PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Efren Charles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anthony Pettis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Efren Charles has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Charles
vs
Pettis

200 cm
24
151 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Efren Charles!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Anthony Pettis!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Radbod Blank and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Pettis crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Charles - the referee stops the clock and Pettis gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Charles. Pettis manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Pettis fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Pettis looks to clinch

and Charles holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Charles is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Charles breaks from the clinch.
Pettis shoots in for a takedown but Charles shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Efren Charles has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthony Pettis.
Charles looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pettis is fending him off so far but Charles persists. Nope, Pettis circles away and we're back to standing.
Pettis looks for a takedown but Charles sprawls well.
Pettis throws a sloppy head kick and Charles moves out of range easily.
Pettis stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Pettis wants it to stay on the feet.
Pettis shoots in looking for a takedown. Charles tries to sprawl out of it but Pettis keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Charles manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Charles has a takedown stuffed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Charles shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pettis pinned against the cage. Pettis gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Charles fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Pettis darts in trying to clinch

and Charles counters by moving into the clinch.

Charles jumps guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Pettis preventing the sweep.
Pettis tries to stand but Charles is controlling from the bottom.

Charles is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Pettis defends well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pettis is looking to work some ground and pound but Charles has wrist control.
Pettis trying to control the position from guard on top but Charles is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Charles pulls Pettis in close to his closed guard and prevents Pettis from doing any damage or advancing position.
Charles working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pettis got a little sloppy there for a moment and Charles has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Pettis has managed to get both his arms back between Charles's legs - danger averted.
Charles utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Charles looking for subs off his back but Pettis has passed one foot through into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Charles is staying active underneath Pettis, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Pettis not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pettis wants to free his trapped foot but Charles is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Charles wants to get back to full guard but Pettis has passed into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pettis in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Pettis trying to control the action but Charles is working from the bottom.
Charles is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pettis wants to control but Charles is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Efren Charles will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Pettis lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Efren Charles has been cut.
Charles shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pettis as he jumps to the side.
Pettis shoots in but no luck this time.
Pettis looks for a takedown but Charles sprawls well.
Nice sprawl there from Charles as Pettis shoots in.
Efren Charles has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthony Pettis.
Pettis tries for a takedown but Charles sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Pettis misses with a head kick.
Charles really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Charles circles away from the clinch attempt
and Charles counters with a nice body kick.
Pettis is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pettis closes the distance but Charles moves to the side

and Charles counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Charles lands a body shot.
Pettis swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Charles prevents a body shot from Pettis.
Charles just leaning against Pettis, taking a breather.
Charles jumps guard but Pettis turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Charles stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Charles successfully pulls guard.
Pettis preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pettis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Pettis wants to pass the guard but Charles is keeping the position.
Charles pulls Pettis in close to prevent any damage.
Pettis wants to control from the top but Charles keeps moving.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Charles tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Pettis gets to his feet - Charles follows without any prompting.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Charles pushes Pettis up against the cage in a clinch.
Charles is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pettis tries to pull guard but Charles won't allow it.
Pettis has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Charles is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Charles has Pettis pushed against the cage.
Pettis wants to get back to striking at distance but Charles won't allow it.
Charles stalling.
Charles seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
A short uppercut from Charles.
Charles tries for a takedown but Pettis manages to get underhooks.
Pettis has Charles pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Charles manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pettis has Charles pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Charles manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Charles tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Pettis just stands there and leans against the cage.
Charles is looking to take this one to the mat.
Charles's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.

Charles breaks from the clinch.

Charles moves into the clinch.
Charles jumps guard but Pettis turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pettis drops down looking for an ankle pick but Charles pulls his leg out and moves away.

Charles scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Efren Charles dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Efren Charles's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Pettis lands with a hook. Charles tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Pettis tries to score a power double leg takedown but Charles sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Pettis somewhat.
The fight stays on the outside here - Pettis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pettis shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Charles but Charles pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Efren Charles is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pettis fails with a takedown attempt.
Efren Charles has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthony Pettis.
Pettis tries to clinch but Charles moves away
and Charles counters with a nice leg kick.
Pettis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Pettis lands a jab-cross combination.
Charles throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Pettis throws a head kick but Charles moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Charles clinches with his opponent.

Charles jumps guard and drags Pettis to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Charles is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Pettis is controlling him.
Pettis trying to control but Charles is working from the bottom.
Charles is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pettis wants to control from the top but Charles keeps moving.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Pettis trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pettis slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Charles.
Charles is looking to control Pettis's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Charles avoid being mounted?
Efren Charles overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pettis throwing shots but Charles is blocking nicely.
Charles tries to roll over but Pettis keeps him under control.
Pettis wants to stand up but Charles has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Charles is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pettis wants to lay and pray for a moment but Charles keeps working.
Charles is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Pettis looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Pettis is just content to waste time from the top position. Charles takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

Charles has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Pettis is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Charles tries to pull guard but Pettis holds him up against the cage and eventually Charles drops back down to his feet.
Pettis tries to stall but Charles uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Pettis is trying to pull guard but Charles turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Charles pulls guard.
Charles controls Pettis momentarily but Pettis frees himself.
Pettis's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Charles knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pettis on the ground.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pettis trying to control the position from guard on top but Charles is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Anthony Pettis has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Efren Charles is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pettis trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Anthony Pettis.
I think Charles 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 29:28
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Efren Charles!