PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ascension Bjj Expert (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akira Azuma (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bjj Expert
vs
Azuma

170 cm
36
155 lbs
19 - 18 - 1

172 cm
27
164 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Hellbent

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 19 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ascension Bjj Expert!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Akira Azuma!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Andrew Berry and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Azuma, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Azuma's coach down at Mano`s Elite BJJ Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Azuma's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Azuma tries to work over Bjj Expert's front leg with a kick but Bjj Expert checks it.
A left and a right from Azuma both land. Nice combination.

It looks like Ascension Bjj Expert has been cut.
A right-left combo lands from Azuma.
Azuma fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Bjj Expert manages to avoid it.
Bjj Expert misses with a takedown
and Azuma counters with a stiff right hand.
Bjj Expert keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Azuma.
Azuma stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Azuma wants it to stay on the feet.
Bjj Expert blocks a jab.
Bjj Expert slips a straight right by Azuma.
Bjj Expert ducks under a wild hook from Azuma.
Bjj Expert gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bjj Expert takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Akira Azuma is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Azuma cracks Bjj Expert with a good jab.
Akira Azuma seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Azuma swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Bjj Expert fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Azuma avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ascension Bjj Expert. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Bjj Expert rushes Azuma and presses him up against the cage.
Azuma swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bjj Expert tries to score a body lock takedown but Azuma shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Azuma lands with a short shot to the head.
Bjj Expert blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bjj Expert changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Azuma fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Azuma misses with a hook to the body

and Bjj Expert counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bjj Expert trying to control but Azuma is working from the bottom.
Bjj Expert slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Bjj Expert wants to control but Azuma is keeping him busy.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bjj Expert controlling the position from side mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bjj Expert scoring with punches and elbows.
Azuma manages to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Azuma is looking for a sweep. Bjj Expert is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Bjj Expert stalling.
Bjj Expert wants to take a breather but Azuma is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Bjj Expert prevents Azuma from improving his position.
Azuma is still trying to improve position.
Bjj Expert takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Azuma lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Bjj Expert circles away quickly and effectively.
Azuma misses with a straight left.
Azuma loads up on a big right hand but Bjj Expert slips the punch.
A big left from Azuma misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akira Azuma dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ascension Bjj Expert'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.

Azuma gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Bjj Expert to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Bjj Expert wants to control from the top but Azuma keeps moving.
Bjj Expert pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Azuma is keeping the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Azuma keeping moving, preventing Bjj Expert from controlling successfully.
Bjj Expert content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Azuma holds on and takes a little breather.
Bjj Expert pushing down on Azuma's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Bjj Expert stalling away here and it's allowed Azuma to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Bjj Expert is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Bjj Expert trying to control but Azuma is working from the bottom.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Azuma has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

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.
Azuma tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Azuma keeping full guard, as Bjj Expert tries to pass.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Azuma fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Bjj Expert on the side of the head.
A jab from Azuma finds it's way through Bjj Expert's defenses.
Azuma throws a jab but it's blocked by Bjj Expert.
Azuma lands a right hook to the body.
Horrible takedown attempt by Bjj Expert or perhaps it was just good defense by Azuma, which made it look bad.
Akira Azuma seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bjj Expert slips a straight right by Azuma.
Azuma tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Bjj Expert manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Azuma misses with a low kick.
Azuma misses with a series of wild punches.
Bjj Expert displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Azuma throws out the jab.
Bjj Expert shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Azuma as he avoids it easily.
Azuma looks to clinch

and Bjj Expert counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Azuma!
Bjj Expert taking a breather here.
Bjj Expert advances nicely into full mount.
Azuma tries to hold on but Bjj Expert pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bjj Expert lands a nice shot to the head.
Bjj Expert controlling the pace for now.
Bjj Expert tries to control but Azuma wriggling away.
Ascension Bjj Expert overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Azuma prevents Bjj Expert from taking his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bjj Expert tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Azuma is desperately trying to improve his position but Bjj Expert has a good base and remains in mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ascension Bjj Expert dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ascension Bjj Expert's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Azuma throws a jab when Bjj Expert was well out of range.
Azuma works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Azuma moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Azuma fails to land with a series of punches.
Bjj Expert wants to clinch up but Azuma keeps it at a distance.
Azuma tries to close the distance and clinch up but Bjj Expert swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Azuma throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Azuma lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Azuma throws a nice looking combination but Bjj Expert bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Azuma wants to clinch but Bjj Expert slips to the side

and Bjj Expert counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Azuma looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bjj Expert passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Bjj Expert trying to control the action but Azuma is working from the bottom.
Azuma is trying to get back to half guard.
Bjj Expert slows the pace down.
Azuma regains half guard there - taking advantage of Bjj Expert's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Azuma has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Bjj Expert is working away from the top position though.
Azuma is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Bjj Expert is staying active.
Bjj Expert is just content to waste time from the top position. Azuma takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Bjj Expert wants to control from the top but Azuma keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Bjj Expert stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Azuma swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Azuma darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Azuma jabs at Bjj Expert's body.
A jab from Azuma finds it's way through Bjj Expert's defenses.
Azuma throws an off balance right hand

and Bjj Expert decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Azuma's guard.
Bjj Expert trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Bjj Expert controlling from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bjj Expert trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Bjj Expert trying to control the position from guard on top but Azuma is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bjj Expert pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Azuma is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Akira Azuma.
I think Azuma 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge James Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Akira Azuma!
An intense looking Akira Azuma took to the microphone post fight and gave a little speech: 'After my short stay in Kickboxing i am happy to be back in MMA and will try to make a run here in the Org.'.