PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Shinya Aoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frankie Russo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Aoki
vs
Russo

180 cm
20
155 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

169 cm
31
165 lbs
9 - 9 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Hopkins Athletics
[CBK] LEGAL HIGHS « AJFC↑ TRIPLE 160Q ®

[CBK] LEGAL HIGHS « AJFC↑ TRIPLE 160Q ®

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Shinya Aoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Frankie Russo!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Kenichi Hosakawa and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Russo moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Aoki thumps Russo with a low kick.
Russo swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Russo will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Russo tries to bum rush Aoki with a series of wild strikes but Aoki uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Russo uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Aoki.
No joy there for Russo, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Russo thows a body shot but no joy.
Aoki takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Russo takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Aoki throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Russo counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Russo scores with a nice head shot.
Aoki looks to land a right hand but Russo moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo throws a jab but it's blocked by Aoki.
Russo misses with a double jab.
Frankie Russo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Russo swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Aoki counters with a nice low kick that buckles Russo's knee momentarily.
A head kick misses from Aoki.
Aoki keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Russo.
Russo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Aoki misses the shot to the body.
Russo misses with a straight right.
Russo throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aoki.
Russo throws a body punch but Aoki moves out of range.
Russo rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Aoki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Russo misses with a hook. Aoki ducked under it nicely.
Russo looks to land a combination but Aoki avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Russo misses with a body shot.
Russo misses with a body shot.
A good leg kick by Aoki.
Aoki avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Russo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Aoki misses with a looping left.
Aoki thows a left - swing and a miss!
Russo throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Aoki counters with a big head kick but Russo shrugs it off.
No joy there for Aoki, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Sloppy strikes from Russo. Those never looked like landing.
Russo ducks under a wild hook from Aoki.
Russo changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aoki throws a jab but it's blocked by Russo.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Aoki, right into the meat.
Russo throws a right and a left that Aoki avoids nicely.
Russo misses with a two punch combination.
Aoki throws a poor cross that misses
and Russo counters with a two punch combo.
Russo uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Aoki.
Russo misses with a body shot
and Aoki counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Russo just misses with a punch to the body.
Russo misses with the combination.
Russo avoids the head kick by Aoki.
Russo throws a right hand that Aoki ducks under and follows up with a left that Aoki also avoids with ease.
Aoki lands an overhand right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aoki fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Aoki looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Aoki dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Russo. That did some damage!
Aoki slips a jab and a cross from Russo.
Russo slips a jab from Aoki.
Russo fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Aoki looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Aoki lands a really nice looking cross but Russo seems unphased.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nice defenses there by Aoki.
Russo fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Aoki manages to avoid it.
Russo takes a swing at Aoki's ribcage but misses.
Russo looks to throw the jab but Aoki is out of range.
Russo misses with a wild body shot.
Aoki jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Aoki throws a looping overhand right but Russo ducks down to avoid it.
Russo will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Aoki feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Russo's calf.
A low kick from Russo misses
and Aoki counters with a leg kick.
Aoki takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Aoki scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Russo moves out of range of the body kick from Aoki.
Aoki tests Russo's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Russo swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Aoki misses with a hook.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Aoki has a takedown stuffed.
Russo lands a lovely overhand right.
Aoki misses with a straight right.
Aoki scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Aoki lands with a straight right. Russo didn't see that one coming.
Russo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Aoki moves out of range of the strikes.
Russo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Aoki.
Russo avoids the head kick by Aoki.
A combination from Russo does no damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Russo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Aoki circles away quickly and effectively.
Russo swinging wildly here.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Russo throws a right and a left that Aoki avoids nicely.
Aoki goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Aoki lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Russo lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Russo is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Aoki rather than just go for the knockout.

Aoki shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Russo is trying to defend but Aoki finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Aoki is looking for a kimura but Russo is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Aoki to get the leverage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Aoki is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Russo defends it well.
Russo is looking for a sweep. Aoki is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Russo is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Frankie Russo wasn't active enough on the ground.
Aoki is looking to score with low kicks.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aoki slips under a jab.
Russo walks forward, straight into a front kick from Aoki.
Russo throws a nice looking combination but Aoki bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Aoki thuds his shin into the meat of Russo's side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Frankie Russo will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Aoki showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Russo.
Aoki misses with a two punch combination.
Aoki is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.

Aoki fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Russo to the ground. Aoki is now in Russo's guard.
Russo tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Aoki will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Aoki pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Russo is keeping the position for now.

Aoki drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Russo dives on top into guard.
Russo landing with the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Aoki's head.
Aoki 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.

Aoki is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Russo is aware though and is defending well.
Russo scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Aoki throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Aoki looking for a sweep. Not yet Aoki, not yet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Russo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Russo throws a big elbow that misses.

Aoki looking for a guillotine here but Russo defends easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo trying to control but Aoki is working from the bottom.
Russo must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Aoki utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Aoki has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Russo should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Aoki has tightened it up now! Russo should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:45 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Shinya Aoki!
Shinya Aoki really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Hopkins Athletics logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.