PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Franco Gomez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Takeshi Kurosawa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gomez kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Bad Motherfucker. Kurosawa has chosen One Mic as his entrance music. Takeshi Kurosawa will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Gomez
vs
Kurosawa

172 cm
29
200 lbs
15 - 24 - 0

192 cm
21
195 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent elbows
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 24 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Franco Gomez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Takeshi Kurosawa!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Leandro Rodrigues and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kurosawa scores with a leg kick.
Takeshi Kurosawa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick misses from Kurosawa.
Gomez moves out of range of the body kick from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Kurosawa misses with a body kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.

Gomez shoots in and gets a takedown into Kurosawa's guard.
Gomez is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurosawa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Gomez controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Kurosawa managing to control the position.
Gomez tries to free his leg and advance position but Kurosawa is retaining full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gomez advances to half guard.
Kurosawa trying to hold on to Gomez's head to control him but Gomez postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Gomez content to control rather than advance.
Gomez's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Gomez is thwarting Kurosawa's attempts to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Gomez drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Gomez pushes down on Kurosawa's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez prevents Kurosawa from improving his position.
Gomez performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Kurosawa pushes Gomez off looking to stand but Gomez dives back in and keeps control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kurosawa wants to control but Gomez is keeping busy.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Gomez in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Kurosawa is trying to stand back up but Gomez is controlling him
Gomez controlling the action here.
Further stalling from Gomez.
Kurosawa is trying to stand.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kurosawa misses with a kick to the body.
Kurosawa misses with a head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Gomez dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kurosawa thumps Gomez with a low kick.
Gomez tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kurosawa swivels and escapes.
Gomez avoids a kick to the body.
Gomez is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Kurosawa fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Gomez is out of range.
Kurosawa does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Gomez moves out of range of the body kick.
Kurosawa misses with a body kick.
Gomez steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Kurosawa. That one must have hurt.
Kurosawa keeps Gomez at a distance using the push kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurosawa connects with a leg kick. Gomez looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Gomez looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kurosawa is fending him off so far but Gomez persists. Nope, Kurosawa circles away and we're back to standing.
Kurosawa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Gomez shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Kurosawa as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Franco Gomez. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurosawa lands a nice hook to Gomez's body. Gomez takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

Gomez shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Kurosawa manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Gomez controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Gomez wants to control from the top but Kurosawa keeps moving.
Gomez engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Kurosawa seems keen to control Gomez's posture.
Franco Gomez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gomez controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gomez seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Kurosawa for as long as he can get away with.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Kurosawa is trying to keep Gomez in close.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kurosawa scoring well with a low kick there.
Kurosawa throws the kick towards the body but Gomez avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurosawa connects with a high kick.
Takeshi Kurosawa seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Gomez dives in and grabs Kurosawa's left leg, looking for a takedown. Kurosawa pushes down on Gomez's head and hops out.

Gomez closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Kurosawa did well to prevent Gomez getting side control.
Kurosawa has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gomez is working away from the top position though.
Kurosawa moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Kurosawa can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Gomez controls the pace.
Kurosawa controls Gomez momentarily but Gomez frees himself.
Gomez controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kurosawa controls Gomez momentarily but Gomez frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gomez showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kurosawa pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kurosawa tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gomez avoids the head kick by Kurosawa.
Kurosawa lands a nice looking body kick.
Kurosawa misses with a body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Kurosawa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

A solid body kick from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Kurosawa.
Kurosawa misses with a low kick.

Gomez gets a takedown into half guard.
Kurosawa wants to control but Gomez is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Gomez looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurosawa trying to control from the bottom.
Well, if Gomez is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gomez is thwarting Kurosawa's attempts to control the position.
Gomez is controlling the pace.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Gomez shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kurosawa pinned against the cage. Kurosawa gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Gomez avoids the head kick by Kurosawa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kurosawa. Gomez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kurosawa misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kurosawa pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Franco Gomez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kurosawa throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

Kurosawa gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Gomez controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kurosawa is adopting a defensive guard.
Gomez is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kurosawa misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Kurosawa misses with a low kick.

Gomez closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Kurosawa's guard.
Kurosawa is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Gomez not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Gomez is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kurosawa controls Gomez momentarily but Gomez frees himself.
Kurosawa keeping full guard, as Gomez tries to pass.

And that's the end of the fight!
Franco Gomez showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gomez has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Franco Gomez!
During a confident post fight interview, Franco Gomez thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.