PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Filipe Marcal (ranked 6779 p4p, 24712 weight class) and Franco Crossan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Marcal
vs
Crossan

190 cm
18
150
0 - 3 - 0

175 cm
19
160
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Filipe Marcal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Franco Crossan!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, William Gold and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Crossan shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Marcal is trying to defend but Crossan finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Marcal looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Crossan trying to pass the guard but Marcal defending well.

Crossan is working for a kimura but Marcal is defending it quite comfortably.

Crossan is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Marcal doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Crossan.
Marcal on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Crossan is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Crossan is looking to advance position but Marcal won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcal is trying to control but can't.
Marcal really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Crossan is looking for a kimura here.
Crossan looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Crossan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Marcal has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Crossan is working away from the top position though.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Crossan looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two 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.

Crossan is looking for submissions but instead, Marcal has regained full guard.
Crossan with a nice head shot there.
Crossan cracks Marcal with a solid left hand.

Crossan thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Crossan thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Crossan working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Crossan thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Crossan working some strikes from top position.
Crossan must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crossan with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Marcal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Marcal will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Crossan's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Crossan works over Marcal with some ground and pound from guard.
Crossan landing some decent shots from guard.

Crossan drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Crossan jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Crossan content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Crossan content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Crossan stands up over Marcal, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Crossan working some strikes from top position.
Marcal trying to keep a closed guard but Crossan is proving a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marcal working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Crossan.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Crossan throws a big elbow that misses.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Marcal has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Crossan.
Crossan swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Crossan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Marcal paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Marcal closes the distance and clinches.
Marcal scores with a knee to the head.
Crossan is working for takedown but Marcal is calmly controlling the position for now.
Crossan wants a takedown but no success here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Marcal breaks the clinch.

Crossan scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Crossan tries to pass the half guard into mount. Marcal knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Crossan dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Crossan 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.
Crossan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Marcal's head.
Crossan stands up over Marcal, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Crossan working some strikes from top position.

Crossan drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Crossan jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Crossan cracks Marcal with a solid left hand.

Crossan drops back looking for a leg! Marcal is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Marcal manages to kick Crossan off! Crossan jumps back into Marcal's guard.
Crossan lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crossan landing some decent shots from guard.

Crossan drops back looking for a leg! Marcal is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Marcal manages to kick Crossan off! Crossan jumps back into Marcal's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Crossan postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Crossan lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Crossan landing with the ground and pound.

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.

Crossan drops back looking for a leg! Marcal is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Marcal manages to kick Crossan off! Crossan jumps back into Marcal's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Crossan accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Marcal is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Crossan is aware though and is defending well.
Crossan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Marcal's head.
Crossan distracts Marcal with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Crossan with a nice head shot there.

Crossan is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Marcal has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Crossan can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marcal lands a nice looking kick to the body. Crossan takes a step back to recover.

Crossan moves into the clinch.

Crossan has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Marcal uses from the top position.
Marcal postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Marcal is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Marcal gets to his feet - Crossan follows without any prompting.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marcal gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Crossan tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A bit of stalling here from Marcal.
Crossan is looking to take this one to the mat.
Marcal wants to take the fight to the mat but Crossan manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Marcal tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Crossan smiles and moves away.

Crossan scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Marcal is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Marcal struggling a bit here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Crossan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Crossan shoots in looking for a takedown. Marcal tries to sprawl out of it but Crossan keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Marcal manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Marcal appears to be looking for a big counter.

Crossan closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Crossan lands in his opponent's guard.
Marcal wants to stand up but Crossan is controlling him.
Crossan is in close to Marcal's body, working some short punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Crossan keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Marcal's head.
Crossan scoring with punches to the head and body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Crossan thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Crossan is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcal wants to stand but Crossan is controlling the position.
Marcal trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Crossan thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Marcal has momentary wrist control but Crossan slips an elbow through the middle.

Crossan drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Crossan jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Crossan is looking to work some ground and pound but Marcal has wrist control.
Crossan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Crossan is in close to Marcal's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Crossan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Crossan content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Crossan content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Crossan postures up in Marcal's guard and throws a big left but Marcal blocks it.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Marcal throws a nice head kick!
Crossan shoots and misses
and Marcal counters with a one-two to the body.
Crossan circles away from the clinch attempt.

Crossan clinches with his opponent.

Marcal gets control of Crossan's arms and successfully pulls guard. Marcal will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Crossan's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Marcal kicks Crossan off and gets to his feet.
Crossan will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Marcal looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Filipe Marcal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Franco Crossan.
Marcal tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Crossan swivels and escapes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crossan attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Marcal moves in looking to clinch but Crossan pushes him off.
Marcal is looking to slow Crossan down with leg kicks.

Crossan drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Marcal is looking to stand up but Crossan isn't so interested in that idea.
Crossan scoring with punches to the head and body.
Marcal trying to control the position.

Crossan is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Crossan landing with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crossan postures up in Marcal's guard and throws a big left but Marcal blocks it.
Crossan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Marcal's head.

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

Crossan wants to stand up but Marcal is controlling him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Marcal wants to control from the top but Crossan keeps moving.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Franco Crossan.
I've got Crossan winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Franco Crossan!