PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Asahi Nozara (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Beling (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nozara comes to the ring accompanied by Shing02 - Japonica. Beling has chosen Sir Dandy - "Juara Dunia" as his entrance music. Alex Beling has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Asahi Nozara's chin.

Nozara
vs
Beling

205 cm
27
280 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

188 cm
23
263 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Asahi Nozara!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Alex Beling!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Tiny Johnson and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nozara tries a head kick but it misses.
Beling lands a head kick!
Nozara throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Nozara darts in looking for a takedown but Beling gets double underhooks and turns Nozara into the ropes.
Beling uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nozara.
Beling fails to land the takedown.

Nozara fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Beling, pushing him back against the ropes.
Beling wants to break free but Nozara has control.

Nozara's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nozara misses with a low kick.
Beling throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Beling scores with a decent looking hook.
Nozara lands a nice looking body shot.
Nozara works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nozara lands with a good body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nozara shoots in for a double leg but Beling sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nozara pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Beling fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Nozara cracks Beling with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nozara fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Asahi Nozara. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nozara closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Beling has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Nozara fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nozara shoots for a takedown but Beling saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nozara fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Nozara misses.
Beling is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Nozara ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Beling moves away.
Beling leaves Nozara with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Nozara thuds his right hand into Beling's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nozara shoots in but no luck this time.
Nozara avoids the head kick by Beling.
Beling tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Beling tries to close the distance and clinch up but Nozara swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nozara was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Beling throws a left and a right that both miss
and Nozara counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A low kick from Nozara misses
and Beling counters with a body kick.
Nozara scores with a jab to the body.
Beling looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nozara thuds a left hand into Beling's body.
Sloppy strikes from Beling. Those never looked like landing.
Beling throws a lazy body kick
and Nozara counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Nozara moves into the clinch successfully.
I was talking to Nozara's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

Nozara breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Nozara throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Beling tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Nozara is in Beling's guard.
Nozara with a nice head shot there.
Nozara wants to control from the top but Beling keeps moving.
Nozara is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Beling is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Nozara throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Nozara scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Beling is looking to stand back up but Nozara counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Beling.
Beling taking some punishment here, with Nozara in his half guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nozara is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Nozara seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nozara tries to pass to full mount but Beling defends it.
Beling really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nozara. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nozara is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nozara missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Nozara thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Nozara looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Asahi Nozara dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Beling avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Beling wants to clinch.
Nozara is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Beling.
Nozara uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Nozara shoots in looking for a takedown. Beling tries to sprawl out of it but Nozara keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Beling manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Nozara shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Beling manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nozara trying to control the position from guard on top but Beling is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Beling is looking to sweep but instead, Nozara has passed into half guard.
Ground and pound from Nozara.
Beling taking some punishment here, with Nozara in his half guard.
Beling is staying active underneath Nozara, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Nozara sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Beling defending well though.
Nozara trying to control from half guard but Beling is working away.
Nozara has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Beling has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nozara is working away from the top position though.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Nozara working the head and body with strikes.
Beling tries to get to full guard but Nozara has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nozara is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Nozara is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Beling can do to turn this around?
Nozara is looking to take a break and control but Beling is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nozara lands a nice short elbow.
Nozara lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Beling keeping hold of Nozara's head, controlling as best he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nozara is nestled in close to Beling, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Nozara drops an elbow to the side of Beling's head.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nozara lands a nice short elbow.
Nozara winds up and cracks Beling with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Beling is refusing to be controlled, as Nozara sits in half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nozara lands a nice short elbow.
Well, if Nozara 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.
Nozara throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nozara working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Nozara sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Beling defending well though.
Nozara is looking to take a break and control but Beling is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Nozara working over Beling with some ground and pound. Beling looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Beling wants to control but Nozara is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Nozara working Beling over with strikes.
Asahi Nozara overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Beling is trying to control but can't.
Nozara will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Nozara scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Beling trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Asahi Nozara dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Beling displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Nozara.
Beling pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.

Nozara has taken the fight to the clinch.
Beling has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Nozara is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Nozara breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Beling gets caught flat footed, as Nozara shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Nozara landing some decent shots from guard.
Nozara trying to control the position from guard on top but Beling is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nozara working some strikes from top position.
Nozara postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Nozara is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nozara landing with the ground and pound.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Beling can do anything to dispel that myth.
Nozara with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Nozara thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Nozara is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Nozara loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Beling keeping moving, preventing Nozara from controlling successfully.
Nozara postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Beling looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nozara is one step ahead there.
Nozara scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nozara distracts Beling with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Beling working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Nozara.
Nozara is in close to Beling's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nozara keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Beling's head.
Beling keeping moving, preventing Nozara from controlling successfully.
Nozara postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Beling pushes Nozara off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Nozara is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Beling takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Nozara tries to clinch up.
Beling takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Nozara changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Beling looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Nozara landing a few strikes.
Nozara advances to mount.
Nozara with the ground and pound from mount.
Nozara with good strikes from the mount here!

Beling is rocked!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Beling takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! Nozara's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Asahi Nozara!
An out of breath Asahi Nozara thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.