PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hakeem Berzevaco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and German Shephard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Berzevaco comes into the arena with Kaksi vanhaa hinttaria blaring out of the sound system. The crowd seem to be enjoying Shephard's choice of entrance music: K9 Justice. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Berzevaco
vs
Shephard

178 cm
39
180 lbs
29 - 22 - 0

180 cm
29
182 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 29 - 22 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Hakeem Berzevaco!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, German Shephard!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Ryoma Takatsuka and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Berzevaco looks to score with a jab to the body but Shephard is just out of range.
Berzevaco backing away here, and Shephard unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Berzevaco with a jab.
Berzevaco just misses with a punch to the body.
Shephard feints and then cracks Berzevaco's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Berzevaco down.
Berzevaco swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Shephard.
Shephard uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Berzevaco.
Shephard fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Berzevaco tries a head kick but it misses.
Berzevaco tries to score with a low kick but Shephard moves his leg out of the way.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shephard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Berzevaco moves away.
Berzevaco has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Hilo Training Center in the buildup to the fight.
Shephard moves out of range of the body kick from Berzevaco.
Berzevaco pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Berzevaco plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick by Shephard misses
and Berzevaco counters with a straight right hand.
Berzevaco throws a head kick but Shephard moves out of range.
Shephard 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.
Berzevaco fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Shephard has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Berzevaco throws a poor cross that misses
and Shephard counters with a straight right hand.
Berzevaco throws a hook to the side of Shephard's head but Shephard sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Berzevaco misses with a combination
and Shephard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Shephard finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Berzevaco lands a jab to the nose.
Berzevaco misses with a shot to the body
and Shephard counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Shephard lands with a cross.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shephard misses with a kick to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Berzevaco misses with a left hand
and Shephard counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Berzevaco just misses with a punch to the body.
Berzevaco moves out of range of the leg kick from Shephard.
Shephard connects with a body shot that sends Berzevaco's belly button to the back.
Shephard misses with a low kick.
Berzevaco scores with the left hand. Shephard knows he should have avoided that one.
Berzevaco swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Shephard takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Berzevaco avoids a punch combination nicely.
Berzevaco jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Berzevaco takes a swing at Shephard's ribcage but misses.
Shephard fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Berzevaco manages to avoid it.
Berzevaco is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Berzevaco throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A shot to the body from Shephard misses
and Berzevaco counters with a straight right hand.
Berzevaco keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
An attempted straight right counter from Berzevaco misses the target.
Berzevaco takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Berzevaco cracks Shephard with an open hand slap.
Berzevaco lands an overhand right.
Shephard avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Berzevaco scores with a spinning back kick!
Berzevaco is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Shephard misses with a body shot
and Berzevaco counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Berzevaco goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Good shot there by Shephard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Berzevaco misses the shot to the body.
Shephard appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Shephard throws a lazy right hand but Berzevaco sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Berzevaco throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Shephard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
An inside leg kick lands from Shephard.
Berzevaco jabs Shephard to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Shephard keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Shephard punishes Berzevaco's body with a nice straight punch.
Shephard bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Berzevaco - that will leave a mark!
Berzevaco looks to land a left hand but Shephard moved out of range nicely.
Shephard lands a nice looking kick to the body. Berzevaco takes a step back to recover.
Shephard throws a wild body kick that Berzevaco sees coming a mile off.
It appears Berzevaco was looking to counter with a kick there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Hakeem Berzevaco will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nice shot lands for Berzevaco.
Shephard pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shephard throws a right hand that misses
and Berzevaco counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Berzevaco checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Shephard keeps Berzevaco at a distance using the push kick.
Shephard digs a good body shot into Berzevaco's ribs.
Shephard lands a body shot.
Berzevaco throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Shephard on the side of the head.
Shephard checks the leg kick nicely there.
Berzevaco misses with a body kick.
Shephard flicks out a counter leg kick but Berzevaco steps away.
A solid body kick from Berzevaco.
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!
Berzevaco checks the leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berzevaco takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Shephard takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Shephard takes a swing at Berzevaco's ribcage but misses.
Berzevaco lands a nice shot to the body.
Berzevaco throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Nice shot by Berzevaco.
Shephard connects with an inside leg kick.
Shephard's coach down at Black Hand Vegas was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Shephard's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Shephard misses with a looping left.
Berzevaco misses with a body shot.
Shephard looks for the body kick but Berzevaco saw that one coming.
A decent looking cross lands there for Berzevaco.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shephard tries to land a leg kick but Berzevaco saw it coming and moves away.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shephard moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Shephard throws a solid leg kick but Berzevaco takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Shephard.
Berzevaco misses with a hook. Shephard ducked under it nicely.
Shephard throws out a counter right but Berzevaco avoids it with no problem.
Berzevaco keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Shephard lands a nice looking body shot.
Berzevaco has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Shephard.
Shephard is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Berzevaco rather than just go for the knockout.
Berzevaco blocks a low kick nicely.
Berzevaco looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Berzevaco is looking to land body kicks.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Shephard! But no joy.
Berzevaco misses with a straight right.
Shephard misses with a kick to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shephard throws a looping overhand right but Berzevaco ducks down to avoid it.
A head kick by Berzevaco misses
and Shephard makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Berzevaco really felt that one!
Berzevaco lands with an uppercut that bounces Shephard off the cage and back into range.
Shephard misses with a leg kick.
Berzevaco cracks Shephard with a right hand to the side of the head.
Shephard misses with a looping right.
Shephard throws the kick towards the body but Berzevaco avoids it.
Shephard looks to land a left hand but Berzevaco moved out of range nicely.
A jab from Berzevaco misses.
Berzevaco lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Shephard at a distance.
Berzevaco takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berzevaco throws a front kick aimed at Shephard's knee but Shephard avoids it well.
Shephard lands a nice looking body kick.
Berzevaco throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hakeem Berzevaco is winning the standup battle so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shephard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Berzevaco throws a body punch but Shephard moves out of range.
Shephard jabs at Berzevaco's body.
Shephard tries to land a body kick
and Berzevaco counters with a stiff right hand.
Shephard misses with a right hand
and Berzevaco counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Berzevaco fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Shephard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Shephard takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Hakeem Berzevaco will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Berzevaco connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Berzevaco buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Shephard defending well as Berzevaco loads up on a big left hand.
Shephard scores with a nice body kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Berzevaco.
Berzevaco uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Shephard has time to react.
Shephard blocks a low kick nicely.
Berzevaco throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Berzevaco will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Berzevaco on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Berzevaco misses with a left hand
and Shephard counters with a slapping leg kick.
Berzevaco moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Berzevaco is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Shephard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
It looked like Berzevaco wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shephard avoids the head kick by Berzevaco.
Shephard throws a body punch but Berzevaco moves out of range.
Shephard avoids the head kick by Berzevaco.
Shephard throws a shot from downtown. Berzevaco moves away and avoids it.
Berzevaco swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Shephard chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Shephard throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Shephard fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Berzevaco manages to avoid it.
Shephard throws a hook but Berzevaco blocks it.
Berzevaco takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Shephard misses with a lunging right hand
and Berzevaco counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Berzevaco.
Berzevaco tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Shephard was well out of range. Poor timing from Berzevaco.
Shephard counters with a body kick.
Berzevaco throws a good cross that connects.
Berzevaco closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Shephard throws a body shot but no joy.
Berzevaco misses with a right hand
and Shephard counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Shephard has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shephard shoots in and drives through. Berzevaco sprawls well.
A little feinted left hand from Berzevaco on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Berzevaco tries to land a front kick but Shephard steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Shephard throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Berzevaco lands a really nice looking cross but Shephard seems unphased.
Shephard tries to land a front kick but Berzevaco steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
German Shephard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shephard throws a leg kick that misses.
Shephard throws a body kick that misses.
Berzevaco throws a lazy right hand but Shephard sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Shephard fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Berzevaco is out of range.
Berzevaco lands a front kick.
Shephard misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Berzevaco.
Shephard jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Berzevaco dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Shephard misses with a jab to the body
and Berzevaco counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Berzevaco drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Berzevaco pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berzevaco swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Berzevaco on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Berzevaco lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Berzevaco with a jab.
Berzevaco checks a low kick from Shephard.
Berzevaco is looking to counter punch.
Decent striking displayed by Berzevaco there.
Berzevaco uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Shephard.
Berzevaco swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Shephard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Berzevaco lands a nice looking body shot.
A low kick from Shephard is predictable there
and Berzevaco counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Shephard is lucky that one didn't land flush.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hakeem Berzevaco showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Berzevaco 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 Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Hakeem Berzevaco!
Hakeem Berzevaco managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Cyclone Nutrition Company, into his post fight interview.