PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Raphael Nero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Julio Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Smith has chosen Criminal Minded as his entrance music. Raphael Nero could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Julio Smith's chin.

Nero
vs
Smith

186 cm
28
174 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

179 cm
28
185 lbs
12 - 11 - 1

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Raphael Nero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Julio Smith!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Robert Twigg and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nero slips a jab from Smith.
Nero changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Smith tries to avoid it but Nero manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Smith to the ground. Smith escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Smith feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Smith stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nero swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Smith must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Smith avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Nero throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Smith escapes and throws Nero's legs to the side, diving into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith lands a decent elbow from side control.
Nero is not content to let Smith control the position.
Nero sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

Smith is working for a submission of some sort.
Nero looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Nero shoots in for a takedown but Smith shows good takedown defense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nero slips under a jab.
Nero has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Smith.
Smith shoots in but no luck this time.
Smith throws a body punch but Nero moves out of range.
Smith misses with a wild body shot.
Smith just misses with a punch to the body.
Smith jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nero with a lazy takedown attempt
and Smith counters with a stiff right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raphael Nero. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries a head kick but it misses.
Nero looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Smith is fending him off so far but Nero persists. Nope, Smith circles away and we're back to standing.
Smith misses the shot to the body.
Nero closes this distance looking for a takedown but Smith circles away.
Smith swings away with a body shot that misses

and Nero counters with a takedown into side control.

Nero is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Smith knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Smith is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Smith has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Nero is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Smith tries to bench press Nero off him but Nero keeps the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Julio Smith dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Smith throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Nero.
Smith swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Nero counters with a takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nero controlling the position from side mount.

Nero tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Nero has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Nero is trying to get an arm triangle but Smith is defending well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Smith's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Nero trying to control the action but Smith is working from the bottom.
Smith is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nero seems to be working for a kimura but Smith defends the submission attempt.
Smith wants to get back to his feet.
Nero trying to control from Smith's half guard. Smith has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Nero wants to pass the guard but Smith is keeping the position.
Nero is working hard here to advance position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Nero controls the pace.

Smith working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Nero has passed into half guard!
Raphael Nero overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nero trying to control the action but Smith is working from the bottom.

Nero seems like he's working for an arm triangle here. He's freed his trapped foot and he's rotating nicely. Smith is in big trouble! He's tapping out! This one is aaaaaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Raphael Nero!
After winning the bout, Raphael Nero thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.