PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jun Akiyama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hedrick Cintron (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hedrick Cintron will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Akiyama
vs
Cintron

180 cm
23
170 lbs
6 - 9 - 0

175 cm
24
165 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

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 6 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jun Akiyama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hedrick Cintron!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Ren Mimura and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Akiyama shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Cintron is trying to defend but Akiyama finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Nice strikes from Akiyama there.
Akiyama is taking a breather. Cintron says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Cintron tries to kick Akiyama off but Akiyama keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Akiyama is pressing down on Cintron's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cintron is holding on for now.
Cintron is looking to escape.
Akiyama drops an elbow to the side of Cintron's head.
Cintron keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Akiyama wants to control but Cintron is keeping him busy.
Akiyama throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Akiyama wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cintron keeps working.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cintron is looking to escape.
Akiyama knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Cintron on the ground.

Cintron makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cintron throws a left and a right that both miss

and Akiyama decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Cintron's guard.
Akiyama chips away with some ground and pound.
Akiyama pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cintron is keeping the position for now.
Akiyama wants to control from the top but Cintron keeps moving.
Akiyama has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Akiyama cracks Cintron with a solid left hand.
Cintron is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Akiyama is controlling him.
Cintron utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Akiyama prevents Cintron from getting back to his feet.
Cintron looks gassed!
Akiyama in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Akiyama keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Cintron's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cintron wants to get back to his feet but Akiyama is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Akiyama gets to his feet. Cintron looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Akiyama shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akiyama winds up and cracks Cintron with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Cintron wants to get back to his feet.

Cintron makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Cintron fails in his attempt to clinch.
Akiyama checks a leg kick.
Cintron throws a leg kick but Akiyama checks it.
Akiyama shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cintron as he jumps to the side.
Akiyama shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Cintron as he avoids it easily.
Nice sprawl there from Cintron as Akiyama shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jun Akiyama. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cintron goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Akiyama has Cintron pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Cintron manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Cintron tries to break free but Akiyama pushes him back against the cage.
Akiyama goes for a takedown attempt but Cintron pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Cintron misses with a kick to the body.
Akiyama is trying hard to land a takedown here. Cintron sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Cintron throws a half hearted mid kick.

Akiyama fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Cintron sprawls well initially but Akiyama persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cintron makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Cintron throws a head kick that Akiyama semi-blocks.

Akiyama feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Akiyama forces his way into half guard.
Cintron is trying to stand back up but Akiyama is controlling him
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Akiyama slips a nice elbow through Cintron's hands, connecting with Cintron's forehead.
Akiyama is trying to control. Cintron wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Akiyama controlling the action here.
Akiyama is trying to control the action in half guard but Cintron is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Akiyama wants to work for an arm triangle but Cintron is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Akiyama trying to pass the guard but Cintron defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jun Akiyama dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Cintron moves in looking to clinch but Akiyama pushes him off.
Cintron looks for the body kick but Akiyama saw that one coming.
Cintron misses with a body kick.
Akiyama shoots in looking for a takedown but Cintron manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Akiyama's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Akiyama takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Akiyama on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Cintron tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Cintron lands a leg kick that knocks Akiyama off balance momentarily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Akiyama shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Cintron as he avoids it easily.
Cintron swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Cintron keeps Akiyama at a distance using the push kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cintron lands a nice looking kick to the body. Akiyama takes a step back to recover.

Cintron pushes Akiyama up against the cage in a clinch.

Cintron's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hedrick Cintron seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cintron tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Akiyama has his takedown stuffed
and Cintron counters with a nice body kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jun Akiyama. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Cintron gets a clinch.
Cintron wants to break the clinch but can't.
Akiyama takes a shot to the head.
Cintron wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cintron working hard to break the clinch.
Cintron prevents the takedown attempt.
Akiyama is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Akiyama escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Akiyama shoots in looking for a takedown. Cintron tries to sprawl out of it but Akiyama keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cintron manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Akiyama shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cintron as he jumps to the side.

Cintron rushes Akiyama and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cintron breaks from the clinch.
Jun Akiyama is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Akiyama.
Cintron falls off balance throwing a combination

and Akiyama counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Cintron!
Cintron wants to get back to his feet.
Akiyama landing punches.
Cintron is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Jun Akiyama overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Cintron bucks Akiyama off and manages to get back to his feet!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Akiyama shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cintron as he jumps to the side.
Hedrick Cintron seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cintron defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Akiyama.
Akiyama fails with the takedown.
Cintron looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Akiyama fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Akiyama takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Akiyama fails with the takedown.
Cintron feints and then cracks Akiyama's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Akiyama down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hedrick Cintron showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Cintron misses with an attempted mid kick.
Akiyama moves out of range as Cintron throws a body kick.
Cintron goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Cintron misses with an uppercut.
Cintron moves in looking to clinch but Akiyama pushes him off.

Cintron rushes Akiyama and presses him up against the cage.
Akiyama keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cintron's efforts to push away.
Akiyama can't get the takedown.

Akiyama turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Cintron is not content to let Akiyama control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cintron explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Cintron takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Akiyama closes the distance and clinches up with Cintron, looking for a takedown. Akiyama pushes Cintron against the cage but Cintron circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Cintron stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jun Akiyama. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cintron looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Cintron throws a body kick, spinning off balance

and Akiyama counters with a single leg into guard. Cintron didn't expect that.

Cintron has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Akiyama off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Cintron delivers a nice body kick.

Akiyama moves into the clinch successfully.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cintron stops a takedown attempt from Akiyama.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cintron pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nice sprawl there from Cintron as Akiyama shoots in.
Cintron misses with a two punch combination.
A good leg kick by Cintron.
Cintron throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Cintron looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Cintron feints a jab promting Akiyama to slip. Cintron then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Akiyama slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Cintron misses with a leg kick.
Cintron tries to land a body kick

and Akiyama counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Cintron wants to get back to his feet but Akiyama is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cintron can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Akiyama controls the pace.
Akiyama prevents Cintron from getting back to his feet.
Akiyama slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Cintron is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Akiyama scoring with punches and elbows.
Akiyama prevents Cintron from escaping the position.
Akiyama cracks Cintron with a big elbow.
Cintron is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Akiyama asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Akiyama is chipping away with strikes.
Akiyama trying to control the action but Cintron is working from the bottom.
Cintron is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Akiyama creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Cintron is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Akiyama creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Akiyama trying to control the action but Cintron is working from the bottom.
Cintron is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Akiyama has just dragged him back down to the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jun Akiyama.
I think Akiyama has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jun Akiyama!