PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Wanderlei Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and graham mahon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rua's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Sail. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Rua
vs
mahon

181 cm
24
185 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

190 cm
20
194 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Grappling Pro Gear

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Wanderlei Rua!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, graham mahon!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Seu Braga and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
mahon shoots in and drives through. Rua sprawls well.

Rua gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
mahon must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as mahon accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
mahon landing some decent shots from guard.
mahon postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
mahon is looking to work some ground and pound but Rua has wrist control.
Rua manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. mahon manages to get himself to full guard.
mahon looking for a sweep. Not yet mahon, not yet.
Rua wants to control from the top but mahon keeps moving.
Rua passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Rua lands a nice forearm strike.

Rua is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but mahon is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Rua thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's one minute gone in the round.
mahon tries to bench press Rua off him but Rua keeps the position.

Rua tries for a kimura but mahon is defending well.
mahon tries to buck Rua off but Rua is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Rua tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Rua has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Rua is breathing heavily.
mahon tries to escape but Rua is in control.
mahon manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Ground and pound from mahon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
mahon is thwarting Rua's attempts to control the position.
mahon sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rua defending well though.
mahon sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rua defending well though.
Rua wants to get back to his feet.
mahon seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
mahon is looking to advance position but Rua won't allow it.
mahon lands with a punch from half guard.
mahon has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

mahon looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
mahon lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
mahon punching from mount but Rua doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Rua tries to lock up and control but mahon gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
mahon landing strikes from the mount and Rua is in trouble!
Rua in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Rua regains half guard.
Rua is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
mahon thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rua's head.
mahon prevents Rua from improving his position.

mahon is trying to work for a kimura but Rua is defending well.
mahon really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rua. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

mahon is looking for a kimura here.
mahon prevents Rua from improving his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Wanderlei Rua will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

mahon shoots for a double leg takedown but Rua sprawls well. He's pushed mahon's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Rua throws a nice head kick!
mahon shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rua but Rua pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Rua shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and mahon counters with a takedown into side control.
Rua manages to get back to half guard.
mahon thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rua avoiding damage under a succession of punches from mahon.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
mahon with the ground and pound but Rua uses the opportunity to regain guard.
mahon throws a strike but Rua rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
mahon tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
mahon throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
mahon looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Rua puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
mahon is looking to improve his position.
mahon is staying active underneath Rua, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
mahon wants to get back to full guard.

Rua wants to work for an arm triangle but mahon is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
mahon slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

mahon escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rua gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Rua drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Rua jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
mahon wants to sweep but no luck.
mahon wants to stand up but Rua is controlling him.
mahon trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Rua landing some decent shots from guard.
Rua pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. mahon is keeping the position for now.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Rua looks to land a combination but mahon avoids it well.
mahon fails with the takedown
and Rua counters with an inside leg kick.
Wanderlei Rua has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of graham mahon.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua lands a two punch combo.
Rua is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
mahon shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Rua as he jumps to the side.
mahon misses with a takedown attempt - Rua sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
mahon misses with a takedown attempt

and Rua counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Rua is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
mahon is trying to get back to full guard.
Rua seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
mahon is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Rua is looking for a kimura here.
Rua trying to control the action but mahon is working from the bottom.
The fighters are battling for position here. mahon manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
mahon is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
mahon looks to land a strike but Rua avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
mahon throws and elbow that misses. Rua uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in mahon's guard. Nice move by Rua!
mahon striking off his back but it's not causing Rua any problems.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wanderlei Rua dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Rua is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in mahon's half guard.
mahon is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
mahon flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

mahon kicks Rua off and gets back to his feet.
Rua lands a glancing blow to the side of mahon's head.
mahon gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Rua counters by clinching up.

Rua has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics mahon uses from the top position.

Rua working for a triangle but mahon defends it easily.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as mahon accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
mahon postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
mahon wants to pass the guard but Rua is keeping the position.
mahon is looking to work some ground and pound but Rua has wrist control.
mahon cracks Rua with a solid left hand.
mahon landing with the ground and pound.
mahon works over Rua with some ground and pound from guard.

Rua is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
mahon trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua trying to control the position.
Rua looking to hit a scissor sweep but mahon is one step ahead there.
mahon wants to get up but he can't break Rua's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
mahon loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rua looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
mahon wants to stand but Rua has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
mahon shoots and misses

and Rua counters with a shoot takedown. mahon fights it but they end up in guard.
Rua wants to control from the top but mahon keeps moving.

mahon is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rua is aware though and is defending well.
mahon being controlled here, momentarily.
Rua is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
mahon is looking to stand up but Rua isn't so interested in that idea.
Rua won't allow mahon to sweep him here.
Rua cracks mahon with a solid left hand.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now mahon is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rua is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and mahon defends well.

Rua working for a triangle but mahon defends it easily.
mahon missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
graham mahon has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Wanderlei Rua is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
mahon postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rua is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wanderlei Rua showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rua 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wanderlei Rua!