PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Takuya Sakamoto (ranked 6950 p4p, 557 weight class) and Inoye Nayuoe (ranked 5077 p4p, 483 weight class). Inoye Nayuoe struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 171.3lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Sakamoto
vs
Nayuoe

183 cm
20
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
26
185 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Takuya Sakamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Inoye Nayuoe!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, David Schapiro and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nayuoe looks to land a left hand but Sakamoto moved out of range nicely.
Sakamoto misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sakamoto takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

Sakamoto closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Nayuoe did well to prevent Sakamoto getting side control.

Nayuoe manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Nayuoe thows a left - swing and a miss!
Inoye Nayuoe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sakamoto fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Nayuoe avoids it really well and circles away.
Nayuoe swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice shot by Nayuoe.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Sakamoto closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sakamoto lands in his opponent's guard.
Sakamoto is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakamoto has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Nayuoe really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sakamoto. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Sakamoto.
Sakamoto is pushing down on Nayuoe's leg trying to pass to half guard. Nayuoe is fighting to maintain full guard but Sakamoto has managed to sneak the leg through.

Nayuoe is defending against the submission attempts here by Sakamoto.
Nayuoe is trying to control but can't.
Sakamoto seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Sakamoto is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Nayuoe defends it well.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Sakamoto uses his free foot to push down on Nayuoe's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Nayuoe.
Nayuoe looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Sakamoto takes Nayuoe's back. Could be looking for a rear naked choke here - either way, Nayuoe is in trouble.
Sakamoto controlling the position well here. Nayuoe rolled but Sakamoto kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.

Sakamoto is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Nayuoe has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sakamoto patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

Sakamoto is working the back position looking for the choke. Oh, he's slid into an armbar! Beautiful transition and Nayuoe taps out! Fantastic Jiu Jitsu from Sakamoto.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:39 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Takuya Sakamoto!
An out of breath Takuya Sakamoto thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.