PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tsingtao Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago Almer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tsingtao Smith has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Smith
vs
Almer

185 cm
25
178 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

175 cm
19
177 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Tsingtao Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Almer!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Matheus Silva and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Smith rushes Almer and presses him up against the cage.
Almer tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Almer blocks it with crossed arms.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Smith obliges.
Smith comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Thiago Almer has been cut.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Smith throws an elbow but misses.
Smith lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer misses with a punch to the body.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer blocks the elbow strike.
Smith managing to block the knees to the body from Almer.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Smith tries a knee to the head but Almer blocks it.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A nice right hand lands inside from Almer.
Almer blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Almer creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Smith pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Smith crunches a lovely knee into Almer's ribcage.
Almer looks gassed!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Almer throws a head punch that misses.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Almer blocks the elbow strike.
Almer avoids the elbow strike from Smith, against the cage.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Almer has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith throws a knee to the head but misses.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
With the fighters up against the cage, Almer throws an elbow but misses.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Almer is defending well for now.
Nice elbow from Smith.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Smith putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Almer in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Almer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Almer misses with the head strike.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Smith blocks a body shot from Almer.
A hook to the body from Almer.
Smith with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Almer wants to get back to striking at distance but Smith won't allow it.
Almer blocks an elbow strike.
Almer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Smith throws an elbow that misses.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Almer is defending well for now.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Almer is trying to force a seperation but Smith has the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Almer dodges an elbow strike from Smith.
Almer pushes Smith back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Smith blocks a body shot from Almer.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but Almer blocks with his arms.
Almer is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Almer trying to land knees to the body.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer misses with a body punch.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Almer breaks the clinch.
Almer takes a swing at Smith's ribcage but misses.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch but Almer swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
No joy there for Almer, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Smith has taken the fight to the clinch.
Smith pushes off an throws an elbow but Almer leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Smith misses with a knee to the head.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
Almer working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Smith is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Almer is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith blocks an elbow strike from Almer.
Smith misses with an elbow strike.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
Almer lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Almer throws a head punch that misses.
Almer is trying to break the clinch but Smith is controlling him.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but Almer blocks with his arms.
Almer tries to throw a body punch but Smith avoids it by throwing Almer back against the cage.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer lands a knee to the body.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Almer dodges an elbow strike from Smith.
Almer trying to stall but Smith improves his position.
Almer avoids the elbow strike from Smith, against the cage.
Almer has had enough of the clinch but Smith keeps him there for the moment.
Smith using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Almer has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Almer avoids a wild elbow strike from Smith.
Smith using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Almer swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Almer tries to stall but Smith uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
A hook to the body from Almer.

That's four 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.
With the fighters up against the cage, Smith throws an elbow but misses.
Smith blocking some punches.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Smith crunches a lovely knee into Almer's ribcage.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.

Almer pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Almer swats away the attempt to clinch by Smith.
Almer connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Almer circles away.
Almer thows a body shot but no joy.
Almer throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Almer throws the kick towards the body but Smith avoids it.
Smith wants to clinch up but Almer keeps it at a distance.
Smith fails with an attempt to clinch.
Almer looks to score with a jab to the body but Smith is just out of range.
Almer wants to land a leg kick but Smith is out of range.
Thiago Almer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Smith gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Almer struggles to land a body shot inside as Smith controls his hands.
Smith creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsingtao Smith dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Thiago Almer'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.

Almer misses with a straight left.
Smith is looking to clinch but Almer is avoiding it.
Smith wants to clinch.
Smith avoids the body shot from Almer.
Almer looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Smith uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Almer.
The fight stays on the outside here - Smith looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Almer paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Almer paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Smith is looking to clinch.
Smith moves in looking to clinch but Almer pushes him off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Smith darts in and clinches Almer up against the cage.
Smith with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Almer lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer digs a right hand underneath Smith's ribcage. Smith let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Almer scores with a hook to the body.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Almer pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Almer trying to control the position but instead, Smith has worked for underhooks and has pushed Almer into the cage.
Smith landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Smith tries a knee to the head but Almer blocks it.
Almer swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Smith lands a nice elbow.
Almer swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith blocking some punches.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
Almer blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Almer is trying to break the clinch but Smith is controlling him.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Almer avoids it.
Almer tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Almer is defending well for now.
Smith avoiding damage as Almer throws knees to the body.
Almer misses with a punch to the body.
Smith creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Almer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith throws an elbow that misses.
Almer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two 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.
Almer stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer lands a shot to the body.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Smith.
Almer throws an elbow but it misses.
Almer throws an elbow that misses.

Almer manages to break the clinch.
Smith fails with an attempt to clinch.
Smith tries to clinch up.
Almer throws a series of punches but Smith moves out of range.
Smith tries to clinch but Almer moves out of range.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Almer swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A combination from Almer does no damage.
Smith lands a nice hook to Almer's body. Almer takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Smith moves in looking to clinch but Almer pushes him off.
Almer digs a good body shot into Smith's ribs.
Almer keeps Smith at a distance using the push kick.
Almer misses with a wild combination.
Smith thuds his shin into the meat of Almer's side.

Smith drives through and clinches with Almer against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but Almer blocks with his arms.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith looking to throw knees to the head but Almer is blocking nicely.
Almer tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Smith blocks an elbow strike.
Almer wants to break free but Smith has control.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Almer pushes off an throws an elbow but Smith leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Smith managing to block the knees to the body from Almer.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Almer is defending well for now.
Almer fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Smith missing with knees to the body.

Almer breaks the clinch.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Almer circles away.
Almer takes a swing at Smith's ribcage but misses.
Almer misses with an uppercut. Smith saw that one coming.

Smith instigates a clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Smith just misses with a elbow thrown towards Almer's brow.
Smith tries a knee to the head but Almer blocks it.
Almer pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Smith obliges.
Smith scores a nice knee to the body.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Almer throws a head punch that misses.
Smith looking to throw knees to the head but Almer is blocking nicely.
Almer is trying to break the clinch but Smith is controlling him.
Almer blocks the elbow strike.
Almer misses with a short punch on the inside.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.

Almer escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Almer is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Smith rather than just go for the knockout.

Smith clinches up with Almer and pushes him back against the cage.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Almer is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Smith tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Almer misses with a short punch on the inside.
Almer throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Smith creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsingtao Smith dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Thiago Almer's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get 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.

The fighters circling - Almer throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Almer swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Smith counters by moving into the clinch.
Smith tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Smith blocks the elbow strike.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Smith avoiding damage as Almer throws knees to the body.
Smith has Almer pressed against the cage, preventing Almer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Smith pushes off an throws an elbow but Almer leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tsingtao Smith has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Smith throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Almer blocks it with crossed arms.
Almer digs a right hand underneath Smith's ribcage. Smith let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer avoids a wild elbow strike from Smith.
Smith throws a knee to the head but misses.
Almer lands a nice shot to the body.
Smith avoiding damage as Almer throws knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Almer blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Smith connects with a knee to the head.
Smith blocks an elbow strike from Almer.
Almer tries to break free but Smith pushes him back against the cage.
Almer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Smith dodges an elbow strike from Almer.
Almer blocks an elbow strike from Smith.
Almer tries to circle away but Smith has him pinned against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Almer lands an elbow inside.
Almer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Almer lands a nice elbow.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Almer is looking to control Smith's arms but Smith gets an underhook and turns him. Now Almer has his back to the cage.
Almer misses with an elbow over the top.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Almer avoids the damage to the body.
Almer lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Smith.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Almer digs a right hand underneath Smith's ribcage. Smith let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Almer misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.
Smith pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Smith pushes off an throws an elbow but Almer leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Almer creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

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.
Smith throws a knee to the head but misses.

Almer pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Smith fails in his attempt to clinch.

Smith rushes Almer and presses him up against the cage.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
A body shot lands from Almer.
Smith throws an elbow that misses.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Almer doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Smith avoids a wild elbow strike from Almer.
Almer tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
A nice right hand lands inside from Almer.
Almer tries to throw a body punch but Smith avoids it by throwing Almer back against the cage.
Almer tries to circle away but Smith has him pinned against the cage.
Smith throws an elbow but it misses.
Almer lands a knee to the body.
Almer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith connects with a knee to the head.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Smith's defenses.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Smith throws a knee to the head but misses.
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Almer scores with a hook to the body.
Smith managing to block the knees to the body from Almer.
Smith using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Almer has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Smith.
Almer misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.
Almer struggles to land a body shot inside as Smith controls his hands.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Almer avoids it.
Smith prevents Almer from breaking the clinch.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Smith takes an elbow to the temple.
Almer avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer lands a nice elbow.
Smith looking to throw knees to the head but Almer is blocking nicely.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Smith avoiding damage as Almer throws knees to the body.
A short right from Almer on the inside.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Smith.

Almer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Almer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Smith closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Smith throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.

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.
Almer works on Smith's body with a couple of short punches.
Almer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Smith throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Almer seems frustrated at his inability to get double underhooks.
Smith misses with a knee strike.
Almer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Almer misses with a punch on the inside.
Almer is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Smith is defending well for now.
Almer managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Almer.
A short left from Almer.
Almer is looking to break free of the clinch but Smith has double underhooks.
Smith lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Almer avoids the elbow strike from Smith, against the cage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Almer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Almer tries to throw a body punch but Smith avoids it by throwing Almer back against the cage.
Almer comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
With the fighters up against the cage, Smith throws an elbow but misses.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Almer tries to land knees in the clinch but Smith avoids the damage to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Thiago Almer.
Well Smith 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight for Tsingtao Smith!
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight for Tsingtao Smith!
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight for Tsingtao Smith!

Tsingtao Smith wins by unanimous decision!