PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Akira Harada (ranked 765 p4p, 97 weight class) and Ricardinho Vieira (ranked 822 p4p, 107 weight class). The key to victory for Akira Harada has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Harada
vs
Vieira

169 cm
23
171 lbs
12 - 6 - 0

177 cm
24
178 lbs
10 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

OLIMPO

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 12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Akira Harada!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardinho Vieira!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Bruno Hogan and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Harada rushes Vieira and presses him up against the cage.
A short right from Harada.
Vieira goes for a takedown in the clinch but Harada prevents it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Vieira wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Vieira stalling.
Vieira changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Harada fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Vieira takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Harada gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Harada's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Harada connects with a looping right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vieira throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Vieira changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Harada tries to avoid it but Vieira manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Harada to the ground. Harada escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Akira Harada has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardinho Vieira.
Harada connects with a nice looking jab.
Vieira doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Harada counters with a two punch combo.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Vieira fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Harada sprawls well initially but Vieira persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Vieira is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Harada has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vieira is thwarting Harada's attempts to control the position.

Vieira wants to work for an arm triangle but Harada is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Harada is trying to maintain the position but Vieira is very close to passing his half guard.
Vieira not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Vieira trying to control from half guard but Harada is working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Vieira is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Harada sees it coming and defends easily.

Vieira is working for a submission of some sort.
Harada wants to control but Vieira is keeping busy.

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.
Vieira not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Vieira works his way into full mount!
Harada wants to hold on but Vieira pushes him away.
Vieira trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Harada is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Vieira throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Vieira punching from mount but Harada doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Vieira landing strikes from the mount and Harada is in trouble!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Vieira cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Harada tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Harada sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Vieira is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Vieira is working for a kimura but Harada is defending it quite comfortably.

Vieira is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Vieira wants to free his trapped foot but Harada is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Vieira is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Harada has managed to free his arm - good work.
Harada trying to control but Vieira postures up.

Vieira looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Harada wants to control but Vieira is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Vieira is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Harada defends it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ricardinho Vieira will probably get the nod.
That's time! Harada's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Harada misses with a hook. Vieira ducked under it nicely.
Harada tries to land a front kick but Vieira steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Harada just misses with a punch to the body.
Vieira drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Harada defends it well.
Harada misses with a hook. Vieira ducked under it nicely.
A jab from Harada misses.
Harada looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Harada scores with a jab to the head.
Vieira shoots in and drives through. Harada sprawls well.
Vieira takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A big right from Harada misses.
Vieira slips under a jab.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Harada throws a nice looking combination but Vieira bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Vieira fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Vieira keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Harada.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vieira dives in for a single leg takedown but Harada sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Akira Harada has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardinho Vieira.
Vieira on the wrong end of a nice hook.

Harada fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Vieira, pushing him back against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Harada breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Vieira tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Harada defends well and Vieira ends up having to push Harada into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Harada is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Vieira can do to turn this around?
Vieira dives in and grabs Harada's left leg, looking for a takedown. Harada pushes down on Vieira's head and hops out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harada pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A big left from Harada misses.
Harada fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Vieira scores with a jab. Harada acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Vieira moves away from the strike by Harada.
And Vieira tries to counter it with a takedown but Harada pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Harada fails with an attempt to clinch.
Vieira changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Harada takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Vieira shoots in and drives through. Harada sprawls well.
Vieira shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Harada sprawls well. Harada wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vieira gets slowly back to his feet.
A telegraphed right hand from Harada misses the target.
Nice takedown defense from Harada. No joy for Vieira on that attempt.

Vieira scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Vieira looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Harada is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Vieira's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harada controlling the position for now.

Vieira is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Harada sees it coming and defends easily.
Vieira is looking to take a break and control but Harada is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Vieira slips a nice elbow through Harada's hands, connecting with Harada's forehead.
Vieira throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Vieira wants to pass the guard but Harada is defending well.

Vieira looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Harada is concentrating on defense, preventing Vieira from advancing position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vieira is trying to control. Harada wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Harada wants to control but Vieira is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Vieira throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Vieira stops Harada from getting back to his feet.

Harada is defending against the submission attempts here by Vieira.

Vieira is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Harada is not content to let Vieira control the position.
Vieira is stalling here. Harada is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Vieira seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Harada has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Harada tries to stand but Vieira is controlling his head.
Vieira is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Vieira gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Harada looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Vieira with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Vieira gets back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akira Harada dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

A big right from Harada misses.
Vieira looks for a takedown but Harada sprawls well.
Harada scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Vieira takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Harada is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
A shot to the liver by Vieira. Beautiful body shot.
Harada tries to clinch up but Vieira circles away and keeps his distance.

Vieira throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Harada tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Vieira is in Harada's guard.
Harada avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Harada utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vieira accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Vieira lands a couple of digs.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Harada is on top in guard.

This has been an exciting period of action!

Harada avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Harada trying to control but Vieira is working from the bottom.
Harada knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Vieira on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harada scoring with some ground and pound.
Vieira wants to sweep but no luck.

Harada avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Harada wants to control from the top but Vieira keeps moving.
Harada connects with a couple of short punches.
Harada throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ricardinho Vieira has got the better of the ground game so far.
Harada cracks Vieira with a solid left hand.

Vieira has his foot on Harada's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Harada works his way back into a safe position though.

Vieira is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harada scoring with some ground and pound.

Vieira is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a triangle but Harada frees his head nicely. Oh but Vieira has switched to an armbar! Harada is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:30 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Ricardinho Vieira!