PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tony Jaa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Derek Safo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jaa comes to the cage accompanied by Anna Molly by Incubus. The crowd seem to be enjoying Safo's choice of entrance music: Up Your Speed by Sway DaSafo. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Jaa
vs
Safo

172 cm
30
183 lbs
21 - 23 - 0

186 cm
31
179 lbs
22 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 23 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Tony Jaa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Derek Safo!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Robert Douchet and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Decent striking displayed by Safo there.
Safo punishes Jaa's body with a nice straight punch.
Jaa throws a head kick but Safo moves out of range.
Safo scores with a punch to the head.
Safo connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Jaa momentarily.
Safo attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Safo jabs at Jaa's body.
Jaa ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Jaa misses with a head kick.
Safo is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Jaa throws a solid leg kick but Safo takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Jaa.
Safo takes a swing at Jaa's ribcage but misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Safo misses the jab.
Jaa tries to land a front kick but Safo steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Safo moves out of range of the body kick from Jaa.
Jaa lands a nice leg kick that just misses Safo's sensitive parts.
Tony Jaa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jaa keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A head kick misses from Jaa.
Jaa keeps Safo at a distance using the push kick.
Jaa misses with a body kick.

Safo tries to keep at a distance but Jaa has taken the fight into the clinch.
Safo struggles to land a body shot inside as Jaa controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jaa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Safo lands a left hand.
Safo misses with the head strike.
Jaa lands an elbow that stopped Safo in his tracks for a moment.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Jaa blocks an elbow strike from Safo.
Safo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Jaa blocking some punches.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Safo.
Safo goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Safo working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Safo is trying to maintain a safe position but Jaa gets an underhook and turns Safo into the cage.
Safo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Jaa blocks a body shot from Safo.
Safo blocks a body shot from Jaa.
Safo scores with a shot to the side of Jaa's head.
Jaa looking to throw knees to the head but Safo is blocking nicely.
Jaa misses with a knee strike.
Safo misses with some punches.
Jaa lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Jaa just misses with a elbow thrown towards Safo's brow.
Jaa misses with a hook to the ribs.
Safo wants to stall.
Safo lands with a short punch from the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Jaa looking to throw knees to the head but Safo is blocking nicely.
Safo misses with some punches.
Safo blocks the elbow strike.
Safo throws a head punch that misses.
Nice body punch from Safo - that landed with a thud.
Jaa pushes off an throws an elbow but Safo leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Safo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Jaa lands a good knee to the midsection. Safo won't want to take too many of those.
Jaa tries to throw a body punch but Safo avoids it by throwing Jaa back against the cage.
Knees to the body from Jaa.
Jaa blocks a body shot from Safo.
A short uppercut from Safo.
A right hand to the body from Safo.
Safo throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Jaas head.
A head punch on the inside from Safo fails to land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Safo lands a left hand.
Still in the clinch, Safo scores with a nice short uppercut.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Safo creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Safo lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Safo looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaa lands an elbow inside.
Safo struggles to land a body shot inside as Jaa controls his hands.
Jaa lands a right hand that snaps the head of Safo backwards.
Jaa blocks an uppercut.
Safo lands with a light punch inside.
Safo misses with a punch to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Safo.
Jaa blocks an uppercut.
Safo throws a knee to the head but misses.
Safo working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice elbow from Jaa.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Safo.
Safo lands a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Safo lands with a right to the head.
Jaa misses with a knee to the head.
Safo missing with knees to the body.
Safo tries to work over Jaa's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Safo blocks an uppercut.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Safo pushes Jaa back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Jaa.
Jaa lands an elbow inside.
Nice body punch from Jaa - that landed with a thud.
Jaa lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Safo tries to throw a body punch but Jaa avoids it by throwing Safo back against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Safo.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Safo tries to throw a body punch but Jaa avoids it by throwing Safo back against the cage.
Jaa throws an elbow but it's blocked.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Jaa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Safo.
A short left from Jaa.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Safo managing to block the knees to the body from Jaa.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Derek Safo dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Jaa misses with a body kick.
Safo throws a low kick but Jaa moves out of range easily.
Jaa misses with a head kick.
Safo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Jaa throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Safo counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Safo takes a swing at Jaa's ribcage but misses.
Jaa throws a body kick that misses.

Safo moves into the clinch.
Jaa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Safo is defending well for now.
Safo lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Jaa blocks a punch to the side of the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Jaa just misses with a elbow thrown towards Safo's brow.
Safo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Safo digs a right hand into Jaa's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Jaa's gas tank.
Nice body punch from Safo.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Jaa misses with a knee to the head.
A short uppercut from Safo.
Safo is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jaa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Jaa misses with an elbow strike.
Safo misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jaa.
A short right from Safo.
A short uppercut from Safo.
Jaa pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Safo on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Safo avoids a wild elbow strike from Jaa.
Jaa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Safo works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Jaa tries to throw a body punch but Safo avoids it by throwing Jaa back against the cage.
Jaa misses with a punch to the body.
Derek Safo seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A short uppercut from Safo.
Safo lands with a right to the head.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Safo lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Safo lands an uppercut.
Safo lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Jaa backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Safo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Safo gets through Jaa's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Jaa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Safo has a couple of punches blocked by Jaa.
Jaa gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Safo lands with a right to the head.
Jaa throws a knee to the head but misses.
Safo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Safo lands a knee to the head.
Safo lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Jaa backwards.
Safo avoids a wild elbow strike from Jaa.
Safo scores with a hook to the body.
Safo lands with a left to the head.
Safo has Jaa pushed against the cage.
Safo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A short right from Jaa on the inside.
Safo tries to throw a body punch but Jaa avoids it by throwing Safo back against the cage.
A short right from Safo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Safo on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Jaa tries to land a knee to the head but Safo blocks with his arms.
Jaa misses with an elbow strike.
Jaa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Safo tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Jaa lands a nice elbow.
Safo working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Safo blocks an elbow strike from Jaa.
Jaa misses with an elbow over the top.
Jaa throws a head punch that misses.
Safo avoiding damage as Jaa throws knees to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Safo.
Jaa throws an elbow but it misses.
Jaa misses with a punch to the body.
Safo looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Safo.
Safo digs a right hand underneath Jaa's ribcage. Jaa let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Jaa blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jaa missing with knees to the body.
Safo scores with a shot to the side of Jaa's head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Safo avoiding damage as Jaa throws knees to the body.
Safo tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Jaa's elbow.
Jaa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Safo lands an elbow that stopped Jaa in his tracks for a moment.
Safo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Safo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Safo lands a right hand.
Safo scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Safo lands a body punch in the clinch.
Safo lands a shoulder strike.
Safo softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Safo.
Safo is leaning against Jaa and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Safo working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Safo lands a nice uppercut.
Jaa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Jaa prevents a body shot from Safo.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Derek Safo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Safo throws a nice looking combination but Jaa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Safo's jab looks to have found its range, popping Jaa under the eye.
Safo throws a nice looking combination but Jaa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Jaa is looking to clinch but Safo is avoiding it.
Jaa attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Derek Safo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Safo takes a swing at Jaa's ribcage but misses.
Safo throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Jaa chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Safo misses the jab.
A shot to the liver by Safo. Beautiful body shot.
Jaa keeps the fight on the outside.
Safo moves in looking to clinch but Jaa pushes him off.
A head kick by Jaa misses
and Safo counters with a low kick, right behind Jaa 's knee.
Safo fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Jaa manages to avoid it.
Safo rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Jaa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Jaa misses with a low kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Jaa. That's going to slow Safo down.
Safo misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Safo throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Safo blocks a head kick by Jaa.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Jaa misses with a low kick as Safo jumps back.
Jaa connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Jaa misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Safo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Safo throws out a leg kick but Jaa moves out of range and Safo only half commits.
Jaa throws a wild body kick that Safo sees coming a mile off.
Safo bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Derek Safo seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A bone on bone clash there as Safo blocks the leg kick.
Safo has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Safo takes a swing at Jaa's ribcage but misses.
Jaa tries a head kick but it misses.
Safo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Jaa throws a low kick, looking for Safo's leg but Safo calmly moves out of range.
Jaa moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Safo waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Jaa.
Safo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Jaa was well out of range. Poor timing from Safo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Safo.

Safo has closed the distance and engaged Jaa in a clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Jaa obliges.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Safo blocks an elbow strike from Jaa.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Safo.
Safo blocks an elbow strike from Jaa.
Jaa lands an elbow inside that Safo shrugs off.
Safo on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tony Jaa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jaa missing with knees to the body.
Safo blocks an elbow strike from Jaa.
Safo lands a hook to the side of the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Safo.
Jaa unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Jaa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Safo is defending well for now.
Jaa trying to land knees to the body.
Safo prevents a body shot from Jaa.
Jaa misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Safo - that landed with a thud.
Still in the clinch, Safo scores with a nice short uppercut.
Safo pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Safo avoiding damage as Jaa throws knees to the body.
Safo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Safo looking to slow down the pace here.
A right hook to the body lands for Safo.
Jaa lands an elbow just above Safo 's eye.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Safo.
Jaa looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Jaa.
With the fighters up against the cage, Jaa throws an elbow but misses.
A head punch on the inside from Jaa fails to land.
Safo lands a nice uppercut.
Safo fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Jaa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Safo is defending well for now.
Safo lands a nice uppercut.
A shot in the inside from Safo.
Derek Safo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Safo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Jaa blocks an uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Safo.
Jaa throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Safo is working Jaa over against the cage.
Jaa misses with a hook from the clinch.
Jaa tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Safo lands a right hand that snaps the head of Jaa backwards.
Safo can't find room to land a body shot as Jaa controls the action.
Jaa throws an elbow but it misses.
Safo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Safo scores with a nice hook to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Safo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Safo avoids the elbow strike from Jaa, against the cage.
Jaa pushes off an throws an elbow but Safo leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Safo.

And that's the end of the fight!
Derek Safo comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Safo 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Derek Safo!
Derek Safo tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.