PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jin Shiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikolas Savva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Shiro
vs
Savva

175 cm
24
178 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

177 cm
25
177 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jin Shiro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Nikolas Savva!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shiro ducks under a wild hook from Savva.
Shiro shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Savva sprawls well. Savva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Shiro gets slowly back to his feet.
Savva connects with a crisp jab.
Shiro fails with a takedown attempt.
Shiro fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jin Shiro. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Savva displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Shiro.
Shiro uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Savva.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Savva gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Shiro to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Savva is looking to stand up but Shiro isn't so interested in that idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shiro postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Shiro advances position into side control!
Shiro connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Savva some visible discomfort.
Shiro looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Savva is avoiding damage well.
Shiro 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.
Savva is trying to control Shiro's posture but Shiro avoids it.

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.
Shiro wants to control but Savva is keeping him busy.
Savva struggling a bit here.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Savva can do anything to dispel that myth.
Savva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Shiro working the ground and pound but Savva is defending the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shiro is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Savva knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Shiro wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Savva, who protects the arm well.

Shiro looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savva looking for a sweep but Shiro has passed into full mount! Oh no!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Shiro with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jin Shiro 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.

Savva jabs Shiro to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Shiro closes this distance looking for a takedown but Savva circles away.
Savva moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nikolas Savva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shiro fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Savva avoids it really well and circles away.

Savva tries to keep at a distance but Shiro has taken the fight into the clinch.
Savva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Savva manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Savva pushes Shiro back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Shiro looking to stall.

Savva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donk. Savva catches Shiro right on the button with a cross.
Savva misses with an uppercut. Shiro saw that one coming.
Savva fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Shiro on the side of the head.
Savva throws a jab when Shiro was well out of range.
Shiro walks into a jab.
The fighters circle momentarily. Savva darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Savva lands a jab to Shiro's midsection.
Savva throws a hook but Shiro blocks it.
Savva misses with a hook.
A telegraphed right hand from Savva misses the target.
Savva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Shiro manages to avoid it.
Shiro uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Savva.
Savva lands a jab.
Horrible takedown by Shiro or perhaps it was just good defense by Savva which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jin Shiro. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savva punishes Shiro's body with a nice straight punch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Savva lands a nice looking body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Savva throws a jab but it's blocked by Shiro.
Savva lands the left hand.

Savva closes the distance and clinches.
Savva prevents the takedown attempt.
Savva throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shiros head.
The referee is keeping an eye on Savva - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Savva pushes Shiro back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savva lands a body shot.
Savva controlling the action here for a moment.
Savva softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Savva.
Savva lands a body punch in the clinch.
Shiro is working for takedown but Savva is calmly controlling the position for now.
Savva is working Shiro over against the cage.
Savva lands a right hand that snaps the head of Shiro backwards.
Savva digs a right hand into Shiro's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Shiro's gas tank.
Nice body punch from Savva.
A right hand to the body from Savva.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Savva takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
A short body shot lands from Savva as the two fighters clinch.
Savva softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savva lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A right handed body shot lands from Savva.
Savva avoiding damage.
Savva lands with a left to the head.
Savva lands a body shot in the clinch.

Savva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Savva thuds his right hand into Shiro's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Savva fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shiro looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Savva throws a right hand that Shiro ducks under and follows up with a left that Shiro also avoids with ease.
Savva scores with a body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Savva moves into the clinch.

Savva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Shiro on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolas Savva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Shiro pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Shiro keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A big left from Savva misses.
Savva ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Savva swinging wildly here.
A big left from Savva misses.
Savva sizes up Shiro with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Savva scores with a hook to the body. Shiro takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Shiro swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Savva counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Savva throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shiros head.
Savva prevents a takedown attempt there.
Savva stalling the fight.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Shiro.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Savva is pressed up against the cage. Shiro has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Savva down to the mat. Savva avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Shiro shoots for a double leg takedown but Savva sprawls well. He's pushed Shiro's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jin Shiro. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shiro needs to keep his hands up - Savva had a free shot at his head there.
Nikolas Savva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Savva stuffs the takedown.
Savva lands a really nice looking cross but Shiro seems unphased.
Savva takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Savva swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Savva darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Savva. Shiro does a little dance to reset his feet.
Savva fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Jin Shiro is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Savva connects with a jab.
Shiro shoots in for a double leg but Savva sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Savva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Shiro swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savva scores with the left hand. Shiro knows he should have avoided that one.
Shiro drops his hands momentarily and Savva takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Savva misses with a jab to the body

and Shiro holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Savva cracks Shiro with a nice body shot.
Savva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Savva lands a hook to the side of the head.

Savva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Savva jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Savva is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Shiro.
Savva pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Shiro back to the cage. Savva follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Shiro on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Savva connects with a body shot that sends Shiro's belly button to the back.
Savva lands with a good body shot.
Nikolas Savva seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Savva instigates a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savva stalling the fight.
Savva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Shiro is working for takedown but Savva is calmly controlling the position for now.
Savva lands with a short head shot on the inside.
The referee is keeping an eye on Savva - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Savva lands with a light punch inside.
Stalling in the clinch from Savva.
Savva stalling in the clinch but Shiro improves position.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Shiro can't get the takedown.
Savva throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shiros head.
Savva stalling against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Nikolas Savva.
The fighters circle momentarily. Savva darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Shiro tries for a takedown but Savva sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
The fighters circling - Savva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Savva lands a two punch combo.
Savva throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Shiro looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Shiro will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Savva scores with a nice strike.
Savva works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Savva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Shiro manages to avoid it.
Savva connects with a looping right hand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Savva bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Shiro's head.
Savva connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Savva tries to close the distance and clinch but Shiro swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Shiro uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Savva.
Shiro keeps the fight on the outside.
Shiro keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Savva.
Shiro shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Savva sprawls well. Savva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Shiro gets slowly back to his feet.
Savva throws a body punch but Shiro moves out of range.
Savva pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Shiro is defended easily by Savva.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shiro takes a shot to the body in his stride.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Shiro fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jin Shiro. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shiro on the wrong end of a nice hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shiro tries to clinch up.
Shiro shoots for a takedown but Savva saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Savva throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Savva gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Savva lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Shiro's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Savva lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Savva effectively controlling the action here.
Savva scores with a shoulder strike.
Savva dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Savva wants to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
A body shot lands from Savva.
Savva pushes Shiro back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Savva is leaning against Shiro and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Savva is stalling here.
Savva being controlled against the cage.
Come on Savva - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Savva.
Savva makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Come on Savva - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Nikolas Savva seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Savva pushes Shiro back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savva lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Shiro.
Nice body punch from Savva - that landed with a thud.
Savva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Savva taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Savva working some nice short punches in the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Nikolas Savva.
Savva scores with a jab to the head.
Savva defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shiro.
Savva lands a jab.
Shiro takes one to the chin there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savva lands a jab to the nose.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Savva, as that shot connected.
A punch lands to the side of Shiro 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Shiro on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Shiro staying out of range there.
Savva throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Savva misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shiro.
Savva just misses with a punch to the body.
Savva lands a nice shot to the body.
Savva cracks Shiro with a right hand to the side of the head.
A lazy left from Savva finds it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolas Savva dominated that fourth round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Savva looks to score with a jab to the body but Shiro is just out of range.
Savva stuffs the takedown attempt from Shiro. Shiro gets slowly back to his feet.
Shiro keeps the fight on the outside.

Savva has closed the distance and engaged Shiro in a clinch.
Savva lands a left hand that snaps the head of Shiro backwards.
Savva prevents the takedown attempt.
Shiro wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Savva has him pressed against the cage.
Savva stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Savva goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Savva.
Shiro is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Savva pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jin Shiro. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Savva has a couple of punches blocked by Shiro.
Savva cracks Shiro with a nice body shot.
Savva lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A body shot lands from Savva.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Savva.
Shiro's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Savva lands an uppercut.
Savva stalling.
Shiro has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Savva is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Savva displaying some good clinch control by pressing Shiro up against the cage.
A right hand to the body from Savva.
Savva lands a nice shot to the body.
Savva lands a body shot.
Savva lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Come on Savva - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Savva lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Shiro.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Savva.
Shiro wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Savva controlling the action here for a moment.
Savva working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Savva is working Shiro over against the cage.
Savva digs a right hand underneath Shiro's ribcage. Shiro let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Come on Savva - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Good body shot from Savva.
Savva pressing his opponent against the cage.

Shiro decides to pull guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savva won't allow Shiro to sweep him here.
Shiro has a closed guard, preventing Savva from standing up.
Shiro looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Shiro manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Savva really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Shiro. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Savva tries to lock up and control but Shiro gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

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.
Savva is squirming around, avoiding Shiro's attempts to control the action.
Jin Shiro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nikolas Savva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Shiro has control of Savva's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Savva regains control of the situation pretty easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nikolas Savva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Savva has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 44:49
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 44:49
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 44:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nikolas Savva!