PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Linus Akerman (ranked 75 p4p, 11 weight class) and Zane Mason (ranked 403 p4p, 56 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Akerman
vs
Mason

180 cm
31
177 lbs
19 - 6 - 0

180 cm
37
174 lbs
36 - 19 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

IniTech Nutrition

Aspire Clothing
Amped Performance ($200/160q)

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 19 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Linus Akerman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 36 - 19 - 0, fighting out of New York, Zane Mason!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Akerman throws a leg kick but Mason moved away.
Mason jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mason doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Mason's jab looks to have found its range, popping Akerman under the eye.
Akerman scores with the left hand. Mason knows he should have avoided that one.
Akerman throws a jab when Mason was well out of range.
Akerman defending well as Mason loads up on a big left hand.
Akerman misses with an uppercut. Mason saw that one coming.
Akerman misses with a head kick.
Akerman with a jab.
Mason throws a lazy body kick
and Akerman counters with a leg kick.

Mason has taken the fight to the clinch.
Mason trying to control the position but instead, Akerman has worked for underhooks and has pushed Mason into the cage.
Mason blocks a body shot from Akerman.
Akerman working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason stalls.
Mason tries to work over Akerman's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Akerman ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Akerman no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Mason seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Akerman wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

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.
Akerman wants to sweep here but Mason controlling him for the moment.
Akerman is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Akerman sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Akerman wants to free his trapped foot but Mason is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akerman works his foot free and advances to mount.
Mason tries to reverse the position but Akerman maintains control.
Akerman controlling his opponent.
Akerman trying to control but Mason is having none of it.
Mason is trying to escape the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Akerman can't control as he wanted to and Mason manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Mason is controlling Akerman's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Linus Akerman dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Akerman, as that shot connected.
Akerman keeps the fight on the outside.
Akerman is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Mason checks a low kick from Akerman.
Mason loads up on a big right hand but Akerman slips the punch.
Zane Mason seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Akerman takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Akerman slips under a jab from Mason.
A little feinted left hand from Akerman on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Mason cracks Akerman with a good jab.
Mason's jab looks to have found its range, popping Akerman under the eye.
Akerman dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Mason paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Mason scores with a nice head shot.
Mason uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Akerman.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mason cracks Akerman with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nice shot lands for Mason.
Good leg kick by Mason there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Akerman throws a jab but it's blocked by Mason.
Mason throws out a counter right but Akerman avoids it with no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Mason clobbers Akerman with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Mason tries to clinch up.
Akerman appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Akerman misses with a shot to the body
and Mason counters with a stiff right hand.
Akerman cracks Mason with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Mason tries to clinch but Akerman is having none of it.
Akerman misses with a straight right.
Zane Mason seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Mason misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Akerman.
Mason connects with a jab.
Mason connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Mason checks a leg kick.
Mason looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Akerman moves away from the strike by Mason.
Mason digs a good body shot into Akerman's ribs.
Akerman fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mason misses with a straight right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mason connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Akerman momentarily.
Mason might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Mason takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Akerman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Akerman misses with a kick to the body.
Mason throws a looping overhand right but Akerman ducks down to avoid it.
Mason has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.

Mason closes the distance and clinches.
Mason trying to control the position but instead, Akerman has worked for underhooks and has pushed Mason into the cage.
Mason stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Mason just leaning against Akerman, taking a breather.
Mason lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Mason working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Mason tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Akerman's elbow.
Mason swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Akerman.
Mason tries a body shot but Akerman blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Akerman blocks a body shot from Mason.
Akerman lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

Akerman breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mason feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Akermans jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Mason ducks under a wild hook from Akerman.
Akerman takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A left lands for Mason.
Mason throws a hook to the side of Akerman's head but Akerman sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Akerman slips under a jab from Mason.
Mason looks to land a combination but Akerman avoids it well.
Akerman misses with a low kick.
Akerman tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mason was well out of range. Poor timing from Akerman.
Mason looks to land a right hand but Akerman moved out of range.
Mason misses with a wild body shot.
Mason throws a low kick but it's checked well by Akerman.
Mason avoids the head kick by Akerman.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Mason tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Akerman pivots, looking for a leg kick but Mason is out of range and Akerman settles back down.
Mason tests Akerman's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Mason connects with a nice looking jab.
Mason wants to clinch.
Akerman defending well as Mason loads up on a big left hand.
Akerman throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Akerman shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Mason rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Mason misses the shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zane Mason showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Akerman looks to land a left hand but Mason moved out of range nicely.
Akerman throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
A telegraphed right hand from Mason misses the target.
Mason defending well as Akerman loads up on a big left hand.
Akerman throws a leg kick that misses.
A clash of legs there as Mason blocks the low kick.
Akerman on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Mason misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Akerman.
Akerman is looking to counter punch.
Akerman misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mason misses with a shot to the body
and Akerman counters with a good, hard body kick but Mason shrugs it off.
Mason ducks under a wild hook from Akerman.
Mason ducks under a wild hook from Akerman.
Akerman lands a lovely overhand right.
A slow jab from Mason misses its intended target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Akerman moves away from the strike by Mason.
Akerman scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Mason doesn't seem bothered though.
Mason moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Mason connects with a crisp jab.
Mason looks to clinch
and Mason takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Akerman is looking to score with low kicks.
It seemed like Mason was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Mason's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Akerman connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Mason scrambles back to his feet.
Mason displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Akerman throws out the jab.
Mason swings widly with a right hand
and Akerman counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Akerman thuds a left hand into Mason's body.
Mason swings widly with a right hand
and Akerman counters with a nice body kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice cross by Mason.
Akerman throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Mason to counter with a crisp jab.
Mason lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Akerman scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Akerman clobbers Mason with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Akerman checks a leg kick.
Akerman loads up on a big right hand but Mason slips the punch.
A shot to the liver by Akerman. Beautiful body shot.
Akerman takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Good work by Akerman as he checks the leg kick.
A good leg kick by Akerman.
The fighters circling - Mason throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Akerman looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Mason throws out a loose jab but Akerman uses good head movement to avoid it.
Akerman takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Akerman wants to clinch up but Mason keeps it at a distance.
Akerman throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Mason looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Akerman ducks under a wild hook from Mason.
Akerman half committed to a counter leg kick.
Mason just misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mason misses with an uppercut.
Mason thumps Akerman with a low kick.
A slow jab from Mason misses its intended target.
Akerman tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Akerman throws a nice outside leg kick.
Good leg kick by Akerman there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Mason's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Mason fails to land with a series of punches.
Akerman misses with an uppercut.
Mason bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Akerman's head backwards.
Mason swings widly with a right hand
and Akerman counters with a stiff right hand.
Akerman throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick misses from Akerman.
Akerman avoids a kick to the body.
Akerman changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Akerman throws a looping overhand right but Mason ducks down to avoid it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mason loads up on a big right hand but Akerman slips the punch.
Mason throws a hook to the side of Akerman's head but Akerman sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mason throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Akerman scores with a body shot.
Mason blocks a jab.
Akerman swings widly with a right hand
and Mason counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Akerman is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Akerman drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Mason connects with a body shot.
Akerman ducks under a wild hook from Mason.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Mason.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Linus Akerman.
I think Akerman 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Linus Akerman!