PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hiroshi Sato (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Fredericks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Sato
vs
Fredericks

184 cm
28
197 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

180 cm
24
196 lbs
11 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Hiroshi Sato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Joe Fredericks!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fredericks throws a leg kick that is checked
and Sato counters with a stiff right hand.
Sato circles away from the clinch attempt
and Sato counters with a nice uppercut.
Fredericks tries to clinch but Sato is having none of it.
Sato misses the body punch
and Fredericks counters with a nice leg kick.
Fredericks misses with a low kick.
Fredericks looking to land some kicks to the body here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sato throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sato lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Sato lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Fredericks at a distance.
Fredericks throws a head kick but Sato moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Sato.
Fredericks thows a leg kick but Sato checks it
and Sato counters with a nice body shot.
Fredericks throws a leg kick that is checked
and Sato counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Fredericks bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Sato's head.
Fredericks throws an off balance right hand
and Sato counters with a stiff right hand.
Fredericks attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Sato throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sato feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Frederickss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Fredericks fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Fredericks uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fredericks keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Joe Fredericks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sato doesn't manage to clinch there - Fredericks circles away.
Fredericks slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Fredericks throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Fredericks takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fredericks turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Both fighters circling a little - Fredericks finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Sato throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Fredericks connects with a solid leg kick.
Fredericks throws a right hand that misses
and Sato cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Sato ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Fredericks moves away.
Fredericks tries to land a leg kick but Sato saw it coming and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fredericks darts in trying to clinch
and Sato counters with a left to the body.
Fredericks misses with an uppercut
and Sato makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Fredericks throws a poor cross that misses
and Sato counters with a straight right hand.
Fredericks swats away the attempt to clinch by Sato.
Sato throws a big shot that misses.
A nice inside leg kick there by Fredericks. That's going to slow Sato down.
Sato moves out of range of the leg kick from Fredericks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fredericks dips to his left and cracks Sato with an uppercut!
Fredericks swings widly with a right hand
and Sato counters with a right hand to the body.
Sato misses with a shot to the body
and Fredericks counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Fredericks misses with a hook
and Sato connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sato is looking to wear down Fredericks with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Fredericks fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Sato has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Sato tries to clinch but Fredericks is having none of it.
Sato is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.

Fredericks rushes Sato and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Fredericks as Sato tries to tie him up.
Sato throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sato lands an elbow inside that Fredericks shrugs off.

It looks like Joe Fredericks has been cut.
Fredericks missing with knees to the body.
Nice body punch from Fredericks - that landed with a thud.
Fredericks trying to stall but Sato improves his position.
Sato doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sato looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sato avoiding damage as Fredericks throws knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Hiroshi Sato will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Joe Fredericks's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Sato swings away with a body shot that misses
enabling Fredericks to counter with a crisp jab.
Fredericks throws a poor cross that misses
and Sato counters with a nice uppercut.
Sato swats away the attempt to clinch by Fredericks.
Sato lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Sato tries to close the distance and clinch but Fredericks swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Fredericks misses with a right hand
and Sato makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sato misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Fredericks counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A low kick from Fredericks misses
and Sato counters with a right hand to the body.
Fredericks throws a half hearted mid kick.
Fredericks scores with a decent looking hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fredericks fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Sato has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Fredericks misses with a low kick.
Fredericks connects with a solid leg kick.
Sato throws a series of punches but Fredericks moves out of range.
Sato scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Fredericks moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Sato tries to close the distance and clinch up but Fredericks swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sato. Fredericks does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sato lands with a hook. Fredericks tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Sato tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Fredericks was well out of range. Poor timing from Sato.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sato uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Fredericks has time to react.
Fredericks will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Fredericks throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Fredericks closes the distance looking to clinch
and Sato counters with an inside leg kick.
Fredericks shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Sato wants to clinch
and Fredericks counters with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sato fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
A nice leg kick lands there from Fredericks.
Fredericks thows a leg kick but Sato checks it
and Sato counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Fredericks with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A swing and a miss from Fredericks.
Sato throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Fredericks sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Fredericks falls off balance throwing a combination
and Sato counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Fredericks tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sato paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nice defenses there by Sato.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fredericks moves to clinch but Sato breaks away
and Sato counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Fredericks throws a leg kick that is checked
and Sato counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Fredericks walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Sato checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Fredericks throws a head kick that misses
and Sato counters with a left to the body.
Sato will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Sato circles away from the clinch attempt.
Fredericks throws a poor cross that misses
and Sato makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Sato misses the shot to the body.
Fredericks throws a sloppy head kick
and Sato counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiroshi Sato dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Joe Fredericks's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

Sato misses with an uppercut.
Fredericks throws a leg kick
and Sato counters with a straight right hand.
Fredericks wants to clinch
and Sato counters with a three punch combo that has Fredericks backing up. Fredericks nods at Sato to acknowledge the strikes.
Fredericks rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Sato counters with a nice uppercut.
Sato misses with a two punch combination.
Fredericks throws a right hand that misses
and Sato counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Fredericks throws out a powerful jab.
Fredericks wants to clinch but Sato slips to the side
enabling Sato to counter with a crisp jab.
Fredericks throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Fredericks moves to clinch but Sato breaks away
and Sato counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Fredericks thinking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fredericks throws an overhand right that lands on Sato's shoulder, as Sato tries to avoid the shot.
Fredericks on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Fredericks walks into a stiff left hand from Sato.
Fredericks checks a leg kick nicely.
Fredericks moves to clinch but Sato breaks away
and Sato counters with a nice uppercut.
Sato fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Fredericks misses with a kick to the body.
Sato lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fredericks throws a low kick but Sato avoids it.
Fredericks takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Fredericks has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Hiroshi Sato is winning the standup battle so far.
Sato tries to close the distance and clinch but Fredericks swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Fredericks misses with a leg kick
and Sato counters with a one-two to the body.
Nice shot by Fredericks.
Sato jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Fredericks throws a leg kick
and Sato counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Fredericks tries to clinch but Sato moves away
and Sato counters with a left to the body.
Fredericks looks to clinch
and Sato counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good leg kick by Fredericks there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
A left and a right from Sato both land. Nice combination.
Fredericks has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Fredericks misses with a leg kick
and Sato connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sato lands a nice hook to Fredericks's body. Fredericks takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Fredericks takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Joe Fredericks has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Fredericks throws a sloppy head kick
and Sato counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Fredericks thinking.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Fredericks.
Fredericks attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Sato throws an off balance right hand
and Fredericks counters with a big head kick but Sato shrugs it off.
Sato lands the left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice leg kick lands there from Fredericks.
Fredericks swings widly with a right hand
and Sato counters with a left and a right that stings Fredericks.
Sato swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Fredericks counters with a straight right hand.
Sato throws a sloppy body shot
and Fredericks counters with a slapping leg kick.
Fredericks paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Hiroshi Sato is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Fredericks throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Fredericks takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fredericks is looking to clinch.
Fredericks looks to throw a body kick
and Sato counters with a left to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Fredericks misses with a lunging right hand
and Fredericks takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fredericks throws a right hand that misses
and Sato counters with a nice low kick that buckles Fredericks's knee momentarily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hiroshi Sato showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sato, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hiroshi Sato!