PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Akai Takahashi (ranked 5881 p4p, 592 weight class) and Gard Aatrox (ranked 6435 p4p, 0 weight class). Akai Takahashi had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Takahashi
vs
Aatrox

199 cm
25
219 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
18
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Akai Takahashi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gard Aatrox!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Fujiwara and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Aatrox closes the distance and clinches.

Takahashi jumps into guard, dragging Aatrox to the mat.
Aatrox trying to control the position from guard on top but Takahashi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aatrox content to stall in guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Takahashi tries to strike from the bottom.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Takahashi manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Takahashi is trying to drag Aatrox to the mat but Aatrox just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Takahashi taking a breather.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Takahashi has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Aatrox uses from the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi has control of Aatrox's left arm, preventing Aatrox from doing any damage.
Takahashi not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Takahashi is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Takahashi trying to keep a closed guard but Aatrox is proving a slippery customer.

Takahashi looking for a guillotine here but Aatrox defends easily.
Aatrox 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Aatrox throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Takahashi works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Aatrox not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Aatrox lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Aatrox working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Takahashi's head.
Takahashi keeping moving, preventing Aatrox from controlling successfully.
Takahashi wants to sweep here but Aatrox controlling him for the moment.
Takahashi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Takahashi is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Aatrox is trying to stand.
Aatrox is looking to improve his position.
Takahashi is taking a breather. Aatrox 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.
Aatrox blocking the ground and pound attempt from Takahashi.
Aatrox tries to roll over but Takahashi keeps him under control.

Takahashi seems to be looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Takahashi looks to land a strike but Aatrox avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Takahashi trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Aatrox looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Left hook, right uppercut from Aatrox.
Aatrox thows a left - swing and a miss!
Aatrox looks to score with a jab to the body but Takahashi is just out of range.
Gard Aatrox seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Aatrox tries to score a power double leg takedown but Takahashi sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Aatrox somewhat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akai Takahashi dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Takahashi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Aatrox's waist but Aatrox gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Takahashi off to one side.

Aatrox tries to sprawl but Takahashi drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Aatrox wants to control but Takahashi is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Takahashi performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Takahashi missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aatrox avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Takahashi.
Takahashi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Aatrox keeps working.
Takahashi not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aatrox is controlling Takahashi's trapped leg to prevent Takahashi from advancing to side control.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Aatrox.
Aatrox throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Takahashi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Takahashi moves out of range of the strikes.
Aatrox misses the jab.
Aatrox throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Takahashi is looking to clinch but Aatrox is avoiding it.

Takahashi moves into range and clinches up with Aatrox.

Aatrox escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Aatrox misses the jab.
Aatrox throws a leg kick

and Takahashi counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Takahashi wants to control but Aatrox is keeping him busy.
Takahashi works his way into full mount!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Takahashi looking to ground and pound but Aatrox is blocking nicely.
Akai Takahashi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Takahashi controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Takahashi there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Takahashi 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.
Aatrox is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Aatrox holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Takahashi tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Takahashi trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Takahashi misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Aatrox manages to work a leg through to get back to half guard here. Good work there by Aatrox, under a barage of strikes from Takahashi.
Aatrox is looking to improve his position.

Aatrox is defending against the submission attempts here by Takahashi.
Takahashi moves into full mount! Aatrox won't be happy about that!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akai Takahashi 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!

Aatrox shoots in but Takahashi avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Takahashi tries to counter by clinching up but Aatrox breaks away and moves out of range.
Aatrox will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

Aatrox gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Takahashi is standing up over Aatrox. Aatrox looks to escape but Takahashi dives into side control.

Takahashi wants to take a breather but Aatrox manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Takahashi.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aatrox preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Aatrox works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Aatrox pushes Takahashi off and scrambles back to his feet.
Aatrox blocks a head kick by Takahashi.
Aatrox drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Takahashi defends it well.
Aatrox has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Aatrox takes a swing at Takahashi's ribcage but misses.
Aatrox looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Takahashi shoots in for a takedown but Aatrox shows good takedown defense.
It seemed like Aatrox was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Takahashi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Aatrox throws out the jab.

Aatrox gets caught napping as Takahashi dives in and scores a takedown. Aatrox manages to retain guard.

Aatrox scrambles and gets back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Aatrox misses with a leg kick.

Takahashi closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Takahashi is controlling the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Aatrox reverses the position - he's now on top in Takahashi's guard.
Aatrox postures up in Takahashi's guard and throws a big left but Takahashi blocks it.
Aatrox postures up in Takahashi's guard and throws a big left but Takahashi blocks it.
Aatrox trying to control the position from guard on top but Takahashi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aatrox slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Aatrox throws a strike but Takahashi rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Takahashi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Takahashi looking to sit in guard and control but Aatrox gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Takahashi not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Aatrox is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Aatrox is stalling in the full guard.
Takahashi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Aatrox controls from within his opponent's guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Takahashi keeping moving, preventing Aatrox from controlling successfully.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gard Aatrox comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Takahashi has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Akai Takahashi!