PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Azinho Solomon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bo Taka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bo Taka has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Solomon
vs
Taka

177 cm
25
199 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

187 cm
25
189 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Vikai Gear Island

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Azinho Solomon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Bo Taka!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, Michael Johnstone and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taka misses with a series of wild punches.
Taka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Solomon drops down looking for a counter takedown but Taka sprawls and moves away.
Taka chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Taka throws out a loose jab but Solomon uses good head movement to avoid it.

Solomon darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Solomon performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Taka felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Solomon 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Solomon seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Taka is looking to escape.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Solomon in particular looking to stall.
Solomon working Taka over with strikes.
Solomon throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Solomon is nestled in close to Taka, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Taka tries to kick Solomon off but Solomon keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Solomon missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Solomon lands strikes from half guard.
Taka really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Solomon. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Solomon throws a strike but Taka avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Solomon throws a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Solomon slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Taka utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taka is looking to stand up but Solomon isn't so interested in that idea.
Solomon is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Taka throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Solomon counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Solomon.
Taka being controlled here, momentarily.
Solomon working some strikes from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Solomon scoring with punches to the head and body.
Solomon content to stall in guard here.
Solomon is working Taka over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's four 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.
Solomon is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Taka can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Solomon controls the pace.
Solomon landing some decent shots from guard.
Taka working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Solomon.
Solomon controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Solomon landing some decent shots from guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Azinho Solomon 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.

Solomon slips under a jab.
Nice shot lands for Taka.

It looks like Azinho Solomon has been cut.
Taka blocks a jab.
Taka tries a head kick but it misses.
Taka throws a series of punches but Solomon avoids them all with ease.
Solomon tries to counter with a takedown but Taka is quick to defend against it.
Taka fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Solomon on the side of the head.
Solomon bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Solomon feints and as Taka raises his hands in defense, Solomon changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Azinho Solomon overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Solomon accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Solomon works over Taka with some ground and pound from guard.
Solomon is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Taka utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Solomon seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Solomon connects with a couple of short punches.
Solomon postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Solomon distracts Taka with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Solomon is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Solomon showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Solomon working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Solomon scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taka wants to get back to his feet but Solomon passes into half guard.
Taka tries to kick Solomon off but Solomon keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Solomon winds up and cracks Taka with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Taka on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Solomon stops Taka from getting back to his feet.
Solomon content to control rather than advance.
Solomon lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Solomon.
Solomon looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Solomon drops an elbow to the side of Taka's head.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Solomon working Taka over with strikes.
Solomon scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Solomon is taking a breather. Taka says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Solomon 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.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Solomon connects with a nice short shot to Taka's temple.
Solomon keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Solomon thows a huge punch but Taka dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taka pushes Solomon off looking to stand but Solomon dives back in and keeps control.
Solomon takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Solomon looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Taka with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Taka blocking the ground and pound attempt from Solomon.
Taka looks like he's trying to stand up.
Solomon with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Solomon looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Taka with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Azinho Solomon dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Azinho Solomon's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Solomon looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Taka!
Solomon scores with a couple of short elbows.
Solomon is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Taka can do to turn this around?
Solomon in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Solomon scoring with punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Solomon lands some shots froms side control.
Solomon scoring with punches from side control.
Solomon prevents Taka from escaping the position.
Solomon is chipping away with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Check out the look on Solomon's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Taka is working to avoid the ground and pound but Solomon connects with a decent elbow.
Solomon landing a few strikes.
Taka on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Solomon lands an elbow.
Solomon works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Check out the look on Solomon's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Solomon lands a nice forearm strike.
Solomon controls the position.
Solomon working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Solomon is working Taka over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taka takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Solomon scoring with punches from side control.
Solomon lands a few punches from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Solomon lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Taka down.

Taka is rocked!
A big shot lands for Solomon! That's hurt Taka! Will he recover? Solomon fires away with more strikes and the referee has to step in to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Azinho Solomon!