PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Xande Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fernando Vargas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie comes to the ring accompanied by Original Nuttah!. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as Fernando Vargas enters the ring!

Gracie
vs
Vargas

189 cm
22
218 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Determined

Asphyxiation Ltd.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Xande Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Fernando Vargas!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Daniel Cesar and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie gets a takedown into half guard.
Gracie is keen to just control but Vargas is a slippery customer.
Vargas wants to get back to full guard.

Vargas is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Gracie pulls his head out easily.
Gracie throwing shots but Vargas is blocking nicely.

Gracie is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Vargas doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gracie.

Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Vargas defends the submission attempt.
Vargas wants to get back to full guard.
Gracie missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie thows a huge punch but Vargas dodges it nicely.
Vargas pushes Gracie off looking to stand but Gracie dives back in and keeps control.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Vargas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Vargas trying to control from the bottom.

Vargas is defending against the submission attempts here by Gracie.
Vargas is trying is best to control the position here.
Gracie trying to control from half guard but Vargas is working away.
Vargas should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Vargas is looking for a sweep. Gracie is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gracie 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.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Vargas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Gracie is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Vargas doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gracie.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
The fighters are battling for position here. Vargas manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Vargas keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
Gracie throws an elbow that misses. Vargas uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Gracie's guard. Nice move by Vargas!
Vargas trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gracie is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Vargas loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vargas passes Gracie's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Gracie wants to improve his position but Vargas is controlling well.

Vargas is looking for a kimura but Gracie is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Vargas to get the leverage.
Gracie pushes Vargas off looking to stand but Vargas dives back in and keeps control.
Vargas wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gracie keeps working.
Gracie trying to control but Vargas postures up.
Gracie is breathing heavily.
Gracie moves into full guard.
Vargas wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vargas stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gracie swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Vargas from controlling successfully.
Gracie is trying to control the position but Vargas postures up.
Vargas trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Fernando Vargas was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Vargas gets caught napping as Gracie dives in and scores a takedown. Vargas manages to retain guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Vargas scores a takedown into full mount!
Vargas with shots to the head and body - Gracie looks very uncomfortable down there.
Vargas controlling from mount.
Gracie regains half guard.
Vargas seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Gracie does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Gracie tries to get to full guard but Vargas has control of the leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Gracie is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Vargas's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Vargas's back!
You can see the frustration on Vargas's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Vargas finds himself mounted whilst avoiding strikes.
Vargas is looking to improve his position but Gracie isn't that keen on the idea.
Vargas wants to use the ropes to get back to his feet here.
Gracie tries to control but Vargas wriggling away.
Gracie throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Xande Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vargas wants to control but Gracie is having none of it.
Gracie trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Vargas is looking to improve his position but Gracie isn't that keen on the idea.
Gracie misses with a head shot.

Gracie looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gracie throwing strikes but Vargas bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.

Gracie escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Vargas gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Vargas wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vargas seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Gracie working a defensive guard here.
Gracie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gracie loads up on a big right hand but Vargas slips the punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vargas uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gracie.

Gracie gets caught napping as Vargas dives in and scores a takedown. Gracie manages to retain guard.

Gracie looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Vargas trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vargas throwing strikes from guard but Gracie blocks nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vargas trying to move into half guard but instead Gracie has managed to sweep!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Gracie dives in and scores a takedown into Vargas's guard.
Gracie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Vargas is trying to keep Gracie in close.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Vargas keeps moving.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Vargas looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Vargas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vargas trying to keep a closed guard but Gracie is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Gracie manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Vargas on his heels. He'll look to pass Vargas's guard now, I'm sure.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Vargas has his foot on Gracie's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Gracie works his way back into a safe position though.
Gracie throws a big right hand that misses.
Gracie is fighting to break Vargas's control of his arms but Vargas is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Gracie looking to sit in guard and control but Vargas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Vargas advances to half guard.
Gracie regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vargas trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Gracie manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gracie sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

Gracie wants to finish this one by submission but Vargas is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Gracie.
Vargas holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Gracie tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

Gracie is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Vargas can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Vargas regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vargas has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gracie is working away from the top position though.
Vargas gets full guard.
Gracie tries to free his leg and advance position but Vargas is retaining full guard.
Vargas avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gracie forces his way into half guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Vargas pushes Gracie off looking to stand but Gracie dives back in and keeps control.

Gracie is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Vargas sees it coming and defends easily.

Gracie is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gracie looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Gracie working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Vargas's thigh. Vargas counters though and makes it back to full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Vargas keeps moving.

Gracie drops back, looking for a kneebar! Vargas looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Vargas looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Vargas!

And that's the end of the fight!
Xande Gracie showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Gracie 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:28
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xande Gracie!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Xande Gracie waved his t-shirt featuring Asphyxiation Ltd. 's logo in front of the cameras.