PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Furio Giunta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kazushi Rakusaba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Giunta comes to the cage accompanied by The Godfather Theme - Fantomas. The crowd seem to be enjoying Rakusaba's choice of entrance music: David Bowie - Suffragette City. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Giunta
vs
Rakusaba

174 cm
27
180 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

183 cm
26
181 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Furio Giunta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kazushi Rakusaba!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yukihiro Shimada and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rakusaba looks to land a left hand but Giunta moved out of range nicely.
Rakusaba walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

It looks like Kazushi Rakusaba has been cut.
Rakusaba lands with a nice body punch.
Giunta looks to land a combination but Rakusaba avoids it well.
Rakusaba cracks Giunta with a right hand to the side of the head.
A jab from Rakusaba misses.
Giunta slips under a jab.

Rakusaba changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Giunta looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Rakusaba throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Rakusaba lands a nice forearm strike.
Giunta tries to bench press Rakusaba off him but Rakusaba keeps the position.
Giunta parries the strikes from Rakusaba easily there. Rakusaba is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Giunta to escape.
The referee asks Rakusaba politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Rakusaba prefers to stall for the moment though.
Giunta struggling a bit here.
Rakusaba with the ground and pound but Giunta regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Rakusaba content to control rather than advance.
Rakusaba has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakusaba is looking to take a break and control but Giunta is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Giunta tries to get to full guard but Rakusaba has control of the leg.
Rakusaba working the head and body with strikes.
Giunta is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Rakusaba missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Giunta is looking to improve his position.
Rakusaba wants to lay and pray for a moment but Giunta keeps working.
Giunta is trying to get back to full guard.
Rakusaba throwing shots but Giunta is blocking nicely.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rakusaba fails with a takedown attempt.
Giunta takes a swing at Rakusaba's ribcage but misses.
Rakusaba misses with a straight right.
Rakusaba keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Giunta.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Giunta slaps away a takedown attempt from Rakusaba, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Rakusaba misses the jab.
Rakusaba misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Furio Giunta has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kazushi Rakusaba.
Rakusaba fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Giunta manages to avoid it.
Giunta throws a series of punches but Rakusaba avoids them all with ease.
Rakusaba misses the body punch
and Giunta counters with a nice uppercut.
Danga de danga de dang - Giunta scores with a four punch combination!
Giunta clobbers Rakusaba with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Rakusaba misses with a hook to the body
and Giunta counters with a straight right hand.
Giunta wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Giunta throws a right and a left that Rakusaba avoids nicely.
Giunta slips a straight right by Rakusaba.
Rakusaba shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Giunta as he avoids it easily.
Rakusaba throws a looping overhand right but Giunta ducks down to avoid it.
Furio Giunta is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Giunta scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That has opened up Kazushi Rakusaba's cut even more.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Giunta moves into range and connects with a jab.
Rakusaba shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Giunta as he avoids it easily.
Rakusaba looks gassed!
Giunta scores with a jab to the jaw.
Giunta defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rakusaba.
Rakusaba throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Rakusaba is defended easily by Giunta.
Giunta throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rakusaba.
Giunta rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rakusaba moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Giunta scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
A big left from Rakusaba misses.
Rakusaba throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rakusaba takes a shot to the body in his stride.
The fighters circle momentarily. Giunta darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

Rakusaba is rocked!

The cut above Kazushi Rakusaba's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Giunta cracks a nice hook into Rakusaba's ribs.
Rakusaba is still on wobbly legs! Can Giunta finish him?
Giunta lands a slapping body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Furio Giunta dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kazushi Rakusaba's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Rakusaba walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Rakusaba slips a straight right by Giunta.
Rakusaba seems to have recovered his senses.
Rakusaba cracks Giunta with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Giunta scores with a hook.
Rakusaba shoots in for a double leg but Giunta sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Kazushi Rakusaba seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rakusaba looks to throw the jab but Giunta is out of range.

Rakusaba scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Giunta is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Rakusaba working Giunta over with strikes.
Giunta trying to control but Rakusaba postures up.
Rakusaba not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Giunta preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Rakusaba is breathing heavily.
Giunta blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rakusaba.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakusaba takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Rakusaba is keen to just control but Giunta is a slippery customer.
Rakusaba keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Rakusaba looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Giunta is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Giunta wants to get back to his feet.
Rakusaba trying to mount his opponent but Giunta defends it.

Rakusaba is working for a kimura but Giunta is defending it quite comfortably.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Giunta ducks under a wild hook from Rakusaba.
Rakusaba takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Rakusaba listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Rakusaba.
Giunta lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rakusaba backs up against the cage.
Rakusaba shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Giunta sprawls well. Giunta wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rakusaba gets slowly back to his feet.
Rakusaba fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Furio Giunta has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kazushi Rakusaba.
Rakusaba tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Giunta was well out of range. Poor timing from Rakusaba.
Giunta connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rakusaba's hands.
Furio Giunta is winning the standup battle so far.
Giunta tries to bum rush Rakusaba with a series of wild strikes but Rakusaba uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Giunta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Giunta lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rakusaba circles away quickly and effectively.
Giunta throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rakusaba.

Rakusaba closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Giunta trying to hold on to Rakusaba's head to control him but Rakusaba postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rakusaba is trying to control. Giunta wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rakusaba tries to pass the half guard into mount. Giunta knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Giunta pushes Rakusaba off looking to stand but Rakusaba dives back in and keeps control.
Rakusaba wants to take a breather but Giunta is having none of it.
Giunta keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rakusaba prevents Giunta from improving his position.

Rakusaba is looking for a kimura here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Rakusaba misses with a looping left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Furio Giunta dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kazushi Rakusaba's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Donk. Giunta catches Rakusaba right on the button with a cross.
Rakusaba uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Giunta.
Giunta throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rakusaba slips under a jab from Giunta.
Rakusaba drops his hands momentarily and Giunta takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Rakusaba slips a jab and a cross from Giunta.
A nice combination there by Giunta.
Giunta tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rakusaba was well out of range. Poor timing from Giunta.
Giunta walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Giunta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Rakusaba closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Rakusaba lands in his opponent's guard.
Giunta trying to keep a closed guard but Rakusaba is proving a slippery customer.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rakusaba works over Giunta with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Giunta wants to sweep but no luck.
Rakusaba is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rakusaba connects with a couple of short punches.
Giunta controls Rakusaba momentarily but Rakusaba frees himself.
Rakusaba is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rakusaba accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Giunta looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rakusaba postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Rakusaba wants to control from the top but Giunta keeps moving.
Furio Giunta is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Rakusaba advances position into side control!
Rakusaba lands an elbow.
Rakusaba in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Giunta is not content to let Rakusaba control the position.

Rakusaba is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Giunta is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Giunta tries to improve position but can't.
Rakusaba looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Giunta is avoiding damage well.
Rakusaba working away.
Rakusaba trying to control the action but Giunta is working from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Rakusaba connects with a jab.
Giunta looks to land a combination. Rakusaba sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Kazushi Rakusaba's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.

That's four 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.

Rakusaba shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Rakusaba not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Giunta is trying to maintain the position but Rakusaba is very close to passing his half guard.
Rakusaba throwing shots but Giunta is blocking nicely.
Kazushi Rakusaba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rakusaba is just content to waste time from the top position. Giunta takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Giunta not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Giunta is looking for a triangle but Rakusaba pushes his legs off easily.
Giunta is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kazushi Rakusaba.
I think Giunta has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Furio Giunta!