PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Akamu Kalani (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rasi Vrasi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kalani
vs
Vrasi

185 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
19
194 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Akamu Kalani!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rasi Vrasi!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Josh West and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vrasi lands a nice hook to Kalani's body. Kalani takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Kalani misses the jab.
Vrasi throws a leg kick which misses Kalani's front leg but catches the back leg as Kalani tries to avoid it.
Kalani ducks under a wild hook from Vrasi.
Kalani goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Kalani throws a leg kick that misses.
Vrasi throws a chopping leg kick but Kalani manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Vrasi throws a looping overhand right but Kalani ducks down to avoid it.
Vrasi on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Akamu Kalani seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kalani misses with a low kick.
A big right from Kalani misses.

Kalani gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Vrasi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kalani lands a body shot.
Vrasi working aggressively here.
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!
Kalani blocking some punches.
Kalani struggles to land a body shot inside as Vrasi controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kalani manages to break the clinch.
Kalani lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Kalani fails to land with a series of punches.
Kalani throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Vrasi sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Kalani has Vrasi up against the cage in a clinch.
Kalani wants to break free but Vrasi has control.
Vrasi prevents Kalani from breaking the clinch.
Vrasi throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Kalani blocks it with crossed arms.
Nice elbow from Kalani.
Vrasi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Kalani is defending well for now.
Vrasi blocks an elbow strike from Kalani.
Kalani tries to break the clinch but Vrasi is controlling the position.
Vrasi can't find room to land a body shot as Kalani controls the action.
Kalani takes a knee right on the jaw!
Vrasi misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kalani.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kalani managing to block the knees to the body from Vrasi.
Vrasi misses with an elbow strike.
Vrasi looking to throw knees to the head but Kalani is blocking nicely.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Kalani creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vrasi unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Vrasi unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Kalani is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Vrasi softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Vrasi with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kalani lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kalani stalling.
Vrasi has Kalani pressed against the cage, preventing Kalani from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Vrasi tries a knee to the head but Kalani blocks it.
Kalani lands with a light punch inside.
Vrasi trying to land knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kalani's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Kalani digs a right hand underneath Vrasi's ribcage. Vrasi let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Vrasi tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Vrasi misses with a knee strike.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Kalani lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Vrasi using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Vrasi pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Kalani's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Vrasi swings wildly with an uppercut but Kalani uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kalani misses with a short punch on the inside.
Kalani on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kalani looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Kalani is looking to control Vrasi's arms but Vrasi gets an underhook and turns him. Now Kalani has his back to the cage.

Kalani breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nice body punch from Kalani.
Vrasi thuds a left hand into Kalani's body.
Kalani fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Vrasi manages to avoid it.
Kalani moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromVrasi.
A right-left combo lands from Kalani.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kalani tries a low kick but Vrasi avoids it.
Vrasi steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Kalani.
Kalani is looking to clinch but Vrasi is avoiding it.
Vrasi dodges the punch combination from Kalani.
Vrasi lands a right hook to the body.
Vrasi 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.
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 Akamu Kalani will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Kalani throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Kalani lands a nice leg kick that just misses Vrasi's sensitive parts.
Kalani takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Vrasi connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Nice defenses there by Vrasi.
Akamu Kalani is winning the standup battle so far.
Vrasi throws out a loose jab but Kalani uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kalani scores with a jab to the head.
Vrasi slips a jab and a cross from Kalani.
Vrasi walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Kalani checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Kalani throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kalani ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kalani throws a nice looking combination but Vrasi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Kalani uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Vrasi.
Vrasi throws a shot from downtown. Kalani moves away and avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vrasi blocks a jab.
Vrasi tries to counter by closing the distance.
Kalani moves to clinch but Vrasi breaks away
and Vrasi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kalani throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Vrasi.
Kalani ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Vrasi moves away.
Kalani scores with a one two! Vrasi had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Vrasi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kalani swinging wildly here.
Kalani feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Vrasis jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Vrasi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kalani manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kalani misses with an uppercut.
Vrasi was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Vrasi drops his hands momentarily and Kalani takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kalani cracks Vrasi with an open hand slap.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A low kick from Kalani misses

and Vrasi counters by moving into the clinch.
Kalani works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Vrasi working aggressively here.
Vrasi tries a knee to the head but Kalani blocks it.
Vrasi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Kalani is trying to maintain a safe position but Vrasi gets an underhook and turns Kalani into the cage.
Our sources have told us that Kalani has been working on his elbows in the gym.
Vrasi throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Kalani blocks it with crossed arms.
Kalani has a couple of punches blocked by Vrasi.
Vrasi misses with a body punch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Vrasi throws an elbow but misses.
Kalani struggles to land a body shot inside as Vrasi controls his hands.
Vrasi misses with a hook to the ribs.
Vrasi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Kalani is defending well for now.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Kalani just misses with a elbow thrown towards Vrasi's brow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vrasi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kalani avoids it.
Vrasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kalani blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Vrasi creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Kalani's defenses.

It looks like Akamu Kalani has been cut.
Kalani's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
The referee calls for Kalani to work.
Kalani tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Vrasi's elbow.
Kalani lands a body punch.
Vrasi misses with a knee to the head.
Rasi Vrasi seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Kalani misses with a punch to the body.
Vrasi throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Vrasi throws a punch but it's blocked by Kalani.
Vrasi lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kalani backwards.
Kalani managing to block the knees to the body from Vrasi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kalani throws a head punch that misses.
Vrasi lands a knee to the body.
Kalani avoiding damage as Vrasi throws knees to the body.
Vrasi lands a damaging elbow.
Kalani wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kalani has Vrasi pushed against the cage.
Kalani tries to stall but Vrasi uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Kalani doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kalani avoiding damage as Vrasi throws knees to the body.
Vrasi pushes Kalani back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Kalani escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Vrasi swats away the attempt to clinch by Kalani.
Vrasi just misses with a punch to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Rasi Vrasi will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Akamu Kalani's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Kalani avoids the head kick by Vrasi.
Vrasi throws a head kick but Kalani moves out of range.
Kalani loads up on a big right hand but Vrasi slips the punch.
A clash of legs there as Vrasi blocks the low kick.
Vrasi checks a leg kick nicely.
A low kick from Kalani misses

and Vrasi counters by moving into the clinch.
Kalani tries a body shot but Vrasi blocks it.

Kalani pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kalani lands a nice shot to the body.
A swing and a miss from Vrasi.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kalani swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Vrasi.
Kalani throws a one two combo.
Vrasi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kalani manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vrasi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kalani swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Vrasi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Vrasi tries to close the distance and clinch but Kalani swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kalani misses with a wild combination.
Vrasi is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Kalani throws a body shot but no joy.
Vrasi throws a jab when Kalani was well out of range.
Kalani fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kalani misses with a body shot.
Vrasi swats away the attempt to clinch by Kalani.
Vrasi throws a head kick but Kalani moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kalani ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Vrasi moves out of range as Kalani strikes.
Kalani looks to land a combination but Vrasi avoids it well.
Kalani throws a hook to the side of Vrasi's head but Vrasi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Kalani throws a series of punches but Vrasi avoids them all with ease.
Vrasi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kalani manages to avoid it.
Vrasi throws a leg kick which misses Kalani's front leg but catches the back leg as Kalani tries to avoid it.
Kalani misses with a combination

and Vrasi moves into the clinch.
Vrasi with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kalani misses with an elbow over the top.
Vrasi presses Kalani against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Kalani managing to block the knees to the body from Vrasi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kalani pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kalani throws a chopping leg kick but Vrasi manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Vrasi checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Kalani is looking to clinch but Vrasi is avoiding it.
Vrasi throws a hook but Kalani avoids it easily.

Kalani closes the distance and clinches.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Vrasi just misses with a elbow thrown towards Kalani's brow.
Vrasi lands a nice knee to the body.
Vrasi creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Kalani's defenses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Vrasi throws an elbow but misses.
Kalani tries to throw a body punch but Vrasi avoids it by throwing Kalani back against the cage.
Kalani avoids a wild elbow strike from Vrasi.
Kalani lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Vrasi can't find room to land a body shot as Kalani controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Vrasi.
Vrasi lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Kalani or not.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Vrasi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Vrasi lands an elbow inside that Kalani shrugs off.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kalani avoiding damage as Vrasi throws knees to the body.
Vrasi misses with a punch to the body.
Vrasi misses with a knee strike.
Vrasi creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Kalani blocks the elbow strike.
Kalani dodges an elbow strike from Vrasi.
Vrasi creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Kalani's defenses.
Kalani is trying to push Vrasi away but Vrasi has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Vrasi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kalani looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Vrasi gets through Kalani's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rasi Vrasi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Vrasi has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 28:29
Judge Josh West scores the fight 28:29
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rasi Vrasi!