PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Fidelity Castro (ranked 2216 p4p, 2551 weight class) and Jean Cristopher La Vellei (ranked 300 p4p, 340 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Castro
vs
La Vellei

191 cm
34
201
10 - 2 - 0

196 cm
34
185
14 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Fidelity Castro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jean Cristopher La Vellei!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, George Francis and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
La Vellei shoots and misses
and Castro counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
La Vellei shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Castro as he jumps to the side.
La Vellei with a lazy takedown attempt
and Castro cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Fidelity Castro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jean Cristopher La Vellei.
Donk. Castro catches La Vellei right on the button with a cross.
Castro has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Castro fakes high and swings low for a body shot but La Vellei manages to avoid it.

Castro pushes La Vellei up against the cage in a clinch.
La Vellei has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Castro tries to break the clinch but La Vellei is controlling the position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Castro.
La Vellei has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Castro breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
La Vellei feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Castros jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
La Vellei is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Castro throws a combination but it was largely blocked by La Vellei.
Castro misses with a straight left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castro bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
La Vellei goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Castro tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. La Vellei manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
La Vellei shoots in looking for a takedown. Castro tries to sprawl out of it but La Vellei keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Castro manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
La Vellei scores with a sloppy right hand. Castro should have avoided that one.

La Vellei looking to score a takedown here. Castro is defending well but La Vellei drives through and ends up in Castro's guard.
Castro looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
La Vellei throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
La Vellei pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Castro is keeping the position for now.
Castro avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
La Vellei trying to control but Castro is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
La Vellei is pushing down on Castro's leg trying to pass to half guard. Castro is fighting to maintain full guard but La Vellei has managed to sneak the leg through.
The fighters are battling for position here. Castro manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
La Vellei trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
La Vellei trying to control the position from guard on top but Castro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
La Vellei trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Castro has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

La Vellei drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Castro manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now La Vellei has Castro in his guard.

Castro controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

La Vellei looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Castro wants to control from the top but La Vellei keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
La Vellei is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
La Vellei manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Castro manages to get himself to full guard.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
La Vellei distracts Castro with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Castro avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Castro keeping moving, preventing La Vellei from controlling successfully.
Castro is trying to control the position but La Vellei postures up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as La Vellei accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
La Vellei trying to control but Castro is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
La Vellei missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
La Vellei wants to stand but Castro is controlling his posture from full guard.
La Vellei looking to sit in guard and control but Castro gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

La Vellei controls Castro momentarily but Castro frees himself.

La Vellei looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Castro passes into half guard.

La Vellei actively working from the bottom here.
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 Fidelity Castro will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

La Vellei throws a left and a right that both miss
and Castro counters with a stiff right hand.
Castro avoids the body shot from La Vellei.
Sloppy strikes from La Vellei. Those never looked like landing.
La Vellei is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Castro.
La Vellei keeps the fight on the outside.
Castro tries to clinch up.
La Vellei misses with an uppercut. Castro saw that one coming.
La Vellei lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Castro fails in his attempt to clinch.
La Vellei throws a head kick that misses.
Castro was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Castro throws a combination that misses
enabling La Vellei to counter with a crisp jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
La Vellei looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Castro is fending him off so far but La Vellei persists. Nope, Castro circles away and we're back to standing.
Castro misses with an uppercut.
La Vellei shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
It looked like Castro was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
La Vellei looks to throw the jab but Castro is out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Castro. Those never looked like landing.
La Vellei throws a jab when Castro was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castro misses with a wild combination.
Castro throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Castro wants to clinch up but La Vellei keeps it at a distance.
Castro works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
La Vellei throws a right and a left that Castro avoids nicely.
Castro swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
La Vellei will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Fidelity Castro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jean Cristopher La Vellei.
La Vellei shoots in for a takedown but Castro shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Castro fails in his attempt to clinch.
Castro throws a lazy right hand but La Vellei sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
La Vellei is trying hard to land a takedown here. Castro sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Castro throws a solid leg kick but La Vellei takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Castro.
La Vellei shoots in but no luck this time.
La Vellei shoots for a double leg takedown but Castro sprawls well. He's pushed La Vellei's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Castro works the jab nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castro tries to close the distance and clinch up but La Vellei swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Castro tries to close the distance and clinch but La Vellei swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Fidelity Castro is winning the standup battle so far.
Castro fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and La Vellei has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A clash of legs there as La Vellei blocks the low kick.
Castro fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
La Vellei looks like he wants to counter punch here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
La Vellei moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
La Vellei throws a head kick that misses.
La Vellei pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A counter left hand to the body from Castro misses its target.
Castro moves away from the strike by La Vellei.
La Vellei fails with a takedown attempt.
Castro appears to be looking for a big counter.
La Vellei blocks a low kick nicely.
La Vellei looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Castro is fending him off so far but La Vellei persists. Nope, Castro circles away and we're back to standing.
Castro slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castro misses with a leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Castro looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

La Vellei shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

La Vellei is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Castro manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Castro stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Castro wants it to stay on the feet.
Castro wants to clinch.
Castro throws a hook but La Vellei avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from La Vellei is defended easily by Castro.
Nice straight punches there by La Vellei. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of La Vellei.

La Vellei closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Castro's guard.

Castro pushes La Vellei off and gets back to his feet.
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!
La Vellei misses with a takedown attempt
letting Castro counter with a right hand.
La Vellei uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
La Vellei throws the kick towards the body but Castro avoids it.
Nice jab there from Castro.
La Vellei looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
La Vellei shoots in for a takedown but Castro shows good takedown defense.
Fidelity Castro is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Castro throws a nice looking combination but La Vellei bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Fidelity Castro dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Castro ducks under a wild hook from La Vellei.
Castro attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
La Vellei misses with a takedown attempt
and Castro connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
La Vellei lands a head kick!
Castro slaps away a takedown attempt from La Vellei, before circling back to the center of the mat.
La Vellei throws an overhand right that lands on Castro's shoulder, as Castro tries to avoid the shot.
Castro throws an uppercut from half a mile away. La Vellei sees it coming and avoids it easily.
La Vellei with a poor takedown
enabling Castro to counter with a crisp jab.
Fidelity Castro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jean Cristopher La Vellei.
Horrible takedown attempt by La Vellei or perhaps it was just good defense by Castro, which made it look bad.
La Vellei takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castro throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
La Vellei misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Castro.
La Vellei shoots in but Castro avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Castro closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castro is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. La Vellei is defending well for now.
Castro is stalling here.
Castro is trying to maintain a safe position but La Vellei gets an underhook and turns Castro into the cage.

Castro breaks from the clinch.
Castro missing with a left hand there. La Vellei was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
La Vellei looks for the body kick but Castro saw that one coming.
La Vellei loads up on a big right hand but Castro slips the punch.
La Vellei shoots for a takedown but Castro saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

La Vellei manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Castro on his heels. He'll look to pass Castro's guard now, I'm sure.
La Vellei missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

La Vellei postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Castro is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of La Vellei, into his guard.

Castro tries to stand but La Vellei is controlling from the bottom.
Jean Cristopher La Vellei has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

La Vellei looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Castro passes into half guard.
Castro prevents La Vellei from improving his position.

Castro moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from La Vellei.
La Vellei is trying to improve his position.
La Vellei has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Castro stands up and we're back to a striking position.
La Vellei tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Castro swivels and escapes.
La Vellei closes the distance and clinches up with Castro, looking for a takedown. La Vellei pushes Castro against the cage but Castro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Castro checks a leg kick.
Castro appears to be looking for a big counter.
Castro is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that La Vellei can do to turn this around?
La Vellei closes the distance and clinches up with Castro, looking for a takedown. La Vellei pushes Castro against the cage but Castro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Castro is looking to clinch but La Vellei is avoiding it.
La Vellei shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Castro but Castro pushes him off and we're back to square one.
La Vellei misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
La Vellei misses with a body shot
and Castro counters with a head kick.
La Vellei takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Castro sizes up La Vellei with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Castro takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
La Vellei jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Oooooh!!! Castro has knocked La Vellei down with a huge combo! Castro steps away and waves a wobbly La Vellei back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

La Vellei is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Castro drops a shoulder and throws a monster hook that connects perfectly to the side of La Vellei's head, knocking him out cold! Castro is extatic as he celebrates with his cornermen.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:24 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Fidelity Castro!