PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between James Atkinson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Azman Hazardi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Hazardi's choice of entrance music: Julma-Henri & Syrjäytyneet - Oulu-Helsinki . Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Atkinson
vs
Hazardi

180 cm
21
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

188 cm
28
190 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Legal High's [CBK]
[CBK] Smashwear Clothing

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, James Atkinson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Azman Hazardi!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hazardi misses with a body shot

and Atkinson holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Atkinson tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hazardi's elbow.
Atkinson lands with a right to the head.
Atkinson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hazardi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Atkinson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Atkinson is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hazardi is defending well for now.
Hazardi tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hazardi tries to pull guard but Atkinson won't allow it.
Hazardi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Atkinson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Atkinson struggles to land a body shot inside as Hazardi controls his hands.
Hazardi fails to pull guard.
James Atkinson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Azman Hazardi.
Atkinson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Atkinson cracks Hazardi with a nice body shot.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Atkinson.

Hazardi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Atkinson misses with a head kick.
Hazardi shoots for a double leg takedown but Atkinson sprawls well. He's pushed Hazardi's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hazardi throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Atkinson counters with a leg kick.

Atkinson drives through and clinches with Hazardi against the cage.
Atkinson trying to land knees to the body.
Hazardi tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hazardi blocks the elbow strike.
Atkinson missing with knees to the body.
Atkinson misses with a punch on the inside.
Atkinson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hazardi.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Hazardi fails to pull guard.
Hazardi tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Atkinson tries to work over Hazardi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Atkinson stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Atkinson can't find room to land a body shot as Hazardi controls the action.
Atkinson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Hazardi backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Atkinson.
Hazardi jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Atkinson walks away with a smile on his face. Hazardi gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Hazardi tries to score a power double leg takedown but Atkinson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Hazardi somewhat.
Atkinson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hazardi wants to clinch.
Atkinson throws a head kick that half lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hazardi pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hazardi swings for the body but Atkinson moves out of range.
Hazardi has a takedown stuffed.
Atkinson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hazardi.
Hazardi throws a sloppy head kick
and Atkinson counters with a nice kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Atkinson pushes Hazardi away with a front kick.
Hazardi throws a nice head kick!
Hazardi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hazardi takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Atkinson tries to clinch up
and Hazardi counters with a one-two to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Atkinson dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Atkinson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hazardi.
Atkinson doesn't manage to clinch there - Hazardi circles away.
Hazardi fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Atkinson avoids it really well and circles away.
Atkinson lands a leg kick that knocks Hazardi off balance momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hazardi misses with an uppercut
enabling Atkinson to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hazardi throws a sloppy head kick
and Atkinson counters with a series of strikes. Hazardi will be more careful next time no doubt.
Atkinson scores with the left hand. Hazardi knows he should have avoided that one.
Horrible takedown by Hazardi or perhaps it was just good defense by Atkinson which made him look bad.
James Atkinson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Azman Hazardi.
Atkinson swings away with a body shot that misses
and Hazardi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hazardi swats away the attempt to clinch by Atkinson.
Azman Hazardi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hazardi wants to land a leg kick but Atkinson is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hazardi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Atkinson's waist but Atkinson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hazardi off to one side.
Hazardi swings for the body but Atkinson moves out of range.

Hazardi fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Atkinson to the ground. Hazardi is now in Atkinson's guard.
Hazardi won't allow Atkinson to get back to his feet.
Hazardi stays in close to Atkinson's body and controls the position.
Atkinson manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Atkinson wants to stand but Hazardi is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Hazardi is looking to improve his position but Atkinson isn't that keen on the idea.
Atkinson wants to get back to his feet but Hazardi is holding on tight.

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.
Hazardi tries to reverse the position but Atkinson maintains control.
Hazardi tries to control Atkinson's body but Atkinson pushes him off. Hazardi squirms to his side and now Atkinson has his back!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Atkinson looking to hold on to the position here but Hazardi rolls and ends up regaining guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Atkinson dominated that second round.
That's time! Atkinson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Atkinson has Hazardi up against the cage in a clinch.
Atkinson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hazardi.
Atkinson tries to throw a body punch but Hazardi avoids it by throwing Atkinson back against the cage.

Hazardi successfully pulls guard.
Hazardi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hazardi trying to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Atkinson connects with a single shot there.
Atkinson misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hazardi throws a sloppy head kick and Atkinson moves out of range easily.
Atkinson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hazardi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Atkinson lands a leg kick that knocks Hazardi off balance momentarily.
Atkinson throws a shot from downtown. Hazardi moves away and avoids it.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Atkinson stuffs the takedown.
Atkinson misses with a left hand

so Hazardi counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Atkinson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hazardi stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Atkinson swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Atkinson is looking to stand up but Hazardi isn't so interested in that idea.
Hazardi wants to control from the top but Atkinson keeps moving.
Hazardi stays in close to Atkinson's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Azman Hazardi has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hazardi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Atkinson tries a head kick but it misses.
Hazardi throws a hook to the side of Atkinson's head but Atkinson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hazardi shoots in looking for a takedown. Atkinson tries to sprawl out of it but Hazardi keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Atkinson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Atkinson lands a front kick.

That's four 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.
Atkinson misses with a few strikes there.
Hazardi scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Azman Hazardi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hazardi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Atkinson's waist but Atkinson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hazardi off to one side.
James Atkinson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Azman Hazardi.
Hazardi throws a sloppy head kick
and Atkinson counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Hazardi throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Atkinson counters with a one-two to the body.
Hazardi misses with a wild combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Azman Hazardi.
I think Atkinson 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Atkinson!