PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shane Valcone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Richter Alastrasz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Valcone
vs
Alastrasz

174 cm
25
175 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

178 cm
24
180 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Shane Valcone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Richter Alastrasz!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Luis Engracia and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alastrasz misses the shot to the body.
Alastrasz waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Valcone.
Valcone lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Alastrasz circles away quickly and effectively.
Valcone shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Alastrasz as he jumps to the side.
Valcone misses with a two punch combination.

Valcone shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Valcone showed some decent athleticism there.
Valcone misses with a head shot. Alastrasz uses the momentum to regain guard.
Valcone lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alastrasz wants to sweep here but Valcone controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Valcone postures up in Alastrasz's guard and throws a big left but Alastrasz blocks it.
Valcone has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Valcone scoring with some ground and pound.
Alastrasz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Valcone trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Valcone looking to pass the guard.
Alastrasz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Valcone thows a big elbow that misses.
Alastrasz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Valcone throwing strikes but missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valcone missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Alastrasz wants to sweep here but Valcone controlling him for the moment.
Alastrasz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Alastrasz working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Valcone.
Valcone postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Alastrasz preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Valcone throws a big right hand that misses.

Alastrasz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Alastrasz is trying to control the position but Valcone postures up.
Valcone is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Valcone throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Valcone is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Alastrasz throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Valcone throwing strikes but missing.
Alastrasz controlling Valcone's posture.
Valcone postures up in Alastrasz's guard and throws a big left but Alastrasz blocks it.
Valcone lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Valcone trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Alastrasz manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Valcone escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Alastrasz gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alastrasz postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Alastrasz with a flurry of punches that miss.
Alastrasz keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Valcone's head.
Valcone is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Valcone has his foot on Alastrasz's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Alastrasz works his way back into a safe position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Alastrasz landing some decent shots from guard.
Valcone keeping moving, preventing Alastrasz from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alastrasz scoring with punches to the head and body.
Valcone keeping full guard, as Alastrasz tries to pass.
Alastrasz wants to control from the top but Valcone keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Alastrasz just misses with a punch to the body.
A left lands for Valcone.
Alastrasz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Valcone.
Valcone shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Alastrasz defends it nicely.
Alastrasz misses the body punch

and Valcone counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Valcone.
Valcone scoring with punches to the head and body.
Valcone throwing strikes but missing.
Valcone chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valcone throwing strikes from guard but Alastrasz blocks nicely.
Valcone with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Valcone tries to free his leg and advance position but Alastrasz is retaining full guard.
Valcone throws a big right hand that misses.
Valcone throws and elbow that misses. Alastrasz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Valcone's guard. Nice move by Alastrasz!
Alastrasz trying to control the position from guard on top but Valcone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Alastrasz wants to pass the guard but Valcone is keeping the position.
Valcone not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Alastrasz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Alastrasz preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Valcone looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Valcone is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Alastrasz wants to control from the top but Valcone keeps moving.

Valcone is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Valcone looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Alastrasz passes into side control.
Alastrasz lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

Alastrasz looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Alastrasz wants to control but Valcone is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valcone sneaks back into half guard.
Alastrasz throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Alastrasz seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Valcone does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Valcone has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Alastrasz is working away from the top position though.
Alastrasz with the ground and pound but Valcone uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Valcone trying to strike off his back.
Alastrasz wants to control from the top but Valcone keeps moving.

Alastrasz avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alastrasz is working Valcone over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Alastrasz wants to pass the guard but Valcone is keeping the position.
Alastrasz keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Valcone's head.
Valcone is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Valcone is looking for a triangle but Alastrasz pushes his legs off easily.
Alastrasz lands a couple of digs.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Alastrasz accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Shane Valcone overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Alastrasz trying to control the position from guard on top but Valcone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Valcone has his foot on Alastrasz's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Alastrasz works his way back into a safe position though.
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 Shane Valcone will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Valcone steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Alastrasz.
Good work by Alastrasz as he checks the leg kick.
Alastrasz looks to land a right hand but Valcone moved out of range.
Alastrasz thows a body shot but no joy.
Valcone avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alastrasz misses with a straight right.
Valcone will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Valcone.
Alastrasz thows a body shot but no joy.

Valcone shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Alastrasz manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Valcone throws and elbow that misses. Alastrasz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Valcone's guard. Nice move by Alastrasz!
Alastrasz makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Valcone is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Alastrasz accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alastrasz working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Alastrasz throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Valcone works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Alastrasz stands and throws Valcone's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Valcone is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Alastrasz's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Alastrasz 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.
Richter Alastrasz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Alastrasz takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Alastrasz slips a nice elbow through Valcone's hands, connecting with Valcone's forehead.
Alastrasz lands strikes from half guard.
Alastrasz keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Valcone is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Alastrasz's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Alastrasz's back!
Alastrasz is trying to remain composed but Valcone is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Alastrasz avoids the strikes from Valcone.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valcone lands with a hammerfist to the side of Alastrasz's head.
Alastrasz manages to reverse the position and now he's in Valcone's guard. Nice work there by Alastrasz.
Alastrasz thows a big elbow that misses.
Alastrasz postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Alastrasz throws a big right hand that misses.
Valcone keeping moving, preventing Alastrasz from controlling successfully.
Valcone looking to control but Alastrasz passes into half guard.
Valcone manages to get to full guard.
Alastrasz trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alastrasz working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Valcone's head.
Alastrasz must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Alastrasz throws a big right hand that misses.
Alastrasz works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Alastrasz prevents Valcone from improving his position.
Valcone wants to control but Alastrasz passes into side.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Valcone is working to avoid the ground and pound but Alastrasz connects with a decent elbow.
Valcone tries to improve position but can't.
Valcone tries to escape but Alastrasz is in control.
Alastrasz scores with punches from side control.
Valcone is looking to regain half guard here but Alastrasz keeps moving and retains side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alastrasz tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Shane Valcone is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Alastrasz looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

And that's the end of the fight!
Richter Alastrasz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Valcone has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shane Valcone!