PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between John Gordon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fuego Salsa (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.

Gordon
vs
Salsa

183 cm
28
182 lbs
11 - 14 - 1

168 cm
32
172 lbs
13 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

ADCC Champion
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

- - - - - All Nutrients 160 - - - - -

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 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, John Gordon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Fuego Salsa!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Dillan Fox and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salsa throws a jab when Gordon was well out of range.
Gordon uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Salsa.
Gordon jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Gordon tries to clinch but Salsa moves out of range.
Salsa blocks a head kick by Gordon.
Salsa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Salsa misses with an uppercut
and Gordon counters with a low kick, right behind Salsa 's knee.
Gordon throws a jab but it's blocked by Salsa.
Gordon lands with a hook. Salsa tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
A slow jab from Salsa misses its intended target.
Gordon misses the shot to the body.
Gordon connects with a good right hand that stumbles Salsa. Salsa circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
John Gordon seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gordon throws a hook to the side of Salsa's head but Salsa sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Salsa throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Gordon sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Salsa throws a lazy uppercut
and Gordon makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gordon closes the distance but Salsa moves to the side

and Salsa counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Salsa pushes down on Gordon's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Salsa trying to control the action but Gordon is working from the bottom.
Salsa sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gordon defending well though.
Salsa trying to pass the guard but Gordon defending well.
Gordon wants to control but Salsa is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Salsa is working for a kimura but Gordon is defending it quite comfortably.

Salsa is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gordon is defending against the submission attempts here by Salsa.
Salsa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Salsa is pressing down on Gordon's thigh, looking to free his foot. Gordon is holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salsa seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Gordon does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Gordon is looking to improve his position.
Gordon has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Salsa is working away from the top position though.
Salsa wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gordon keeps working.
Salsa moves nicely into side control.
Gordon is not content to let Salsa control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Salsa looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Salsa has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Gordon!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fuego Salsa dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A head kick misses from Gordon.
Gordon is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Salsa is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gordon.
Gordon throws a jab but it's blocked by Salsa.
Gordon keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Salsa.
Salsa lands a nice shot that snaps Gordon's head back.
Gordon swings for the body but Salsa moves out of range.
Salsa is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Salsa misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Salsa misses with a right hand
and Gordon counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Gordon fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Salsa, pushing him back against the cage.
Salsa blocks the elbow strike.
Salsa has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gordon is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Salsa is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Gordon to keep the fight standing.
John Gordon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fuego Salsa.
Salsa prevents Gordon from breaking the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gordon prevents the takedown attempt.

Gordon escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gordon pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Salsa avoids the head kick by Gordon.
Gordon scores with a jab.
Salsa avoids the body shot from Gordon.
Salsa tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Gordon lands with a good body shot.
Salsa blocks a leg kick.
Gordon looks to land a left hand but Salsa moved out of range nicely.
Nice defenses there by Gordon.
Salsa avoids the head kick by Gordon.
Gordon misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gordon misses with a wild combination.

Salsa gets tackled into the cage by Gordon. Gordon maintains the clinch.
Salsa keeps control of Gordon as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Gordon pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Salsa is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Gordon to keep the fight standing.
Salsa tries for a takedown but Gordon manages to get underhooks.
Salsa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Gordon breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gordon leaves Salsa with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Gordon lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gordon turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Salsa darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Gordon wants to improve his position but Salsa is controlling well.
Salsa wants to control but Gordon is keeping him busy.
Gordon wants to control but Salsa is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Salsa wants to control but Gordon is keeping him busy.
Fuego Salsa has got the better of the ground game so far.
Salsa stalling away here and it's allowed Gordon to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

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

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Fuego Salsa wasn't active enough on the ground.
Salsa misses with a looping right.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gordon takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Gordon misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Gordon moves away from the strike by Salsa.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Gordon dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Salsa shoots in for a takedown but Gordon shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Salsa misses with a right hand
and Gordon counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Gordon scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Salsa doesn't seem bothered though.
Salsa throws a big shot that misses.
Salsa steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gordon.
A nice combination there by Gordon.
Gordon shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Gordon connects with a good right hand that stumbles Salsa. Salsa circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Salsa throws an overhand right that lands on Gordon's shoulder, as Gordon tries to avoid the shot.
Salsa slips a jab and a cross from Gordon.
Salsa keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Gordon.
Salsa displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Gordon throws out the jab.
John Gordon is winning the standup battle so far.
Salsa takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salsa misses with a looping right.
Salsa throws an off balance right hand
and Gordon counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Salsa 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.
Gordon moves in looking to clinch but Salsa pushes him off.
Gordon is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Salsa with a poor takedown
and Gordon counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Gordon thows a left - swing and a miss!
Jab by Gordon.
Gordon throws a head kick that misses.
Salsa looks to land a left hand but Gordon moved out of range nicely.
Gordon displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Salsa.
John Gordon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fuego Salsa.
Salsa shoots in for a double leg but Gordon sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gordon swings for the body but Salsa moves out of range.
A head kick misses from Gordon.
Salsa uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Gordon looking to land some kicks to the body here.
No joy there for Gordon, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Salsa manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Gordon on his heels. He'll look to pass Gordon's guard now, I'm sure.
Salsa stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gordon swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Salsa advances to half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Salsa is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Gordon is just riding it out for now. Salsa eventually gives up the hold.
Salsa wants to take a breather but Gordon is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salsa trying to pass the guard but Gordon defending well.
Salsa has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Salsa trying to control but Gordon is having none of it.
Salsa fails to take his opponent's back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salsa can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Gordon is looking to escape.
Salsa wants to take Gordon's back but he can't do it this time.
Gordon working to try and regain half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gordon is squirming around, avoiding Salsa's attempts to control the action.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Fuego Salsa.
I think Salsa 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fuego Salsa!
Fuego Salsa seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.