PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Masakazu Aoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aoki's entrance music is Sandstorm by Darude. A fine choice. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Aoki
vs
Nelson

155 cm
39
147 lbs
32 - 19 - 1

150 cm
31
148 lbs
28 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 32 - 19 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Masakazu Aoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jake Nelson!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Seu Braga and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aoki with a jab.
Nelson on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Aoki scores with the left hand. Nelson knows he should have avoided that one.
Aoki thows a left - swing and a miss!

Aoki throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Nelson tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Aoki is in Nelson's guard.
Nelson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Aoki won't allow Nelson to sweep him here.
Aoki advances to half guard.
Aoki is keen to just control but Nelson is a slippery customer.
Nelson preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nelson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Aoki.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aoki passes the guard and advances to mount!
Nelson is squirming around, avoiding Aoki's attempts to control the action.
Nelson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Aoki looking to control and managing it successfully.
Aoki thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Nelson is not content to let Aoki control the position.
Aoki not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Nelson tries to get to full guard but Aoki has control of the leg.
Aoki tries to pass to full mount but Nelson defends it.
Nelson is trying to get back to full guard.
Nelson is doing well to control the position and prevent Aoki from advancing to side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson is trying to get back to full guard.
Ground and pound from Aoki.

Aoki is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Aoki wants to control but Nelson is keeping him busy.
Aoki stalling away here and it's allowed Nelson to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Nelson pulls Aoki in close to his closed guard and prevents Aoki from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aoki wants to control from the top but Nelson keeps moving.
Nelson working a defensive guard but Aoki manages to pass into side control anyway.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Aoki wants to control but Nelson is keeping him busy.

Aoki thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Masakazu Aoki dominated that round.
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.

Aoki decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Nelson trying to hold on to Aoki's head to control him but Aoki postures up.
Aoki working over Nelson with some ground and pound. Nelson looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Aoki slows the pace down in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nelson regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Aoki.
Aoki postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Masakazu Aoki overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Aoki connects with a couple of short punches.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson pulls Aoki in close to his closed guard and prevents Aoki from doing any damage or advancing position.
Aoki trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nelson keeping moving, preventing Aoki from controlling successfully.
Nelson trying to keep a closed guard but Aoki is proving a slippery customer.
Nelson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Nelson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aoki wants to control from the top but Nelson keeps moving.
Nelson wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
We've been hearing good reports from Aoki's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

Jake Nelson has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Aoki scores with a jab to the jaw.
The fighters circling - Aoki throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nelson misses with a body kick.
Nelson staying out of range there.
Nelson shoots for a takedown but Aoki saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Aoki tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Nelson is able to avoid easily.
An inside leg kick from Aoki misses.
Nelson throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Aoki counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Aoki lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nelson shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Aoki pinned against the cage. Aoki gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Masakazu Aoki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Aoki takes one to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Nelson misses with an uppercut.
Nelson throws a low kick but it's checked well by Aoki.
Nelson on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Nelson closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Aoki tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nelson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Aoki misses with a takedown attempt - Nelson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Nelson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nelson throws out a leg kick but Aoki moves out of range and Nelson only half commits.
Aoki dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nelson misses with a low kick as Aoki jumps back.
Aoki missing with a left hand there. Nelson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Aoki fails to land with a series of punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Good work by Aoki as he checks the leg kick.
Nelson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Aoki moves away.
Nelson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice takedown defense from Nelson. No joy for Aoki on that attempt.
Aoki scores with the left hand. Nelson knows he should have avoided that one.
Nelson throws a quick inside leg kick.
A jab from Aoki misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nelson misses the shot to the body.
Aoki throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Aoki looks to score with a jab to the body but Nelson is just out of range.
Nelson moves away from the strike by Aoki.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aoki fails in his attempt to clinch.
Aoki ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

Aoki closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Nelson quickly recovers to half guard.
Nelson wants to improve his position but Aoki is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Masakazu Aoki dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Aoki's corner calls for a 1-2. Aoki obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

Aoki drives through with a takedown into Nelson's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Aoki trying to control the position from guard on top but Nelson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aoki is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Nelson is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Nelson pulls Aoki in close to his closed guard and prevents Aoki from doing any damage or advancing position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Nelson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aoki scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nelson wants to sweep here but Aoki controlling him for the moment.
Aoki engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Aoki is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Aoki drops back, looking for a kneebar! Nelson looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Nelson looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Nelson!
Nelson scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Aoki's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Nelson trying to control the action but Aoki is working from the bottom.
Aoki gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Masakazu Aoki is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nelson wants to control but Aoki is keeping him busy.
Nelson looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Nelson misses with a head shot. Aoki uses the momentum to regain guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Aoki escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Nelson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aoki has his hands on Nelson's head, controlling the position.
Nelson is in close to Aoki's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nelson engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Aoki looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nelson is one step ahead there.
Nelson throws an elbow that misses. Aoki uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Nelson's guard. Nice move by Aoki!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aoki controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Aoki keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Nelson's head.
Aoki wants to control from the top but Nelson keeps moving.
Jake Nelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nelson wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Aoki controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Masakazu Aoki showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Aoki 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Masakazu Aoki!
An out of breath Masakazu Aoki thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.