PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ozaki Tsuyoshi (ranked 3909 p4p, 4524 weight class) and Lovre Rakic (ranked 474 p4p, 510 weight class). Lovre Rakic is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Tsuyoshi
vs
Rakic

177 cm
25
170
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
170
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ozaki Tsuyoshi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Lovre Rakic!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Daniel Franklin and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tsuyoshi shoots in and drives through. Rakic sprawls well.
Rakic falls off balance throwing a combination
and Tsuyoshi counters with a one-two to the body.
No luck for Tsuyoshi with that takedown attempt.
Rakic is looking for the big counter here.
A right-left combo lands from Rakic.
Tsuyoshi takes one to the chin there.
Tsuyoshi shoots for a double leg takedown but Rakic sprawls well. He's pushed Tsuyoshi's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ozaki Tsuyoshi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A punch combination from Rakic misses.

Rakic gets caught flat footed, as Tsuyoshi shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tsuyoshi controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tsuyoshi stops Rakic from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuyoshi is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Rakic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Tsuyoshi. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tsuyoshi seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rakic for as long as he can get away with.
Tsuyoshi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Tsuyoshi wants to pass the guard but Rakic is keeping the position.
Tsuyoshi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Tsuyoshi passes Rakic's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Tsuyoshi not doing much here.
Rakic tries to kick Tsuyoshi off but Tsuyoshi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Rakic misses the shot to the body.
Rakic misses with a series of wild punches.
Lovre Rakic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Rakic gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Tsuyoshi prevents Rakic from getting back to his feet.
Rakic looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rakic keeping full guard, as Tsuyoshi tries to pass.
Rakic can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Tsuyoshi controls the pace.
Tsuyoshi's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

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.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tsuyoshi dodges the punch combination from Rakic.

Tsuyoshi closes the distance and clinches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ozaki Tsuyoshi will probably get the nod.
That's time! Tsuyoshi's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Tsuyoshi moves into the clinch.
Tsuyoshi is trying to pull guard but Rakic has him pressed against the cage.

Tsuyoshi's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Tsuyoshi is looking to land body kicks.

Tsuyoshi closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ozaki Tsuyoshi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Tsuyoshi stands up out of the half guard.

Tsuyoshi has Rakic up against the cage in a clinch.
Rakic's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Tsuyoshi scores with a nice hook to the head.

Tsuyoshi lands a takedown into guard.
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!
Tsuyoshi is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tsuyoshi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rakic can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakic wants to stand up but Tsuyoshi is controlling him.
Tsuyoshi slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Rakic wants to stand but Tsuyoshi is controlling the position.

That's two 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.
Tsuyoshi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tsuyoshi engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Tsuyoshi continues to stall.
Tsuyoshi forces his way into half guard.
Tsuyoshi seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuyoshi tries to pass to full mount but Rakic defends it.
Tsuyoshi looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Tsuyoshi has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rakic misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rakic lands with a nice combination. Tsuyoshi backs away looking to recover.
Rakic is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tsuyoshi rushes Rakic and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rakic is trying to break the clinch but Tsuyoshi is controlling him.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Tsuyoshi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rakic buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Tsuyoshi gets a takedown into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Tsuyoshi in particular looking to stall.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rakic blocking the ground and pound attempt from Tsuyoshi.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ozaki Tsuyoshi dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Tsuyoshi closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rakic seems a little lost for a moment, as Tsuyoshi dominates the positioning.
Rakic wants to get back to his feet but Tsuyoshi drags him back down.
Tsuyoshi misses with the ground and pound.
Tsuyoshi controlling the position from side mount.

Tsuyoshi decides to stand back up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rakic stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Rakic wants it to stay on the feet.

Tsuyoshi moves into the clinch.
Rakic has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsuyoshi prevents Rakic from breaking the clinch.

Rakic pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rakic takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rakic throws a front kick aimed at Tsuyoshi's knee but Tsuyoshi avoids it well.

Tsuyoshi moves into range and clinches up with Rakic.
Rakic is trying to break the clinch but Tsuyoshi has him pressed against the cage.
Tsuyoshi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rakic is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Tsuyoshi tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ozaki Tsuyoshi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Tsuyoshi fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Tsuyoshi has Rakic pressed against the cage, preventing Rakic from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rakic wants to get back to striking at distance but Tsuyoshi won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Tsuyoshi - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Tsuyoshi tries to pull guard but Rakic forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Tsuyoshi is looking for a takedown.

Tsuyoshi lands a takedown into guard.
Tsuyoshi throwing strikes from guard but Rakic blocks nicely.
Rakic wants to stand and escape but Tsuyoshi is having none of it.
Tsuyoshi is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Rakic is wriggling around but Tsuyoshi manages to pass to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsuyoshi throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Tsuyoshi content to control rather than advance.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Tsuyoshi decides to return to a standing position.

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.

Tsuyoshi decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Tsuyoshi controlling the pace.
Tsuyoshi trying to mount his opponent but Rakic defends it.
Lovre Rakic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rakic avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tsuyoshi.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tsuyoshi lands with a punch from half guard.
Ozaki Tsuyoshi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Tsuyoshi content to control rather than advance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ozaki Tsuyoshi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tsuyoshi, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ozaki Tsuyoshi!