PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Renato Damiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago Alves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thiago Alves has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Damiao
vs
Alves

183 cm
20
184 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Renato Damiao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Alves!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Felipe Paraventi and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alves tries to clinch but Damiao is having none of it.
Alves looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Damiao throws a low kick, looking for Alves's leg but Alves calmly moves out of range.
Alves closes the distance but Damiao moves to the side

and Damiao counters by clinching up.

Alves is fighting off a takedown attempt but Damiao is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Alves to the mat. Alves regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Damiao sitting in guard here, content to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Damiao looking to pass the guard.
Damiao is looking to work some ground and pound but Alves has wrist control.
Damiao showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Renato Damiao just wasn't active enough.

Alves gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damiao is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Damiao content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Damiao's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Alves keeping full guard, as Damiao tries to pass.
Damiao controlling from the top position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Renato Damiao has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Alves dodges the punch combination from Damiao.
Decent striking displayed by Damiao there.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Alves enables Damiao to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Alves manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Damiao 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.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Damiao stands up from guard. Let's bang!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Alves.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Damiao drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Damiao looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Damiao 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.
Damiao seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Alves for as long as he can get away with.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Damiao makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damiao passes Alves's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Damiao lands with a punch from half guard.
Damiao working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Damiao works his way into full mount!
Damiao controlling from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Damiao raining down hammerfists from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renato Damiao dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Damiao drives through with a takedown into Alves's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Damiao controls from within his opponent's guard.
Damiao lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Damiao controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Alves looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Damiao passes Alves's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Still in half guard, Damiao seems content to control.
Alves has a hand on Damiao's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Damiao takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Alves is breathing heavily.
Alves tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damiao controlling his opponent.
Alves has given up his back here.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Damiao controlling the positon.

Damiao is working the back position looking for the choke. Oh, he's slid into an armbar! Beautiful transition and Alves taps out! Fantastic Jiu Jitsu from Damiao.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Renato Damiao!