PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Arona (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Murilo Ninja (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Arona
vs
Ninja

180 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

182 cm
23
207 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Arona!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Murilo Ninja!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Seu Braga and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ninja throws a body kick that misses.
Arona moves out of range of the body kick.
Ninja moves in looking to clinch but Arona pushes him off.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Arona is defended easily by Ninja.
Horrible takedown by Arona or perhaps it was just good defense by Ninja which made him look bad.
Ninja slaps away a takedown attempt from Arona, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricardo Arona. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ninja wants to clinch up but Arona keeps it at a distance.
Ninja tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Arona paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja stuffs the takedown attempt from Arona. Arona gets slowly back to his feet.
Arona fails with a takedown attempt.
Arona fails with a takedown attempt.

Ninja changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Arona looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Arona tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Ninja thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arona tries to improve position but can't.

Ninja wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Arona, who protects the arm well.
Ninja tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Ninja in side control, throwing shots but Arona defends.
Ninja controlling the position from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arona prevents Ninja from improving position.
Arona is being controlled here.
Ninja wants to control but Arona is keeping him busy.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

Ninja working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Arona dodges the ground and pound from Ninja.
Ninja wants to control for a moment but Arona uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.

Arona actively working from the bottom here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ninja thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Arona's head.

Ninja is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Murilo Ninja dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A solid leg kick lands there for Ninja.

Ninja closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ninja throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ninja not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Arona looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ninja really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Arona. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Arona won't allow Ninja to pass to mount.
Ninja trying to control from half guard but Arona is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja slows the pace down in half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ninja tries to pass the half guard into mount. Arona knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Ninja wants to lay and pray for a moment but Arona keeps working.
Ninja is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Murilo Ninja wasn't active enough on the ground.
Ninja throws a nice outside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ninja shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Ninja trying to control the position from guard on top but Arona is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ninja engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Ninja stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Arona swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ninja slips nicely into half guard.
Ninja is looking to advance position but Arona won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ninja throws a strike but Arona avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Ninja controls from within his opponent's guard.
Ninja slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Ninja controlling the position from side mount.

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.
Ninja advances to mount.
Ninja can't control as he wanted to and Arona manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Ninja seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Arona does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Ninja is working for a kimura but Arona is defending it quite comfortably.
Ninja seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Murilo Ninja showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

Ninja shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Ninja is working for a kimura but Arona is defending it quite comfortably.
Ninja is just content to waste time from the top position. Arona takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Ninja passes Arona's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja moves into full mount! Arona won't be happy about that!
Ninja looking to finish with strikes here!
Ninja controlling from the full mount.
Arona is squirming around, avoiding Ninja's attempts to control the action.
Poor strikes thrown by Ninja there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's two 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.
Ninja can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Arona is looking to escape.

Ninja swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Arona is now in Ninja's guard. A big mistake from Ninja there, giving up the dominant position!
Ninja bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Arona's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ninja throws and elbow that misses. Arona uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ninja's guard. Nice move by Arona!

Arona drops back, looking for a kneebar! Ninja looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Ninja looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Ninja!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ninja looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Arona is avoiding damage well.

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.

Ninja is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Arona is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Ninja misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Ninja is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Arona has escaped the position, nice work there.
Ninja misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

Ninja is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Arona is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Arona seems a little lost for a moment, as Ninja dominates the positioning.

And that's the end of the fight!
Murilo Ninja comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ninja 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Murilo Ninja!