PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hiroshi Tetsuo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Fitzgerald (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ricardo Fitzgerald is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Tetsuo
vs
Fitzgerald

185 cm
18
245 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

196 cm
26
272 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hiroshi Tetsuo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ricardo Fitzgerald!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Shirou Masuda and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Tetsuo gets caught napping as Fitzgerald dives in and scores a takedown. Tetsuo manages to retain guard.
Tetsuo might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Fitzgerald looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Fitzgerald has gone for a leg lock! Tetsuo slips out almost immediately though and dives into Fitzgerald's guard.
Tetsuo throwing strikes from guard but Fitzgerald blocks nicely.
Tetsuo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Tetsuo lands a couple of digs.
Tetsuo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Tetsuo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Tetsuo is looking to work some ground and pound but Fitzgerald has wrist control.
Tetsuo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Tetsuo throws a big elbow that misses.
Tetsuo missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tetsuo could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Fitzgerald preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tetsuo is looking to work some ground and pound but Fitzgerald has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fitzgerald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Tetsuo lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Tetsuo content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Tetsuo landing some decent shots from guard.
Tetsuo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Fitzgerald preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tetsuo throws a big right hand that misses.
Tetsuo is looking to work some ground and pound but Fitzgerald has wrist control.
Tetsuo passes Fitzgerald's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Tetsuo missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Fitzgerald avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tetsuo.
Fitzgerald taking some punishment here, with Tetsuo in his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald has hold of Tetsuo's hands but Tetsuo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
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!
Tetsuo not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Tetsuo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Tetsuo not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Tetsuo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Tetsuo not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fitzgerald avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tetsuo.
Tetsuo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Fitzgerald defending well though.
Fitzgerald keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tetsuo thows a huge punch but Fitzgerald dodges it nicely.
Tetsuo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Fitzgerald defending well though.
Fitzgerald has hold of Tetsuo's hands but Tetsuo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Tetsuo throwing shots but Fitzgerald is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tetsuo tries to pass to full mount but Fitzgerald defends it.
Tetsuo lands strikes from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tetsuo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Tetsuo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fitzgerald's head.
Tetsuo slips a nice elbow through Fitzgerald's hands, connecting with Fitzgerald's forehead.
Tetsuo scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Tetsuo is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Tetsuo not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald taking some punishment here, with Tetsuo in his half guard.
Tetsuo working Fitzgerald over with strikes.
Fitzgerald on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Tetsuo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Tetsuo not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tetsuo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Tetsuo missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Tetsuo lands strikes from half guard.
Tetsuo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fitzgerald's head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Fitzgerald keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Tetsuo.
Tetsuo is thwarting Fitzgerald's attempts to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Tetsuo fails with the takedown.
Tetsuo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Fitzgerald.

Tetsuo feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Tetsuo in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Fitzgerald avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hiroshi Tetsuo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Tetsuo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Tetsuo throws a big right hand that misses.
Tetsuo has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Tetsuo is looking to work some ground and pound but Fitzgerald has wrist control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Fitzgerald preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tetsuo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Tetsuo throws a big right hand that misses.
Tetsuo scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fitzgerald not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Tetsuo makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Tetsuo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Fitzgerald trying to control the position.
Tetsuo is working Fitzgerald over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Tetsuo throws a big right hand that misses.
Fitzgerald trying to control the position.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Tetsuo here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Tetsuo's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Fitzgerald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Tetsuo throws a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tetsuo throwing strikes but missing.
Tetsuo landing with the ground and pound.
Fitzgerald trying to control the position.
Tetsuo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Fitzgerald working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tetsuo.
Tetsuo lands a couple of elbows.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Fitzgerald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Tetsuo in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Tetsuo throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tetsuo postures up in Fitzgerald's guard and throws a big left but Fitzgerald blocks it.
Tetsuo throwing strikes but missing.
Tetsuo scoring with some ground and pound.
Tetsuo advances position into side control!
Fitzgerald on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Fitzgerald avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Tetsuo.
Tetsuo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fitzgerald can do to turn this around?
Fitzgerald defending against the ground and pound.
Tetsuo landing a few strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tetsuo looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Fitzgerald is avoiding damage well.
Tetsuo creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Tetsuo connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Fitzgerald some visible discomfort.
Tetsuo working away.
Fitzgerald on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Tetsuo throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Tetsuo in side control, throwing shots but Fitzgerald defends.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tetsuo creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Fitzgerald sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tetsuo tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Tetsuo fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Fitzgerald is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Tetsuo's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hiroshi Tetsuo dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! 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.

Tetsuo shoots in for a double leg but Fitzgerald sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Fitzgerald changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Tetsuo tries to avoid it but Fitzgerald manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Tetsuo to the ground. Tetsuo escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Tetsuo tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Fitzgerald swivels and escapes.
Nice sprawl there from Fitzgerald as Tetsuo shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hiroshi Tetsuo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fitzgerald defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tetsuo.

Fitzgerald changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Tetsuo looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Tetsuo is looking to regain half guard here but Fitzgerald keeps moving and retains side control.
Fitzgerald throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Fitzgerald is putting a hurting on Tetsuo here, landing some big shots from side control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fitzgerald is trying to ground and pound but Tetsuo uses the momentary lack of control by Fitzgerald to regain half guard.

Fitzgerald is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Tetsuo defends it well.
Tetsuo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Fitzgerald on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fitzgerald prevents Tetsuo from improving his position.

Fitzgerald is looking for a kimura here.

Fitzgerald is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Tetsuo sees it coming and defends easily.
Hiroshi Tetsuo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Fitzgerald working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Tetsuo blocking the ground and pound attempt from Fitzgerald.
Tetsuo avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Fitzgerald.
Tetsuo tries to kick Fitzgerald off but Fitzgerald keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Fitzgerald throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Fitzgerald wants to lay and pray for a moment but Tetsuo keeps working.
Fitzgerald not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Fitzgerald thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Fitzgerald thows a huge punch but Tetsuo dodges it nicely.
Tetsuo tries to get to full guard but Fitzgerald has control of the leg.
Tetsuo trying to hold on to Fitzgerald's head to control him but Fitzgerald postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald wants to take a breather but Tetsuo is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Tetsuo misses with a takedown

and Fitzgerald counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Fitzgerald prevents Tetsuo from standing back up.
Fitzgerald missing with some ground and pound from the half 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!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Fitzgerald trying to pass the guard but Tetsuo defending well.
Ricardo Fitzgerald has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Fitzgerald is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Tetsuo sees it coming and defends easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Fitzgerald comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Tetsuo 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hiroshi Tetsuo!