PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nando Rafael (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akiyo Nishiura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Akiyo Nishiura enters the cage!

Rafael
vs
Nishiura

170 cm
25
145 lbs
11 - 3 - 1

172 cm
34
147 lbs
30 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Hilo Clothing Co **Laundry 3% fee**

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Nando Rafael!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 15 - 0, fighting out of New York, Akiyo Nishiura!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Jorge Garcia and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rafael takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Nishiura moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nishiura tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Rafael manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nishiura throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rafael sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Rafael keeps the fight on the outside.
Nishiura needs to keep his hands up - Rafael had a free shot at his head there.
Rafael scores with a crisp jab that stopped Nishiura in his tracks.
Nice body kick there by Nishiura.
Nishiura throws a hook but Rafael blocks it.
Rafael fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Nishiura on the side of the head.
Jab by Rafael.
Rafael takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nishiura misses the shot to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Rafael.
Nishiura works over Rafael's head and body with a nice combination.
Rafael sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rafael lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rafael 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.
Rafael on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Nishiura moves into the clinch.
Nishiura blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nishiura misses with a punch to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rafael.
Rafael misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rafael has a couple of punches blocked by Nishiura.
Rafael tries to work over Nishiura's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rafael lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Rafael struggles to land a body shot inside as Nishiura controls his hands.
Nishiura blocks a body shot from Rafael.
Nishiura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rafael's elbow.
Rafael blocks an uppercut.

Nishiura breaks the clinch.
Rafael wants to land a leg kick but Nishiura is out of range.

Rafael has Nishiura up against the cage in a clinch.
Rafael misses with a punch to the body.
Nishiura works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Rafael lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Nishiura blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nishiura throws a punch but it's blocked by Rafael.
Rafael misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rafael lands a shoulder strike.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Rafael creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Nishiura misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Nishiura breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nishiura throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A head kick misses from Rafael.
Nishiura missing with a left hand there. Rafael was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Nishiura ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rafael moves away.
Rafael looks to land a combination. Nishiura sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Rafael throws a hook to the side of Nishiura's head but Nishiura sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nishiura circles away from the clinch attempt.
A swing and a miss from Nishiura.
Nishiura avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nishiura wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Nishiura fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rafael manages to avoid it.

Nishiura closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Rafael.
Rafael throws a head punch that misses.
Rafael lands a left hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rafael lands with a left to the head.
Nishiura working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Rafael goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rafael scores with a nice hook to the head.
Nishiura pushes Rafael back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rafael tries a body shot but Nishiura blocks it.
Nishiura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rafael's elbow.
A head punch on the inside from Nishiura fails to land.
Rafael lands a shoulder strike.
Rafael blocks a body shot from Nishiura.
Nishiura throws a head punch that misses.

Nishiura pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nishiura goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
A jab from Rafael finds it's way through Nishiura's defenses.
Rafael lands with a nice body kick.
Rafael avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Rafael throws a quick inside leg kick.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rafael throws a big shot that misses.
Nishiura ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rafael moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nishiura fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Rafael takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Rafael slips a jab and a cross from Nishiura.
Nishiura lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Nice straight punches there by Rafael. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Rafael.
Rafael needs to keep his hands up - Nishiura had a free shot at his head there.
Rafael tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Nishiura manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rafael swinging wildly here.
Nishiura misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rafael.
Donk. Rafael catches Nishiura right on the button with a cross.
Nishiura connects with a high kick.
Rafael scores with a jab to the jaw.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nishiura checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Nishiura blocks a head kick by Rafael.
Nishiura 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.
Rafael is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Nishiura tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Rafael counters with a nice body kick.
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 Nando Rafael will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rafael scores with a jab. Nishiura acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Rafael throws a leg kick but Nishiura moved away.
Nishiura fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nishiura throws a hook but Rafael blocks it.
Akiyo Nishiura seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rafael looks for the body kick but Nishiura saw that one coming.
Nishiura is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Rafael rather than just go for the knockout.
Rafael misses with a looping left.
Rafael avoids the body shot from Nishiura.
Rafael thows a body kick. Nishiura tries to catch it but that hurt him.

Rafael has Nishiura up against the cage in a clinch.
Nishiura throws a punch but it's blocked by Rafael.
Rafael working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Rafael throws a head punch that misses.
Nishiura blocks an uppercut.
Nishiura gets through Rafael's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Nishiura goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nishiura digs a right hand into Rafael's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Rafael's gas tank.
Rafael fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rafael misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rafael goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nishiura throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Rafael throws a head punch that misses.
Rafael misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nishiura softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Nishiura makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Rafael misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nishiura tries to break the clinch but Rafael is controlling the position.
Rafael throws a punch but it's blocked by Nishiura.
Rafael blocking some punches.
Nishiura misses with a punch to the body.
Nishiura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rafael's elbow.
Rafael swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rafael presses Nishiura against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rafael.
Rafael misses with some punches.
Rafael wants to stall.
A short left from Rafael.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nishiura is looking to control Rafael's arms but Rafael gets an underhook and turns him. Now Nishiura has his back to the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rafael lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Rafael working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Nando Rafael has scored more points in the clinch so far.

Nishiura breaks from the clinch.
Nishiura keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rafael.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rafael. Nishiura does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rafael comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Rafael is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nishiura.
Rafael throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rafael avoids a kick to the body.
Nishiura is looking to clinch but Rafael is avoiding it.
Nishiura misses the shot to the body.
A head kick misses from Rafael.
Rafael fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rafael swats away the attempt to clinch by Nishiura.
Rafael lands with a cross.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Rafael.

Nishiura darts in and clinches Rafael up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rafael prevents a body shot from Nishiura.
Rafael working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Rafael lands a nice uppercut.
Rafael can't find room to land a body shot as Nishiura controls the action.
Rafael tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Nishiura's elbow.
Rafael swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nishiura blocks an uppercut.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rafael.

Nishiura pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nishiura throws a body punch but Rafael moves out of range.
Nishiura walks into a left hand.
A combination from Rafael does no damage.
Nishiura misses the shot to the body.

Nishiura gets tackled into the cage by Rafael. Rafael maintains the clinch.
Rafael throws a punch but it's blocked by Nishiura.

Nishiura breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nishiura throws a body kick that misses.
Rafael slips under a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rafael thows a left - swing and a miss!
Rafael doesn't manage to clinch there - Nishiura circles away.
Rafael lands a leg kick that knocks Nishiura off balance momentarily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rafael lands a head kick!
Rafael with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Nishiura throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Rafael clinches with his opponent.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rafael.
Nishiura lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rafael backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rafael.
Nishiura goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rafael scores with a shoulder strike.
Rafael lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rafael working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Nishiura misses with a punch to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Rafael.
Nishiura struggles to land a body shot inside as Rafael controls his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nando Rafael dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nishiura.
Nishiura ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rafael moves away.
Rafael fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nishiura checks a leg kick.
Nishiura pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Rafael slips under a jab.

Nishiura forces Rafael back against the cage and clinches.
Nishiura swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nishiura struggles to land a body shot inside as Rafael controls his hands.
Nishiura stalling in the clinch.
Rafael slows down the pace here.
A head punch on the inside from Rafael fails to land.
Rafael tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Nishiura goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rafael fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Rafael fails to land.
Rafael working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Nishiura.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Nishiura.
Nishiura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rafael's elbow.
Nishiura tries to work over Rafael's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rafael goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nishiura blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rafael misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nishiura prevents a body shot from Rafael.
A nice right hand lands inside from Nishiura.
Rafael tries to work over Nishiura's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rafael lands a body punch.
Nishiura misses with a short punch on the inside.
Rafael blocks an uppercut.
Nishiura tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Nishiura lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Rafael blocks an uppercut.
Rafael lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Nishiura or not.
Nishiura lands a shoulder strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nishiura lands a body punch.
Rafael lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Akiyo Nishiura has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rafael working aggressively here.
Nishiura swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rafael takes a shot to the head.
Nishiura tries to throw a body punch but Rafael avoids it by throwing Nishiura back against the cage.
Rafael misses with a punch on the inside.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rafael.
Nishiura doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rafael lands a body shot in the clinch.
Nishiura takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rafael tries a body shot but Nishiura blocks it.
Rafael prevents a body shot from Nishiura.
Nishiura tries to throw a body punch but Rafael avoids it by throwing Nishiura back against the cage.
Rafael misses with a punch on the inside.
Rafael lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Nishiura lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Nishiura misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rafael struggles to land a body shot inside as Nishiura controls his hands.
Nando Rafael is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nishiura blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A body shot lands from Nishiura.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nishiura misses with a body punch.
Rafael goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Nishiura breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rafael blocks a head kick by Nishiura.
Rafael lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Nishiura backs up against the cage.
Nishiura takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Nishiura loads up on a big right hand but Rafael slips the punch.
Nishiura moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Nishiura scores with a sloppy right hand. Rafael should have avoided that one.
Nishiura throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rafael sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nishiura misses with a looping left.

Rafael closes the distance and clinches.
Rafael struggles to land a body shot inside as Nishiura controls his hands.
Nishiura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rafael's elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rafael prevents a body shot from Nishiura.
Nishiura misses with a punch to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Rafael.
Rafael scores with a hook to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Nishiura is trying to break free.
Nishiura doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rafael lands a nice uppercut.
Rafael lands with a left to the head.
Nishiura misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nishiura can't find room to land a body shot as Rafael controls the action.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rafael tries to throw a body punch but Nishiura avoids it by throwing Rafael back against the cage.
Nishiura struggles to land a body shot inside as Rafael controls his hands.
Nishiura misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Nishiura fails to land.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Akiyo Nishiura.
Well Rafael 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Akiyo Nishiura!
An out of breath and clearly excited Akiyo Nishiura thanked Hellbent for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).