PBP Commentary

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

Murakami
vs
belfort

187 cm
19
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Enjoys gardening

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Murakami!
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, vitor belfort!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Thiago Cunha and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Murakami. No joy for belfort on that attempt.

belfort clinches up against the cage.
belfort drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Murakami gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Murakami jumps guard and drags belfort to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

belfort drops back, looking for a kneebar! Murakami looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Murakami looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Murakami!
Murakami trying to control the position but belfort is working away.
belfort tries to buck Murakami off but Murakami is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Murakami tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Murakami is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. belfort knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.
belfort struggling a bit here.
Murakami working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
You can see the frustration on belfort's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
belfort tries to improve position but can't.
belfort wants to get back to his feet.
Murakami wants to control but belfort is keeping him busy.

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.
belfort defending against the ground and pound.
belfort is not content to let Murakami control the position.
Murakami knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for belfort on the ground.
Murakami working away.
belfort is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Murakami off and has taken his back!

belfort working for a choke but Murakami is defending well.
belfort looks gassed!

belfort looking to break Murakami's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Murakami remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise belfort will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murakami manages to reverse the position and now he's in belfort's guard. Nice work there by Murakami.

belfort is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Murakami defends well.

Murakami gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Murakami gets a clinch.
belfort wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
belfort tries to score a body lock takedown but Murakami shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Bruno Murakami has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of vitor belfort.
Murakami displaying some good clinch control by pressing belfort up against the cage.

Murakami escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Murakami.

Murakami thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on belfort's face as Murakami controls the position.
belfort is trying to control Murakami's posture but Murakami avoids it.
Murakami wants to control but belfort is keeping him busy.
Murakami in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
belfort is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Murakami asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Murakami controlling from side mount.
belfort tries to improve position but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruno Murakami dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Murakami misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from belfort.
belfort tries to clinch but Murakami moves away

and Murakami counters with a takedown into side control.

Murakami stands up.

belfort gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

belfort working for a triangle but Murakami defends it easily.

belfort working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Murakami doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Murakami manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
belfort doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
belfort is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
belfort keeping moving, preventing Murakami from controlling successfully.
Murakami is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Murakami trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Murakami engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Murakami wants to get up but he can't break belfort's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Murakami trying to control the position from guard on top but belfort is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

belfort throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Murakami escapes and throws belfort's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Murakami wants to lay and pray for a moment but belfort keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
belfort is looking to regain half guard here but Murakami keeps moving and retains side control.
belfort is not content to let Murakami control the position.
Murakami staying calm.
belfort prevents Murakami from moving into mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
belfort tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Murakami wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
belfort is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Murakami taking a breather here.
Murakami trying to control the action but belfort is working from the bottom.
belfort tries to buck Murakami off but Murakami is having none of it.
belfort is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Murakami is controlling him well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Murakami is chipping away with strikes.
Murakami creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
belfort is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Murakami asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Murakami controlling the position.
belfort tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Murakami presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Murakami prevents belfort from getting the reversal.
Murakami controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruno Murakami dominated that second round.
That's time! Murakami's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

belfort moves to clinch but Murakami breaks away

and Murakami counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Murakami has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
belfort is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Murakami scoring with some ground and pound.

belfort escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Murakami gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Murakami stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Murakami gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
belfort is trying to maintain a safe position but Murakami gets an underhook and turns belfort into the cage.

Murakami drags the fight down to the ground.
belfort trying to control but Murakami is working from the bottom.
Murakami is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruno Murakami overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
belfort wants to stand but Murakami is controlling his posture from full guard.
belfort wants to control from the top but Murakami keeps moving.
Murakami throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Murakami looking to hit a scissor sweep but belfort is one step ahead there.
belfort wants to stand and escape but instead Murakami has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

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.

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

Murakami stands up from belfort's guard - Murakami perhaps looking for a knockout.

Murakami rushes belfort and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Murakami ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Murakami no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Murakami bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in belfort's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murakami stands up over belfort, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
belfort thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Murakami trying to control but belfort is working from the bottom.
belfort can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Murakami controls the pace.
belfort keeping moving, preventing Murakami from controlling successfully.

belfort looking for a guillotine here but Murakami defends easily.
belfort keeping moving, preventing Murakami from controlling successfully.

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.
Murakami stands and throws belfort's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Murakami decides to stand up, so the ref orders belfort to his feet.
Murakami fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

belfort rushes Murakami and presses him up against the cage.

belfort successfully pulls guard.
Murakami is in close to belfort's body, working some short punches and elbows.

belfort is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Murakami is aware though and is defending well.
vitor belfort has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bruno Murakami is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
belfort keeping moving, preventing Murakami from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bruno Murakami showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Murakami has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:27
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bruno Murakami!