PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Silvio Briatore (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jose Lopez will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Briatore
vs
Lopez

170 cm
25
198 lbs
7 - 2 - 1

182 cm
25
185 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 7 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Silvio Briatore!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jose Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Igor Prikhodko and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lopez fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Briatore checks it well.
Briatore lands a jab to the head.

Briatore shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Lopez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Lopez looking for a sweep. Not yet Lopez, not yet.

Lopez is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Briatore is in close to Lopez's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Lopez keeping moving, preventing Briatore from controlling successfully.
Lopez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Briatore's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Briatore with a nice head shot there.

Lopez looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Briatore working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lopez's head.
Briatore cracks Lopez with a solid left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lopez looking for a guillotine here but Briatore defends easily.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Briatore's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Briatore drops back, looking for a kneebar! Lopez looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Lopez looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Lopez!
Briatore is looking to reverse the position.

Lopez goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Briatore has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Lopez but great work by Briatore.
A lull in the action here as Briatore stalls from top position.
Briatore lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Lopez down.
Lopez tries to improve position but can't.
Briatore lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Lopez is looking to reverse the position.
Lopez manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Lopez is trying to stand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lopez wants to get back to full guard.
Lopez wants to get back to his feet.
Briatore takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Lopez moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Lopez lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Briatore!
Lopez avoids the attempt from Briatore to control.
Briatore might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Briatore sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Briatore trying to hold on to Lopez's head to control him but Lopez postures up.
Briatore controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.

Lopez is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Briatore has managed to free his arm - good work.
Lopez prevents Briatore from improving his position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Briatore manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Briatore lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Lopez!
Lopez is in all sorts of trouble here.
Briatore 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Briatore working the ground and pound effectively.
Briatore connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Lopez bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Lopez drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Briatore manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Lopez has Briatore in his guard.
Lopez looks gassed!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Briatore throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Silvio Briatore dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Briatore keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Lopez.
Briatore ducks under a wild hook from Lopez.
Briatore scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Briatore.
Briatore misses with a looping left.
Briatore throws a hook but Lopez blocks it.
Lopez misses with a takedown attempt

and Briatore counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Briatore stays in close to Lopez's body and controls the position.
Briatore throwing strikes from guard but Lopez blocks nicely.
Briatore is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Lopez wants to sweep but no luck.
Lopez is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lopez has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Briatore can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Lopez is breathing heavily.
Lopez wants to stand up but Briatore is controlling him.

Lopez looking for a guillotine here but Briatore defends easily.
Briatore lands a couple of decent looking shots.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Briatore accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Briatore stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Lopez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Briatore wants to control from the top but Lopez keeps moving.
Lopez avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's two 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.
Lopez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lopez throws a hook to the side of Briatore's head but Briatore sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Briatore displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lopez throws out the jab.
Briatore misses with an uppercut. Lopez saw that one coming.
Lopez throws a jab when Briatore was well out of range.
Briatore moves out of range of the body kick from Lopez.
Good exchange - Lopez coming out on top.
Briatore uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Lopez has time to react.
Lopez slips under a jab from Briatore.
Briatore defending well as Lopez loads up on a big left hand.
Decent striking displayed by Briatore there.
Lopez missing with a left hand there. Briatore was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Briatore avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Lopez throws a shot from downtown. Briatore moves away and avoids it.
Jose Lopez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lopez throws the kick towards the body but Briatore avoids it.
Lopez ducks under a wild hook from Briatore.
Jose Lopez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lopez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Briatore.
Lopez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Briatore moves away.
Briatore checks a leg kick.
Briatore uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lopez.
Briatore darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Briatore shoots in for a takedown but Lopez shows good takedown defense.
Briatore throws a looping overhand right but Lopez ducks down to avoid it.
Briatore is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Briatore throws a series of strikes that have Lopez backpedaling.
Briatore keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Lopez on the wrong end of a nice hook.

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.
A leg kick checked by Briatore.
A punch combination from Lopez misses.

Briatore closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lopez did well to prevent Briatore getting side control.

Lopez actively working from the bottom here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Briatore lands a nice short elbow.
Briatore drops an elbow to the side of Lopez's head.
Lopez is staying active underneath Briatore, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Briatore lands a nice short elbow.
Lopez is looking to improve his position.
Briatore is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Briatore missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Silvio Briatore overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Briatore working the head and body with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Silvio Briatore dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Lopez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lopez throws and low kick but Briatore moves out of range easily.
Briatore shoots for a takedown but Lopez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Lopez throws a looping overhand right but Briatore ducks down to avoid it.
Lopez misses with a straight right.
Briatore shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Lopez defends it nicely.
Lopez digs a good body shot into Briatore's ribs.
A big right from Briatore misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lopez cracks Briatore with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Lopez looks to land a right hand but Briatore moved out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Briatore throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Lopez closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez working away.

Lopez wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Briatore, who protects the arm well.
Briatore is looking to reverse the position.
Briatore gets back to half guard.
Briatore won't allow Lopez to pass to mount.

Lopez wants to work for an arm triangle but Briatore is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Lopez is working for a submission of some sort.

Lopez seems to be working for a kimura but Briatore defends the submission attempt.

That's two 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.

Lopez is working for a submission of some sort.
The fighters are battling for position here. Briatore manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Briatore scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lopez being controlled here, momentarily.

Lopez working for a triangle but Briatore defends it easily.
Briatore trying to control the position from guard on top but Lopez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Lopez had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Briatore defends it easily.
Briatore is stalling in the full guard.
Jose Lopez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Silvio Briatore is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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.

Briatore got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lopez has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Briatore has managed to get both his arms back between Lopez's legs - danger averted.
Briatore controls from within his opponent's guard.
Briatore trying to control the position from guard on top but Lopez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Silvio Briatore.
Lopez throws a right and a left that both miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jose Lopez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Briatore 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Silvio Briatore!