PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Botello (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lex Luthor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Botello comes to the cage accompanied by Candlekeep. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Botello
vs
Luthor

170 cm
26
212 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

191 cm
23
205 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Botello!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lex Luthor!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Luis Engracia and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Luthor wants to slow Botello down by chopping away at his legs.
Botello tries to clinch up.
Luthor throws a leg kick
and Botello counters with a nice body shot.
Luthor throws a wild body kick that Botello sees coming a mile off.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses

and Botello moves into the clinch.
Luthor wants to stall.
A frustrated look appears on Botello's face as he tries to break the clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Lex Luthor.
Luthor thows a body kick. Botello tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Luthor throws the kick towards the body but Botello avoids it.
Luthor misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses.
Botello checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luthor pivots, looking for a leg kick but Botello is out of range and Luthor settles back down.
Luthor delivers a nice body kick.
Luthor misses with a low kick.
Botello moves out of range of the body kick.
Luthor throws a push kick but Botello slaps the foot to one side.
Botello shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Luthor sprawls well. Luthor wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Botello gets slowly back to his feet.
Luthor throws a leg kick

and Botello counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Luthor's guard now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Luthor is adopting a defensive guard.
Luthor manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Botello manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luthor trying to control the position from guard on top but Botello is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Botello is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Luthor stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Botello swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Luthor tries to stand but Botello is controlling from the bottom.
Botello throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Luthor trying to control but Botello is working from the bottom.
Luthor's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Luthor wants to control from the top but Botello keeps moving.

Lex Luthor has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Luthor feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Botello's calf.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Botello checks a leg kick.
Luthor looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Luthor wants to land a leg kick but Botello is out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lex Luthor dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Botello changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Luthor tries to avoid it but Botello manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Luthor to the ground. Luthor escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Luthor gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Botello finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Botello moves out of range as Luthor throws a body kick.
Luthor misses with a kick to the body
and Botello counters with a low kick, right behind Luthor 's knee.
Botello tries to close the distance and clinch up but Luthor swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Luthor misses with the body kick

and Botello counters by clinching up.
Luthor is pressed up against the cage. Botello has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Luthor down to the mat. Luthor avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Luthor misses with a head kick.
Luthor misses with the body kick
enabling Botello to counter with a crisp jab.
Botello throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Luthor.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luthor pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Luthor scores with a head kick.
Botello goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Luthor misses with a head kick.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Luthor throws a head kick that misses.
Botello displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Luthor throws out the jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luthor scores with a nice body kick.
Lex Luthor is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Luthor misses with a low kick.
Luthor is looking to chop away at Botello's legs.
Luthor misses with a kick to the body

and Botello counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Luthor's guard now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Luthor manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Luthor looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luthor prevents Botello from getting the reversal.
Luthor controlling the position easily from mount.
Luthor looking to control but Botello is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Lex Luthor hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Luthor tries a head kick but it misses.

Botello scores a takedown into full mount!
Luthor tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Botello controlling from the full mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Botello punching from mount but Luthor doing a good job of avoiding damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lex Luthor showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Luthor lands a head kick. Botello smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Luthor throws a leg kick that is checked
and Botello counters with a series of strikes. Luthor will be more careful next time no doubt.
Luthor gets off balance looking for a body kick

and Botello counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Luthor!
Luthor blocking the ground and pound.
Botello controlling the position easily from mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Botello seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Luthor for as long as he can get away with.
Luthor prevents any damage by holding on tight.
Luthor keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Botello can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Luthor is looking to escape.
Botello avoids the attempt from Luthor to control.

Luthor defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Botello.
John Botello overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Luthor manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luthor moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Botello looking to sit in guard and control but Luthor gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Luthor trying to control the position from guard on top but Botello is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Botello might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Luthor not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luthor wants to control from the top but Botello keeps moving.

Botello looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Luthor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Lex Luthor was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Luthor misses with a leg kick

and Botello counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Botello with a flurry of punches that miss.
Botello has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Botello preventing the sweep.
Botello trying to control the position from guard on top but Luthor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Luthor looking for a sweep. Not yet Luthor, not yet.
Botello trying to control but Luthor is working from the bottom.
Luthor looking for a sweep. Not yet Luthor, not yet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Botello wants to control from the top but Luthor keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of John Botello.
Luthor connects with a leg kick. Botello looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Lex Luthor.
I've got Luthor winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight for Lex Luthor!
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight for Lex Luthor!
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight for Lex Luthor!

Lex Luthor wins by unanimous decision!