PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Braga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Bowles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Braga
vs
Bowles

190 cm
23
222 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

205 cm
23
225 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Antonio Braga!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, James Bowles!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Richard Clark and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Braga takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Bowles enables Braga to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Bowles manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Bowles scores with a couple of body punches from the bottom.
Bowles is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Braga throwing strikes from guard but Bowles blocks nicely.
Braga pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bowles is keeping the position for now.
Bowles not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bowles keeping moving, preventing Braga from controlling successfully.
Bowles keeping full guard, as Braga tries to pass.
Bowles trying to control the position.
Bowles wants to sweep here but Braga controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Braga prevents Bowles from getting back to his feet.
Braga is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The ref stands the fighters back up. James Bowles was stalling too much, according to the referee.
No luck for Bowles with that takedown attempt.
Braga misses with a takedown
and Bowles counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Braga looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Bowles!
Bowles regains half guard.
Bowles is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Braga wants to lay and pray for a moment but Bowles keeps working.
Bowles wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Braga there.
Bowles keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Braga missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Braga not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Braga moves nicely into side control.
You can see the frustration on Bowles's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Braga tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Bowles wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Braga trying to control the position but Bowles is working away.
The ground and pound from Braga seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bowles lands an elbow from the bottom.
Braga landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Bowles is working to avoid the ground and pound but Braga connects with a decent elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Braga trying to control the action but Bowles is working from the bottom.
Bowles is trying to control Braga's posture but Braga avoids it.
Bowles is trying to improve his position.
Braga scores with punches from side control.
Braga creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Bowles sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Braga working the head and body with strikes.
Braga has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Braga working the ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Braga tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Bowles can't do much from the bottom here.
Braga postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

Braga looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Bowles trying to control but Braga flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bowles covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Bowles is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Braga off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Braga is punishing Bowles with strikes - can he finish him?!
Braga scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Braga dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Braga shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Bowles pinned against the cage. Bowles gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Braga changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Bowles tries to avoid it but Braga manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Bowles to the ground. Bowles escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Braga throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Bowles was covering up waiting for the punch and Braga finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Braga working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Bowles's head.
Braga throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Braga passes into half guard.
Bowles is looking to improve his position.
Bowles avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Braga.
Bowles gets full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bowles can't keep his opponent in guard - Braga advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Bowles is trying to maintain the position but Braga is very close to passing his half guard.

Bowles is defending against the submission attempts here by Braga.
Bowles is looking to control Braga's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Bowles avoid being mounted?
Bowles blocking the ground and pound attempt from Braga.
Braga thows a huge punch but Bowles dodges it nicely.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Braga connects with a nice short shot to Bowles's temple.
Braga is keen to just control but Bowles is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bowles tries to get to full guard but Braga has control of the leg.
Bowles is trying to control but can't.
Braga looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Braga connects with a nice short shot to Bowles's temple.
Braga lands with a punch from half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bowles trying to hold on to Braga's head to control him but Braga postures up.
Braga scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bowles trying to control but Braga postures up.
Braga is nestled in close to Bowles, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Braga wants to lay and pray for a moment but Bowles keeps working.
Bowles trying to control here.
Braga is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Braga trying to control from half guard but Bowles is working away.

Bowles looking for submissions off his back.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Braga connects with a nice short shot to Bowles's temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Braga is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Bowles reverses the position - he's now on top in Braga's guard.
Bowles is looking to stand up but Braga won't let him.
Braga tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bowles is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Bowles has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Braga to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Bowles is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Braga pulls down on the head and he's put Bowles to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:47 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Antonio Braga!
Our winner, Antonio Braga, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.