PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Alpa Chino (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael dos Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chino comes to the cage accompanied by E.B.A.H.. dos Santos has chosen Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger as his entrance music. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Chino
vs
dos Santos

169 cm
26
157 lbs
15 - 8 - 0

178 cm
34
155 lbs
16 - 16 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
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 15 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Alpa Chino!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Rafael dos Santos!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Ian Loll and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from dos Santos does no damage.
dos Santos shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Chino counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
dos Santos misses with a jab, cross combination.
dos Santos listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
dos Santos rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Chino moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Chino shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches dos Santos napping and manages to drive through into side control!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
dos Santos is looking for a sweep.

dos Santos throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
dos Santos is trying hard to land a takedown here. Chino sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
dos Santos pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Chino looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Chino ducks down and throws a hook to the body but dos Santos moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chino stuffs the takedown attempt from dos Santos. dos Santos gets slowly back to his feet.
Alpa Chino has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael dos Santos.
Chino digs a good hook to dos Santos's body.
dos Santos closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Chino throws a predictable looking body shot
and dos Santos counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Chino lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.

Chino throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. dos Santos tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Chino is in dos Santos's guard.

dos Santos looking for a guillotine here but Chino defends easily.
Chino wants to pass the guard but dos Santos is keeping the position.
dos Santos is trying to control the position but Chino postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
dos Santos wants to stand but Chino is controlling the position.
Chino is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
dos Santos utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

dos Santos manages to escape and get back to his feet.
dos Santos paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
dos Santos rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Chino counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in dos Santos's guard now.
Chino throws a big right hand that misses.
Chino throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

dos Santos throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Chino escapes and throws dos Santos's legs to the side, diving into side control!
dos Santos tries to bench press Chino off him but Chino keeps the position.
dos Santos is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chino works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
dos Santos tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Chino throwing strikes but dos Santos manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
dos Santos tries to advance to mount but Chino denies him.
Chino tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but dos Santos wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Chino sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

dos Santos wants to work for an arm triangle but Chino is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The fighters are battling for position here. Chino manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Chino trying to control the position.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Chino keeping moving, preventing dos Santos from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chino is adopting a defensive guard.
dos Santos tries to free his leg and advance position but Chino is retaining full guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Rafael dos Santos hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Chino displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as dos Santos throws out the jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
dos Santos misses with a body shot.
Some wild striking there from dos Santos.
Rafael dos Santos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Chino slips under a jab.
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 Alpa Chino will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

dos Santos shoots in and drives through. Chino sprawls well.
dos Santos swinging wildly here.
Chino swats away the attempt to clinch by dos Santos.
dos Santos misses with a jab, cross combination.
Chino shoots in but dos Santos avoids the takedown attempt easily.
dos Santos throws a series of punches but Chino moves out of range.
dos Santos throws a body punch but Chino moves out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Chino. No joy for dos Santos on that attempt.
A swing and a miss from dos Santos.

That's one minute gone in the round.
dos Santos ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Chino moves away.
Chino shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with dos Santos but dos Santos pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Chino is trying hard to land a takedown here. dos Santos sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alpa Chino. That's going to take a lot out of him.
dos Santos misses with a few strikes there.

Chino takes the fight into the clinch.
dos Santos is trying to force a seperation but Chino has the dominant position.

Chino breaks from the clinch.
Chino scores with a jab to the jaw.

It looks like Rafael dos Santos has been cut.

dos Santos throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Chino tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. dos Santos is in Chino's guard.
dos Santos wants to control from the top but Chino keeps moving.
dos Santos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Chino is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
dos Santos passes Chino's left leg - he's now in half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
dos Santos throwing shots but Chino is blocking nicely.

dos Santos is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
dos Santos sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Chino trying to control here.
Chino is looking for a sweep. dos Santos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

dos Santos stands up from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
dos Santos fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Chino steps to the side to avoid the strikes from dos Santos.
Alpa Chino is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Chino tries to close the distance and clinch but dos Santos swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Chino throws a right hand that dos Santos ducks under and follows up with a left that dos Santos also avoids with ease.
dos Santos keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Chino moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
dos Santos lands a head shot.
dos Santos tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Chino clinches up with dos Santos and pushes him back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
dos Santos is leaning against Chino and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Chino tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chino goes for a takedown attempt but dos Santos pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
dos Santos looks to land a combination but Chino avoids it well.
Chino defending well as dos Santos loads up on a big left hand.
dos Santos misses with a hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

dos Santos fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Chino to the ground. dos Santos is now in Chino's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Chino is working an open guard so dos Santos takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Chino scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Chino looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael dos Santos showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rafael dos Santos's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Chino has a takedown stuffed.
Chino tries for a takedown but dos Santos sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Chino fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alpa Chino. That's going to take a lot out of him.
dos Santos lands an overhand right.
Chino comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
dos Santos just misses with a punch to the body.
dos Santos throws a right and a left that both miss.
dos Santos throws out a loose jab but Chino uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
dos Santos falls off balance throwing a combination
and Chino counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Chino keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rafael dos Santos seems to be getting the better of the standup.
dos Santos is trying hard to land a takedown here. Chino sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
dos Santos throws a left and a right that both miss
and dos Santos takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
dos Santos takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
dos Santos dodges the punch combination from Chino.
dos Santos has a takedown stuffed.
Chino shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with dos Santos but dos Santos pushes him off and we're back to square one.
dos Santos misses with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

dos Santos looking to score a takedown here. Chino is defending well but dos Santos drives through and ends up in Chino's guard.
dos Santos throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Chino is trying to control the position but dos Santos postures up.
Chino looking to hit a scissor sweep but dos Santos is one step ahead there.
Chino working a defensive guard here.
Chino preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chino can't keep his opponent in guard - dos Santos advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
dos Santos tries to pass to full mount but Chino defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

dos Santos seems to be looking for submissions.
Chino wants to improve his position but dos Santos is controlling well.

dos Santos is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Chino doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time dos Santos.

dos Santos is working for a kimura from half guard. He's really concentrating on the hold and it's allowed Chino to slip a leg under and get back to full guard.
dos Santos looking to sit in guard and control but Chino gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chino content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Chino pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. dos Santos is keeping the position for now.
Chino postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Chino throwing strikes from guard but dos Santos blocks nicely.
Chino trying to control the position from guard on top but dos Santos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

dos Santos looking for a guillotine here but Chino defends easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Chino lands a couple of elbows.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rafael dos Santos.
I think dos Santos 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Peck scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael dos Santos!
Rafael dos Santos thanked the fans post fight for their support.