PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Lombard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lionel Cascara (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.

Lombard
vs
Cascara

178 cm
24
180 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

182 cm
29
177 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very strong

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Ultra Fight Gear

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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ricardo Lombard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Lionel Cascara!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Ivan Kurochkin and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cascara tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lombard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cascara misses with a few strikes there.

Cascara has Lombard up against the ropes in a clinch.

Cascara manages to break the clinch.
Cascara moves in looking to clinch but Lombard pushes him off.
Lombard walks into a left hand.
Cascara thows a body shot but no joy.
Cascara tries to clinch up.
Danga de danga de dang - Cascara scores with a four punch combination!
Cascara throws a head kick that misses.
Lombard throws a lazy right hand but Cascara sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Lombard takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lombard avoids the head kick by Cascara.
Lionel Cascara seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Cascara closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Lombard tries to improve position but can't.
Cascara in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Lombard tries to get back to half guard but can't.
You can see the frustration on Lombard's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Cascara grinds an elbow into Lombard's temple.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lombard trying to remain calm as Cascara controls from the top position.
Lombard tries to bench press Cascara off him but Cascara keeps the position.
Lombard regains half guard there - taking advantage of Cascara's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
The fighters are battling for position here. Lombard manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Lombard is trying to control the position but Cascara postures up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cascara tries to free his leg and advance position but Lombard is retaining full guard.
Cascara trying to control but Lombard is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard looking for a sweep. Not yet Lombard, not yet.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Lionel Cascara.
Cascara swings for the body but Lombard moves out of range.
Cascara has a takedown stuffed.
Cascara tries to clinch up but Lombard circles away and keeps his distance.
Cascara tries to clinch but Lombard moves away
and Lombard counters with a left to the body.
Some wild striking there from Cascara.

Cascara shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Cascara showed some decent athleticism there.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Cascara postures up.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cascara tries to free his leg and advance position but Lombard is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lionel Cascara dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Cascara fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cascara misses with a body kick.
A cross from Cascara lands.
Cascara tries to clinch but Lombard is having none of it.
Cascara tries to clinch up but Lombard circles away and keeps his distance.

Cascara gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Lombard jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Cascara walks away with a smile on his face. Lombard gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Cascara lands a slapping body shot.
Cascara tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Lombard circles away from the clinch attempt

and Lombard counters with a shoot takedown. Cascara fights it but they end up in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lombard looking to pass the guard.
Lombard keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Cascara's head.

Cascara throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Cascara looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ricardo Lombard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lombard trying to control but Cascara is working from the bottom.
Lombard looking to sit in guard and control but Cascara gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Cascara controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lombard is trying to control the position but Cascara postures up.
Lombard keeping full guard, as Cascara tries to pass.
Lombard is pulling down on Cascara's head to control his posture.
Lombard looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Ricardo Lombard just wasn't active enough.
Cascara scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Cascara misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Lombard closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Lombard seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Cascara does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Lombard is looking for a kimura but Cascara is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Lombard to get the leverage.
Lombard throws a strike but Cascara avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Cascara throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Lombard trying to control the position from guard on top but Cascara is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Cascara looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Cascara avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard won't allow Cascara to sweep him here.
Lombard throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lombard trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Cascara manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Lombard looking to control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lombard keeping full guard, as Cascara tries to pass.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cascara stopping the sweep attempt from Lombard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ricardo Lombard will probably get the nod.
That's time! Lombard's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Cascara comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Cascara takes a swing at Lombard's ribcage but misses.
Cascara wants to clinch up but Lombard keeps it at a distance.
Cascara lands a nice hook to Lombard's body. Lombard takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Cascara throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cascara avoids a punch combination nicely.
Cascara wants to clinch.
Cascara misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cascara wants to clinch up but Lombard keeps it at a distance.
Lombard throws a hook but Cascara blocks it.
Lombard misses with a right hand
and Cascara counters with a nice low kick that buckles Lombard's knee momentarily.
Lombard throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Cascara tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Lombard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Cascara misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Cascara takes one to the side of the head.
Cascara rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Lombard counters with a straight right hand.
Lombard will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Lombard swats away the attempt to clinch by Cascara.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cascara throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Lombard.
Lombard throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
The fighters circle momentarily. Lombard darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Lombard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Cascara misses with a body shot
and Lombard counters with a nice uppercut.
A big right from Lombard misses.
Cascara scores with a shot to the body.
Cascara lands with a slapping head kick.
Lionel Cascara seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Cascara forces Lombard back against the ropes and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cascara stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the ropes enables Cascara to keep the fight standing.
Cascara working hard to break the clinch.
Cascara misses with some punches.
Lombard tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricardo Lombard. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Cascara manages to break the clinch.
Lombard takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Cascara closes the distance looking to clinch
and Lombard counters with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cascara shoots in for a double leg but Lombard sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Cascara wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Cascara tries to close the distance and clinch but Lombard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lombard takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

Lombard fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Cascara sprawls well initially but Lombard persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Cascara won't allow Lombard to pass to mount.
Lombard is looking to take a break and control but Cascara is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cascara is trying to control but can't.
Cascara gets full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lionel Cascara comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Cascara 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Lionel Cascara!
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight for Lionel Cascara!
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight for Lionel Cascara!

Lionel Cascara wins by unanimous decision!
In his post fight interview, Lionel Cascara started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.