PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maksymilian Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nakki Fakiiri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie comes to the cage accompanied by Iggy Pop - The Passenger. Fakiiri has chosen Limp Bizkit- BREAK STUFF as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Gracie
vs
Fakiiri

194 cm
29
247 lbs
13 - 6 - 1

202 cm
30
265 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

THE END 32
SHINTO

RAGS of a RONIN

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Maksymilian Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nakki Fakiiri!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fakiiri scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Gracie scores with a hook.
Gracie scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Fakiiri slaps away a takedown attempt from Gracie, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Fakiiri tries a quick counter leg kick but Gracie is wise to it.
Fakiiri connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Gracie lands with an overhand left.
Fakiiri connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gracie keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Fakiiri throws a sloppy head kick and Gracie moves out of range easily.
Nice cross by Gracie.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice defenses there by Fakiiri.
Fakiiri tries to land a leg kick but Gracie saw it coming and moves away.
Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Fakiiri misses with a jab to the body
and Gracie counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Gracie throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Fakiiri was covering up waiting for the punch and Gracie finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie scoring with punches to the head and body.
Fakiiri preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Gracie postures up in Fakiiri's guard and throws a big left but Fakiiri blocks it.
Fakiiri utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Fakiiri tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Fakiiri has his hands on Gracie's head, controlling the position.
Gracie missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Gracie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Fakiiri swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gracie content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Fakiiri is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Gracie is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Fakiiri is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Fakiiri has escaped and now he's on top!

Gracie throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Fakiiri escapes and throws Gracie's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Gracie is looking to regain half guard here but Fakiiri keeps moving and retains side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fakiiri wants to stand but Gracie is controlling his arm.
Gracie is not content to let Fakiiri control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fakiiri looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Gracie is avoiding damage well.
Gracie tries to bench press Fakiiri off him but Fakiiri keeps the position.
Gracie wants to control but Fakiiri postures up.
Fakiiri tries to stand but Gracie is controlling his head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie is trying to improve his position.
Gracie has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gracie gets back to half guard.

Gracie looking for submissions off his back.
Fakiiri is controlling the pace.
Gracie moves into full guard.
Fakiiri sitting in guard here, content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maksymilian Gracie dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Fakiiri throws a jab when Gracie was well out of range.
Gracie blocks a leg kick.

Gracie darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Fakiiri is trying to maintain the position but Gracie is very close to passing his half guard.
Fakiiri keeping control of the position.
Fakiiri is looking for a sweep. Gracie is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Fakiiri defending well though.
Fakiiri controlling the position for now.
Gracie looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Fakiiri with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Fakiiri avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gracie.
Gracie wants to take a breather but Fakiiri is having none of it.
Fakiiri tries to get to full guard but Gracie has control of the leg.
Maksymilian Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gracie throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gracie connects with a nice short shot to Fakiiri's temple.
Gracie drops an elbow to the side of Fakiiri's head.

Gracie seems to be looking for submissions.
Fakiiri felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Gracie lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fakiiri can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Gracie prevents Fakiiri from standing back up.
Fakiiri controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Gracie is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Gracie looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Gracie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fakiiri's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fakiiri's head.
Fakiiri trying to control from the bottom.

Gracie is working for a submission of some sort.
Gracie not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gracie throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Fakiiri to regain full guard.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Fakiiri is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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.
Gracie lands a couple of elbows.
Fakiiri is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Fakiiri is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gracie has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Fakiiri being controlled here, momentarily.
Gracie connects with a couple of short punches.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gracie working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Fakiiri's head.
Gracie throwing strikes from guard but Fakiiri blocks nicely.
Gracie working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maksymilian Gracie dominated that second round.
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!

Fakiiri lands the left hand.
Gracie misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Fakiiri throws out a loose jab but Gracie uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gracie swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gracie. Fakiiri does a little dance to reset his feet.
Fakiiri lands a front kick.
Gracie throws a series of punches but Fakiiri moves out of range.
Fakiiri replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Gracie blocks it well.
A head kick misses from Fakiiri.
Fakiiri misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Fakiiri misses with a left hand
and Gracie makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Fakiiri throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Gracie connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A slow jab from Gracie misses its intended target.
Good leg kick by Fakiiri there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Gracie jabs at Fakiiri's body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Gracie, as that shot connected.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Maksymilian Gracie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Fakiiri throws a leg kick which misses Gracie's front leg but catches the back leg as Gracie tries to avoid it.
Fakiiri lands a nice shot to the body.
Fakiiri throws a low kick but it's checked well by Gracie.
A nice leg kick lands there from Fakiiri.
Gracie looks to score with a jab to the body but Fakiiri is just out of range.
Fakiiri throws a poor cross that misses
and Gracie connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Fakiiri has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gracie finds it's way round the side to connect with Fakiiri's head.
Nakki Fakiiri is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gracie shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Fakiiri pinned against the cage. Fakiiri gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Fakiiri throws a big counter head kick but Gracie avoids it with no problem.
A good leg kick by Fakiiri.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fakiiri on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Gracie shoots in and gets a takedown into Fakiiri's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Fakiiri keeping full guard, as Gracie tries to pass.
Nakki Fakiiri has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gracie working some strikes from top position.

Gracie drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Fakiiri dives on top into guard.

Gracie is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gracie looking for subs off his back but Fakiiri has passed one foot through into half guard.
Maksymilian Gracie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Fakiiri seems to be looking for submissions.
Fakiiri wants to pass to mount but Gracie is defending the position.
Fakiiri wants to control but Gracie is keeping him busy.
Gracie is trying to control but can't.
Gracie wants to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Fakiiri tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Gracie.
Gracie has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Fakiiri is working away from the top position though.

Fakiiri is looking for a kimura but Gracie is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Fakiiri to get the leverage.
Gracie has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Fakiiri is working away from the top position though.
Fakiiri trying to control the action but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Gracie trying to control here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Gracie moves into the clinch successfully.

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 Maksymilian Gracie.
Well Gracie has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:28
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Maksymilian Gracie!
An out of breath Maksymilian Gracie thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
The defeated Nakki Fakiiri had this to say: 'Get the mic out of my face, this is some bs '.