he checks the leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from De Rothschild misses the target.
Some bone on bone action there as Kazunari checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
James Mayer De Rothschild is winning the standup battle so far.

Kazunari bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Kazunari lands a decent elbow from side control.
De Rothschild is looking for a sweep.
De Rothschild is working hard here to advance position.
Kazunari wants to control but De Rothschild is keeping him busy.
Kazunari connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused De Rothschild some visible discomfort.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
De Rothschild on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Rothschild struggling a bit here.
Kazunari working the ground and pound.
Kazunari grinds an elbow into De Rothschild's temple.
De Rothschild is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

De Rothschild looking for submissions off his back.
Kazunari thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
De Rothschild is pressing down on Kazunari's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Kazunari trying to control the position from guard on top but De Rothschild is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Rothschild will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kazunari is looking to work some ground and pound but De Rothschild has wrist control.
De Rothschild keeping moving, preventing Kazunari from controlling successfully.
Kazunari throwing strikes but missing.
Kazunari with a flurry of punches that miss.
Kazunari wants to control from the top but De Rothschild keeps moving.
De Rothschild wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Rothschild trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kazunari works the jab nicely.

De Rothschild throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Kazunari tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. De Rothschild is in Kazunari's guard.
Kazunari wants to sweep but no luck.
De Rothschild is looking to work some ground and pound but Kazunari has wrist control.
De Rothschild throwing strikes but missing.
Kazunari tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kazunari keeping moving, preventing De Rothschild from controlling successfully.
Kazunari tries to land a sweep but no joy.
De Rothschild is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because James Mayer De Rothschild wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Kazunari looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kazunari drops an elbow to the side of De Rothschild's head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Rothschild wants to improve his position but Kazunari is controlling well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The fighters are battling for position here. De Rothschild manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Tokugawa Kazunari.
I think Kazunari 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!