PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Joe Drake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paulo Filho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joe Drake had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Drake
vs
Filho

181 cm
24
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
19
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joe Drake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Filho!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Leandro Rodrigues and Alexandre Firmino.

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

and Drake decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Filho's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Filho will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Drake advances to half guard.
Filho gets back to full guard.
Filho tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Drake controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Drake's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Filho has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Joe Drake has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Filho looks for a takedown but Drake sprawls well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Filho throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Drake counters with a takedown into side control.
Filho is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Filho is letting Drake control him for a moment.
Filho is looking to regain half guard here but Drake keeps moving and retains side control.
The referee asks Drake politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Drake prefers to stall for the moment though.
Drake lands a few punches from side control.
A lull in the action here.
Drake grinds an elbow into Filho's temple.
Drake in side control, just content to control the action for now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Drake seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Filho for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake working the head and body with strikes.
A lull in the action here as Drake stalls from top position.
Filho tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Drake scores with punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Filho is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Filho looks gassed!
Filho is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Drake is controlling him well.
Drake working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
A lull in the action here.
Filho on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Filho is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Filho takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
A lull in the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Drake lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Filho down.
Drake in side control lands a decent elbow.
Filho is being controlled here.
Drake cracks Filho with a big elbow.
Drake looks up at the clock and then as Filho takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Drake smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Drake working the ground and pound.
Drake taking a breather here.
Drake is working Filho over with some ground and pound from side control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Filho is looking for a sweep.
Drake controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Drake dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Drake gets a takedown into half guard.
Joe Drake overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Drake slows the pace down in half guard.
Drake working over Filho with some ground and pound. Filho looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Drake trying to control the pace.
Filho is pressing down on Drake's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Drake stays in close to Filho's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Filho working a defensive guard here.
Drake has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Drake distracts Filho with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Filho looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Filho is breathing heavily.
Drake lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Drake tries to free his leg and advance position but Filho is retaining full guard.
Drake landing with the ground and pound.
Filho being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Drake's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Drake forces his way into half guard.
Drake stalling.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Drake has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Drake lands strikes from half guard.
Drake with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Filho trying to control but Drake postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drake slows the pace down in half guard.
Filho tries to kick Drake off but Drake keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Well, if Drake is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joe Drake wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Drake shoots in and gets a takedown into Filho's guard.
Drake cracks Filho with a solid left hand.
Drake sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joe Drake wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Filho closes the distance looking to clinch

so Drake counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Drake scoring with punches to the head and body.
Drake is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Filho can do to turn this around?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Drake controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Drake connects with a couple of short punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Drake dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Drake shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Filho is trying to defend but Drake finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Drake controlling the action here.
Filho taking some punishment here, with Drake in his half guard.
Drake working Filho over with strikes.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Drake in particular looking to stall.
Drake wants to pass to mount but Filho is defending the position.
Filho is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Drake scores with a couple of nice shots.
Drake is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Drake trying to control the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Filho reverses the position - he's now on top in Drake's guard.
Filho trying to control the position from guard on top but Drake is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Drake wriggles free and stands up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Filho looks to clinch

and Drake counters with a single leg into guard. Filho didn't expect that.
Drake postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Drake sitting in guard here, content to control.
Drake makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Drake controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Drake tries to free his leg and advance position but Filho is retaining full guard.
Drake is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Filho has momentary wrist control but Drake slips an elbow through the middle.
Drake controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Filho takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Drake landing with the ground and pound.
Drake 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.
Joe Drake is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Drake keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Filho's head.
Filho being controlled here, momentarily.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Drake working some strikes from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drake is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Drake content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Drake postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Drake's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Filho working for submissions but it's allowed Drake to get to half guard.
Drake content to control rather than advance.
Paulo Filho has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Drake showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Drake, 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:26
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:26
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Drake!