PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Arona (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fabricio Costa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ricardo Arona has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Arona
vs
Costa

180 cm
23
192 lbs
10 - 10 - 0

182 cm
26
191 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

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 10 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Arona!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Fabricio Costa!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Leandro Rodrigues and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Arona misses with a body kick.
Costa avoids a kick to the body.
Costa stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Arona.
Costa slips a jab and a cross from Arona.
Costa moves in looking to clinch but Arona pushes him off.
Arona misses with a kick to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Costa.
Arona throws a series of punches but Costa moves out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Arona. Those never looked like landing.
Arona looks for the body kick but Costa saw that one coming.
Arona shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Some wild striking there from Arona.
Arona moves out of range of the body kick.
Arona checks the leg kick.
A slapping body kick lands there for Costa.
Costa avoids a punch combination nicely.
Arona lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Costa circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Arona scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Arona throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Arona throws a right hand that Costa ducks under and follows up with a left that Costa also avoids with ease.
Arona is breathing heavily.
Arona throws a right hand that Costa ducks under and follows up with a left that Costa also avoids with ease.
Arona feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Costa's calf.
Costa takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Costa throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Costa.
Costa looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Costa has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Costa shoots in but Arona avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Arona takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Arona avoids the head kick by Costa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Costa closes the distance and clinches up with Arona, looking for a takedown. Costa pushes Arona against the cage but Arona circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Ricardo Arona has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fabricio Costa.
Arona avoids a kick to the body.
Arona rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Costa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Costa throws a leg kick but Arona sees it coming and moves out of range.
Arona lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Costa circles away quickly and effectively.
Costa fails to land with a series of punches.
Costa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Arona scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Costa misses with a body kick.
Costa tries to land a front kick but Arona steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
A combination from Arona does no damage.
A lazy body kick from Costa
and Arona counters with a one-two to the body.
Arona scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Arona misses with the combination.
Arona moves out of range of the body kick from Costa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arona lands a nice looking body kick.
Arona throws a right and a left that Costa avoids nicely.
Good leg kick by Arona there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Arona tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Arona takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Arona avoids a kick to the body.
Costa throws a low kick but it's checked well by Arona.
Costa tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Arona manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Costa throws a right and a left that both miss.
Costa scores with a kick to the body.
Costa throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Arona throws a low kick, looking for Costa's leg but Costa calmly moves out of range.
Arona fails to land with a series of punches.
Costa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Arona as he avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice body kick from Arona.
Arona throws a front kick that sends Costa stumbling back into the cage.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Costa.
Arona swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Costa throws a low kick but Arona moves out of range easily.
Arona throws a head kick but Costa moves out of range.
Costa avoids a kick to the body.
Arona is working the combinations to good effect here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Arona throws a head kick that misses.
Costa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Costa checks a leg kick.
Costa shoots in and drives through. Arona sprawls well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Arona looks for the body kick but Costa saw that one coming.
Costa checks a leg kick nicely.
A punch combination from Arona misses.
Arona fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Costa has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Arona 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.

Costa is looking to land body kicks.
Arona throws a right and a left that both miss.
Costa is looking to clinch.
Arona throws a right hand that Costa ducks under and follows up with a left that Costa also avoids with ease.
Costa misses with a kick to the body.
Costa looks for the body kick but Arona saw that one coming.
Costa thows a body shot but no joy.
Costa pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Arona misses with a jab, cross combination.
Costa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Arona.
Arona blocks the body kick.
Arona looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Arona pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Arona scores with a kick to the midsection.
Arona keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa closes the distance and clinches up with Arona, looking for a takedown. Costa pushes Arona against the cage but Arona circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Arona throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Costa's waist but Costa gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Arona off to one side.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Costa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Arona falls off balance throwing a combination
and Costa counters with a body kick that stops Arona in his tracks momentarily.
Costa tries to land a front kick but Arona steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Arona throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ricardo Arona is winning the standup battle so far.
Costa misses with a few strikes there.
Arona throws a series of punches but Costa moves out of range.
Arona throws a lazy body kick
and Costa counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Costa lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Arona has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Arona and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A combination from Arona does no damage.
Costa shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Arona defends it nicely.
Arona scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arona looks to land a combination but Costa avoids it well.
Costa fakes the leg kick and cracks Arona in the body.
Costa misses with a head kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Arona will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Arona circles away from the clinch attempt.
Arona blocks the body kick.
Arona stalks Costa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Costa's face. Costa staggers backwards, shaken.
A head kick misses from Arona.
Arona takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Costa throws the kick towards the body but Arona avoids it.
Costa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Arona counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Ricardo Arona has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fabricio Costa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Arona moves out of range as Costa throws a body kick.
A low kick from Arona is predictable there
and Costa counters with a body kick.
Costa tries a low kick but Arona avoids it.
Good leg kick by Arona there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
No luck for Costa with that takedown attempt.
Costa looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Costa throws a push kick but Arona slaps the foot to one side.
Arona scoring well with a low kick there.
A nice combination there by Arona.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Costa stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Costa wants it to stay on the feet.
Costa looks for the body kick but Arona saw that one coming.
Costa avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Costa looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Costa throws a head kick that misses.
Costa lands a nice looking kick to the body. Arona takes a step back to recover.
Arona avoids a kick to the body.
Arona avoids a kick to the body.
Arona is looking to slow Costa down with leg kicks.
Costa is looking to land body kicks.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Arona misses with a series of wild punches.
Costa moves out of range as Arona throws a body kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Costa throws the kick towards the body but Arona avoids it.
Costa shoots for a double leg takedown but Arona sprawls well. He's pushed Costa's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Nice takedown defense from Arona. No joy for Costa on that attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fabricio Costa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sloppy strikes from Arona. Those never looked like landing.
A slapping body kick lands there for Costa.
Costa goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Arona moves out of range as Costa throws a body kick.
Arona will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Arona motions for Costa to come forward. Arona throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A punch combination from Arona misses.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Arona, right into the meat.
Costa is looking to clinch.
Arona will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Costa goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Arona shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Costa shoots in and drives through. Arona sprawls well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Costa looks to score with a jab to the body but Arona is just out of range.
Arona lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa throws a low kick, looking for Arona's leg but Arona calmly moves out of range.
Arona tries to bum rush Costa with a series of wild strikes but Costa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Costa is looking to land body kicks.
Arona misses with a two punch combination.
Arona throws a nice head kick!
Costa misses with a head kick.
A punch combination from Arona misses.
Costa throws a push kick but Arona slaps the foot to one side.
Costa thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Arona if he has to take too many more of those.
Costa looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Costa tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Arona swivels and escapes.
Arona throws a nice looking combination but Costa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Costa throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Costa fails with a takedown attempt.
Ricardo Arona has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fabricio Costa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Costa.
Costa on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Arona blocks a head kick by Costa.
Costa fails with the takedown.
Arona swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Costa throws a lazy right hand but Arona sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Ricardo Arona is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Costa moves out of range as Arona throws a body kick.
Costa pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sloppy strikes from Arona. Those never looked like landing.
Costa's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Arona misses with a low kick as Costa jumps back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arona displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Costa throws out the jab.
Arona throws a nice looking combination but Costa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Arona keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Arona throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Costa.
Costa looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Arona fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Costa has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Costa shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Arona but Arona pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Arona feints a jab promting Costa to slip. Arona then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Costa slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Arona misses with the combination.
Arona connects with an inside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Arona tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Costa moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Ricardo Arona seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Costa misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Costa swings for the body but Arona moves out of range.
Arona misses with a kick to the body.
Costa tries to land a front kick but Arona steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Costa shoots in for a double leg but Arona sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Costa looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Some wild striking there from Arona.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Costa on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Ricardo Arona.
Well Arona has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Ricardo Arona!
A very excited looking Ricardo Arona made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.