PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dracule Mihawk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and JD Almanez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Almanez has chosen Wait And Bleed by Slipknot as his entrance music. JD Almanez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Mihawk
vs
Almanez

190 cm
22
192 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

190 cm
18
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Empire Threads

•‡• LION Clothing •‡• [CBK] SOLD OUT FOR JAN.
Empire Threads

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Dracule Mihawk!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, JD Almanez!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Jonathan Paton and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mihawk closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Almanez to the mat! Almanez manages to get full guard.
Almanez wants to sweep but no luck.
Mihawk sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Almanez's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mihawk prevents Almanez from improving his position.
Mihawk seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Mihawk seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Almanez does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Almanez wants to get back to full guard.
Almanez regains full guard. Nicely done.
Almanez is controlling Mihawk's posture.
Mihawk looking to pass the guard.

Almanez is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Almanez working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mihawk doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mihawk manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Mihawk has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Almanez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
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.
Mihawk controlling from the top position.
Mihawk scoring with some ground and pound.
Mihawk postures up in Almanez's guard and throws a big left but Almanez blocks it.

Almanez working for a triangle but Mihawk defends it easily.

Mihawk drops back looking for a leg! Almanez is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Almanez manages to kick Mihawk off! Mihawk jumps back into Almanez's guard.
Mihawk stopping the sweep attempt from Almanez.

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.
Mihawk wants to pass the guard but Almanez is keeping the position.

Almanez is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mihawk is aware though and is defending well.
Almanez looking to control but Mihawk passes into half guard.
Almanez is trying to maintain the position but Mihawk is very close to passing his half guard.
Almanez slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Almanez has an active guard here but Mihawk has managed to pass into half guard.
Almanez looks gassed!
Mihawk is looking to take a break and control but Almanez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Almanez wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mihawk is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Almanez!
Mihawk working the ground and pound effectively.
Almanez wants to hold on but Mihawk pushes him away.
Almanez is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Mihawk is staying active.
Almanez really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The referee warns Almanez that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Mihawk has control of Almanez's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Almanez regains control of the situation pretty easily.

Mihawk looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Almanez is looking to improve his position but Mihawk isn't that keen on the idea.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mihawk lands a nice shot to the head.
Almanez regains half guard.
Mihawk is thwarting Almanez's attempts to control the position.
Almanez is pressing down on Mihawk's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Almanez keeping full guard, as Mihawk tries to pass.

Almanez working for a triangle but Mihawk defends it easily.
Mihawk pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Almanez is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Almanez keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Mihawk shoots in for a takedown but Almanez shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Mihawk is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Almanez's half guard.
Almanez tries to roll over but Mihawk keeps him under control.
Almanez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mihawk is working away from the top position though.
Almanez is looking to improve his position.
Almanez gets back to full guard.
Mihawk stopping the sweep attempt from Almanez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mihawk postures up in Almanez's guard and throws a big left but Almanez blocks it.
Mihawk scoring with some ground and pound.

Almanez throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Almanez is trying to control the position but Mihawk postures up.
Almanez is breathing heavily.

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

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.

Almanez shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Almanez showed some decent athleticism there.

Almanez seems to be looking for submissions.
Mihawk trying to control but Almanez postures up.
Mihawk is controlling Almanez's position as best he can from this difficult position.

Almanez seems to be looking for submissions.
Mihawk is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mihawk looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Almanez is working for a submission of some sort.
Mihawk is looking to control Almanez's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mihawk avoid being mounted?

Almanez is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Almanez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Mihawk defending well though.

Almanez is working for a submission of some sort.

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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Mihawk feints and as Almanez raises his hands in defense, Mihawk changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Mihawk pushes down on Almanez's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Mihawk wants to pass the guard but Almanez is defending well.
Mihawk controlling the action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Almanez trying to control but Mihawk postures up.
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 Dracule Mihawk will probably get the nod.
That's time! Mihawk's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Almanez blocks a head kick by Mihawk.

Mihawk fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Almanez sprawls well initially but Mihawk persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Almanez is doing well to control the position and prevent Mihawk from advancing to side control.
Almanez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mihawk is working away from the top position though.

Almanez looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Almanez works his way to full guard. Good work.

Almanez looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mihawk trying to control the position from guard on top but Almanez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Almanez has an active guard here but Mihawk has managed to pass into half guard.
Almanez is in trouble now - Mihawk has advanced to mount!
Mihawk landing shots from mount.
Mihawk content just to control the position here.
Almanez regains half guard.
Mihawk seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Almanez is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almanez is trying to control but can't.
Mihawk wants to pass the guard but Almanez is defending well.
Almanez is looking to improve his position.
Almanez trying to control but Mihawk postures up.
Almanez is not content to let Mihawk control the position.
Mihawk scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Mihawk misses with a takedown
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Almanez shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Almanez was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Almanez postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Mihawk looks a forlorn figure.
Almanez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Dracule Mihawk is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Dracule Mihawk overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Almanez is working for a guillotine from mount but Mihawk frees his head quite easily.
Almanez avoids the attempt from Mihawk to control.
Almanez throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Mihawk is trying desperately to improve position.

Almanez goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Mihawk turns into him and now he's in Almanez's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Almanez has an active guard here but Mihawk has managed to pass into half guard.
Still in half guard, Mihawk seems content to control.
Mihawk is thwarting Almanez's attempts to control the position.
Almanez is holding on to half guard well.

Almanez is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Mihawk pulls his head out easily.
JD Almanez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Almanez looking for submissions off his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Dracule Mihawk.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Mihawk, 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dracule Mihawk!