PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Naozumi Akimoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Romulo Barral (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Akimoto might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to AudioMachine - Assassin. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Akimoto
vs
Barral

185 cm
22
205 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

190 cm
18
216 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

Grappling Pro Gear
Tesla Apparel [Everything $15]

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Naozumi Akimoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Romulo Barral!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Kenichi Hosakawa and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Akimoto looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Akimoto fails with the takedown.

Barral closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Akimoto did well to prevent Barral getting side control.
Akimoto trying to hold on to Barral's head to control him but Barral postures up.
Barral controlling the action here.
Akimoto wants to control but Barral is keeping busy.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Akimoto is looking to get back to is feet but Barral passes into side control.
Akimoto is looking for a sweep.
Akimoto manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Barral decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Akimoto doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Barral counters with a single leg into guard. Akimoto didn't expect that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Naozumi Akimoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barral trying to control the position from guard on top but Akimoto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akimoto wants to sweep here but Barral controlling him for the moment.
Akimoto is working hard here to advance position.
Barral sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Akimoto's guard.
Akimoto wants to get back to full guard.

Akimoto actively working from the bottom here.
Akimoto is looking to get back to full guard here but Barral has managed to pass to side control instead.
Akimoto is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Akimoto wants to hold on but Barral pushes him away.
Akimoto really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Akimoto is squirming around, avoiding Barral's attempts to control the action.
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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Akimoto is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Barral wants to control the pace but Akimoto is squirming around nicely.
Barral controlling the position easily from mount.
Akimoto is wriggling around trying to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romulo Barral dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Barral gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Akimoto counters with a takedown into side control.
Barral wants to control but Akimoto postures up.

Akimoto tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Akimoto has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Akimoto wants to stand but Barral has him controlled and pulls him back into his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barral is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Akimoto trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Akimoto wants to control from the top but Barral keeps moving.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Akimoto has his takedown stuffed

and Barral counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barral trying to control but Akimoto is working from the bottom.
Akimoto keeping full guard, as Barral tries to pass.
Barral sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Akimoto's guard.
Akimoto trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Barral tries to control but Akimoto wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akimoto wants to control but Barral is having none of it.
Barral can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Akimoto is looking to escape.
Akimoto can't escape the position.
Barral content just to control the position here.
Barral wants to take Akimoto's back here but Akimoto is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Akimoto tries to reverse the position but Barral maintains control.
Barral looking to control but Akimoto is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Barral sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Akimoto tries to reverse the position but Barral maintains control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Romulo Barral will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. This is the final round!

Barral throws a sloppy body shot

and Akimoto counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Barral!
Barral prevents Akimoto from taking his back.

Akimoto is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Barral has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Barral!
Barral trying to control the position from guard on top but Akimoto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barral sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Akimoto is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Akimoto throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Akimoto can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Barral controls the pace.
Barral prevents Akimoto from getting back to his feet.

Akimoto escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Barral gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Barral controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Akimoto working for a triangle but Barral defends it easily.
Akimoto keeping full guard, as Barral tries to pass.
Romulo Barral is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akimoto working a defensive guard here.
Romulo Barral has got the better of the ground game so far.
Barral preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Barral shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Barral pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Akimoto is keeping the position for now.
Barral preventing the sweep.

Akimoto has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barral can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

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.
Barral is pushing down on Akimoto's leg trying to pass to half guard. Akimoto is fighting to maintain full guard but Barral has managed to sneak the leg through.
Barral tries to pass to full mount but Akimoto defends it.
Barral controlling the action here.
Naozumi Akimoto has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Akimoto is in trouble now - Barral has advanced to mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Romulo Barral.
Well Barral has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 27:30
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Romulo Barral!