PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jose Cortez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mattew Justice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jose Cortez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cortez
vs
Justice

179 cm
18
155 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

170 cm
22
159 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Counter striker
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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jose Cortez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mattew Justice!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Eliza Hachem and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cortez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Justice circles away.
Cortez shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Justice as he jumps to the side.
Cortez is trying hard to land a takedown here. Justice sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jose Cortez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Justice throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Justice checks a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A combination from Justice does no damage.
Left hook, right uppercut from Justice.

Justice shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Cortez napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justice wants to stand but Cortez has his arm trapped.
Justice working away.
Cortez is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Justice tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Cortez misses with a strike from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Cortez's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Justice stands up and beckons Cortez to his feet.
Justice tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Cortez was well out of range. Poor timing from Justice.
Cortez shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Justice counters with a shoot takedown. Cortez fights it but they end up in guard.
Justice must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Justice wanted to stand there but Cortez had control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortez looking to control.

Justice avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Justice preventing the sweep.
Cortez controls Justice momentarily but Justice frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Justice trying to stand up but can't free himself from Cortez's guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Cortez shoots and misses

and Justice decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Cortez's guard.
Justice wants to stand but Cortez has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Justice postures up.
Cortez pulls Justice in to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mattew Justice dominated that 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.

Cortez misses with a takedown attempt
and Justice counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Cortez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Justice counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Cortez has a closed guard, preventing Justice from standing up.
Cortez is pulling down on Justice's head. It's preventing any offense from Justice, at least for the moment.

Cortez is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Justice is aware though and is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justice wants to get up but he can't break Cortez's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Cortez takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

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.
Cortez throws a leg kick that is checked

and Justice counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Cortez's guard now.
Cortez bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Justice's guard.
Cortez passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Cortez trying to control the action but Justice is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Justice is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Cortez asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Justice really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cortez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Cortez thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Cortez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Justice keeps working.
Justice wants to get back to his feet but Cortez drags him back down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mattew Justice showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Cortez uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Justice.
Cortez doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Justice counters with a takedown into side control.

Cortez explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Justice misses with a straight right.
Cortez fails with the takedown
and Justice counters with a left to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez fails with the takedown

and Justice holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jose Cortez. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Justice's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Cortez misses with a takedown attempt

and Justice counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Justice decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Cortez with a poor takedown

and Justice holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Justice gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Cortez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Justice's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Justice misses with a jab, cross combination.
Justice looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Justice throws a body punch but Cortez moves out of range.
Cortez misses with a takedown

so Justice counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Justice is looking to stand up but Cortez won't let him.
Cortez is looking to stand up but Justice isn't so interested in that idea.
Justice tries to stand but Cortez is controlling from the bottom.
Cortez working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Justice wants to get up but he can't break Cortez's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Justice has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Justice takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cortez controlling Justice's posture.
Justice wants to get up but he can't break Cortez's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
A telegraphed right hand from Justice misses the target.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cortez tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Justice counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Cortez!

And that's the end of the fight!
Mattew Justice comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Justice has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 27:30
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mattew Justice!