PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lionel Messi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jason Mitchell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mitchell has chosen Badass by Saliva as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Messi
vs
Mitchell

190 cm
21
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
200 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lionel Messi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jason Mitchell!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, John Mangel and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mitchell avoids the body shot from Messi.
The crowd cheers as Mitchell lands an impressive looking overhand right. Messi doesn't seem phased though.
Left hook, right uppercut from Mitchell.

Messi has closed the distance and engaged Mitchell in a clinch.
Messi keeps control of Mitchell as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Mitchell tries to break the clinch but Messi is controlling the position.
Mitchell tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Mitchell managing to block the knees to the body from Messi.
Mitchell trying to control the position but instead, Messi has worked for underhooks and has pushed Mitchell into the cage.
Mitchell seems frustrated at his inability to get double underhooks.
Messi looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Messi jumps into guard, dragging Mitchell to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messi not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Mitchell wants to control from the top but Messi keeps moving.
Messi trying to keep a closed guard but Mitchell is proving a slippery customer.
Messi doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Mitchell postures up.
Mitchell won't allow Messi to sweep him here.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Lionel Messi wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Messi dives in and scores a takedown into Mitchell's guard.
Mitchell wants to get back to his feet but Messi is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Mitchell looking for a sweep. Not yet Mitchell, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell has his hands on Messi's head, controlling the position.
Mitchell tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Messi gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Messi gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Messi is pushing Mitchell up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Mitchell tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Messi turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!

Messi thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Messi lands a few punches from side control.
Messi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mitchell keeps working.

Messi decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Mitchell tries to keep at a distance but Messi has taken the fight into the clinch.
Messi's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Messi breaks the clinch.
Mitchell with a poor takedown

and Messi counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Messi.

Messi ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Messi no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Mitchell wants to control from the top but Messi keeps moving.
Mitchell postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mitchell trying to stand up but can't free himself from Messi's guard.
Mitchell won't allow Messi to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lionel Messi dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Mitchell gets tackled into the cage by Messi. Messi maintains the clinch.
Mitchell tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Messi just stands there and leans against the cage.
Mitchell jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Messi walks away with a smile on his face. Mitchell gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Mitchell shoots in for a double leg but Messi sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Lionel Messi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jason Mitchell.
Mitchell is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Messi avoids a punch combination nicely.
Mitchell throws a head kick that misses.

Mitchell gets caught napping as Messi dives in and scores a takedown. Mitchell manages to retain guard.
Mitchell wants to sweep but no luck.
Messi passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Mitchell is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messi remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Mitchell takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Mitchell being controlled for a moment.
Messi advances to full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Messi lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Messi controlling his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Messi landing punches.
Messi takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Mitchell is trying desperately to improve position.
Messi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mitchell is looking to escape.
Mitchell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Messi. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Messi landing strikes, looking to finish!
Messi controlling the pace for now.
Mitchell wants to hold on but Messi pushes him away.
The referee warns Mitchell that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Messi trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Messi is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Mitchell is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Mitchell working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Messi controlling his opponent.
Mitchell is just holding on here. Messi manages to take his back.
I would not like to be Mitchell right now.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Messi is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Mitchell up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lionel Messi dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Messi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mitchell.

Messi clinches up with Mitchell and pushes him back against the cage.

Messi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mitchell shoots in for a takedown but Messi shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Mitchell shoots and misses

and Messi counters by moving into the clinch.

Messi jumps into guard, dragging Mitchell to the mat.
Messi pulls Mitchell in close to prevent any damage.
Messi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Lionel Messi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Messi is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messi sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Messi working Mitchell over with strikes here.
Mitchell tries to improve his position but instead Messi has taken his back!
Messi has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Mitchell's body.
Messi tries to keep control of the position but Mitchell is staying busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Messi is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Mitchell defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Will Messi go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Messi has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Mitchell's body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell breaks Messi's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.

Messi is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mitchell defends well.

Messi had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Mitchell defends it easily.

Messi looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell postures up.
Mitchell sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Messi's guard.
Messi preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Mitchell is looking to advance position but Messi won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Messi moves into full guard.
Jason Mitchell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lionel Messi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Messi has control of Mitchell's left arm, preventing Mitchell from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lionel Messi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Messi, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lionel Messi!