PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bill Guarnere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rodion Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Rodion Gracie was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Guarnere
vs
Gracie

180 cm
26
170 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
179 lbs
5 - 4 - 1

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Bill Guarnere!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rodion Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Valeri Chadov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Guarnere counters with a stiff right hand.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Guarnere.
Guarnere is trying to ground and pound but Gracie uses the momentary lack of control by Guarnere to regain half guard.
Guarnere thows a huge punch but Gracie dodges it nicely.
Guarnere throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Guarnere is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Gracie is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guarnere missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Guarnere not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Guarnere in particular looking to stall.
Gracie regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Guarnere.
Guarnere won't allow Gracie to get back to his feet.
Guarnere is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Bill Guarnere has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt

and Guarnere counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Guarnere throws a strike but Gracie rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Guarnere is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gracie drops back looking for a leg! Guarnere is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Guarnere manages to kick Gracie off! Gracie jumps back into Guarnere's guard.
Guarnere bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Gracie's guard.
Gracie avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gracie preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guarnere loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Guarnere throwing strikes from guard but Gracie blocks nicely.
Guarnere wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.
Guarnere throws a strike but Gracie rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Guarnere wants to sweep but no luck.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Guarnere keeps moving.
Gracie is looking to stand up but Guarnere won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Guarnere tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Gracie drops back looking for a leg! Guarnere is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Guarnere manages to kick Gracie off! Gracie jumps back into Guarnere's guard.
Gracie is fighting to break Guarnere's control of his arms but Guarnere is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Gracie drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Guarnere dives on top into guard.
Gracie working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Guarnere.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bill Guarnere dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

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

Guarnere seems to be working for a kimura but Gracie defends the submission attempt.
Guarnere looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Guarnere thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Guarnere looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guarnere sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gracie defending well though.
Guarnere stalling away here and it's allowed Gracie to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Guarnere with a flurry of punches that miss.
Guarnere throwing strikes from guard but Gracie blocks nicely.
Guarnere thows a big elbow that misses.
Guarnere looking to sit in guard and control but Gracie gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Guarnere trying to control the position here.

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.
Guarnere looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Guarnere is pulling down on Gracie's head. It's preventing any offense from Gracie, at least for the moment.
Guarnere wants to sweep here but Gracie controlling him for the moment.
Guarnere has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

We're going to have a standup here because Bill Guarnere wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Guarnere throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Gracie's waist but Gracie gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Guarnere off to one side.
Guarnere moves forwards but Gracie connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guarnere has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Guarnere closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Gracie quickly recovers to half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gracie regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Guarnere.
Guarnere with a flurry of punches that miss.
Guarnere throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gracie works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gracie wants to get back to his feet but Guarnere is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Guarnere has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Guarnere postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Guarnere throws and elbow that misses. Gracie uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Guarnere's guard. Nice move by Gracie!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Guarnere seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Guarnere drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Gracie manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Guarnere has Gracie in his guard.
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 Bill Guarnere will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down 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.

Guarnere shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Gracie manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Guarnere throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Guarnere is working Gracie over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Guarnere trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Guarnere.
Guarnere trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Gracie avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Bill Guarnere wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Guarnere avoids a punch combination nicely.
Guarnere misses with a double jab

and Gracie decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Guarnere's guard.
Guarnere seems keen to control Gracie's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gracie drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Guarnere manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Gracie has Guarnere in his guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Guarnere's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Gracie wants to stand and escape but Guarnere is having none of it.
Guarnere thows a big elbow that misses.
Guarnere connects with a couple of short punches.
Guarnere throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guarnere throws a strike but Gracie rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Gracie trying to control but Guarnere is working from the bottom.
Guarnere pulls Gracie in close to prevent any damage.
Gracie won't allow Guarnere to sweep him here.
Guarnere seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Bill Guarnere has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Guarnere shoots in and gets a takedown into Gracie's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Guarnere from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Guarnere accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rodion Gracie has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Guarnere from controlling successfully.
Gracie preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bill Guarnere is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gracie utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bill Guarnere showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Guarnere, 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bill Guarnere!