PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Thiago Alves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Melvin Manhoef (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Manhoef has chosen Steady Mobbin' as his entrance music. Thiago Alves could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Melvin Manhoef's chin.

Alves
vs
Manhoef

180 cm
26
181 lbs
10 - 9 - 0

184 cm
23
187 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Decent wrestler
World class MT
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 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thiago Alves !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Melvin Manhoef!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from Alves does no damage.
Alves takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Manhoef uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Alves .
Manhoef slips under a jab from Alves .

Manhoef moves into range and clinches up with Alves .

Manhoef breaks from the clinch.
Manhoef cracks the inside of Alves 's front leg.

Manhoef has managed to clinch.
Manhoef lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A short body shot lands from Alves as the two fighters clinch.
Manhoef struggles to land a body shot inside as Alves controls his hands.
Manhoef lands a body shot in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Alves blocking some punches.
Manhoef has a couple of punches blocked by Alves .
Manhoef misses with the head strike.
Manhoef has Alves pressed against the ropes, preventing Alves from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Manhoef lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Manhoef swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manhoef lands a left hand.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Manhoef.
Manhoef misses with the head strike.
Manhoef lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

Manhoef escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Manhoef fakes the leg kick and cracks Alves in the body.
Alves is breathing heavily.
Manhoef moves out of range of the leg kick from Alves .
Melvin Manhoef is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Donk. Manhoef catches Alves right on the button with a cross.

Manhoef moves into the clinch.
Alves tries for a takedown. No joy.
Alves blocks an uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Alves misses with a hook to the ribs.
Alves looking for a takedown.
Alves tries a body shot but Manhoef blocks it.
Manhoef lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Manhoef manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manhoef showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Alves .

Manhoef closes the distance and clinches.
Alves tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Alves tries to score a body lock takedown but Manhoef shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thiago Alves . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Alves throws a punch but it's blocked by Manhoef.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Manhoef.
Alves goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Manhoef lands a body punch in the clinch.
Manhoef lands a hook that snaps the head of Alves backwards.
Manhoef pushes Alves back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Manhoef lands a left hand that snaps the head of Alves backwards.
Manhoef gets through Alves 's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Manhoef pushes Alves back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A short right from Manhoef.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Manhoef.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alves tries for a takedown. No joy.
Manhoef lands with a left to the head.
Manhoef just leaning against Alves , taking a breather.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Manhoef creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Manhoef scores with a shot to the side of Alves 's head.
Alves misses with a short punch on the inside.
Manhoef lands a body shot.
Manhoef scores with a nice hook to the head.
A short left from Manhoef.
A short right from Manhoef.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Manhoef.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Manhoef creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Manhoef working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Manhoef prevents the takedown attempt.
Manhoef makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manhoef works on Alves 's body with a couple of short punches.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Manhoef.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manhoef lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Manhoef trying to control the position but instead, Alves has worked for underhooks and has pushed Manhoef into the ropes.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Manhoef.
Manhoef scores with a hook to the body.
Manhoef keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Alves 's efforts to push away.
Manhoef lands a left hand that snaps the head of Alves backwards.
Manhoef controlling the action here for a moment.
A nice left hand lands by Manhoef.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nice body punch from Manhoef - that landed with a thud.

Manhoef breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Manhoef tries a head kick but it misses.
Manhoef keeps Alves at a distance using the push kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Melvin Manhoef dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

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

Manhoef gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Manhoef taking a breather.

Manhoef breaks from the clinch.
Manhoef walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Alves .
Alves throws an elbow but Manhoef slips to the side and avoids it well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manhoef wants to get back to his feet but Alves drags him back down.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Alves 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Manhoef sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Manhoef is not content to let Alves control the position.
Manhoef regains half guard, as Alves was trying to land strikes.
Alves is stalling here. Manhoef is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Alves seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Manhoef has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alves can't do much from the bottom here.
Alves tries to buck Manhoef off but Manhoef is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manhoef working away.

Thiago Alves has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Alves shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Manhoef sprawls well. Manhoef wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Alves gets slowly back to his feet.

Manhoef forces Alves back against the ropes and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Manhoef avoiding damage.
Alves tries for a takedown but Manhoef manages to get underhooks.
Manhoef lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Alves has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Manhoef is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thiago Alves . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Manhoef lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Alves backwards.

Manhoef manages to break the clinch.
Manhoef scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
An inside leg kick lands from Manhoef.
Manhoef lands a head kick. Alves smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

Manhoef clinches up against the ropes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Melvin Manhoef showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Alves throws a lazy right hand but Manhoef sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Alves scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

Manhoef gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Manhoef.

Manhoef's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Manhoef takes a swing at Alves 's ribcage but misses.
Alves ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Manhoef moves away.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Manhoef lands a left hand.
Alves drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Manhoef gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Manhoef lands a left hand that snaps the head of Alves backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manhoef lands a nice uppercut.
Manhoef throws a punch but it's blocked by Alves .
A quick uppercut on the inside from Manhoef.
Manhoef scores with an uppercut up the middle.

Alves is rocked!
Manhoef lands with a left to the head.
Oh Alves is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Manhoef lands a right hand that snaps the head of Alves backwards.
Manhoef lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Alves or not.
Manhoef stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Manhoef lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Manhoef scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Manhoef lands with a left to the head.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Manhoef pushes Alves against the ropes. Manhoef is working some dirty boxing. Manhoef pushes off with a quick right hook! Alves goes down! Alves tries to stand but stumbles back to his kness! Manhoef moves in to finish and the ref steps in to prevent any more damage!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:52 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Melvin Manhoef!