PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jerry Cristo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raoul Duke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys are coming into the fight with injuries so let's see if that has a bearing on the fight. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Cristo
vs
Duke

225 cm
19
166 lbs
6 - 7 - 0

150 cm
19
166 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Experienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
Knockout power

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 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jerry Cristo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Raoul Duke!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Leandro Rodrigues and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Duke stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Duke wants it to stay on the feet.
Cristo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Duke sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Cristo somewhat.
Raoul Duke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Duke slaps away a takedown attempt from Cristo, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerry Cristo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cristo is breathing heavily.

Duke closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Cristo did well to prevent Duke getting side control.
Duke controlling the pace.
Duke lands with a punch from half guard.
Duke with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
Cristo is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Duke scores with a couple of nice shots.
Cristo pushes Duke off looking to stand but Duke dives back in and keeps control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Duke sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Duke lands strikes from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
Duke scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Cristo looks like he's trying to stand up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Duke content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Duke working the head and body with strikes.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Ground and pound from Duke.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Duke has eaten all the pies!
Well, if Duke is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Cristo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Duke on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Duke lands strikes from half guard.
Cristo is looking to escape.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Duke stops Cristo from getting back to his feet.
Duke passes to full mount!
Cristo is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Duke controlling the position easily from mount.
Duke working the ground and pound effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cristo is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Duke takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Cristo really wants to buck Duke off and get back to his feet.
Duke working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Duke connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Cristo taking shots to the head.
Cristo really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Cristo trying desperately to get to his feet.
Cristo taking shots to the head.
Duke is in the full mount, landing strikes.

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.
Duke with shots to the head and body - Cristo looks very uncomfortable down there.
Duke looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Cristo is trying to stand.
Cristo trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Duke lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Duke lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Cristo wants to try and get back to his feet.
Duke working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Duke won't let Cristo get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Duke tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raoul Duke dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Horrible takedown by Cristo or perhaps it was just good defense by Duke which made him look bad.
Duke slaps away a takedown attempt from Cristo, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Duke gets the takedown into side control.
Duke lands an elbow.
Duke trying to control the position but Cristo is working away.
Cristo is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Duke has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Duke controlling the position from side mount.
Cristo is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Duke remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cristo is pushing Duke's head away, looking to escape. Duke manages to hold on to the position though.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Cristo closes the distance and clinches up with Duke, looking for a takedown. Cristo pushes Duke against the cage but Duke circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerry Cristo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Duke shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Cristo manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Duke makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Duke wants to pass the guard but Cristo is keeping the position.
Cristo keeping moving, preventing Duke from controlling successfully.
Duke won't allow Cristo to get back to his feet.
Duke pushes down on Cristo's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Duke takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duke drops an elbow to the side of Cristo's head.
Duke prevents Cristo from standing back up.
Duke is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cristo is trying to stand up here but Duke is controlling him well.
Cristo has hold of Duke's hands but Duke slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Duke is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Cristo is trying to stand up here but Duke is controlling him well.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Cristo shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Duke as he jumps to the side.

Duke drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Duke lands a couple of digs.
Duke stops Cristo from standing up.
Raoul Duke has got the better of the ground game so far.
Duke passes into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Duke lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
Duke working Cristo over with strikes.
Cristo is looking to escape.
Duke works his foot free and advances to mount.
Duke has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Cristo's face.
You get the feeling that Cristo really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Duke is landing with some decent strikes but Cristo is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Cristo is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
The referee warns Cristo that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Cristo squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

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.
Duke lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Cristo hang on?
Duke connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Cristo is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Duke controlling from mount.
Duke lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Duke can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Cristo is looking to escape.
Duke lands a big shot there that rocks Cristo but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Cristo wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Duke putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Duke lands a big elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raoul Duke showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Cristo looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Cristo gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Duke keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Cristo's head.
Duke is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Duke prevents Cristo from getting back to his feet.
Duke is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Cristo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Cristo is wriggling around but Duke manages to pass to half guard.
Duke working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Duke is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Nice sprawl there from Duke as Cristo shoots in.
Jerry Cristo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Duke closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
You can see the frustration on Cristo's face as Duke controls the position.
Duke in side control lands a decent elbow.
Cristo is trying to get back to his feet.
Duke looks up at the clock and then as Cristo takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Duke smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Cristo is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Duke asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Duke lands an elbow.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Cristo shoots in for a takedown but Duke shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerry Cristo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Duke feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Duke with a nice head shot there.
Duke has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Cristo wants to stand but Duke is controlling the position.
Cristo will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Duke working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duke landing some decent shots from guard.
Duke trying to control but Cristo is working from the bottom.
Cristo is looking to stand up but Duke isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Cristo gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Duke postures up and lands a big shot to Cristo's brow.
Duke works over Cristo with some ground and pound from guard.
Cristo is looking to stand up but Duke isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duke sitting in guard here, content to control.
Duke trying to control but Cristo is working from the bottom.
Cristo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Cristo fails with a takedown attempt.

Duke shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Duke showed some decent athleticism there.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Duke lands a nice short elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duke is trying to control. Cristo wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Cristo keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Cristo is not content to let Duke control the position.
Duke throwing shots but Cristo is blocking nicely.
Duke is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cristo wants to get back to his feet.
Duke has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Duke throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

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

Duke throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Cristo was covering up waiting for the punch and Duke finishes the takedown easily into guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Duke is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raoul Duke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Duke 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 26:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 26:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Raoul Duke!