PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rafael dos Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonio Valentino (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

dos Santos
vs
Valentino

178 cm
22
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

175 cm
20
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Rafael dos Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Antonio Valentino!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Gregory Folan and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Valentino throws a right and a left that both miss.
Valentino fails with an attempt to clinch.
dos Santos dodges the punch combination from Valentino.
Valentino stuffs the takedown attempt from dos Santos. dos Santos gets slowly back to his feet.
dos Santos shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Valentino as he avoids it easily.
dos Santos misses with a takedown attempt - Valentino sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Valentino throws a right and a left that both miss.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentino is looking to clinch.
dos Santos fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Valentino rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but dos Santos moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentino misses with a few strikes there.
Antonio Valentino seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Valentino misses the jab.
dos Santos shoots for a takedown but Valentino saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
No joy there for Valentino, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Valentino lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Valentino.

It looks like Rafael dos Santos has been cut.

dos Santos closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Valentino is looking to get back to his feet here but dos Santos is keeping cool and he's managed to take Valentino's back.
dos Santos trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
dos Santos missing with punches from the back.
Valentino controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad spot.
dos Santos punches the canvas rather than the man.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valentino is trying to get back to his feet but dos Santos has full control of the position and if anything, Valentino has just worked his way into a worse spot.
dos Santos is looking to control Valentino but Valentino is wriggling around and keeping busy.
dos Santos missing with punches from the back.

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.

dos Santos is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
dos Santos avoiding Valentino 's attempts to control his hands.
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 Rafael dos Santos will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rafael dos Santos's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

dos Santos slips a jab and a cross from Valentino.
Valentino throws a right and a left that dos Santos avoids nicely.
Valentino tries to close the distance and clinch up but dos Santos swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Valentino throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Valentino throws a right hand that dos Santos ducks under and follows up with a left that dos Santos also avoids with ease.
Valentino throws a right and a left that dos Santos avoids nicely.
Valentino rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but dos Santos moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Valentino fails to land with a series of punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentino looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
dos Santos shoots in for a takedown but Valentino shows good takedown defense.
Valentino tries to bum rush dos Santos with a series of wild strikes but dos Santos uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
dos Santos shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Valentino pinned against the cage. Valentino gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Valentino is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentino looks to land a combination but dos Santos avoids it well.
A punch combination from Valentino misses.
dos Santos looks frusrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
dos Santos shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Valentino but Valentino pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Valentino lands with a nice combination. dos Santos backs away looking to recover.
dos Santos fails to land the takedown.
dos Santos shoots in for a takedown but Valentino shows good takedown defense.

Excellent takedown into side control there by dos Santos.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valentino tries to escape but dos Santos is in control.
dos Santos has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Valentino is squirming around, avoiding dos Santos's attempts to control the action.
Valentino holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as dos Santos tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

dos Santos has control of Valentino's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Valentino regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Valentino really trying hard to get back to half 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.
Valentino tries to buck dos Santos off but dos Santos takes his back!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Good control from dos Santos.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Rafael dos Santos will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rafael dos Santos's cut.
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!

Nice takedown defense from Valentino. No joy for dos Santos on that attempt.
Valentino throws a right and a left that both miss.
dos Santos closes this distance looking for a takedown but Valentino circles away.
dos Santos swats away the attempt to clinch by Valentino.
Valentino throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Valentino will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
dos Santos looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Valentino is fending him off so far but dos Santos persists. Nope, Valentino circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentino misses with the combination.

Excellent takedown into side control there by dos Santos.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentino is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

dos Santos tries for a kimura but Valentino is defending well.
dos Santos takes a little break here. Valentino wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

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.
Valentino tries to buck dos Santos off but dos Santos is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
dos Santos postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
dos Santos advances to full mount.

dos Santos is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Valentino is surviving well by controlling dos Santos's body position as best he can.
Antonio Valentino has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Valentino is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! dos Santos has taken his back!
Valentino trying to get back to his feet but dos Santos is in full control for now.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
dos Santos trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Valentino doesn't escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael dos Santos showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for dos Santos, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 William Peck scores the fight 30:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael dos Santos!