PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shizuro Ozaka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frederico Borges (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Frederico Borges will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Ozaka
vs
Borges

175 cm
20
186 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

187 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Shizuro Ozaka !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Frederico Borges!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Emerson Jorge and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ozaka tries to close the distance and clinch but Borges swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ozaka shoots in looking for a takedown. Borges tries to sprawl out of it but Ozaka keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Borges manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Borges misses with a head kick.
Ozaka throws a low kick but it's checked well by Borges.
Borges rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Ozaka moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ozaka walks into a left hand.
Ozaka looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ozaka .
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shizuro Ozaka . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ozaka circles away from the clinch attempt.
Borges moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Borges fails with the takedown

and Ozaka counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Borges wants to get back to his feet but Ozaka is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borges wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ozaka stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Borges swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ozaka is working hard here to advance position.
Ozaka missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Borges working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ozaka .
Borges is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Borges preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ozaka could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Ozaka shoots in but Borges avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ozaka is breathing heavily.
Ozaka is trying hard to land a takedown here. Borges sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Ozaka moves forwards but Borges connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Borges looks to clinch

and Ozaka counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Borges is trying to control the position but Ozaka postures up.
Borges is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Ozaka throws and elbow that misses. Borges uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ozaka 's guard. Nice move by Borges!
Ozaka trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

Ozaka has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Borges can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Borges is looking to stand up but Ozaka won't let him.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ozaka looking to hit a scissor sweep but Borges is one step ahead there.
Borges landing with the ground and pound.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
A nice leg kick lands there from Borges.
Borges plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

Ozaka shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ozaka showed some decent athleticism there.
Ozaka wants to free his trapped foot but Borges is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ozaka is keen to just control but Borges is a slippery customer.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ground and pound from Ozaka .
Ozaka thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Borges's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shizuro Ozaka 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.

Ozaka changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Borges looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Ozaka working the ground and pound but Borges is defending the strikes.
Ozaka in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
You can see the frustration on Borges's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ozaka lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Borges down.
Ozaka creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Borges sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Borges is not content to let Ozaka control the position.
Borges bucks up and tries to throw Ozaka off but instead Ozaka has got his back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borges trying to control the action but Ozaka just sinks the hooks in.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Ozaka looking for the choke but no joy.
Ozaka scores with punches from the back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ozaka looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
The referee is taking a good look at Borges as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Ozaka !
Borges is covering up but some of the strikes from Ozaka are getting through and doing damage.
Borges covers up after that shot from Ozaka .
Borges trying to control but not successfully.
Shizuro Ozaka overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Borges is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Ozaka is trying to stick to Borges's back but Borges is turning into Ozaka . He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Ozaka 's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Borges.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ozaka bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Borges's guard.
Ozaka scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ozaka is looking to pass into half guard but Borges pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Borges is in guard.

Ozaka is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Borges is aware though and is defending well.
Ozaka thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Ozaka wants to sweep but no luck.
Borges has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ozaka is proving hard to escape from.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ozaka manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Ozaka cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Ozaka thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
You get the feeling that Borges really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Borges tries to hold on but Ozaka postures up.
Borges takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shizuro Ozaka dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Borges tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ozaka paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ozaka tries to close the distance and clinch up but Borges swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ozaka will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Ozaka shoots in for a takedown but Borges shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Borges lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Borges wants to clinch

and Ozaka holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Borges lands a damaging elbow.
Borges is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Borges lands an elbow just above Ozaka 's eye.
Borges with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Borges pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ozaka shoots in looking for a takedown. Borges tries to sprawl out of it but Ozaka keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Borges manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shizuro Ozaka . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Borges throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borges lands a front kick.
Borges chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Borges throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Ozaka .
Borges lands a head kick!
Ozaka is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Borges moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Borges pushes Ozaka away with a front kick.
Borges leaves Ozaka with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Borges lands a nice looking kick to the body. Ozaka takes a step back to recover.
Ozaka tries for a takedown but Borges sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Ozaka on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Borges. Borges obviously looking to wear him down.
Borges misses with a few strikes there.

Ozaka looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Borges keeping moving, preventing Ozaka from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Borges working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ozaka .
Ozaka working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ozaka wants to pass the guard but Borges is keeping the position.
Ozaka lands a couple of elbows.
Borges wants to sweep here but Ozaka controlling him for the moment.
Borges looking to control.

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.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Ozaka shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Borges sprawls well. Borges wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Ozaka gets slowly back to his feet.
Borges connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Borges keeps Ozaka at a distance using the push kick.
Ozaka tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Borges swivels and escapes.
Frederico Borges has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ozaka takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Ozaka fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ozaka drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

Ozaka looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Borges!
Borges tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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 Shizuro Ozaka .
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ozaka , 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shizuro Ozaka !