PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Patricio Freire (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gerson Antunes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Freire comes to the cage accompanied by Havoc. The crowd seem to be enjoying Antunes's choice of entrance music: Bully. Gerson Antunes told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Freire
vs
Antunes

165 cm
26
155 lbs
5 - 4 - 2

176 cm
23
153 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 2, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Patricio Freire!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gerson Antunes!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Matheus Silva and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Antunes closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Freire to the mat! Freire manages to get full guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Freire throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Antunes won't allow Freire to sweep him here.
Antunes wants to control from the top but Freire keeps moving.
Antunes with a flurry of punches that miss.
Freire looking to hit a scissor sweep but Antunes is one step ahead there.
Freire trying to keep a closed guard but Antunes is proving a slippery customer.

Freire throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Antunes thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freire is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Freire has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Antunes can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Antunes wants to control from the top but Freire keeps moving.

Antunes gets to his feet - Freire follows without any prompting.
Antunes throws a quick inside leg kick.
Antunes ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Antunes throws a head kick but Freire moves out of range.
Antunes throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Freire.

It looks like Patricio Freire has been cut.
Freire misses with a wild body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Antunes closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freire is looking to improve his position.
Freire is breathing heavily.
Antunes trying to pass the guard but Freire defending well.
Freire slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Antunes avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Freire tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Freire working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Antunes.

Antunes drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Antunes jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Antunes content to stall in guard here.
Freire looking to hit a scissor sweep but Antunes is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Antunes is stalling in the full guard.
Antunes trying to control but Freire is working from the bottom.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Antunes got a little sloppy there for a moment and Freire has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Antunes has managed to get both his arms back between Freire's legs - danger averted.
Freire wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Gerson Antunes wasn't active enough on the ground.

Antunes manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Freire on his heels. He'll look to pass Freire's guard now, I'm sure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Antunes stopping the sweep attempt from Freire.
Freire is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Antunes stands up and waves to Freire to follow him.
Antunes plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters circle, before Antunes throws a beautiful high kick that crashes into Freire's neck, sending him stumbling to the floor! Antunes lands more strikes and forces a referee stoppage! That one ended in an instant!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:43 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Kick & Punches). Gerson Antunes!
After winning the bout, Gerson Antunes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.