PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joey Macdonah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenji Sao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Macdonah
vs
Sao

165 cm
24
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

155 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Joey Macdonah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kenji Sao!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sao fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Macdonah is out of range.

Sao scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Sao not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sao is controlling the pace.

Sao decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sao shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Macdonah pinned against the cage. Macdonah gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Macdonah darts in and clinches Sao up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Macdonah has Sao pushed against the cage.
Macdonah tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Macdonah trying to land knees to the body.
Sao tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Macdonah just stands there and leans against the cage.
Macdonah misses with a knee to the head.
Sao is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Macdonah pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Joey Macdonah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kenji Sao.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Macdonah with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Macdonah looking to throw knees to the head but Sao is blocking nicely.
Macdonah throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sao blocks it with crossed arms.
Macdonah with a knee to the head.
Macdonah connects with a nasty looking knee right to Sao's face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sao is trying to pull guard but Macdonah turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Sao fails to pull guard.
Macdonah tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sao's elbow.
Sao avoiding damage as Macdonah throws knees to the body.

Sao decides to pull guard.
Sao looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Sao should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Macdonah is looking to stand up but Sao won't let him.
Macdonah wants to stand and escape but instead Sao has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sao engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sao trying to control but Macdonah is working from the bottom.
Macdonah has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Sao has passed into side control.
Sao moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Macdonah is looking to regain half guard here but Sao keeps moving and retains side control.
Macdonah on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Macdonah tries to get out of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Macdonah struggling a bit here.
Macdonah sneaks back into half guard.
Macdonah trying to control here.
Sao throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sao is controlling the pace.
Let's hope that Sao 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joey Macdonah dominated that 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.

Sao swinging wildly here.
Sao takes a kick to the side of the head.

It looks like Kenji Sao has been cut.
Sao has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Macdonah.
Macdonah goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Macdonah looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sao dives in for a single leg takedown but Macdonah sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
A nice leg kick lands there from Macdonah.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Macdonah throws a nice outside leg kick.
Macdonah plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Sao fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Macdonah connects with an inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sao on the wrong end of a kick to the body.

Macdonah closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Sao has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Macdonah is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Joey Macdonah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kenji Sao.
Sao fails to pull guard.
Macdonah throws a head punch that misses.
Sao fails to pull guard.
Macdonah tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sao avoids it.
Sao tries to pull guard but Macdonah forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Macdonah tries to throw a body punch but Sao avoids it by throwing Macdonah back against the cage.
Macdonah misses with some punches.
Sao blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Macdonah misses with a knee to the head.
Sao looking to slow down the pace here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Macdonah.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Macdonah is stalling here.
Macdonah is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sao can do to turn this around?
Macdonah misses with some punches.
Macdonah landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Macdonah stalling the fight.
Macdonah landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Macdonah keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Sao's efforts to push away.
Sao blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A knee to the head by Macdonah.
Macdonah stalls.
Macdonah tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sao's elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sao takes a knee right on the jaw!
Macdonah throws a punch but it's blocked by Sao.
Sao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Macdonah avoids it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Macdonah takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Macdonah leaning against his opponent.
Macdonah misses with a punch on the inside.
Sao tries to pull guard but Macdonah forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Macdonah using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sao has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Macdonah with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Sao is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Macdonah fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Macdonah.
Sao is looking for a takedown.
Macdonah using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Sao is breathing heavily.
Macdonah misses with a knee to the head.
Macdonah misses with a knee to the head.
Macdonah tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Macdonah swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sao jumps guard but Macdonah turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Macdonah taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Joey Macdonah has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Sao wants to get back to striking at distance but Macdonah won't allow it.
Macdonah has Sao pressed against the cage, preventing Sao from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Sao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Macdonah avoids it.
Sao has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joey Macdonah dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kenji Sao's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Macdonah doesn't manage to clinch there - Sao circles away.
Macdonah tries to clinch there but Sao circles away.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Sao is defended easily by Macdonah.
Macdonah looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Macdonah showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sao.
Sao misses with a takedown attempt - Macdonah sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Macdonah tries to clinch but Sao is having none of it.

Sao feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Macdonah wants to sweep but no luck.

Sao 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 one minute gone in the round.
Macdonah wants to sweep but no luck.
Macdonah controls Sao momentarily but Sao frees himself.
Macdonah looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Macdonah utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Macdonah lands with a kick to the ribs.
Macdonah throws a head kick that Sao semi-blocks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Macdonah pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Macdonah throws a body kick that misses.
Macdonah throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Sao.
Macdonah connects with a high kick.
Macdonah connects with an inside leg kick.
Horrible takedown attempt by Sao or perhaps it was just good defense by Macdonah, which made it look bad.
Macdonah fires out a quick counter leg kick but Sao just manages to avoid it.
Joey Macdonah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kenji Sao.
Sao takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sao changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Macdonah tries to avoid it but Sao manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Macdonah to the ground. Macdonah escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Macdonah wants to clinch up but Sao keeps it at a distance.

Macdonah darts in and clinches Sao up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Macdonah tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Macdonah crunches a lovely knee into Sao's ribcage.
Macdonah cracks Sao with a nice body shot.
Macdonah will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Sao up against the cage.
Sao working hard to break the clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Macdonah.
Macdonah is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Macdonah taking a breather.
Sao misses with some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Macdonah misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sao tries for a takedown. No joy.
Macdonah prevents a takedown attempt there.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Macdonah tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Macdonah landing knees to the body.
Sao tries for a takedown but Macdonah manages to get underhooks.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Macdonah throws a punch but it's blocked by Sao.
Macdonah tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sao avoids it.
Kenji Sao has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sao misses with a knee strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joey Macdonah showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Macdonah, 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight for Joey Macdonah!
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Joey Macdonah!
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight for Joey Macdonah!

Joey Macdonah wins by unanimous decision!