PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between David Drexter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Drexter
vs
Aldo

160 cm
25
148 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

170 cm
20
159 lbs
2 - 6 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, David Drexter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jose Aldo!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Ren Mimura and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Aldo has closed the distance and engaged Drexter in a clinch.
Aldo lands a nice shot to the body.
Aldo is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Aldo breaks from the clinch.
Aldo throws a right and a left that both miss.
Drexter scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Aldo pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Drexter back to the cage. Aldo follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
A decent looking cross lands there for Drexter.
Drexter takes one on the button.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Drexter 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.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Drexter 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.
Drexter postures up and lands a big shot to Aldo's brow.
Aldo controls Drexter momentarily but Drexter frees himself.
Drexter being controlled here momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drexter landing some decent shots from guard.
Drexter controlling from the top position.
Drexter throwing strikes but missing.
Aldo has momentary wrist control but Drexter slips an elbow through the middle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drexter postures up and lands a big shot to Aldo's brow.
Drexter is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Aldo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Drexter has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Drexter accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Drexter wants to control from the top but Aldo keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Drexter is stalling in the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because David Drexter wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Aldo keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Aldo scores with a leg kick.
Aldo throws the left hand but Drexter avoids the punch easily.
Aldo shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Drexter pinned against the cage. Drexter gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Aldo looking to score a takedown here. Drexter is defending well but Aldo drives through and ends up in Drexter's guard.

Drexter scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Drexter checks a leg kick.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Aldo enables Drexter to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Aldo manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Aldo keeping moving, preventing Drexter from controlling successfully.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Aldo is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Drexter is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drexter trying to control the position from guard on top but Aldo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aldo looking to control.
Drexter stops Aldo from standing up.
Drexter is fighting to break Aldo's control of his arms but Aldo is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up because David Drexter just wasn't active enough.
Aldo tries for a takedown but Drexter sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aldo tries to clinch but Drexter is having none of it.

Drexter drives through and clinches with Aldo against the cage.

Aldo breaks from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that David Drexter will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Aldo lands a front kick.
Aldo shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Drexter pinned against the cage. Drexter gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Aldo shoots in for a takedown but Drexter shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Drexter could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Aldo tries to clinch but Drexter moves away
and Drexter counters with a straight right hand.
Aldo misses with a wild combination.
Aldo throws a wild body kick that Drexter sees coming a mile off.
Aldo misses with a two punch combination.
Aldo takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Aldo looks to land a combination but Drexter avoids it well.
Donk. Drexter catches Aldo right on the button with a cross.
Drexter takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

Drexter gets a takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Drexter not doing much here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drexter not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Drexter controlling the pace.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Drexter'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.
David Drexter overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of David Drexter.
Aldo tries to close the distance and clinch up but Drexter swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Aldo. Those never looked like landing.
Aldo throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Aldo wants to clinch.
Aldo tries a head kick but it misses.
Aldo shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
David Drexter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.
Drexter throws a nice looking combination but Aldo bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Drexter lands a glancing blow to the side of Aldo's head.
Aldo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Drexter avoids it really well and circles away.
Drexter shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Aldo eats them both and turns towards Drexter to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

Aldo rushes Drexter and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Drexter blocks a body shot from Aldo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Aldo breaks the clinch.

Drexter moves into the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Aldo.

Aldo's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Drexter shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Drexter was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Drexter looking to control but Aldo is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Aldo keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drexter looking to control and managing it successfully.
Drexter seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Aldo for as long as he can get away with.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Aldo keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Drexter dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A big left from Drexter misses.
Aldo shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Drexter moves into range and connects with a jab.
Drexter paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Aldo takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Aldo swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Drexter counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Drexter.
Drexter is stalling in the full guard.
Aldo working a defensive guard here.
Drexter wants to control from the top but Aldo keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drexter pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Aldo is keeping the position for now.
Drexter trying to control the position from guard on top but Aldo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of David Drexter.
Aldo fails with a takedown attempt.
Drexter's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Drexter duly obliges.
Drexter circles away from the clinch attempt.
Aldo wants to clinch.
Aldo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Drexter defends it nicely.
David Drexter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo takes one on the chin but seems OK.

Aldo has taken the fight to the clinch.
Aldo with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Aldo trying to control the position but instead, Drexter has worked for underhooks and has pushed Aldo into the cage.
Aldo pushes off an throws an elbow but Drexter leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Aldo lands a nice shot to the body.

Drexter has clasped his hands together around Aldo's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A lull in the action here as Drexter stalls from top position.
Drexter wants to lay and pray for a moment but Aldo keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drexter tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Drexter controls the position.
Aldo tries to improve position but can't.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Drexter wants to lay and pray for a moment but Aldo keeps working.
Drexter landing a few strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo taking a bit of punishment here - Drexter scoring with strikes.
Aldo is not content to let Drexter control the position.
Aldo is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Drexter is controlling him well.
Jose Aldo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Drexter is looking to take a break and control but Aldo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Drexter prevents Aldo from escaping the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
David Drexter showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Drexter, 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Drexter!