PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Legionarivs Sakara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keiji Numa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Sakara might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to The Rise of Sakara. Numa has chosen You're Going Down as his entrance music. Legionarivs Sakara could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Keiji Numa's chin.

Sakara
vs
Numa

185 cm
28
197 lbs
16 - 8 - 1

169 cm
34
188 lbs
17 - 26 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Legionarivs Sakara!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 26 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Keiji Numa!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Steve Erwin and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Numa misses with a few strikes there.
Sakara misses with a series of wild punches.
Numa lands a nice looking body kick.
Numa defending well as Sakara loads up on a big left hand.
Sakara works Numa's body with a nice hook.
Numa throws a front kick that sends Sakara stumbling back into the ropes.
A jab from Sakara misses.
Sakara fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
A punch combination from Sakara misses.
Sakara misses the body punch
and Numa counters with a thumping low kick.
Numa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sakara as he avoids it easily.
A combination from Sakara does no damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakara throws a right and a left that both miss.
Legionarivs Sakara seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sakara misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Numa counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Numa is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Numa trying to control from half guard but Sakara is working away.
We've been hearing good reports from Sakara'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.
Numa is thwarting Sakara's attempts to control the position.

Numa is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Numa is looking to advance position but Sakara won't allow it.
Sakara is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sakara is trying to maintain the position but Numa is very close to passing his half guard.

Sakara is defending against the submission attempts here by Numa.
Sakara manages to get to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Numa has gone for a leg lock! Sakara slips out almost immediately though and dives into Numa's guard.
Sakara tries to free his leg and advance position but Numa is retaining full guard.
Sakara throws a big elbow that misses.
Numa manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Numa is trying to take his opponent's back.

Numa jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Sakara is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Sakara and Numa has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Numa goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Sakara has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Numa but great work by Sakara.
Numa is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Sakara off and has taken his back!

Numa has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Numa is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Sakara knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Sakara for a finish.

Sakara is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
I really don't envy Sakara right now.

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Sakara is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Numa gets his way!
Sakara wants to control his opponent's hands but Numa gets his hands free.

Numa is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Sakara trying to control the hands but Numa breaks the grip.

Sakara is in a bad position with Numa working for a choke. Sakara manages to spin nicely into guard and the danger is over for the moment.
Sakara trying to control the position from guard on top but Numa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Sakara will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Numa working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sakara doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Oh but Numa is tightening it up a little... Sakara has to be careful here... He's got his foot tucked under now, this looks tight! Sakara reacted too slowly and this one could be over in a matter of seconds! YES! Sakara taps out! Nice BJJ there by Numa!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 6:33 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Keiji Numa!
A relieved looking Keiji Numa thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.