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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kenshin Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kyoji Horiguchi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?
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| 169 cm
33
147 lbs
17 - 4 - 1 |
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164 cm
24
137 lbs
13 - 8 - 0 |
Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank |
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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
17 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kenshin Yamamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kyoji Horiguchi!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Ren Mimura and Yuuki Gou.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yamamoto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Horiguchi.
Yamamoto drops down looking for a counter takedown but Horiguchi sprawls and moves away.
Yamamoto looks to score with a jab to the body but Horiguchi is just out of range.
Horiguchi clinches up against the cage.
Horiguchi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Horiguchi needs to keep his hands up - Yamamoto had a free shot at his head there.
Yamamoto looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Horiguchi is fending him off so far but Yamamoto persists. Nope, Horiguchi circles away and we're back to standing.
A left lands for Horiguchi.
Yamamoto misses with a body shot.
Yamamoto swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Yamamoto looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Horiguchi throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Yamamoto counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Yamamoto.
Horiguchi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Yamamoto controls from within his opponent's guard.
Horiguchi wants to stand and escape but Yamamoto is having none of it.
Yamamoto controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto trying to control but Horiguchi is working from the bottom.
Yamamoto is pushing down on Horiguchi's leg trying to pass to half guard. Horiguchi is fighting to maintain full guard but Yamamoto has managed to sneak the leg through.
Yamamoto seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Horiguchi gets back to full guard.
Yamamoto missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Yamamoto is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Yamamoto sitting in guard here, content to control.
Horiguchi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Yamamoto is one step ahead there.
Yamamoto postures up.
Yamamoto is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Yamamoto shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Horiguchi but Horiguchi pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Yamamoto pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Yamamoto shoots in and drives through. Horiguchi sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kenshin Yamamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Horiguchi feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Yamamoto's calf.
Horiguchi misses with a body kick.
Kyoji Horiguchi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Donk. Horiguchi catches Yamamoto right on the button with a cross.
Kyoji Horiguchi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Horiguchi misses with a lunging right hand
and Yamamoto counters with a single leg into guard. Horiguchi didn't expect that.
Horiguchi can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Yamamoto controls the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yamamoto stops Horiguchi from standing up.
Yamamoto looking to pass the guard.
Yamamoto is working hard here to advance position.
Yamamoto slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Horiguchi wants to stand and escape but Yamamoto is having none of it.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto sitting in guard here, content to control.
Horiguchi is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Horiguchi looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Horiguchi fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Yamamoto checks it well.
Yamamoto moves out of range of the strikes.
Yamamoto changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Horiguchi tries to avoid it but Yamamoto manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Horiguchi to the ground. Horiguchi escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Yamamoto closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yamamoto thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Horiguchi is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Kenshin Yamamoto dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Horiguchi gets caught flat footed, as Yamamoto shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Horiguchi is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Let's hope that Horiguchi has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Yamamoto prevents Horiguchi from getting back to his feet.
Yamamoto wants to pass the guard but Horiguchi is keeping the position.
Horiguchi avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Yamamoto stopping the sweep attempt from Horiguchi.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Horiguchi keeps trying to improve his position.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Yamamoto moves out of range as Horiguchi strikes.
Horiguchi throws a leg kick which misses Yamamoto's front leg but catches the back leg as Yamamoto tries to avoid it.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Horiguchi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Yamamoto.
Yamamoto checks a leg kick nicely.
Horiguchi misses with the body kick
and Yamamoto decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Horiguchi's guard.
Yamamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Horiguchi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yamamoto is looking to work some ground and pound but Horiguchi has wrist control.
Yamamoto engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Yamamoto trying to control the position from guard on top but Horiguchi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yamamoto stops Horiguchi from standing up.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yamamoto wants to control from the top but Horiguchi keeps moving.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Horiguchi misses with an attempted mid kick.
Yamamoto is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Horiguchi can do to turn this around?
Horiguchi is looking to chop away at Yamamoto's legs.
Yamamoto changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Yamamoto avoids the head kick by Horiguchi.
Horiguchi looks to land a body kick but Yamamoto moved away.
Horiguchi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Yamamoto.
Horiguchi gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Horiguchi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Yamamoto walks forward, straight into a front kick from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi throws a right and a left that Yamamoto avoids nicely.
Horiguchi delivers a nice body kick.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Yamamoto lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Horiguchi at a distance.
Yamamoto slips a straight right by Horiguchi.
Horiguchi tries to land a front kick but Yamamoto steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Yamamoto throws a shot to the body.
Yamamoto misses the jab.
A decent looking cross lands there for Yamamoto.
Horiguchi wants to clinch up but Yamamoto keeps it at a distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Yamamoto.
Kyoji Horiguchi seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Horiguchi throws a front kick that sends Yamamoto stumbling back into the cage.
Horiguchi misses with an uppercut. Yamamoto saw that one coming.
Yamamoto darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto is thwarting Horiguchi's attempts to control the position.
Kenshin Yamamoto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Yamamoto trying to pass the guard but Horiguchi defending well.
Yamamoto missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Yamamoto in particular looking to stall.
Yamamoto is looking to take a break and control but Horiguchi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Yamamoto is thwarting Horiguchi's attempts to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that Kenshin Yamamoto will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!
Excellent takedown into side control there by Yamamoto.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yamamoto trying to control the action but Horiguchi is working from the bottom.
Yamamoto lands a nice forearm strike.
Yamamoto working the head and body with strikes.
Yamamoto is looking to take a break and control but Horiguchi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamamoto scoring with punches from side control.
Horiguchi tries to bench press Yamamoto off him but Yamamoto keeps the position.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Horiguchi can't do much from the bottom here.
The referee asks Yamamoto politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Yamamoto prefers to stall for the moment though.
Yamamoto wants to control but Horiguchi is keeping him busy.
Horiguchi wants to get back to his feet.
Horiguchi tries to improve position but can't.
Kyoji Horiguchi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Yamamoto lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Horiguchi down.
Yamamoto in side control lands a decent elbow.
Horiguchi is pushing Yamamoto's head away, looking to escape. Yamamoto manages to hold on to the position though.
Yamamoto postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Yamamoto taking a breather here.
Yamamoto working away.
Horiguchi is looking for a sweep.
Horiguchi is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Horiguchi takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi throws a big shot that misses.
Yamamoto uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Horiguchi.
Horiguchi is looking to land body kicks.
Horiguchi staying out of range there.
Yamamoto throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Horiguchi tries a head kick but it misses.
Horiguchi throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Yamamoto.
Horiguchi throws a jab when Yamamoto was well out of range.
Yamamoto moves out of range as Horiguchi strikes.
Yamamoto just misses with a punch to the body.
Horiguchi misses with an uppercut. Yamamoto saw that one coming.
Horiguchi jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A lazy body kick from Horiguchi
and Yamamoto counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horiguchi is looking to improve his position.
Horiguchi pushes Yamamoto off looking to stand but Yamamoto dives back in and keeps control.
Yamamoto trying to pass the guard but Horiguchi defending well.
Yamamoto not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yamamoto not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Yamamoto seems to be looking for submissions.
Horiguchi tries to roll over but Yamamoto keeps him under control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Horiguchi wants to get back to his feet.
And that's the end of the fight!
Kenshin Yamamoto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kenshin Yamamoto!
Kenshin Yamamoto seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
37% |
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