PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Michael Vera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Chavez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vera comes to the cage accompanied by Black Eyed Peas - Bebot. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Vera
vs
Chavez

191 cm
26
205 lbs
13 - 3 - 0

183 cm
29
212 lbs
16 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Excellent MT
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Michael Vera!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Juan Chavez!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Edson Gomes and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vera takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Chavez takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Michael Vera seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Vera moves into range and clinches up with Chavez.
Vera with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Vera landing knees to the body.
Chavez dodges an elbow strike from Vera.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Chavez.
Chavez being controlled against the cage.
Chavez blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Vera with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Vera content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Chavez is trying to stall.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vera with a knee to the head.
Vera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Chavez swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vera tries to stall but Chavez uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Vera misses with a knee to the head.
Vera tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A short right from Chavez on the inside.
Vera tries to land a knee to the head but Chavez blocks with his arms.
Chavez has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Chavez dodges an elbow strike from Vera.
Chavez avoiding damage as Vera throws knees to the body.
Chavez looking to stall.
Chavez lands with a short shot to the head.
Vera with a knee to the head.

It looks like Juan Chavez has been cut.
Chavez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Vera looking to throw knees to the head but Chavez is blocking nicely.
Vera looking to stall.
Chavez tries for a takedown but Vera manages to get underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vera using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chavez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Chavez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Vera misses with a knee to the head.
Vera stalling.
Chavez has a couple of punches blocked by Vera.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Vera is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Vera working Chavez over with knees to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Chavez is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Vera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Vera lands a damaging elbow.
Chavez works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Chavez can't get the takedown.
Chavez tries for a takedown. No joy.
Michael Vera has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan Chavez.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vera lands a knee to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Chavez.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Chavez managing to block the knees to the body from Vera.
Vera looking to throw knees to the head but Chavez is blocking nicely.
Vera blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Vera tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Vera lands an elbow that stopped Chavez in his tracks for a moment.
Chavez tries to stall but Vera uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Come on Vera - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Vera unloads a knee to the mid-section. Chavez lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Vera avoiding damage as Chavez throws knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vera looking to throw knees to the head but Chavez is blocking nicely.
Vera misses with an elbow over the top.
Vera using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chavez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Vera leaning his opponent against the cage.
Chavez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Vera leaning his opponent against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Chavez drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chavez dodges an elbow strike from Vera.
Vera is trying to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Vera dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Juan Chavez's cut.
That's time! Vera's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Vera slips a jab and a cross from Chavez.
Vera throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A jab lands there for Chavez.
No joy there for Vera, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vera attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Vera showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Chavez.
Nice sprawl there from Chavez as Vera shoots in.
Chavez misses with the combination.
Chavez connects with a body shot that sends Vera's belly button to the back.
Chavez wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Vera throws a series of punches but Chavez moves out of range.
Chavez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Chavez takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Chavez punishes Vera's body with a nice straight punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chavez takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Vera closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Vera displaying some good clinch control by pressing Chavez up against the cage.
Vera gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Vera misses with a knee strike.
Chavez comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Michael Vera has scored more points in the clinch so far.

Chavez pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Chavez lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Chavez.
Chavez fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Vera darts in and clinches Chavez up against the cage.
Vera is struggling to control the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Vera with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chavez is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Vera is keeping busy.
Vera tries a knee to the head but Chavez blocks it.
Vera tries to land a knee to the head but Chavez blocks with his arms.
Chavez stalling in the clinch but Vera improves position.
Vera trying to land knees to the body.
Vera pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Chavez tries a body shot but Vera blocks it.
Vera is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Chavez is defending well for now.
Chavez has Vera pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Vera manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Chavez letting Vera take a breather here.
Vera misses with a knee to the head.
Vera tries to land knees in the clinch but Chavez avoids the damage to the body.
Vera throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Chavez blocks it with crossed arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chavez wants to stall.
Vera landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Chavez has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Vera after a bit of a struggle.
Michael Vera has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan Chavez.
Chavez working aggressively here.
Vera avoiding damage as Chavez throws knees to the body.
Vera connects with a nasty looking knee right to Chavez's face.
Nice elbow from Vera.
Vera throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A short right from Chavez.

Chavez manages to break the clinch.
Chavez takes one on the button.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Chavez swinging wildly here.
Vera scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Chavez is breathing heavily.
Vera swings for the body but Chavez moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chavez checks a leg kick.
Chavez moves out of range of the body kick.
Vera misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Chavez.
Vera slips under a jab.
Chavez misses with an uppercut. Vera saw that one coming.
Vera lands a nice leg kick that just misses Chavez's sensitive parts.
Vera cracks Chavez with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Chavez avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Vera scores with a kick to the midsection.
Chavez takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Vera tries to land a front kick but Chavez steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Vera tries a head kick but it misses.
Vera misses with a low kick.

Vera fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Chavez, pushing him back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Vera dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Juan Chavez's cut.
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!

Chavez is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Vera.
Vera on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Vera thuds his shin into the meat of Chavez's side.
Chavez avoids the head kick by Vera.
Chavez fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Vera moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Chavez keeps the fight on the outside.
Juan Chavez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Chavez blocks a jab.
Chavez misses the shot to the body.
Vera closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Chavez thows a body shot but no joy.
Vera throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Chavez counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Chavez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chavez loads up on a big right hand but Vera slips the punch.
Chavez looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Vera, right into the meat.
Chavez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Chavez misses the jab.
Chavez checks a leg kick.
Chavez moves away from the strike by Vera.
An inside leg kick lands from Vera.

Chavez scores a takedown into full mount!
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Vera trying desperately to get to his feet.

Chavez looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Vera throwing hammer fists to the chest of Chavez. What's that going to do exactly?
Vera is trying to escape the mount.
Chavez raining down hammerfists from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vera is desperately trying to improve his position but Chavez has a good base and remains in mount.
Chavez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Chavez looking to finish Vera with some ground and pound. This is bad for Vera!
Chavez cracks Vera with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Vera tries to hold on but Chavez postures up.
Chavez with good strikes from the mount here!

Vera is rocked!
Chavez postures up and lands a whopping elbow - oh that's hurt Vera bigstyle! Two more strikes land for Chavez and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:45 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Juan Chavez!
Juan Chavez is the new light heavyweight champion!
Juan Chavez thanked the fans post fight for their support.