PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joe Blow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rod Melendez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Blow
vs
Melendez

165 cm
19
135 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

170 cm
26
145 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Charlie Wang's Nutrition and 95 % Laundry
Canuck Beavermeat Nutrition

Charlie Wang's Nutrition and 95 % Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joe Blow!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rod Melendez!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Don Winkell and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Melendez throws a leg kick that is checked
and Blow counters with a head kick.
Melendez wants to clinch.
Blow fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Melendez moves into the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Melendez as Blow tries to tie him up.
Blow fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Melendez tries to break free but Blow pushes him back against the cage.
Blow stalls.

Melendez drags the fight down to the ground.
Blow works over Melendez with some ground and pound from guard.
Blow throws a big right hand that misses.
Blow tries to stand but Melendez is controlling from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blow wants to stand and escape but instead Melendez has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Blow throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Blow is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Melendez dives into side control.
Blow wants to get back to his feet.
Melendez is putting a hurting on Blow here, landing some big shots from side control.
Melendez misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Blow is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melendez cracks Blow with a big right hand but Blow just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Blow taking punishment in the form of punches.
Blow defending against the ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Blow is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

Blow sneaks out the side door and pushes Melendez away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Blow moves in looking to clinch but Melendez pushes him off.
Blow wants to clinch.
Blow avoids the body shot from Melendez.
Melendez scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blow showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Melendez.
Blow tries to clinch but Melendez moves out of range.
Melendez will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Blow tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Melendez manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Melendez stuffs the takedown.
Melendez scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

Blow takes the fight into the clinch.

Melendez manages to break the clinch.
A solid body kick from Blow.
Blow tries to clinch but Melendez is having none of it.
Blow tries for a takedown but Melendez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Blow. That's going to take a lot out of him.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Blow shoots in and bounces Melendez off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Blow wants to stand but Melendez has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blow stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Melendez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Blow decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Melendez, up you get!
Blow throws a head kick that misses.
Melendez shoots in but Blow avoids the takedown attempt easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blow shoots in for a takedown but Melendez shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Melendez walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Blow checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Joe Blow will probably get the nod.
That's time! Blow's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Blow tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Melendez makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Melendez has taken the fight to the clinch.
Blow throws a knee to the head but misses.

Melendez breaks the clinch.

Blow gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Blow is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Melendez wants to get back to striking at distance but Blow won't allow it.
Melendez can't break the clinch.

Blow jumps guard.
Melendez trying to control but Blow is working from the bottom.
Melendez loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Blow is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Blow is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Melendez postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Melendez has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Blow is proving hard to escape from.

Melendez stands and steps away. Blow gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Melendez misses with a series of wild punches.
Melendez slips a jab and a cross from Blow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Blow tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Melendez avoids it.
Melendez is trying to push Blow away but Blow has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Blow tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Blow tries to pull guard but Melendez holds him up against the cage and eventually Blow drops back down to his feet.
Melendez is trying to break the clinch but Blow has him pressed against the cage.

Blow escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Blow tries to clinch
and Melendez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Blow looks for the body kick but Melendez saw that one coming.
A combination from Melendez does no damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blow tries a head kick but it misses.
Melendez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Blow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blow tries to clinch but Melendez moves out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Blow looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Blow tries to clinch up

and Melendez holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Melendez breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Blow looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Blow scores with a head kick.
Blow shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Melendez as he jumps to the side.
Melendez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Blow will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Blow. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blow fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Melendez is out of range.
Melendez shoots for a takedown but Blow saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blow gets caught napping as Melendez dives in and scores a takedown. Blow manages to retain guard.
Melendez is breathing heavily.
Melendez stops Blow from standing up.
Blow keeping moving, preventing Melendez from controlling successfully.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Blow trying to keep a closed guard but Melendez is proving a slippery customer.
Blow thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Melendez wants to pass the guard but Blow is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Rod Melendez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Melendez jabs Blow to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Melendez scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Blow fails with a takedown attempt.
Melendez blocks the body kick.
Melendez displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Blow just misses with a punch to the body.
Blow shoots in but Melendez avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Joe Blow is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Blow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Blow is looking to clinch.
Melendez swats away the attempt to clinch by Blow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melendez lands with a nice combination. Blow backs away looking to recover.
Melendez sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Melendez throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Melendez throws a one two combo.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Blow.
Blow tries to close the distance and clinch but Melendez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Blow fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rod Melendez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck for Blow with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Blow. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Blow fails with an attempt to clinch.

Melendez fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Blow, pushing him back against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Blow throws an elbow but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Blow ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Blow no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Blow wants to stand but Melendez is controlling the position.
Melendez working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
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!
Melendez postures up in Blow's guard and throws a big left but Blow blocks it.

Melendez gets to his feet - Blow follows without any prompting.
Blow shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Melendez sprawls well. Melendez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Blow gets slowly back to his feet.
Melendez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Blow tries to clinch but Melendez is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
That kick from Blow tenderised Melendez's leg. Melendez is trying to keep his angry face on.
Blow throws a head kick that misses.

Blow gets tackled into the cage by Melendez. Melendez maintains the clinch.

Melendez breaks the clinch.
Blow tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Melendez rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Blow moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Melendez is looking to slow Blow down with leg kicks.
Melendez fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Blow keeps the fight on the outside.
Blow tries a head kick but it misses.
Blow is looking to clinch but Melendez is avoiding it.
Blow misses with a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blow tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Blow wants to clinch.
Melendez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Blow has managed to clinch.
Melendez is trying to push Blow away but Blow has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Blow has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Melendez avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

Melendez pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Left hook, right uppercut from Melendez.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blow tries to clinch

and Melendez counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Melendez moves nicely into side control.
Melendez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Blow is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Melendez has just dragged him back down to the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rod Melendez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Melendez 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 27:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 28:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rod Melendez!
An out of breath and clearly excited Rod Melendez thanked Charlie Wang's Nutrition and 95 % Laundry for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).