PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Grecko Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hank Lunde (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lunde comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Time to say goodbye kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! 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.

Gracie
vs
Lunde

190 cm
29
280 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

188 cm
22
286 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Grecko Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hank Lunde!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Yuuki Gou and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lunde connects with a good right hand that stumbles Gracie. Gracie circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Lunde throws a shot from downtown. Gracie moves away and avoids it.
Gracie misses with a double jab.
Lunde misses with a body shot.
Lunde rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Gracie moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lunde avoids the head kick by Gracie.
Gracie is looking to clinch.
Gracie slips a jab from Lunde.

Lunde looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Lunde is trying to control. Gracie wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Gracie is controlling Lunde's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Lunde trying to control the pace.
Lunde thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gracie's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lunde missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Lunde has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Gracie trying to control but Lunde postures up.
Lunde missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gracie throws a head kick but Lunde moves out of range.
Gracie lands a head shot.
Lunde slips a straight right by Gracie.
Gracie moves to clinch but Lunde breaks away
and Lunde counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Lunde is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gracie.
Grecko Gracie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Lunde is defended easily by Gracie.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.
Lunde throws a left and a right that both miss
and Gracie counters with a good, hard body kick but Lunde shrugs it off.
Lunde looks gassed!
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!
Gracie connects with a single shot there.
Lunde moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

It looks like Hank Lunde has been cut.

Gracie clinches.
Gracie working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Gracie goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Lunde is looking to control Gracie's arms but Gracie gets an underhook and turns him. Now Lunde has his back to the cage.
Gracie tries to work over Lunde's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.

Gracie's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gracie uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lunde.
Gracie pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lunde looks for a takedown but Gracie sprawls well.
Gracie pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Lunde doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lunde fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Gracie shoots in but Lunde avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Gracie looks to land a body kick but Lunde moved away.
Gracie looks to land a combination. Lunde sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lunde shoots in looking for a takedown but Gracie manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Lunde's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Grecko Gracie has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hank Lunde.
Gracie swings for the body but Lunde moves out of range.
Gracie fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A slow jab from Gracie misses its intended target.
Lunde lands a jab-cross combination.
Gracie tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lunde was well out of range. Poor timing from Gracie.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A looping hook to the body misses from Gracie. Lunde does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gracie connects with a jab.

Lunde gets the takedown into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Grecko Gracie dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hank Lunde's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Gracie rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lunde moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lunde misses with a body shot.

Gracie tries to keep at a distance but Lunde has taken the fight into the clinch.
Gracie just leaning against Lunde, taking a breather.
Gracie taking a breather.
Lunde drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Gracie's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gracie ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lunde moves away.
Gracie tries to clinch up but Lunde circles away and keeps his distance.
Lunde missing with a left hand there. Gracie was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie jabs at Lunde's body.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Gracie.

Gracie swings around for an armbar but Lunde sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Gracie's guard.
Gracie is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lunde trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Lunde postures up in Gracie's guard and throws a big left but Gracie blocks it.
Gracie wants to sweep but no luck.
Lunde chips away with some ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lunde trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie wants to sweep here but Lunde controlling him for the moment.
Gracie throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Lunde from controlling successfully.
Lunde sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Lunde trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Hank Lunde.
Nice sprawl there from Lunde as Gracie shoots in.
Lunde bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lunde throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Gracie was covering up waiting for the punch and Lunde finishes the takedown easily into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lunde working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gracie trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Lunde with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lunde throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gracie works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lunde is pushing down on Gracie's leg trying to pass to half guard. Gracie is fighting to maintain full guard but Lunde has managed to sneak the leg through.
Lunde wants to take a breather but Gracie is having none of it.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Lunde in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie missing with punches from the bottom.
Lunde throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Lunde throwing shots but Gracie is blocking nicely.
Lunde trying to pass the guard but Gracie defending well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie is trying to get back to full guard.
Lunde trying to control the action but Gracie is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Hank Lunde.
Gracie scores with a jab to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Hank Lunde will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Hank Lunde's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Gracie fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lunde manages to avoid it.
Lunde misses the jab.
Lunde tries to clinch but Gracie moves out of range.
Gracie misses with a body shot.
Lunde throws a hook but Gracie blocks it.

Lunde shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Gracie is trying to defend but Lunde finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Gracie is not content to let Lunde control the position.
Gracie trying to hold on to Lunde's head to control him but Lunde postures up.
Gracie is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lunde seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Gracie does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Lunde in particular looking to stall.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Lunde is looking to take a break and control but Gracie is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Hank Lunde has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Gracie circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lunde blocks a head kick by Gracie.
Gracie misses with a few strikes there.
Lunde swinging wildly here.
Lunde stuffs the takedown.
Lunde misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lunde shoots for a double leg takedown but Gracie sprawls well. He's pushed Lunde's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Lunde takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lunde will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Gracie throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Lunde shoots in but no luck this time.
Grecko Gracie has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hank Lunde.
Gracie ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gracie lands with a straight right. Lunde didn't see that one coming.
Gracie misses with an uppercut.
Lunde blocks a jab.
Gracie tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Lunde manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lunde fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Gracie misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lunde uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gracie.
Gracie throws a shot from downtown. Lunde moves away and avoids it.
Gracie walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Lunde checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Gracie fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lunde avoids it really well and circles away.
A head kick from Gracie lands but Lunde takes it in his stride.
Gracie swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lunde looks to land a combination but Gracie avoids it well.
Gracie lands a nice hook to Lunde's body. Lunde takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Lunde tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Gracie swivels and escapes.
Gracie throws a hook but Lunde avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie cracks a nice hook into Lunde's ribs.
Gracie leaves Lunde with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lunde moves away.
Gracie misses with a straight left.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lunde can do to turn this around?
Gracie leaves Lunde with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Lunde takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Lunde checks the leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Lunde.
Gracie punishes Lunde's body with a nice straight punch.
Gracie looks to score with a jab to the body but Lunde is just out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Grecko Gracie showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gracie has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Grecko Gracie!