UFC 195 video: Michinori Tanaka keeps submission-happy Joe Soto from first UFC win

LAS VEGAS – Michinori Tanaka gritted his way out of one submission attempt after another and kept the pressure on Joe Soto, right up until the pace he maintained threatened to exhaust him completely.

But in the eyes of at least two judges, the work from Tanaka (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was enough to earn him the nod over a game, aggressive Soto (15-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC), resulting in a split-decision victory (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) for Tanaka after a thrilling and at times frantic fight.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 195 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

The story of the first two rounds of the fight was the battle between Tanaka’s takedowns and Soto’s guard game. After peppering Soto with counter right hands and standup attack that was difficult for Soto to time or catch up with, Tanaka put Soto down with takedowns in both the first and second frames, only to find himself immediately fending off submission attempts once the fight hit the floor.

Using everything from guillotines to gogoplatas, Soto was a constant threat off his back. Several times Tanaka seemed on the verge of being submitted by the array of chokes Soto threw his way, but each time he managed to escape.

All that activity took its toll by the third round, however, as Tanaka became visibly exhausted and saw his output wane as Soto came on stronger. Taunting his opponent in between blasting him with jabs, Soto claimed the upper hand quickly in that final round, but again had his momentum halted by Tanaka’s takedowns.

In the end, Tanaka seemed happy to survive that final round after yet another close guillotine choke attempt. From there, the Japanese fighter could only put his faith in the judges, two of whom rewarded him with the win after a close, exciting fight that could have easily gone either way.

“After the fight, Joe and I had a conversation and he was very supportive,” Tanaka said. “He wished me all the best and gave me several compliments on my wrestling and submission defense. It’s always great to fight someone that has a respect for the sport like I do, and it was a nice way to end our fight.”

Soto, surprisingly, didn’t take issue with the judges’ decision.

“I’m really good off my back – one of the best in the world – and so I really take pride in that,” Soto said. “He has a very high tolerance for chokes. Anyone else in the world would have tapped. I had him three different times and he really shocked me the way he slipped out. I agree with the decision because I know how they score rounds. He landed the takedowns and I was on my back a lot, but I did more damage and I had the submission attempts. If I was a judge I would have scored it two rounds to one in his favor or a draw if you gave me a 10-8 round. It was the right decision.”

With the win, Tanaka bounces back from a split-decision loss in September of 2014. Soto has now lost three straight in the UFC, despite a strong performance when fighting for the UFC bantamweight title in his debut.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 195 results include:

• Michinori Tanaka def. Joe Soto via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

via UFC 195 results: Michinori Tanaka keeps submission-happy Joe Soto from first UFC win | MMAjunkie.