PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joilton Nogueira (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paulo Neto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Nogueira
vs
Neto

184 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joilton Nogueira!
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 Neto!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Seu Braga and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Neto misses with a takedown attempt - Nogueira sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Neto shoots in for a takedown but Nogueira shows good takedown defense.
Nogueira shoots in but no luck this time.

Neto clinches up against the cage.
Nogueira prevents Neto from breaking the clinch.
Neto blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nogueira landing knees to the head.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.
Neto dodges an elbow strike from Nogueira.
Neto manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Neto avoids the elbow strike from Nogueira, against the cage.
Nogueira misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Neto.
Neto managing to block the knees to the body from Nogueira.
Nogueira pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Nogueira is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Neto is defending well for now.
Neto wants to break free but Nogueira has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nogueira misses with a knee to the head.
Neto stalling the fight.
Neto throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Nogueira is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Neto is keeping busy.

Neto manages to pull guard.
Nogueira wants to control from the top but Neto keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Neto pulls Nogueira in to control the position.
Nogueira throws an elbow that misses. Neto uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Nogueira's guard. Nice move by Neto!
Neto sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Joilton Nogueira wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Nogueira rushes Neto and presses him up against the cage.
Neto is looking to take this one to the mat.
Joilton Nogueira has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Neto.
Nogueira prevents Neto from breaking the clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Nogueira takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Neto drops down looking for an ankle pick but Nogueira pulls his leg out and moves away.
Neto tries to land a leg kick but Nogueira saw it coming and moves away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nogueira tries to score a power double leg takedown but Neto sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Nogueira somewhat.
Neto shoots for a double leg takedown but Nogueira sprawls well. He's pushed Neto's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nogueira gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Nogueira lands a knee to the head.
Nogueira misses with an elbow strike.
Neto lands a body punch in the clinch.
Nogueira is looking to take this one to the mat.
Nogueira is breathing heavily.
Neto scores with a nice hook to the head.

Neto jumps into guard, dragging Nogueira to the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Neto controlling the position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Neto is on top in guard.
Nogueira looking for a sweep. Not yet Nogueira, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neto throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Nogueira being controlled here, momentarily.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Paulo Neto hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Neto tries for a takedown but Nogueira sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Nogueira is looking to clinch.
Neto leaves Nogueira with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Good shot there by Neto.
Nogueira throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulo Neto dominated that round.
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.

Neto shoots in but Nogueira avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Nogueira throws a hook but Neto blocks it.
Joilton Nogueira seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Neto shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Nogueira sprawls well. Nogueira wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Neto gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice sprawl there from Nogueira as Neto shoots in.
Joilton Nogueira has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Neto.
Nogueira throws a half hearted mid kick.

Neto pushes Nogueira up against the cage in a clinch.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.
Neto wants to break free but Nogueira has control.
Stalling in the clinch from Neto.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.
Nogueira tries to land a knee to the head but Neto blocks with his arms.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neto tries for a takedown but Nogueira manages to get underhooks.
Nogueira is trying to maintain a safe position but Neto gets an underhook and turns Nogueira into the cage.
Nogueira creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Nogueira lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Nogueira throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Neto wants to take the fight to the mat but Nogueira manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Neto on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nogueira goes for a takedown attempt but Neto pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nogueira fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Neto avoids it really well and circles away.
Neto tries for a takedown but Nogueira sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neto misses with a leg kick.
Neto shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Nogueira but Nogueira pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Nogueira slaps away a takedown attempt from Neto, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Nogueira throws a half hearted mid kick.
Neto shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Nogueira defends it nicely.

Nogueira drives through and clinches with Neto against the cage.
Neto avoiding damage as Nogueira throws knees to the body.
Neto lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Nogueira backwards.
Nogueira tries to land knees in the clinch but Neto avoids the damage to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neto dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Neto is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Nogueira is defending well.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.
Neto dodges an elbow strike from Nogueira.
Nogueira misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Neto.
Nogueira gets underhooks to prevent Neto's takedown attempt.
Neto working hard to break the clinch.
Nogueira using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Neto has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Nogueira tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Neto fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Neto blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nogueira throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Nogueira taking a breather.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Nogueira landing knees to the body.
Nogueira throws an elbow but it misses.
Neto is trying to break the clinch but Nogueira has him pressed against the cage.
Neto changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Nogueira fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Neto looks for a takedown but Nogueira sprawls well.
Neto shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nogueira pinned against the cage. Nogueira gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nogueira swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joilton Nogueira dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Neto shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Nogueira defends it nicely.
Nogueira is looking to clinch but Neto is avoiding it.
Nogueira tries to clinch
and Neto counters with a series of strikes. Nogueira will be more careful next time no doubt.
Joilton Nogueira is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Good standup being displayed there by Neto as he connects with a hook.
Nogueira is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Neto misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Nogueira fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nogueira misses with an uppercut
and Neto counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Nogueira rushes Neto and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Nogueira creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Neto's defenses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neto jumps guard but Nogueira stands there with Neto around his waist. Neto gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Joilton Nogueira has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Neto.
Neto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A frustrated look appears on Neto's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Neto jumps guard and drags Nogueira to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Neto can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Nogueira controls the pace.

Neto has his foot on Nogueira's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Nogueira works his way back into a safe position though.
Nogueira controlling from the top position.
Nogueira pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Neto is keeping the position for now.
Nogueira trying to stand up but can't free himself from Neto's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Nogueira trying to control but Neto is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Joilton Nogueira.
Neto shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Nogueira fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Neto misses with an attempted mid kick.
Nogueira tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Neto manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nogueira shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Neto defends it nicely.
Nogueira misses with a wild combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neto throws the kick towards the body but Nogueira avoids it.
Neto shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Nogueira as he jumps to the side.
Nogueira fails with the takedown.
Neto's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Neto duly obliges.
Neto shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Nogueira but Nogueira pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Neto is trying hard to land a takedown here. Nogueira sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Neto throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horrible takedown by Nogueira or perhaps it was just good defense by Neto which made him look bad.
Neto scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Nogueira tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Neto counters with a straight right hand.
Nogueira tries to clinch
and Neto makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Neto closes the distance and pushes Nogueira back into the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Nogueira throws an elbow but misses.
Nogueira tries to land a knee to the head but Neto blocks with his arms.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Neto is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Nogueira to keep the fight standing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nogueira missing with knees to the body.
Neto is trying to break free.
Nogueira has had enough of the clinch but Neto keeps him there for the moment.
Neto dodges an elbow strike from Nogueira.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paulo Neto comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Neto has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 28:29
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paulo Neto!