PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Huena Ajuricaba (ranked 1260 p4p, 1715 weight class) and Oliver Francis (ranked 135 p4p, 177 weight class). Oliver Francis has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Ajuricaba
vs
Francis

180 cm
29
168
14 - 9 - 0

176 cm
29
168
5 - 4 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Huena Ajuricaba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Oliver Francis!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Shigeki Fujiwara and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ajuricaba lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Ajuricaba scores with a shot to the body.
Ajuricaba looks to land a left hand but Francis moved out of range nicely.
Francis bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Francis tries a quick counter leg kick but Ajuricaba is wise to it.
Francis just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch lands to the side of Ajuricaba 's head but he takes it in his stride.
A head kick misses from Francis.
Oliver Francis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ajuricaba on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Francis throws a hook to the side of Ajuricaba's head but Ajuricaba sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Francis avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Francis with a nice calf kick.
Francis throws a shot to the body.
Francis sizes up Ajuricaba with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ajuricaba walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Ajuricaba misses the jab.
Ajuricaba lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

It looks like Oliver Francis has been cut.
Ajuricaba changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Francis tried to score with a low kick but Ajuricaba checks it.
Francis lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis ducks under a wild hook from Ajuricaba.
Francis throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Francis throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Francis misses with a head kick.
Ajuricaba fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Francis sizes up Ajuricaba with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Francis moves out of range of the strikes.
Francis looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Francis throws a chopping leg kick but Ajuricaba manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Francis tries to close the distance and clinch but Ajuricaba swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Francis uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ajuricaba.
Ajuricaba throws a hook but Francis blocks it.
A thudding body kick lands there by Francis!
Ajuricaba throws a right and a left that Francis avoids nicely.
Francis gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Ajuricaba.
Ajuricaba throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Francis looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ajuricaba throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ajuricaba throws a shot from downtown. Francis moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ajuricaba throws a body shot but no joy.
Francis tests Ajuricaba's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ajuricaba blocks a head kick by Francis.
Ajuricaba misses the body punch
and Francis cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Ajuricaba misses with a left hand
and Francis counters with a stiff right hand.
Ajuricaba swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Ajuricaba has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Francis tries to clinch but Ajuricaba is having none of it.
Ajuricaba thows a leg kick but Francis checks it
and Francis counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Ajuricaba misses with a hook. Francis ducked under it nicely.
Francis is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Ajuricaba had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
Ajuricaba throws a series of punches but Francis avoids them all with ease.
Francis swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Francis, as that shot connected.
Ajuricaba throws a lazy right hand but Francis sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ajuricaba. Francis does a little dance to reset his feet.
The fighters circling - Ajuricaba throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ajuricaba tries to land a body kick
and Francis counters with a nice body shot.
Ajuricaba is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Francis.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Francis has taken the fight to the clinch.
Ajuricaba tries to pull guard but Francis won't allow it.

Ajuricaba's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ajuricaba throws out a loose jab but Francis uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ajuricaba throws a jab when Francis was well out of range.
Good shot there by Ajuricaba.
Francis avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Francis throws out a counter right but Ajuricaba avoids it with no problem.
Ajuricaba throws a series of punches but Francis moves out of range.
A countering left hand to the body from Francis misses.
Francis has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Francis takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
A jab from Ajuricaba misses.
Francis throws a leg kick which misses Ajuricaba's front leg but catches the back leg as Ajuricaba tries to avoid it.
Ajuricaba takes one on the button.
Francis pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Francis connects with a leg kick.
A slow jab from Ajuricaba misses its intended target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Francis comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Ajuricaba takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ajuricaba throws out the jab.
Francis tests Ajuricaba's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Francis is looking to clinch.
Francis misses with a straight left.
Ajuricaba thows a left - swing and a miss!
Francis throws a body shot but no joy.
Francis uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ajuricaba.
Francis takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Francis keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ajuricaba.

Francis clinches up with Ajuricaba and pushes him back against the cage.
Ajuricaba tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Francis fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ajuricaba lands a right hand.
Ajuricaba tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Huena Ajuricaba. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Francis misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ajuricaba jumps guard but Francis stands there with Ajuricaba around his waist. Ajuricaba gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Francis swings away with an uppercut that misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Oliver Francis will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Oliver Francis's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ajuricaba tries to move into range but Francis moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Francis slips under a jab.
It seemed like Francis was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Ajuricaba throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Francis sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Francis looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ajuricaba has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Ajuricaba there as he acknowledges the shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Francis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ajuricaba throws a body punch but Francis moves out of range.
Ajuricaba throws a jab but it's blocked by Francis.
Francis is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Francis scores with a leg kick.
Francis wants to clinch up but Ajuricaba keeps it at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Francis lands a nice leg kick that just misses Ajuricaba's sensitive parts.
Francis walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Francis uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ajuricaba.
Francis lands with a kick to the ribs.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ajuricaba throws a hook to the side of Francis's head but Francis sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Francis tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ajuricaba swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Oliver Francis seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Francis with a hook.
Francis throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ajuricaba throws the left hand but Francis avoids the punch easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Ajuricaba misses the target.
Ajuricaba throws a big shot that misses.
Ajuricaba is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
A chopping leg kick lands by Francis.
Ajuricaba takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nice defenses there by Francis.
Francis chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Ajuricaba tries to work over Francis's front leg with a kick but Francis checks it.
Ajuricaba scores with a jab to the jaw.

That has opened up Oliver Francis's cut even more.
Ajuricaba is looking to score with low kicks.
Francis flicks out a counter leg kick but Ajuricaba steps away.
Francis fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ajuricaba throws a wild body kick that Francis sees coming a mile off.
Francis lets loose with a powerful body kick. Ajuricaba will feel that in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Francis lands with a thumping leg kick.
Francis moves out of range of the strikes.
Francis on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Francis thumps Ajuricaba with a low kick.
Francis is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Francis connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ajuricaba takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Francis works the jab nicely.
Francis scores with a decent looking hook.
Ajuricaba pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Francis lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Ajuricaba at a distance.
Ajuricaba is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Francis thuds his right hand into Ajuricaba's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Nice defenses there by Francis.
Ajuricaba cracks Francis with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ajuricaba throws an overhand right that lands on Francis's shoulder, as Francis tries to avoid the shot.
Francis defending well as Ajuricaba loads up on a big left hand.
Ajuricaba circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ajuricaba on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Francis. Francis obviously looking to wear him down.
Ajuricaba waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Francis.
That kick from Ajuricaba tenderised Francis's leg. Francis is trying to keep his angry face on.
Francis turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Francis avoids the body shot from Ajuricaba.
Francis throws out a counter right but Ajuricaba avoids it with no problem.
Francis chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Ajuricaba walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Ajuricaba tries a low kick but Francis avoids it.
A chopping leg kick lands by Ajuricaba.
Francis keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Francis lands with a nice body punch.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Ajuricaba crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Francis - the referee stops the clock and Ajuricaba gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Francis. Ajuricaba manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Ajuricaba throws a shot from downtown. Francis moves away and avoids it.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Ajuricaba misses with a right hand
and Francis cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis slips under a jab from Ajuricaba.
Francis fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Ajuricaba on the side of the head.
A telegraphed right hand from Ajuricaba misses the target.
A shot to the liver by Ajuricaba. Beautiful body shot.
Francis takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Francis lands a jab to Ajuricaba's midsection.
Ajuricaba ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Ajuricaba takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Ajuricaba lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Francis circles away quickly and effectively.
Francis connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Good exchange - Francis coming out on top.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Francis walks into a jab.
Ajuricaba takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Ajuricaba moves forwards but Francis connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Francis ducks under a wild hook from Ajuricaba.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Oliver Francis will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Oliver Francis's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

An inside leg kick from Ajuricaba misses.
Francis is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Francis tests Ajuricaba's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Francis misses with a wild body shot.
Ajuricaba gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Francis.
Ajuricaba swats away the attempt to clinch by Francis.
Francis throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ajuricaba sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Francis ducks under a wild hook from Ajuricaba.
Ajuricaba moves away from the strike by Francis.
Ajuricaba looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Ajuricaba jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Francis tests Ajuricaba's chin there with a solid looking shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ajuricaba misses with a wild body shot.
Ajuricaba throws a body punch but Francis moves out of range.
Francis bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Ajuricaba's head.
Francis missing with a left hand there. Ajuricaba was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Francis connects with a jab.
Francis moves out of range as Ajuricaba strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ajuricaba paws at him with a jab and circles away.
No joy there for Ajuricaba, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Francis throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ajuricaba takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Francis scoring well with a low kick there.
Decent striking displayed by Francis there.
Francis staying out of range there.
Ajuricaba tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Francis's corner calls for a 1-2. Francis obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Ajuricaba swats away the attempt to clinch by Francis.
Ajuricaba throws a low kick but Francis avoids it.
Francis lands with a shot to the body.
Francis lands with a straight right. Ajuricaba didn't see that one coming.
Francis with a nice cross.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ajuricaba swats away the attempt to clinch by Francis.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ajuricaba chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Francis can pounce on him.
Ajuricaba avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Francis scores with a crisp jab that stopped Ajuricaba in his tracks.
Francis is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Francis moves forwards but Ajuricaba connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Ajuricaba throws out a loose jab but Francis uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ajuricaba pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Francis lands a nice hook to Ajuricaba's body. Ajuricaba takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Ajuricaba throws a looping overhand right but Francis ducks down to avoid it.
Francis lands with a good body shot.
Ajuricaba takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Francis rushes Ajuricaba and presses him up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Francis.
Ajuricaba taking a breather.
Huena Ajuricaba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ajuricaba is trying to pull guard but Francis has him pressed against the cage.
Ajuricaba trying to stall but Francis improves his position.
Francis makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Francis prevents a body shot from Ajuricaba.
A short right from Francis on the inside.
Francis blocking some punches.
Ajuricaba is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Francis to keep the fight standing.
Ajuricaba's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Francis misses with a punch on the inside.
Francis softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Francis.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Francis swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ajuricaba lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ajuricaba leaning his opponent against the cage.
Francis works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ajuricaba tries to pull guard but Francis forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Huena Ajuricaba. That's going to take a lot out of him.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Francis creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Francis cracks Ajuricaba with a nice body shot.
Francis lands with a light punch inside.
Ajuricaba prevents a body shot from Francis.
Oliver Francis seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Ajuricaba is leaning against Francis and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Francis scores with a nice hook to the head.
Francis doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ajuricaba swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Francis tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Francis misses with a punch to the body.
Ajuricaba jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Francis walks away with a smile on his face. Ajuricaba gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Francis works the jab nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Oliver Francis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Francis 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Oliver Francis!
Oliver Francis was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.