PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tamati Kauri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Erick Darko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Darko's choice of entrance music: S.C.O.S.A - Flatbush Zombies. Tamati Kauri could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Erick Darko's chin.

Kauri
vs
Darko

160 cm
26
170 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

179 cm
19
182 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
KO power

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tamati Kauri!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Erick Darko!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Shirou Masuda and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Darko gets the takedown into side control.
Darko working away.
Kauri on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Kauri's coaches at have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
You can see the frustration on Kauri's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Darko misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darko with the ground and pound but Kauri regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Darko wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kauri keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kauri is in trouble now - Darko has advanced to mount!
Darko lands a heavy elbow.
Kauri really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Kauri taking shots to the head.
Darko in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Darko with a couple of short strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kauri keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Darko cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Darko has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
A nice elbow there by Darko.
Darko lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Darko cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Darko is landing with some decent strikes but Kauri is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Darko lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Darko cracks Kauri with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kauri taking shots to the head.
Darko landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kauri is bucking up trying to escape but Darko cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Kauri 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.
Darko seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kauri does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Darko content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Darko is nestled in close to Kauri, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Darko lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darko sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kauri defending well though.
Darko working Kauri over with strikes.
Darko is trying to control. Kauri wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Darko is nestled in close to Kauri, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Kauri is not content to let Darko control the position.
Darko trying to pass the guard but Kauri defending well.
Kauri might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Darko missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Erick Darko 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.

Darko tries for a takedown but Kauri circles away easily

and Kauri moves into the clinch.

Kauri wants the takedown. Darko is fighting it off but Kauri persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Darko's guard against the ropes.
Kauri trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kauri pushing down on Darko's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Kauri moves into full mount! Darko won't be happy about that!
Kauri forces the positional change into back control.

Kauri patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darko tries to break free.

Kauri is persistently looking for the submission but Darko is defending it well.
Darko biding his time here by controlling the hands, looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kauri is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Darko defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

Darko is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Kauri controlling well, preventing Darko from escaping the position.

Kauri has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Darko has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!

Kauri looking for the choke but no joy.
Darko tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kauri is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Darko has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Darko!
Darko trying to control but Kauri is working from the bottom.
Darko working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Kauri's head.
Darko trying to control but Kauri is working from the bottom.
Darko is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darko is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Darko makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Darko lands a couple of digs.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Darko in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kauri keeping moving, preventing Darko from controlling successfully.

Kauri had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Darko defends it easily.

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.
Darko throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Darko content to stall in guard here.
Darko landing some decent shots from guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Darko controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tamati Kauri dominated that second round.
That's time! Kauri's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Kauri defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Darko.
As Darko tries to get set, Kauri tries to push him back and clinch up but Darko manages to avoid the attempt.
Nice takedown defense from Kauri. No joy for Darko on that attempt.
Kauri feinted with a counter takedown.
Kauri displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Darko.
Tamati Kauri has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Erick Darko.
Darko fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Darko bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kauri wants to control but Darko postures up.
Kauri taking punishment in the form of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Check out the look on Darko's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
An elbow from Darko crashes against the mat.
Kauri is trying to get back to half guard.
Kauri regains half guard there - taking advantage of Darko's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Darko takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Darko is trying to control. Kauri wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Darko landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Darko thows a huge punch but Kauri dodges it nicely.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Darko looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Darko fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Kauri to the ground. Darko is now in Kauri's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darko throwing strikes from guard but Kauri blocks nicely.
Darko postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Darko cracks Kauri with a solid left hand.
Darko stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kauri swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Darko with a nice head shot there.
Darko wants to control from the top but Kauri keeps moving.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Darko working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Darko pushing down on Kauri's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Kauri slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Darko trying to control but Kauri is working from the bottom.
Darko working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Kauri working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Darko doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Darko manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Darko content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

And that's the end of the fight!
Erick Darko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Darko 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:29
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Erick Darko!
Erick Darko bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.