PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Thiago Alves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Josh Godcheck (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Godcheck has chosen Higher Ground by The Red Hot Chili Peppers as his entrance music. Thiago Alves has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Alves
vs
Godcheck

180 cm
27
181 lbs
11 - 12 - 0

178 cm
27
185 lbs
11 - 9 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent 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 11 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thiago Alves !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Josh Godcheck!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Ren Mimura and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Godcheck misses with a hook. Alves ducked under it nicely.
Godcheck wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

Godcheck shoots in and bounces Alves off the ropes to secure the takedown into guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Alves has his hands on Godcheck's head, controlling the position.
Godcheck stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Alves swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Alves keeping moving, preventing Godcheck from controlling successfully.
Alves wants to stand up but Godcheck is controlling him.
Alves looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves working a defensive guard here.
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.
Alves looking to hit a scissor sweep but Godcheck is one step ahead there.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Godcheck pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Alves takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Godcheck lands a jab-cross combination.
Godcheck blocks a jab.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Godcheck.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Godcheck throws a combination that misses
and Alves counters with a one-two to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alves looks to land a right hand but Godcheck moved out of range.
Alves ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Alves is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Godcheck lands a nice shot that snaps Alves 's head back.
Alves throws a lazy uppercut
and Godcheck counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Thiago Alves is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Godcheck will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Alves thows a body shot but no joy.
Godcheck avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Alves misses with a looping left.
Godcheck slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Alves does no damage.
A decent looking cross lands there for Alves .
Alves falls off balance throwing a combination
and Godcheck counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
The crowd cheers as Godcheck lands an impressive looking overhand right. Alves doesn't seem phased though.
Alves throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Godcheck staying out of range there.
Godcheck bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Godcheck throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Alves moves away from the strike by Godcheck.
A big right from Godcheck misses.
Alves throws a shot from downtown. Godcheck moves away and avoids it.
Godcheck might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big right from Alves misses.
Godcheck slips a jab and a cross from Alves .
Alves scores with a nice right hand.
Alves swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Alves throws a right hand that misses
and Godcheck connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Godcheck misses the jab.
Alves throws a jab when Godcheck was well out of range.
Godcheck ducks under a wild hook from Alves .
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Alves thows a leg kick but Godcheck checks it
and Godcheck counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Alves jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Alves throws an off balance right hand
and Godcheck counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Godcheck dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Godcheck throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Alves on the side of the head.
Alves misses with a double jab.
Alves loads up on a big right hand but Godcheck slips the punch.
Nice defenses there by Godcheck.
Alves on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Godcheck swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Alves .
Alves misses with a series of wild punches.
Alves misses with a two punch combination.

Godcheck shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Alves manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Godcheck preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Godcheck looking to pass the guard.
Godcheck missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Alves controlling the position.
Alves trying to control the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Godcheck won't allow Alves to sweep him here.
Godcheck wants to control from the top but Alves keeps moving.
Godcheck landing with the ground and pound.
Godcheck distracts Alves with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alves preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Alves looking for a sweep. Not yet Alves , not yet.
Alves keeping moving, preventing Godcheck from controlling successfully.
Alves being controlled here, momentarily.
Godcheck prevents Alves from getting back to his feet.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Josh Godcheck wasn't active enough on the ground.
Godcheck takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A low kick from Alves misses
and Godcheck counters with a straight right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Godcheck lands with a shot to the body.

Godcheck manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Alves on his heels. He'll look to pass Alves 's guard now, I'm sure.
Alves looking to control.
Godcheck sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Godcheck trying to control but Alves is working from the bottom.
Godcheck wants to pass the guard but Alves is keeping the position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Josh Godcheck hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Alves throws a nice looking combination but Godcheck bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Alves .
Thiago Alves is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Alves moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Godcheck avoids the body shot from Alves .
Alves is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Godcheck.
Godcheck throws a lazy head kick
and Alves counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Good exchange - Godcheck coming out on top.
Alves throws a head kick that misses
and Godcheck counters with a lovely straight right hand!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Godcheck tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Alves was well out of range. Poor timing from Godcheck.
Alves throws an overhand right that lands on Godcheck's shoulder, as Godcheck tries to avoid the shot.
Alves throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Godcheck showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Alves falls off balance throwing a combination
and Godcheck counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Godcheck connects with a jab.
Godcheck lands with a straight right. Alves didn't see that one coming.
Alves uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Godcheck.
Alves on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Josh Godcheck seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Godcheck scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Alves looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Alves slips a straight right by Godcheck.
Alves throws a right and a left that both miss.
Decent striking displayed by Alves there.
Alves throws a right hand that Godcheck ducks under and follows up with a left that Godcheck also avoids with ease.
Alves throws a front kick aimed at Godcheck's knee but Godcheck avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Godcheck.
Alves has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Alves there as he acknowledges the shot.
Nice defenses there by Godcheck.
Nice sprawl there from Alves as Godcheck shoots in.
Alves misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Alves throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Godcheck counters with a stiff right hand.
Godcheck connects with a good right hand that stumbles Alves . Alves circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Alves is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Nice cross by Alves .
Alves looks to land a combination but Godcheck avoids it well.
Thiago Alves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good exchange - Godcheck coming out on top.
Alves avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Godcheck punishes Alves 's body with a nice straight punch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Godcheck feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Alves looking for a sweep. Not yet Alves , not yet.
Alves is working hard here to advance position.
Godcheck controlling from the top position.
Godcheck wants to control from the top but Alves keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Godcheck with a nice head shot there.
Godcheck trying to control but Alves is working from the bottom.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Josh Godcheck has got the better of the ground game so far.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Josh Godcheck was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Godcheck misses with the combination.
Godcheck throws a series of punches but Alves moves out of range.
Alves misses the shot to the body.
Left hook, right uppercut from Godcheck.
Josh Godcheck is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alves throws a hook to the side of Godcheck's head but Godcheck sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Godcheck's jab looks to have found its range, popping Alves under the eye.
Alves avoids the head kick by Godcheck.
Alves swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Godcheck moves out of range of the strikes.
Godcheck connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Alves momentarily.
Godcheck misses with a few strikes there.
Godcheck looks to throw the jab but Alves is out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Godcheck avoids the body shot from Alves .
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Godcheck blocks a jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Godcheck comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Godcheck has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Godcheck!