PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rich Gold (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Waji Wuju (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gold's entrance music is Bullet with a name. A fine choice. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Gold
vs
Wuju

188 cm
21
165 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

175 cm
25
172 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rich Gold!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Waji Wuju!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Daniel Cesar and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Wuju moves into the clinch.

Wuju pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Gold dives in and grabs Wuju's left leg, looking for a takedown. Wuju pushes down on Gold's head and hops out.

Wuju moves into range and clinches up with Gold.
Wuju avoiding damage.

Gold is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Wuju can't fight it off and eventually Gold manages to take the fight to the floor. Wuju looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Gold really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Wuju is controlling Gold's posture.
Gold postures up in Wuju's guard and throws a big left but Wuju blocks it.
Gold pushing down on Wuju's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wuju is controlling Gold's trapped leg to prevent Gold from advancing to side control.
Gold moves into full mount! Wuju won't be happy about that!
Wuju wants to control but Gold is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wuju might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Gold kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Gold landing strikes from the mount.
Gold dominating with strikes here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gold tries to control but Wuju wriggling away.
Gold is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Wuju is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Wuju is trying desperately to improve position.
Gold throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gold 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gold breaks from Wuju's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Gold connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Gold throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Wuju because Gold loaded up on that one.
Wuju is just holding on here. Gold manages to take his back.

Gold has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Wuju tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gold looking for the choke but no joy.
Wuju controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad spot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gold thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gold has the hooks in. Wuju is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rich Gold dominated that round.
That's time! Gold's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Wuju tries to clinch up.
Wuju tries to clinch up but Gold circles away and keeps his distance.
Wuju wants to clinch up but Gold keeps it at a distance.
Wuju is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Wuju is looking to clinch but Gold is avoiding it.
Wuju doesn't manage to clinch there - Gold circles away.
Nice takedown defense from Gold. No joy for Wuju on that attempt.
Wuju takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Wuju closes the distance and clinches.
Gold has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Wuju avoiding damage as Gold throws knees to the body.

Wuju escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Wuju misses with a wild body shot.
Wuju tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Wuju.
Gold shoots in for a takedown but Wuju shows good takedown defense.
Wuju shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gold as he jumps to the side.
Gold avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The fight stays on the outside here - Wuju looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Wuju instigates a clinch.

Gold ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Gold no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gold pulls Wuju in close to his closed guard and prevents Wuju from doing any damage or advancing position.
Wuju is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gold throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Wuju wants to control from the top but Gold keeps moving.
Gold is trying to keep Wuju in close.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Gold manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Wuju manages to get himself to full guard.
Gold trying to control the position from guard on top but Wuju is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gold has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Wuju is proving hard to escape from.
Wuju looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Gold puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Wuju wants to control but Gold is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wuju is controlling Gold's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Gold wants to stand up but Wuju has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Wuju controlling the position well.

Wuju looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wuju is looking to control Gold's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Wuju avoid being mounted?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Waji Wuju showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Gold avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Wuju pushes Gold up against the cage in a clinch.
Gold changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Wuju fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Wuju keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Gold shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Wuju but Wuju pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rich Gold. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wuju shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gold as he jumps to the side.
Nice uppercut lands for Wuju. That snapped Gold's head back.
Wuju tries to clinch but Gold moves out of range.
Gold tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Wuju swivels and escapes.
Gold tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Wuju lands a left and a right that send Gold crashing to the mat, dazed. Wuju thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

It looks like Rich Gold has been cut.
Wuju defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gold.

Wuju gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Wuju pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Wuju throws a series of punches but Gold moves out of range.
Wuju doesn't manage to clinch there - Gold circles away.
Wuju tries to clinch there but Gold circles away.
Wuju tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Gold manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Wuju leaves Gold with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Wuju tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Gold swivels and escapes.
Gold keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Wuju has managed to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Wuju.

Wuju's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Wuju wants to clinch.
Wuju wants to clinch.
Wuju shoots in looking for a takedown but Gold manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Wuju's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Wuju tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gold swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Wuju tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Waji Wuju seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gold throws a combination that misses

so Wuju counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wuju trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Wuju really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gold. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Wuju looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Gold will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Gold looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Gold has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Wuju can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Gold controls Wuju momentarily but Wuju frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wuju keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gold's head.
Wuju prevents Gold from getting back to his feet.
Gold is trying to keep Wuju in close.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Wuju stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gold swivels though and keeps the full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Waji Wuju comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Wuju has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Waji Wuju!