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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Josef Manuel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Achmed Azunga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Josef Manuel could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Achmed Azunga's chin.
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| 165 cm
25
147 lbs
5 - 5 - 0 |
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172 cm
20
151 lbs
3 - 2 - 0 |
Good takedowns
Solid boxing
KO power |
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Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Powerful |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Josef Manuel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Achmed Azunga!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Edson Gomes and Thiago Cunha.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Manuel missing with a left hand there. Azunga was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Azunga takes a jab right on the kisser.
Manuel scores with a leg kick.
Azunga moves in looking to clinch but Manuel pushes him off.
A big right from Manuel misses.
Manuel fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
It looks like Achmed Azunga has been cut.
Azunga closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Manuel quickly recovers to half guard.
Manuel is looking to improve his position.
Manuel works his way to full guard. Good work.
Azunga drops back looking for a leg! Manuel is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Manuel manages to kick Azunga off! Azunga jumps back into Manuel's guard.
Manuel working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Azunga doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Azunga manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Azunga gets to his feet - Manuel follows without any prompting.
Manuel throws the left hand but Azunga avoids the punch easily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Manuel lands a head shot.
Azunga scores with a takedown into Manuel's guard.
Azunga is pushing down on Manuel's leg trying to pass to half guard. Manuel is fighting to maintain full guard but Azunga has managed to sneak the leg through.
Azunga wants to stand up but Manuel has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Azunga seems to be working for a kimura but Manuel defends the submission attempt.
Manuel wants to get back to full guard.
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.
Azunga seems to be working for a kimura but Manuel defends the submission attempt.
Manuel is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Manuel manages to get to full guard.
Manuel is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Azunga defends well.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manuel wants to sweep but no luck.
Manuel escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Azunga gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Manuel is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Azunga drops back looking for a leg! Manuel is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Manuel manages to kick Azunga off! Azunga jumps back into Manuel's guard.
Manuel looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Manuel is breathing heavily.
Azunga drops back looking for a leg! Manuel is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Manuel manages to kick Azunga off! Azunga jumps back into Manuel's guard.
Azunga is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Manuel is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manuel looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Manuel looking for a guillotine here but Azunga defends easily.
Azunga passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Azunga wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Manuel, who protects the arm well.
Azunga is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Manuel is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Manuel is looking to reverse the position.
Azunga wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Manuel, who protects the arm well.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manuel sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Manuel is pressing down on Azunga's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Manuel is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Azunga stands up from Manuel's guard - Azunga perhaps looking for a knockout.
Manuel jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Manuel throws a big shot that misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Manuel throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nice takedown defense from Manuel. No joy for Azunga on that attempt.
Manuel tests Azunga's chin there with a solid looking shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Josef Manuel will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Achmed Azunga's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
Manuel misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Manuel throws a head kick that misses.
Josef Manuel is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Manuel throws a head kick but Azunga moves out of range.
Azunga fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Manuel avoids it really well and circles away.
Azunga moves out of range of the strikes.
Manuel swings and misses with a hook to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manuel scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Azunga avoids a punch combination nicely.
Manuel throws a shot from downtown. Azunga moves away and avoids it.
Josef Manuel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Azunga throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Manuel's waist but Manuel gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Azunga off to one side.
Manuel circles away from the clinch attempt.
Manuel thows a body kick. Azunga tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Manuel goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Sloppy strikes from Manuel. Those never looked like landing.
Excellent takedown into side control there by Azunga.
Azunga is breathing heavily.
Azunga tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Azunga has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Manuel is trying to improve his position.
Manuel is working hard here to advance position.
Azunga wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Manuel, who protects the arm well.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manuel gets back to half guard.
Manuel is pressing down on Azunga's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Manuel is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Azunga defends well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manuel working for a triangle but Azunga defends it easily.
Azunga is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Azunga drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Azunga jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Manuel had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Azunga defends it easily.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Azunga drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Azunga jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Azunga is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Manuel looking for a sweep. Not yet Manuel, not yet.
Manuel looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Azunga thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Manuel looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Azunga drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Azunga jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Azunga thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Azunga avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Azunga thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Manuel working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Azunga doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Azunga manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Azunga is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Azunga thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Manuel looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Azunga is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Azunga wants to pass the guard but Manuel is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Josef Manuel dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Achmed Azunga's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!
Manuel looks to land a right hand but Azunga moved out of range.
Manuel throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Azunga scores with a takedown into Manuel's guard.
Azunga thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Manuel looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Achmed Azunga has got the better of the ground game so far.
Azunga sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Manuel's guard.
Manuel is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Azunga is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Manuel has managed to free his arm - good work.
Manuel is looking for a sweep. Azunga is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Azunga is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Manuel has managed to free his arm - good work.
Azunga is looking for a kimura here.
Manuel looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Manuel looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Manuel is defending against the submission attempts here by Azunga.
Azunga is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Manuel sees it coming and defends easily.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Azunga is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Manuel keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Azunga is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Manuel to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Manuel shrugs it off.
Manuel sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Azunga is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Azunga wants to work for an arm triangle but Manuel is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Azunga is working for a submission of some sort.
Manuel actively working from the bottom here.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Azunga prevents Manuel from improving his position.
Azunga is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Manuel looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Manuel actively working from the bottom here.
Josef Manuel is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Azunga is trying to work for a kimura but Manuel is defending well.
Azunga seems to be looking for submissions.
Manuel is looking to control Azunga's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Manuel avoid being mounted?
Azunga is looking for a kimura here.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Azunga is looking for a kimura here.
Manuel trying to hold on to Azunga's head to control him but Azunga postures up.
Azunga is working for a kimura but Manuel is defending it quite comfortably.
Achmed Azunga has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Azunga is trying to work for a kimura but Manuel is defending well.
And that's the end of the fight!
Achmed Azunga comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Manuel 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 28:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 28:29
In favor of your winner, by split decision... Achmed Azunga!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
66% |
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