PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mestre Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Derek Cote (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie comes to the cage accompanied by Enia - Tema Gladiador. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Gracie
vs
Cote

178 cm
18
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mestre Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Derek Cote!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Skip Squint and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cote fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Gracie is out of range.
Gracie takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Cote misses with a jab, cross combination.
Gracie shoots in looking for a takedown. Cote tries to sprawl out of it but Gracie keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cote manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Cote misses with a double jab.
Gracie dodges the punch combination from Cote.
Gracie shoots in but no luck this time.
Cote misses with a head kick.
Cote throws a head kick but Gracie moves out of range.
Cote tries to bum rush Gracie with a series of wild strikes but Gracie uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Gracie looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cote throws a shot to the body.
Cote swinging wildly here.
Derek Cote seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cote throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Cote throws a right hand that Gracie ducks under and follows up with a left that Gracie also avoids with ease.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gracie.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mestre Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cote throws a body punch but Gracie moves out of range.
Left hook, right uppercut from Cote.
Cote tries a head kick but it misses.
Cote digs a good body shot into Gracie's ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie fails with a takedown attempt.
Cote throws a right hand that Gracie ducks under and follows up with a left that Gracie also avoids with ease.
Gracie looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cote is fending him off so far but Gracie persists. Nope, Cote circles away and we're back to standing.
Cote throws an overhand right that lands on Gracie's shoulder, as Gracie tries to avoid the shot.
Gracie takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Cote throws a one two combo.
Gracie is breathing heavily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gracie keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cote misses with a head kick.
Cote tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Cote misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cote throws a series of punches but Gracie avoids them all with ease.
Gracie shoots in but no luck this time.
Gracie shoots in for a double leg but Cote sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Cote is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Gracie rather than just go for the knockout.
Cote uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Gracie has time to react.
Cote paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Cote lands the left hand.
Cote throws a leg kick but Gracie sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Cote throws a series of punches but Gracie moves out of range.
Cote lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Gracie avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cote throws a series of punches but Gracie moves out of range.
Cote lands with a cross.
Cote misses with a looping right.
A slapping leg kick lands for Cote.
Gracie fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Gracie. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Cote digs a good body shot into Gracie's ribs.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cote looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Cote throws a series of punches but Gracie moves out of range.
Gracie walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Derek Cote dominated that round.
That's time! Gracie's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Cote swings for the body but Gracie moves out of range.
Cote misses with a series of wild punches.
Gracie dodges the punch combination from Cote.
Cote tests Gracie's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Gracie avoids the head kick by Cote.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cote lands a nice hook to Gracie's body. Gracie takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Cote goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Gracie uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cote.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Cote drives through with a takedown into guard.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Cote from controlling successfully.
Gracie striking off his back but it's not causing Cote any problems.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gracie tries to strike from the bottom.
Cote really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gracie. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Gracie thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Gracie tries to strike from the bottom.
Cote trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Gracie keeping full guard, as Cote tries to pass.
Gracie wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gracie fails with the takedown
and Cote counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Cote lands a body shot.
Cote moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Cote fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Cote misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Gracie takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Some wild striking there from Cote.
Cote connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cote throws a good cross that connects.
Cote throws a right hand that Gracie ducks under and follows up with a left that Gracie also avoids with ease.
Cote lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Cote lands an overhand right.
Derek Cote seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cote misses with a wild combination.
Cote throws a push kick but Gracie slaps the foot to one side.
Cote thows a body shot but no joy.
Gracie has his takedown stuffed
and Cote counters with a lovely straight right hand!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mestre Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cote lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Gracie circles away quickly and effectively.
Cote connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Cote counters with a low kick, right behind Gracie 's knee.
Cote throws a series of punches but Gracie avoids them all with ease.
Cote misses with a series of wild punches.
Cote scores with a nice strike.
Gracie fails with the takedown

and Cote counters with a shoot takedown. Gracie fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gracie trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Derek Cote showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Cote misses with an attempted mid kick.
Gracie misses with a takedown

and Cote counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Gracie missing with punches from the bottom.

Cote is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Gracie has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Cote seems to be looking for submissions.
Gracie tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gracie flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Cote jumps into side control!
Gracie trying to remain calm as Cote controls from the top position.
Gracie throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Cote attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
A looping hook to the body misses from Cote. Gracie does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cote looks to land a combination but Gracie avoids it well.
Gracie blocks a head kick by Cote.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt
and Cote counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Gracie doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Cote counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Gracie thinking.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mestre Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cote throws a sloppy head kick and Gracie moves out of range easily.
Mestre Gracie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Cote throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Gracie on the side of the head.
Cote misses with a series of wild punches.
Cote looks to throw the jab but Gracie is out of range.
Gracie has his takedown stuffed
and Cote counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Gracie checks a leg kick.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt

and Cote decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gracie's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Cote content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Cote passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Cote decides to stand back up.
Cote has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie avoids a punch combination nicely.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Cote makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Gracie looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt
and Cote counters with a series of strikes. Gracie will be more careful next time no doubt.
Cote misses with a jab, cross combination.
Cote throws a solid leg kick but Gracie takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Cote.
Gracie fails with the takedown
and Cote counters with a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie avoids the head kick by Cote.
Cote throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Gracie fails with the takedown
and Cote counters with a left and a right that stings Gracie.
Cote misses with the combination.
A big right from Cote misses.
Cote misses with a two punch combination.
Mestre Gracie has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Derek Cote is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gracie fails with the takedown.

And that's the end of the fight!
Derek Cote comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Cote 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 25:30
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 25:30
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Derek Cote!