PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Hugo Rossi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akainu Sakazuki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Rossi
vs
Sakazuki

173 cm
21
153 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

175 cm
26
150 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

Adam's NORTHERN WILD

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hugo Rossi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Akainu Sakazuki!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Thiago Cunha and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rossi shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rossi misses with a shot to the body
and Sakazuki connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sakazuki jabs at Rossi's body.
Sakazuki pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Rossi back to the cage. Sakazuki follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Sakazuki fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rossi looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Sakazuki lands with a kick to the temple. Rossi shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rossi looks to land a right hand but Sakazuki moved out of range.

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

Rossi throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Sakazuki escapes and throws Rossi's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Rossi is not content to let Sakazuki control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rossi is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sakazuki controlling the position from side mount.
Sakazuki tries to stand but Rossi is controlling his head.
Rossi tries to bench press Sakazuki off him but Sakazuki keeps the position.
Sakazuki trying to control the action but Rossi is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rossi struggling a bit here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rossi is trying to improve his position.
Rossi is working hard here to advance position.
Sakazuki wants to control but Rossi is keeping him busy.
Rossi is looking for a sweep.
Rossi tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Rossi working to try and regain half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sakazuki scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rossi?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rossi tries to reverse the position but Sakazuki maintains control.
Sakazuki raining down shots from the mount!
Rossi is trying to escape the mount.
Rossi is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sakazuki prevents Rossi from getting the reversal.
Sakazuki sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Sakazuki controlling the position easily from mount.
Sakazuki dominating with strikes here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakazuki manages to capitalize on a mistake by Rossi to take his back!
Sakazuki trying to control momentarily.
Sakazuki keeps control of the position as Rossi tries to break free.
Rossi manages to reverse the position and now he's in Sakazuki's guard. Nice work there by Rossi.
Sakazuki 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.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sakazuki is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sakazuki is trying to control the position but Rossi postures up.
Rossi wants to pass the guard but Sakazuki is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akainu Sakazuki dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rossi tries for a takedown but Sakazuki sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Hugo Rossi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sakazuki scores with a jab to the body.
Sakazuki looks to score with a jab to the body but Rossi is just out of range.
A combination from Sakazuki does no damage.
Rossi slips a jab and a cross from Sakazuki.
Sakazuki fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sakazuki connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Sakazuki throws a head kick that misses.
Sakazuki misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakazuki is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Sakazuki throws a series of punches but Rossi moves out of range.
Sakazuki throws a body punch but Rossi moves out of range.
Rossi misses with a wild body shot.
Sakazuki cracks Rossi with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Sakazuki throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sakazuki throws a right and a left that both miss.
A punch combination from Rossi misses.
Rossi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sakazuki.
Rossi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rossi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sakazuki manages to avoid it.
Sakazuki misses with a low kick as Rossi jumps back.

Rossi shoots in and gets a takedown into Sakazuki's guard.
Sakazuki looking for a sweep. Not yet Sakazuki, not yet.
Rossi trying to control but Sakazuki is working from the bottom.

Sakazuki working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Rossi has passed into half guard!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sakazuki is trying to get back to full guard.
Well, if Rossi is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rossi wants to work for an arm triangle but Sakazuki is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Sakazuki wants to get back to full guard.
Rossi controlling the action here.
Rossi wants to control but Sakazuki is keeping him busy.
Sakazuki is trying to stand.

Rossi is looking for a kimura but Sakazuki is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Rossi to get the leverage.
Rossi works his way into full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakazuki holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Rossi tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Sakazuki is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

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

Rossi throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Sakazuki escapes and throws Rossi's legs to the side, diving into side control!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rossi defending against the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Akainu Sakazuki will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Sakazuki scores with a jab. Rossi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

Sakazuki scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Rossi is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sakazuki looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
It looks like Sakazuki is going to stand back up.
Rossi wants to control but Sakazuki passes into side.
Rossi misses with a strike from the bottom.
Rossi is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Sakazuki's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Rossi makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Rossi.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rossi is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Rossi had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Sakazuki defends it easily.
Sakazuki trying to control the position from guard on top but Rossi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sakazuki seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Rossi has an active guard here but Sakazuki has managed to pass into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakazuki is nestled in close to Rossi, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Sakazuki is looking to take a break and control but Rossi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sakazuki working Rossi over with strikes.
Sakazuki trying to control the action but Rossi is working from the bottom.
Rossi works his way to full guard. Good work.
Sakazuki wants to control from the top but Rossi keeps moving.

Rossi throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Akainu Sakazuki has got the better of the ground game so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Rossi is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakazuki controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Sakazuki trying to control but Rossi is working from the bottom.
Akainu Sakazuki is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Rossi looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Sakazuki passes into side control.
Rossi can't do much from the bottom here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rossi is looking to regain half guard here but Sakazuki keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakazuki trying to control the position but Rossi is working away.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
You can see the frustration on Rossi's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sakazuki wants to control but Rossi is keeping him busy.
Rossi prevents Sakazuki from improving position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sakazuki has control of an arm but Rossi manages to advance to Sakazuki's back!
Hugo Rossi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rossi not allowing Sakazuki to control his hands.

And that's the end of the fight!
Akainu Sakazuki comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sakazuki 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 28:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Akainu Sakazuki!