PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rodrigo Pena (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Mello (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mello has chosen Not Afraid as his entrance music. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Pena
vs
Mello

179 cm
19
178 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
181 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo Pena!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Mello!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Felipe Paraventi and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pena misses with a two punch combination.
Mello shoots in and drives through. Pena sprawls well.
Pena misses with a double jab.
Pena misses with a series of wild punches.
Pena will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Pena lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mello circles away quickly and effectively.
Pena jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pena misses with a double jab.
Pena misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pena throws a right and a left that both miss.
Rodrigo Pena seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Pena.
Pena is breathing heavily.

Mello drives through with a takedown into Pena's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Mello controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
It looks like Mello might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mello stops Pena from standing up.
Mello showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Mello pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pena is keeping the position for now.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Rafael Mello was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Mello showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pena.
Mello fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Mello shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pena pinned against the cage. Pena gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rodrigo Pena has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Mello.

Mello drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pena is being controlled here.
Pena is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Mello content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Pena is trying to buck Mello off.
Mello is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Rafael Mello was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Pena throws a jab when Mello was well out of range.

Mello fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Pena to the ground. Mello is now in Pena's guard.
Mello looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mello advances to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Mello dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A combination from Pena does no damage.

Mello dives in and scores a takedown into Pena's guard.
Pena is looking to stand up but Mello isn't so interested in that idea.
Mello controls from within his opponent's guard.
Mello won't allow Pena to get back to his feet.
Rafael Mello has got the better of the ground game so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Mello seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Rafael Mello.
Mello avoids a punch combination nicely.
A big left from Pena misses.

Mello shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Pena manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Mello's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Mello's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rafael Mello has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Mello shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Well, if Mello is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Pena wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mello looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Let's hope that Mello has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Rafael Mello was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Pena throws a series of punches but Mello moves out of range.
Mello fails with the takedown.
Pena displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Mello.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mello.
Rodrigo Pena has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Mello.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pena displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Mello.
Pena fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Mello scores with a takedown into Pena's guard.
Pena is looking to stand up but Mello isn't so interested in that idea.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Mello showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Mello shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Pena's guard.
Mello wants to pass the guard but Pena is keeping the position.
Mello won't allow Pena to get back to his feet.
Mello is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Pena wants to stand up but Mello is controlling him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mello slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Pena tries to escape but Mello is in control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pena tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Pena is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Mello.
Pena holding both Mello 's hands and preventing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pena trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Mello biding his time, controlling Pena.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pena wants to get back to his feet.
Pena is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Mello.

Rafael Mello has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Mello throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Pena was covering up waiting for the punch and Mello finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Mello is stalling in the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mello is standing up over Pena. Pena looks to escape but Mello dives into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mello takes a little break here. Pena wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pena is trying to buck Mello off.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Mello comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mello winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Mello!
Rafael Mello was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.