PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sim Salabim (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?

Salabim
vs
Alves

180 cm
22
170 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

180 cm
27
181 lbs
11 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sim Salabim!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thiago Alves !
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Kenichi Hosakawa and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Alves decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Salabim slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Salabim looking to hit a scissor sweep but Alves is one step ahead there.
Salabim is looking to sweep but instead, Alves has passed into half guard.
Salabim blocking the ground and pound attempt from Alves .
Salabim is looking to get back to full guard here but Alves has managed to pass to side control instead.
Alves landing a few strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salabim is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Alves off and has taken his back!
Salabim is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Alves up.
Salabim trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Salabim is throwing shots to the body but Alves manages to wriggle free. Salabim pounces on him again and ends up in Alves 's guard.
Salabim throwing strikes from guard but Alves blocks nicely.
Salabim throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Alves is trying to control the position but Salabim postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salabim stopping the sweep attempt from Alves .
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Alves is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Alves prevents Salabim from improving his position.
Salabim is working hard here to advance position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Alves seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Salabim does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alves not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Salabim controlling the position for now.
Salabim wants to control but Alves is keeping busy.
Salabim is looking to improve his position.
Salabim keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salabim tries to get to full guard but Alves has control of the leg.
Salabim regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Alves .
Alves stopping the sweep attempt from Salabim.
Salabim preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Alves trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
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 Sim Salabim will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Alves misses with a hook. Salabim ducked under it nicely.
Alves thows a body shot but no joy.
Salabim looks for a takedown but Alves sprawls well.
Alves looks to land a combination but Salabim avoids it well.
Salabim scores with a hook to the body. Alves takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

Salabim has taken the fight to the clinch.
Salabim scores with a nice hook to the head.
Salabim lands a left hand.
Salabim misses with a short punch on the inside.
Salabim scores with a hook to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Alves blocks an uppercut.
Salabim changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Alves fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Alves moves forwards but Salabim connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salabim scores with a shot to the body.
Salabim scores with a punch to the head.
Salabim shoots in looking for a takedown. Alves tries to sprawl out of it but Salabim keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Alves manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sim Salabim. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Salabim scores with a jab to the head.

Salabim drives through with a takedown into guard.
Alves utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Salabim wants to pass the guard but Alves is keeping the position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Alves is on top in guard.
Salabim keeping moving, preventing Alves from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salabim tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Alves throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Salabim works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Alves content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Alves wants to control from the top but Salabim keeps moving.
Alves won't allow Salabim to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alves trying to control but Salabim is working from the bottom.
Alves stopping the sweep attempt from Salabim.
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.
Salabim wants to improve his position but instead Alves has moved into half guard.
Alves not doing much here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salabim slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Alves tries to free his leg and advance position but Salabim is retaining full guard.
Salabim looking to hit a scissor sweep but Alves is one step ahead there.
Alves trying to control but Salabim is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sim Salabim dominated that second round.
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!

Salabim ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Alves moves away.
Salabim moves in looking to clinch but Alves pushes him off.
Salabim lands a body shot.
Salabim shoots in looking for a takedown. Alves tries to sprawl out of it but Salabim keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Alves manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice takedown defense from Salabim. No joy for Alves on that attempt.
Alves throws a combination that misses

and Salabim holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Alves tries to work over Salabim's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Salabim tries to score a body lock takedown but Alves shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Salabim scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Salabim swings wildly with an uppercut but Alves uses good head movement to avoid it.
Salabim lands a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Alves pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Salabim cracks a nice hook into Alves 's ribs.
Alves misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Salabim.
A looping hook to the body misses from Salabim. Alves does a little dance to reset his feet.
Salabim bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Alves takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Alves .
Salabim lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Alves uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Salabim.
Salabim slips a straight right by Alves .
Alves keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Salabim closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Salabim slips a nice elbow through Alves 's hands, connecting with Alves 's forehead.
Thiago Alves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salabim passes to side control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Alves takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Salabim lands a nice forearm strike.
Salabim moves into full mount!
Alves can't escape the position.
Alves is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Salabim postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Alves looks a forlorn figure.
Salabim with shots to the head and body - Alves looks very uncomfortable down there.
Salabim putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Alves that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Salabim lands a heavy elbow.

Alves is rocked!
Salabim lands a big elbow - Alves is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Alves is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:31 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Sim Salabim!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Sim Salabim waved his t-shirt featuring [JMFC] Arashi Fighting Nutrition Q160 Recovery's logo in front of the cameras.