PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jubei Akechi (ranked 2145 p4p, 1830 weight class) and Darryl Haze (ranked 220 p4p, 190 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Darryl Haze enters the cage!

Akechi
vs
Haze

182 cm
36
159
27 - 21 - 0

179 cm
33
169
17 - 16 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Conquest Nutritionâ„¢ (160Q) $97

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 21 - 0, fighting out of London, Jubei Akechi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Darryl Haze !
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, James Ackerman and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haze cracks Akechi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Haze 's coach down at Gumburcules Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Haze 's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Haze keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Akechi takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Haze misses with a hook
and Akechi counters with a right hand to the body.
Akechi getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Haze scores with the left hand. Akechi knows he should have avoided that one.
Haze tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Akechi was well out of range. Poor timing from Haze .
Donk. Haze catches Akechi right on the button with a cross.

Akechi fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Haze , pushing him back against the cage.
Haze working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Akechi lands a left hand.
Akechi scores with a nice hook to the head.
Akechi lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Haze wants a takedown but no success here.
Akechi cracks Haze with a nice body shot.
A right handed body shot lands from Akechi.
Akechi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Akechi tries to work over Haze 's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Haze tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Akechi scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Akechi lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Haze throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Akechi lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Haze is looking for a takedown.
Akechi lands with a short shot to the head.
Akechi blocking some punches.
Akechi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Haze lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Akechi has Haze pushed against the cage.
Haze swings wildly with an uppercut but Akechi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Akechi misses with a hook to the ribs.
Nice body punch from Akechi - that landed with a thud.
Haze can't break the clinch.
Haze working hard to break the clinch.
Haze working hard to break the clinch.

Haze turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Akechi is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akechi sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Akechi is trying to control but can't.
Haze throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Akechi to regain full guard.
Akechi is trying to control the position but Haze postures up.
Haze advances to half guard.
Akechi won't allow Haze to pass to mount.
Haze trying to control from Akechi's half guard. Akechi has other ideas though and has regained full guard.

Akechi is looking for a triangle but Haze pushes his legs off easily.
Akechi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Haze is one step ahead there.
Haze missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haze throws a strike but Akechi rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Akechi postures up and lands a big shot to Haze 's brow.
Akechi wants to control from the top but Haze keeps moving.
Haze is controlling Akechi's posture.
Akechi wants to control from the top but Haze keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Akechi sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Akechi trying to control the position from guard on top but Haze is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Akechi stands and throws Haze 's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Haze is trying to improve his position.
Akechi trying to control the position but Haze is working away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jubei Akechi dominated that round.
That's time! Akechi's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Crunch! Haze slams his shin into Akechi's torso.
A jab from Haze finds it's way through Akechi's defenses.
Akechi slips under a jab from Haze .
Nice uppercut lands for Akechi. That snapped Haze 's head back.
Haze cracks Akechi with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Haze throws a body kick, spinning off balance

and Akechi decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Haze 's guard.

Haze pushes Akechi off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Haze scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Darryl Haze seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Akechi slips under a jab from Haze .
A nice inside leg kick there by Haze . That's going to slow Akechi down.
Haze scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Nice defenses there by Haze .
Haze looking to land some kicks to the body here.
An attempted straight right counter from Akechi misses the target.
Akechi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Akechi 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.
Akechi on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Haze thuds a left hand into Akechi's body.
Haze lands with an overhand left.
Haze throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Akechi on the side of the head.
Haze drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Akechi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Haze connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Akechi momentarily.
Haze takes one to the chin there.
Haze throws a jab but it's blocked by Akechi.
A jab from Haze does it's job there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Akechi throws a hook but Haze avoids it easily.
Haze stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Haze getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haze misses the shot to the body.
Akechi takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Akechi swings for the body but Haze moves out of range.
Akechi closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Haze throws a nice looking combination but Akechi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Haze digs a good hook to Akechi's body.
Akechi throws a jab but it's blocked by Haze .
Haze throws out a powerful jab.
Akechi dodges the punch combination from Haze .
Haze throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sloppy strikes from Haze . Those never looked like landing.
Akechi throwing a counter right hand but Haze manages to avoid it.
Haze missing with a left hand there. Akechi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A big left from Akechi misses.
Akechi jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Haze .

Haze closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Akechi quickly recovers to half guard.
Haze has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Akechi makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Akechi.
Haze trying to control but Akechi is working from the bottom.

Akechi has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Haze can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Akechi is on top in guard.

Akechi is pushing down on Haze 's leg trying to pass to half guard. Haze is fighting to maintain full guard but Akechi has managed to sneak the leg through.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Akechi controlling the pace.
Haze gets back to full guard.
Akechi is pushing down on Haze 's leg trying to pass to half guard. Haze is fighting to maintain full guard but Akechi has managed to sneak the leg through.

Akechi is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Still in half guard, Akechi seems content to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Darryl Haze showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Haze cracks Akechi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Akechi fails to land with a series of punches.
Akechi digs a good hook to Haze 's body.
Akechi scores with a shot to the body.
Haze pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Haze throws a right hand that misses

and Akechi counters with a nice double leg into side control. Haze won't be happy with that.
Haze tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Haze looking very determined here, making life difficult for Akechi.
Akechi keeps control of the position as Haze tries to break free.
Haze is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Akechi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haze tries to escape the position.

Akechi looking for the choke but no joy.

Haze defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

Akechi is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Haze defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akechi controlling well, preventing Haze from escaping the position.
Haze keeps trying to improve his position.

Akechi working for a choke but Haze is defending well.

Akechi working for the choke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akechi tries to get the hooks in deep but Haze pushed the leg off.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Akechi tightening his grip on Haze , looking for the choke.
Haze is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Akechi doesn't have the hooks in and Haze manages to turn into his guard.
Akechi seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haze loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Haze postures up.
Haze landing some decent shots from guard.
Akechi pulls Haze in close to prevent any damage.
Haze trying to control but Akechi is working from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haze loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jubei Akechi showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Akechi 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Glass scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jubei Akechi!
A very excited looking Jubei Akechi made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.