PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chael Sonnen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lyoto Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Sonnen
vs
Rua

170 cm
28
275 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

187 cm
26
275 lbs
12 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
World class boxer
Granite chin

RMC - Rio Mma Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Chael Sonnen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lyoto Rua!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Luis Engracia and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rua looking to score a takedown here. Sonnen is defending well but Rua drives through and ends up in Sonnen's guard.
Sonnen manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Sonnen throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Rua wants to hold on but Sonnen pushes him away.
Sonnen thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Rua keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Sonnen working Rua over with strikes here.
Rua slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sonnen is looking to take a break and control but Rua is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sonnen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rua's head.
Rua slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Sonnen won't allow Rua to sweep him here.
Sonnen might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Sonnen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua has control of Sonnen's left arm, preventing Sonnen from doing any damage.
Sonnen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Rua wants to sweep here but Sonnen controlling him for the moment.
Sonnen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rua is adopting a defensive guard.
Sonnen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rua looking for a sweep. Not yet Rua, not yet.
Sonnen trying to control but Rua is working from the bottom.
Sonnen stopping the sweep attempt from Rua.
Rua is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Sonnen trying to control but Rua is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen scoring with some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sonnen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sonnen lands a couple of elbows.
Rua keeping moving, preventing Sonnen from controlling successfully.
Rua wants to sweep here but Sonnen controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rua utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rua looking for a sweep. Not yet Rua, not yet.
Sonnen 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.
Rua is looking to sweep but instead, Sonnen has passed into half guard.
Rua is looking for a sweep. Sonnen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sonnen throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rua trying to hold on to Sonnen's head to control him but Sonnen postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen prevents Rua from improving his position.
Sonnen is pressing down on Rua's thigh, looking to free his foot. Rua is holding on for now.
Rua trying to control from the bottom.
Sonnen is trying to control the action in half guard but Rua is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Sonnen is thwarting Rua's attempts to control the position.
Rua is looking to improve his position.
Ground and pound from Sonnen.
Sonnen is thwarting Rua's attempts to control the position.
Sonnen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Sonnen lands with a punch from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen stops Rua from getting back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rua is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sonnen's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sonnen's back!
Rua is throwing shots to the body but Sonnen manages to wriggle free. Rua pounces on him again and ends up in Sonnen's guard.
Sonnen wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Rua wants to pass the guard but Sonnen is keeping the position.
Rua with a nice head shot there.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rua throwing strikes but missing.
Rua landing some decent shots from guard.
Rua is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
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 Chael Sonnen will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A nice inside leg kick there by Rua. That's going to slow Sonnen down.

Sonnen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Rua gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Rua manages to get to full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rua is on top in guard.
Sonnen keeping full guard, as Rua tries to pass.
Rua throws a big right hand that misses.
Sonnen is looking to stand up but Rua isn't so interested in that idea.
Rua throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua postures up.
Rua trying to control but Sonnen is working from the bottom.
Rua is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sonnen wants to stand up but Rua is controlling him.
Sonnen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Sonnen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Rua fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rua throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Sonnen was covering up waiting for the punch and Rua finishes the takedown easily into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rua scoring with some ground and pound.
Rua throws a big right hand that misses.
Sonnen keeping moving, preventing Rua from controlling successfully.
Sonnen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rua throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sonnen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rua throws a big elbow that misses.
Rua postures up in Sonnen's guard and throws a big left but Sonnen blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen keeping moving, preventing Rua from controlling successfully.
Sonnen is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rua is controlling him.
Rua trying to control the position from guard on top but Sonnen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rua looking to pass the guard.
Rua trying to control but Sonnen is working from the bottom.
Sonnen manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Sonnen looking to control but Rua is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Rua can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Rua is looking to get to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sonnen throws a strike there. Rua manages to avoid it well and slips a leg under to get to half guard.
Rua blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sonnen.
Rua has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sonnen is working away from the top position though.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sonnen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Lyoto Rua has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rua is looking to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rua slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Sonnen being controlled here momentarily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lyoto Rua showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Rua's jab looks to have found its range, popping Sonnen under the eye.
Rua chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Rua.
Chael Sonnen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rua lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Rua feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rua with a nice head shot there.
Rua scoring with some ground and pound.
Rua working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rua scoring with some ground and pound.
Sonnen keeping moving, preventing Rua from controlling successfully.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rua postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua postures up in Sonnen's guard and throws a big left but Sonnen blocks it.
Rua pushes down on Sonnen's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Rua thows a huge punch but Sonnen dodges it nicely.
Rua looks to land a strike but Sonnen avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Rua throws a big elbow that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rua accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rua looking to sit in guard and control but Sonnen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Sonnen passes into half guard.
Rua trying to control here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua is concentrating on defense, preventing Sonnen from advancing position.
Sonnen controlling the pace.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Lyoto Rua hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Sonnen looks for a takedown but Rua sprawls well.
Rua scores with a jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Rua has taken the fight to the clinch.
Sonnen has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Rua after a bit of a struggle.
Rua misses with a punch to the body.
Rua pressing his opponent against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sonnen is fighting off a takedown attempt but Rua is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Sonnen to the mat. Sonnen regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Rua wants to control from the top but Sonnen keeps moving.
Rua is working Sonnen over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sonnen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rua with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sonnen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rua is one step ahead there.
Rua tries to free his leg and advance position but Sonnen is retaining full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rua lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sonnen controlling the position.
Rua landing some decent shots from guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sonnen controls Rua momentarily but Rua frees himself.
Rua is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sonnen has his hands on Rua's head, controlling the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Sonnen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rua.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lyoto Rua comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rua 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:29
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lyoto Rua!
A very excited looking Lyoto Rua made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.