PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ryu Nakamura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Desouza (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.

Nakamura
vs
Desouza

180 cm
24
155 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

175 cm
22
165 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Enjoys gardening

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 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ryu Nakamura!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Dan Desouza!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Thiago Cunha and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch combination from Nakamura misses.
Nakamura misses with a wild body shot.
Desouza steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Nakamura.
Nakamura tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Desouza stuffs the takedown attempt from Nakamura. Nakamura gets slowly back to his feet.
Nakamura misses with a two punch combination.
Nakamura tries to bum rush Desouza with a series of wild strikes but Desouza uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Desouza tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nakamura keeps the fight on the outside.
Nakamura looks to land a combination but Desouza avoids it well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nakamura lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Desouza circles away quickly and effectively.
Desouza stuffs the takedown attempt from Nakamura. Nakamura gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice takedown defense from Desouza. No joy for Nakamura on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryu Nakamura. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nakamura shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Desouza pinned against the cage. Desouza gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakamura gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Desouza tries to clinch there but Nakamura circles away.
Desouza uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Nakamura.
Some wild striking there from Nakamura.
Desouza is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Desouza moves into range and clinches up with Nakamura.
Nakamura looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Nakamura prevents a takedown attempt there.
Nakamura swings wildly with an uppercut but Desouza uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Desouza jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Nakamura walks away with a smile on his face. Desouza gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Nakamura just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch combination from Nakamura misses.
Nakamura throws a right and a left that Desouza avoids nicely.
Nakamura swats away the attempt to clinch by Desouza.
Nakamura shoots in but no luck this time.
Nakamura tries to clinch
and Desouza counters with a series of strikes. Nakamura will be more careful next time no doubt.
Nakamura falls off balance throwing a combination
and Desouza counters with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakamura throws a left and a right that both miss

and Desouza moves into the clinch.
Nakamura misses with a short punch on the inside.
Desouza changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Nakamura fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Nakamura misses with a few strikes there.
Nakamura looks to clinch
and Desouza counters with a straight right hand.
Desouza darts in trying to clinch
and Nakamura counters with a left and a right that stings Desouza.

Desouza closes the distance and clinches.

Desouza works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Desouza trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Desouza trying to control but Nakamura is working from the bottom.
Desouza preventing the sweep.
Desouza throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Nakamura keeping moving, preventing Desouza from controlling successfully.
Desouza controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Desouza throwing strikes but missing.
Nakamura keeping moving, preventing Desouza from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Desouza 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.

Nakamura lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Nakamura rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Desouza moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Desouza throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Nakamura on the side of the head.
Nakamura darts in trying to clinch
letting Desouza counter with a right hand.
No luck for Nakamura with that takedown attempt.
Nakamura fails with the takedown
and Desouza counters with a leg kick.
Desouza doesn't manage to clinch there - Nakamura circles away.
Nakamura swinging wildly here.
Nakamura throws a series of punches but Desouza avoids them all with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Desouza tries to clinch
enabling Nakamura to counter with a crisp jab.
Desouza displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Nakamura throws out the jab.
Nakamura swinging wildly here.
Nakamura uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Desouza.
Ryu Nakamura is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nakamura throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nakamura just misses with a punch to the body.

Desouza clinches.
Desouza fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Nakamura working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Nakamura misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Desouza.
Desouza wants a takedown but no success here.

That's two 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.
Nakamura throws a punch but it's blocked by Desouza.
Nakamura tries for a takedown but Desouza manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryu Nakamura. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Desouza jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Nakamura walks away with a smile on his face. Desouza gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Desouza doesn't manage to clinch there - Nakamura circles away.
Nakamura swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Desouza changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Nakamura looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Nakamura is not content to let Desouza control the position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Desouza misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Desouza is staying tight to Nakamura's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Nakamura manages to work his way to half guard, despite Desouza's best efforts.
Desouza content to control rather than advance.
Desouza wants to advance to full mount but Nakamura doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Desouza pushing down on Nakamura's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Desouza seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Nakamura does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Nakamura keeping control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Desouza is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Desouza is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Nakamura!
Nakamura wants to hold on but Desouza pushes him away.
Desouza trying to control but Nakamura is having none of it.
Desouza sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Nakamura is trying desperately to improve position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Desouza showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Desouza scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Nakamura looks to clinch

and Desouza counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Nakamura!
Nakamura is working to get back to half guard.
Desouza looking to control but Nakamura is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Desouza controlling his opponent.
BOOM! Desouza connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Desouza wants to control the pace but Nakamura is squirming around nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakamura is in all sorts of trouble here.
Nakamura blocking the ground and pound.
Nakamura tries to hold on but Desouza pushes him away.
Desouza content just to control the position here.
Desouza trying to control but Nakamura is having none of it.

Despite being in the dominant position, Dan Desouza just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Desouza dodges the punch combination from Nakamura.

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.
Desouza fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nakamura throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Nakamura shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Desouza manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Desouza pulls Nakamura in to control the position.
Desouza tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Nakamura trying to control the position from guard on top but Desouza is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Nakamura throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakamura looking to sit in guard and control but Desouza gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Nakamura keeping moving, preventing Desouza from controlling successfully.
Desouza slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Desouza is looking to take a break and control but Nakamura is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ryu Nakamura has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Desouza controls the position from side control.
Dan Desouza is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Dan Desouza.
Desouza tries to close the distance and clinch but Nakamura swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nakamura throws a right hand that Desouza ducks under and follows up with a left that Desouza also avoids with ease.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dan Desouza comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Desouza 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Desouza!