PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Royce Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ronaldo De Sousa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Royce Gracie has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Gracie
vs
De Sousa

225 cm
19
275 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

190 cm
25
265 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Royce Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ronaldo De Sousa!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Albert Achterberg and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as De Sousa sprawls well. De Sousa wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Gracie gets slowly back to his feet.

De Sousa pushes Gracie up against the cage in a clinch.

Gracie is fighting off a takedown attempt but De Sousa is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Gracie to the mat. Gracie regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
De Sousa tries to free his leg and advance position but Gracie is retaining full guard.
Gracie really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
De Sousa scoring with some ground and pound.
De Sousa with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet but De Sousa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

De Sousa drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and De Sousa jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Gracie wants to stand up but De Sousa is controlling him.
De Sousa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gracie wants to stand but De Sousa is controlling the position.

Gracie kicks De Sousa off and gets to his feet.

Gracie gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows De Sousa to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Sousa throws a big right hand that misses.
De Sousa postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
De Sousa is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Gracie wants to stand and escape but De Sousa is having none of it.
De Sousa wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.
Gracie is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst De Sousa is controlling him.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Sousa advances to half guard.
Gracie has hold of De Sousa's hands but De Sousa slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. De Sousa connects with a nice short shot to Gracie's temple.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
De Sousa slips a nice elbow through Gracie's hands, connecting with Gracie's forehead.

De Sousa is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gracie defends it well.
Gracie looks like he's trying to stand up.
Gracie is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De Sousa is working for a submission of some sort.

De Sousa is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Gracie has managed to free his arm - good work.

De Sousa is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
De Sousa takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Sousa works his way into full mount!

De Sousa looking for a guillotine from mount but Gracie is having none of it.
De Sousa throwing strikes here but Gracie is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Gracie is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

De Sousa working for a guillotine from mount but Gracie is in no mood to give up.
Gracie is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, De Sousa cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
De Sousa working Gracie over with strikes here.

De Sousa has control of Gracie's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Gracie regains control of the situation pretty easily.
De Sousa won't let Gracie get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

De Sousa with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Gracie wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Poor strikes thrown by De Sousa there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
De Sousa lands a heavy elbow.
Gracie is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Gracie defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from De Sousa.
You get the feeling that Gracie really doesn't like being in this position too much.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ronaldo De Sousa dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

De Sousa scores with a one two! Gracie had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Gracie doesn't succeed with the takedown

and De Sousa counters with a nice double leg into side control. Gracie won't be happy with that.
De Sousa landing a few strikes.

De Sousa wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gracie, who protects the arm well.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.

De Sousa is trying to get an arm triangle but Gracie is defending well.
Gracie wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Gracie gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
De Sousa has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gracie's face.

That's one minute gone in the round.

De Sousa looking to secure an arm triangle but Gracie defends it well.

De Sousa is working for a guillotine from mount but Gracie frees his head quite easily.
Gracie avoids a series of strikes thrown by De Sousa.
Gracie is trying to stand up.
The referee warns Gracie that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
De Sousa won't let Gracie get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Ronaldo De Sousa has got the better of the ground game so far.

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

De Sousa is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Gracie is surviving well by controlling De Sousa's body position as best he can.
De Sousa thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

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.

De Sousa looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Gracie is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

De Sousa looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Gracie's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
De Sousa pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.
BOOM! De Sousa connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Gracie squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
De Sousa unloading with bombs!
De Sousa with the ground and pound from mount.
Gracie really wants to buck De Sousa off and get back to his feet.

De Sousa looking for a guillotine from mount but Gracie is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.

De Sousa working for a guillotine from mount but Gracie is in no mood to give up.
Gracie is in a horrible position here. De Sousa smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Gracie avoids a series of strikes thrown by De Sousa.
De Sousa thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.
De Sousa raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.

De Sousa is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gracie has managed to escape the submission attempt.

De Sousa is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Gracie can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Gracie squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

De Sousa looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet.

De Sousa looking for a guillotine from mount but Gracie is having none of it.
Gracie squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ronaldo De Sousa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

De Sousa misses with a series of wild punches.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

De Sousa turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and De Sousa manages to end up in side control.
Gracie is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, De Sousa asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Gracie 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.
De Sousa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Check out the look on De Sousa's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

De Sousa is trying to get an arm triangle but Gracie is defending well.
Check out the look on De Sousa's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gracie takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
De Sousa lands an elbow.
Gracie tries to escape but De Sousa is in control.
De Sousa in side control lands a decent elbow.

De Sousa is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Gracie is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Gracie is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Gracie is not content to let De Sousa control the position.
De Sousa tries to move into full mount but can't pass Gracie's legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gracie is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

De Sousa is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Gracie knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Gracie is trying to buck De Sousa off.
Gracie takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Gracie stops De Sousa from passing to mount.
Gracie is trying to buck De Sousa off.
De Sousa working the body and head with strikes.
Gracie wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Sousa trying to control the position but Gracie is working away.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet but De Sousa drags him back down.
De Sousa cracks Gracie with a big elbow.
De Sousa lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Gracie down.
Gracie wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

De Sousa is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Gracie knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
De Sousa throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
De Sousa tries to move to mount but Gracie blocks the move with his legs.
Gracie wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
De Sousa trying to control the action but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Gracie is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but De Sousa has just dragged him back down to the mat.
De Sousa tries to move into full mount but can't pass Gracie's legs.

De Sousa is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Gracie is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet but De Sousa drags him back down.
De Sousa is chipping away with strikes.
De Sousa working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

De Sousa tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no De Sousa has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Gracie wants to get back to his feet but De Sousa drags him back down.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ronaldo De Sousa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well De Sousa 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 Nard Betker scores the fight 26:30
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 24:30
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ronaldo De Sousa!