PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tsuyoshi Nakayama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Remedios Verzosa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nakayama kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is The Vapors - Turning Japanese. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Remedios Verzosa was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Nakayama
vs
Verzosa

189 cm
30
192 lbs
22 - 9 - 0

185 cm
23
190 lbs
13 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 22 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tsuyoshi Nakayama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Remedios Verzosa!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yuuki Gou and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nakayama rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Verzosa counters with a right hand to the body.
Nakayama misses with a right hand
and Verzosa makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Nakayama throws a head kick but Verzosa moves out of range.
Nakayama misses with a hook
and Verzosa counters with a stiff right hand.
Nakayama swings widly with a right hand

so Verzosa counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Verzosa controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Verzosa postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Verzosa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nakayama preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Verzosa is in close to Nakayama's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Verzosa scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nakayama wants to stand and escape but Verzosa is having none of it.

Verzosa has gone for a leg lock! Nakayama slips out almost immediately though and dives into Verzosa's guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

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

Verzosa has his foot on Nakayama's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Nakayama works his way back into a safe position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Verzosa has a closed guard, preventing Nakayama from standing up.

Nakayama stands up and waves to Verzosa to follow him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nakayama gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Verzosa trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Verzosa slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Verzosa trying to control but Nakayama is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Verzosa throwing strikes but missing.

Nakayama pushes Verzosa off and gets back to his feet.
Nakayama throws a lazy uppercut
and Verzosa counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Nakayama thinking.
Verzosa is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Nakayama throws out a loose jab but Verzosa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nakayama misses with an uppercut
and Verzosa cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama misses with a shot to the body

and Verzosa counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Nakayama!
Verzosa throws some wild stikes that Nakayama manages to avoid easily.
Verzosa has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Verzosa sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Verzosa tries to control but Nakayama wriggling away.
Poor strikes thrown by Verzosa there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

Verzosa goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Nakayama turns into him and now he's in Verzosa's guard.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama wanted to stand there but Verzosa had control of the position.
Verzosa 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.
Nakayama postures up.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Verzosa working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Nakayama doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Nakayama manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Verzosa 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.
Verzosa lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Nakayama!
Nakayama wants to control but Verzosa is having none of it.

That's eight 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.
Nakayama holds on, trying desperately to control.

Verzosa is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Nakayama has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Nakayama!
Nakayama wanted to stand there but Verzosa had control of the position.
Verzosa looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama wants to stand but Verzosa is controlling his posture from full guard.

Nakayama decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Verzosa swings for the body but Nakayama moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Remedios Verzosa dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Nakayama throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nakayama misses with a wild body shot.
Nakayama gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Verzosa counters with a nice uppercut.
Nakayama looks to land a left hand but Verzosa moved out of range nicely.
Verzosa throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nakayama dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nakayama connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakayama is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Verzosa.
Nakayama fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Verzosa manages to avoid it.
Nakayama rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Verzosa counters with a nice body shot.
Verzosa checks the leg kick nicely there.
Nakayama misses with a jab, cross combination.
Verzosa is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Nakayama rather than just go for the knockout.
Nakayama throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
letting Verzosa counter with a right hand.

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.
Nakayama tries to land a front kick but Verzosa steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Verzosa shoots in but Nakayama avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Nakayama misses with a right hand

and Verzosa counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Nakayama's guard now.
Verzosa missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Nakayama working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Verzosa.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Nakayama keeping full guard, as Verzosa tries to pass.
Verzosa showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Verzosa trying to control but Nakayama is working from the bottom.
Verzosa throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nakayama works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Verzosa slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Verzosa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Nakayama keeping full guard, as Verzosa tries to pass.
Verzosa throws a strike but Nakayama rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's four 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.

Verzosa has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Nakayama is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Verzosa.
Remedios Verzosa has got the better of the ground game so far.
Nakayama tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Nakayama decides to stand up, so the ref orders Verzosa to his feet.
The fighters circling - Verzosa throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Verzosa lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Nakayama throws a sloppy body shot

and Verzosa counters with a shoot takedown. Nakayama fights it but they end up in guard.
Nakayama utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Verzosa slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Verzosa wants to control from the top but Nakayama keeps moving.
Verzosa postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Verzosa is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Verzosa throws and elbow that misses. Nakayama uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Verzosa's guard. Nice move by Nakayama!
Verzosa is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama is looking to improve his position.
Nakayama is refusing to be controlled, as Verzosa sits in half guard.
Nakayama trying to control here.
Nakayama is refusing to be controlled, as Verzosa sits in half guard.

That's eight 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.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Nakayama is staying active underneath Verzosa, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Remedios Verzosa has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Verzosa scores with a jab to the body.
Nakayama misses with a telegraphed body shot

so Verzosa counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Tsuyoshi Nakayama has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nakayama being controlled here, momentarily.
Nakayama is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Verzosa wants to control from the top but Nakayama keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Verzosa fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Nakayama missing with a left hand there. Verzosa was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

And that's the end of the fight!
Remedios Verzosa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Verzosa 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 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight for Remedios Verzosa!
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Remedios Verzosa!
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Remedios Verzosa!

Remedios Verzosa wins by unanimous decision!