PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kendall Grove (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Miller Gozu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Miller Gozu told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Grove
vs
Gozu

198 cm
22
190 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

181 cm
26
198 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Good knees
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kendall Grove!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Miller Gozu!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Yuuki Gou and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gozu misses with a right hand
and Grove counters with a leg kick.
Grove tries to close the distance and clinch but Gozu swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
An inside leg kick from Gozu misses.
Gozu's coach down at DiscoClub was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Gozu's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Grove checks a leg kick.
Grove misses with a straight left.

Grove gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Gozu is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Grove can't fight it off and eventually Gozu manages to take the fight to the floor. Grove looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gozu stopping the sweep attempt from Grove.
Grove working a defensive guard here.
Gozu postures up in Grove's guard and throws a big left but Grove blocks it.
Grove keeping full guard, as Gozu tries to pass.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gozu postures up.
Gozu looking to pass the guard.
Gozu is still trying to improve position.
Gozu in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gozu advances to half guard.
Grove wants to improve his position but Gozu is controlling well.
Grove is looking to control Gozu's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Grove avoid being mounted?
Gozu tries to pass the half guard into mount. Grove knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Gozu controlling the action here.
Grove is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Bi-Polar Asylum LV's #1 Public Training Center that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Grove is trying to maintain the position but Gozu is very close to passing his half guard.
Gozu passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Grove!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grove tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Grove is working hard here to advance position.
Gozu avoids the attempt from Grove to control.
Grove slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Gozu tries to pass the half guard into mount. Grove knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Grove really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Grove gets full guard.
Gozu looking to pass the guard.
Grove will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Grove not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gozu throwing strikes but missing.
Grove is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Gozu is looking to improve his position.
Gozu controlling the position well.
Grove is looking to take a break and control but Gozu is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gozu is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gozu looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Gozu is looking for a sweep. Grove is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gozu controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Grove is trying to control. Gozu wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Grove works his way into side control.
Gozu wants to control but Grove postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Miller Gozu will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Gozu tries to clinch up.
Gozu tries to score with a low kick but Grove moves his leg out of the way.
Gozu looks to land a right hand but Grove moved out of range.
Grove scores with a nice right hand.
Grove tries to clinch but Gozu is having none of it.
Miller Gozu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Grove lands a leg kick that knocks Gozu off balance momentarily.

Grove darts in and clinches Gozu up against the cage.
Gozu goes for a takedown attempt but Grove pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
A jab from Grove does it's job there.
Gozu checks a low kick from Grove.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gozu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Grove fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Gozu tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Grove tries to break free but Gozu pushes him back against the cage.
Gozu is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Grove gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Kendall Grove has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Miller Gozu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grove misses with some punches.
Grove misses with a hook to the ribs.
Grove misses with a hook to the ribs.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gozu.
Gozu misses with a punch on the inside.
Grove goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A left hand lands to the body for Grove.
Gozu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Grove lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

Grove's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gozu throws a hook but Grove blocks it.
Kendall Grove is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gozu drops his hands momentarily and Grove takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Gozu throws a lazy right hand but Grove sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gozu is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Gozu thows a left - swing and a miss!
Grove connects with an inside leg kick.
Gozu looks to throw the jab but Grove is out of range.
A swing and a miss from Gozu.
Gozu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Grove.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good leg kick by Grove there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Some wild striking there from Gozu.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Grove misses with a two punch combination.
Grove is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gozu can do to turn this around?
Gozu takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Gozu throws a poor cross that misses
and Grove counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Gozu is breathing heavily.
Grove connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Grove is looking to clinch.

Gozu darts in and clinches Grove up against the cage.
Grove is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Grove misses with a body punch.
Grove swings wildly with an uppercut but Gozu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gozu is looking for a takedown.
Gozu fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Grove misses with a hook to the ribs.
Grove is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Gozu tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Grove avoids it.
Gozu tries to score a body lock takedown but Grove shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grove struggles to land a body shot inside as Gozu controls his hands.
Gozu blocks a body shot from Grove.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gozu.
Gozu tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A short right from Grove on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Grove fails to land.
Grove swings wildly with an uppercut but Gozu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Grove throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Gozus head.
Grove misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Grove lands with a short shot to the head.
Gozu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Grove misses with a hook from the clinch.
Gozu drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Grove gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Knees to the body from Gozu.
Gozu goes for a takedown in the clinch but Grove prevents it.
Gozu looking for a takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gozu has Grove pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Grove manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Grove misses with a punch to the body.
Grove misses with a hook to the ribs.
Grove is pressed up against the cage. Gozu has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Grove down to the mat. Grove avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Grove fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Grove explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gozu has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Grove.
Gozu misses with a left hand
and Grove counters with a body kick.
Grove bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Grove chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Grove lands with an overhand left.
Gozu takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Grove.
Gozu misses with an uppercut.
An inside leg kick lands from Grove.
Grove is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Grove is looking to slow Gozu down with leg kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kendall Grove dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Grove takes the fight into the clinch.

Gozu jumps guard and drags Grove to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Grove wants to stand but Gozu has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Grove wants to control from the top but Gozu keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gozu working for a triangle but Grove defends it easily.

Grove got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gozu has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Grove has managed to get both his arms back between Gozu's legs - danger averted.
Gozu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gozu throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Grove trying to control but Gozu is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gozu walks into a jab.
Gozu misses with a takedown attempt
and Grove counters with a straight right hand.
A big right from Gozu misses.
Kendall Grove is winning the standup battle so far.
Gozu circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gozu misses with a looping left.
No luck for Gozu with that takedown attempt.
Gozu tries to clinch up but Grove circles away and keeps his distance.
Gozu throws a right hand that misses
and Grove counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Grove throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gozu throws a leg kick
and Grove cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Gozu takes a swing at Grove's ribcage but misses.
Gozu wants to clinch.
Gozu misses with an uppercut
letting Grove counter with a right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gozu thows a left - swing and a miss!
Gozu misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Grove to counter with a crisp jab.
Gozu misses with a left hand
letting Grove counter with a right hand.
Grove connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Grove lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Grove scores with a nice head shot.
Gozu takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
A low kick from Gozu is predictable there
enabling Grove to counter with a crisp jab.
Grove bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Grove fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Gozu.
Gozu takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Gozu's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Gozu looks to score with a jab to the body but Grove is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gozu swings widly with a right hand
and Grove counters with a straight right hand.
Grove lands an overhand right.
Gozu throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Grove counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Gozu is rocked!
Gozu takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Gozu is still on wobbly legs! Can Grove finish him?
Good shot there by Grove.
Gozu takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Grove lands a really nice looking cross but Gozu seems unphased.
Gozu shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Gozu misses with a right hand
and Grove makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Grove getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Grove lands a lovely overhand right.
Grove drops Gozu with a naaaaasty hook - Gozu is in real trouble here! Grove dives in to side control and pounds out his opponent for a TKO victory! The crowd goes nuts!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:49 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Kendall Grove!
In defeat, Miller Gozu stepped up to the mic, saying 'Thank you! Its a great night of fights so stick around!'.