PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Will Bryant (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Renato Damiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Bryant
vs
Damiao

198 cm
22
174 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

183 cm
20
178 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Will Bryant!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Renato Damiao!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Matheus Silva and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bryant has his takedown stuffed

and Damiao counters with a takedown into side control.
Damiao working away.

Damiao decides to stand back up.
Bryant tries for a takedown but Damiao circles away easily

and Damiao counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Damiao stops a takedown attempt from Bryant.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Will Bryant. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Damiao breaks the clinch.
Will Bryant seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bryant misses with a takedown attempt

and Damiao counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Damiao.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Damiao stands and steps away. Bryant gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Bryant gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Damiao decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Bryant's guard.
Bryant is breathing heavily.

Bryant working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Damiao has passed into half guard!
Damiao working over Bryant with some ground and pound. Bryant looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Damiao is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bryant actively working from the bottom here.
Damiao is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Damiao stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

Damiao shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Bryant's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Bryant has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Damiao can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Damiao postures up in Bryant's guard and throws a big left but Bryant blocks it.
Damiao wants to pass the guard but Bryant is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damiao content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Damiao landing some decent shots from guard.
Damiao sitting in guard, not really doing much.
It looks like Damiao might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bryant preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Damiao stays in close to Bryant's body and controls the position.

Bryant had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Damiao defends it easily.

Bryant looking for subs off his back but Damiao has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Renato Damiao hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Bryant shoots and misses

and Damiao counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Damiao.
Damiao trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Damiao landing with the ground and pound.

Bryant throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Damiao escapes and throws Bryant's legs to the side, diving into side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Damiao in side control, just content to control the action for now.

Damiao stands up.

Damiao shoots in and gets a takedown into Bryant's guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Bryant working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Damiao doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Damiao manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Damiao engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renato Damiao dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Bryant doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Damiao counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Damiao gets to his feet - Bryant follows without any prompting.
Bryant with a lazy takedown attempt

and Damiao counters with a shoot takedown. Bryant fights it but they end up in guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Damiao is in close to Bryant's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Damiao controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Bryant had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Damiao defends it easily.
Damiao slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Damiao is pushing down on Bryant's leg trying to pass to half guard. Bryant is fighting to maintain full guard but Damiao has managed to sneak the leg through.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Bryant looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damiao is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Bryant!
Damiao breaks from Bryant's wrist control and lands an elbow.

Damiao working for a guillotine from mount but Bryant is in no mood to give up.
Bryant is in all sorts of trouble here.
Damiao with a couple of short strikes.
The referee warns Bryant that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Bryant is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Bryant really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Damiao takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bryant regains half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Damiao works his way into full mount!
Bryant is trying to escape the mount.
Bryant has given up his back here. Will Damiao look for the submission or keep pounding away?

Damiao looking to break Bryant's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Bryant remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Damiao will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
Damiao gets his hands free as Bryant looks to control.
Damiao is riding his opponent, not letting Bryant buck him off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bryant can't escape the position.
Renato Damiao has got the better of the ground game so far.
Damiao controlling from the back.

Damiao has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Bryant has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Damiao lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Damiao.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bryant rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Damiao missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Damiao wants to free his trapped foot but Bryant is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Bryant looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Bryant looking for submissions off his back.

Damiao is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Bryant sees it coming and defends easily.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Damiao is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Bryant is just riding it out for now. Damiao eventually gives up the hold.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renato Damiao showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Damiao shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Bryant's guard.

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

Bryant is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Damiao distracts Bryant with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Damiao must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Damiao controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Damiao makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damiao makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Damiao stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Bryant doesn't succeed with the takedown

so Damiao counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Damiao showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Bryant is looking for a triangle but Damiao pushes his legs off easily.

Bryant has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Damiao is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Bryant.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Damiao looks up at the clock and then as Bryant takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Damiao smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damiao controlling the position.
Bryant wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.
Bryant seems a little lost for a moment, as Damiao dominates the positioning.
Damiao works to advance to full mount. Bryant defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Bryant tries to control Damiao's body but Damiao pushes him off. Bryant squirms to his side and now Damiao has his back!
Damiao keeps control of the position as Bryant tries to break free.
Bryant trying to control the action but Damiao just sinks the hooks in.

Bryant defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Damiao's arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Damiao is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Bryant is defending well though. Damiao let's go of the attempt for now.
Bryant wants to get back to his feet.
Bryant is trying to break free.
Damiao biding his time, controlling Bryant.
You can see the frustration on Bryant's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damiao keeps control of the position easily here as Bryant tries to buck him off.
Damiao is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Bryant up.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bryant trying to control the position but Damiao manages to sink in the hooks.

Damiao has the hooks in and he's looking for a rear naked choke here. Bryant is defending well but eventually Damiao manages to get an arm under the chin and he's locked on the RNC! Bryant has no choice but to tap now! He does! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Renato Damiao!