PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Zardu Hasselfrau (ranked 6663 p4p, 480 weight class) and CJ Sapphire (ranked 6364 p4p, 469 weight class). Hasselfrau comes into the arena with Guardians Inferno blaring out of the sound system. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Hasselfrau
vs
Sapphire

171 cm
18
152 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Zardu Hasselfrau!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, CJ Sapphire !
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sapphire closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Hasselfrau using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sapphire has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hasselfrau lands an elbow inside.
Sapphire is working for takedown but Hasselfrau is calmly controlling the position for now.
Hasselfrau with a knee to the head.
Hasselfrau using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sapphire has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hasselfrau lands a good knee to the midsection. Sapphire won't want to take too many of those.
Hasselfrau stops a takedown attempt from Sapphire .
Hasselfrau utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Hasselfrau prevents the takedown attempt.
Zardu Hasselfrau has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of CJ Sapphire .
Hasselfrau misses with a knee to the head.
Hasselfrau with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Sapphire gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Hasselfrau regains guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sapphire throws a big elbow that misses.
Sapphire missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sapphire looking to pass the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hasselfrau can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sapphire controls the pace.
Sapphire trying to control the position from guard on top but Hasselfrau is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
CJ Sapphire seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Sapphire pushes Hasselfrau up against the cage in a clinch.
Hasselfrau throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sapphire blocks it with crossed arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hasselfrau throws a knee to the head but misses.
Hasselfrau lands an elbow just above Sapphire 's eye.
Sapphire has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Hasselfrau after a bit of a struggle.
Hasselfrau tries a knee to the head but Sapphire blocks it.
Sapphire is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Hasselfrau is pressed up against the cage. Sapphire has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Hasselfrau down to the mat. Hasselfrau avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Hasselfrau gets caught flat footed, as Sapphire shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Hasselfrau keeping moving, preventing Sapphire from controlling successfully.
Sapphire throws a big right hand that misses.
Sapphire sitting in guard here, content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sapphire is looking to advance position but Hasselfrau has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

Hasselfrau avoids the attempt from Sapphire to control.
Hasselfrau tries to control but Sapphire wriggling away.
Sapphire is wriggling around trying to escape.
Hasselfrau landing punches.
Sapphire is working to get back to half guard.
Sapphire tries to hold on but Hasselfrau postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hasselfrau punishing his opponent with strikes.
Sapphire tries to hold on but Hasselfrau pushes him away.

Hasselfrau is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Sapphire to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Sapphire shrugs it off.
Sapphire reaches up and holds on to Hasselfrau to control the position.
Sapphire is looking to get to half guard.
Sapphire throwing hammer fists to the chest of Hasselfrau. What's that going to do exactly?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hasselfrau wants to control the pace but Sapphire is squirming around nicely.
Sapphire is bucking up trying to escape but Hasselfrau cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zardu Hasselfrau dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sapphire instigates a clinch.
Sapphire drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Hasselfrau gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Knees in the clinch landing for Hasselfrau.
Hasselfrau misses with a knee strike.
Sapphire takes a knee right on the jaw!
A nice glancing elbow lands by Hasselfrau.
Sapphire tries to pull guard but Hasselfrau holds him up against the cage and eventually Sapphire drops back down to his feet.
Sapphire goes for a takedown attempt but Hasselfrau pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Zardu Hasselfrau has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of CJ Sapphire .
Sapphire falls off balance throwing a combination

and Hasselfrau counters with a head kick that drops Sapphire !

Sapphire is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sapphire trying to control the position.
Sapphire doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sapphire looking for a guillotine here but Hasselfrau defends easily.
Hasselfrau trying to control the position from guard on top but Sapphire is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Hasselfrau avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Sapphire looking to control.
Sapphire is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Sapphire seems to be looking for submissions.

Sapphire is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sapphire is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Sapphire looking for a submission but Hasselfrau manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.

Hasselfrau has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Sapphire has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Sapphire tries to pull guard but Hasselfrau won't allow it.
Hasselfrau throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sapphire blocks it with crossed arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sapphire jumps guard but Hasselfrau stands there with Sapphire around his waist. Sapphire gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Hasselfrau lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Sapphire jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Hasselfrau walks away with a smile on his face. Sapphire gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Sapphire drives through with a takedown into Hasselfrau's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Sapphire drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Hasselfrau manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Sapphire has Hasselfrau in his guard.

Hasselfrau trying to control but Sapphire is working from the bottom.

Sapphire is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Hasselfrau trying to control the position from guard on top but Sapphire is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sapphire working a defensive guard here.
Hasselfrau trying to control the position from guard on top but Sapphire is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Sapphire has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hasselfrau can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sapphire avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sapphire has Hasselfrau pulled in close to control his posture.
Sapphire trying to control the position.
Sapphire seems keen to control Hasselfrau's posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zardu Hasselfrau dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Hasselfrau tries to clinch but Sapphire is having none of it.

Sapphire drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Sapphire trying to control but Hasselfrau is working from the bottom.
Sapphire looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Zardu Hasselfrau overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hasselfrau is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hasselfrau keeping moving, preventing Sapphire from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sapphire lands a couple of digs.
Sapphire wants to control from the top but Hasselfrau keeps moving.
Sapphire trying to move into half guard but instead Hasselfrau has managed to sweep!

Sapphire working for a triangle but Hasselfrau defends it easily.
Sapphire looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hasselfrau is one step ahead there.
Hasselfrau with a nice head shot there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hasselfrau got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sapphire has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Hasselfrau has managed to get both his arms back between Sapphire 's legs - danger averted.
Hasselfrau content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Hasselfrau is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Sapphire is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hasselfrau scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sapphire is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hasselfrau wants to control from the top but Sapphire keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sapphire throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Sapphire has Hasselfrau pulled in close to control his posture.

Sapphire looking for a guillotine here but Hasselfrau defends easily.
Hasselfrau throwing strikes but missing.
Sapphire keeping moving, preventing Hasselfrau from controlling successfully.
Sapphire really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hasselfrau. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Sapphire looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Zardu Hasselfrau is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Hasselfrau scoring with punches to the head and body.

Sapphire working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Hasselfrau doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Hasselfrau manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Hasselfrau wants to control from the top but Sapphire keeps moving.
CJ Sapphire has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Sapphire escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Hasselfrau gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Hasselfrau avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Sapphire is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Hasselfrau gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to CJ Sapphire .
Well Hasselfrau 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zardu Hasselfrau!
Zardu Hasselfrau bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.