PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Bernardo Blake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aldo is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Lupang Hinirang. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Blake
vs
Aldo

190 cm
23
151 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

175 cm
25
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bernardo Blake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jose Aldo!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Gwen Towbar and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aldo fails with the takedown.
Aldo tries to clinch but Blake moves away
and Blake counters with a series of strikes. Aldo will be more careful next time no doubt.
Blake is looking to clinch but Aldo is avoiding it.
Aldo misses the jab.

Aldo closes the distance and pushes Blake back into the cage.

Blake manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Blake has his feet on Aldo's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Aldo fails with an attempt to clinch.
Aldo is looking to clinch.
Aldo tries to clinch up.
Blake keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Aldo throws a right and a left that Blake avoids nicely.
Aldo tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Blake swivels and escapes.
Aldo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aldo works over Blake's head and body with a nice combination.
Aldo looks winded!
Aldo shoots in looking for a takedown. Blake tries to sprawl out of it but Aldo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Blake manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bernardo Blake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.

Blake has managed to clinch.
Blake avoids the elbow strike from Aldo, against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

Aldo escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Blake shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Aldo as he jumps to the side.
Aldo throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Blake.

Blake shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Aldo trying to hold on to Blake's head to control him but Blake postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blake working over Aldo with some ground and pound. Aldo looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Blake lands with a punch from half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Blake working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ground and pound from Blake.
Aldo keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Blake lands with a punch from half guard.
Aldo has hold of Blake's hands but Blake slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Blake slips a nice elbow through Aldo's hands, connecting with Aldo's forehead.
Blake is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Aldo keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake working over Aldo with some ground and pound. Aldo looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Blake winds up and cracks Aldo with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Aldo controlling the position well.
Blake is thwarting Aldo's attempts to control the position.
Blake seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Blake lands with a punch from half guard.
Aldo is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Blake scores with a couple of nice shots.
Blake thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Aldo keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Blake lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blake decides to stand up.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Aldo is looking to clinch.
Blake fails with the takedown.
The fight stays on the outside here - Aldo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Aldo moves to clinch but Blake breaks away
and Blake counters with a left and a right that stings Aldo.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aldo dives in for a single leg takedown but Blake sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blake goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Aldo prevents Blake from breaking the clinch.
Blake tries to pull guard but Aldo holds him up against the cage and eventually Blake drops back down to his feet.
Blake tries to stall but Aldo uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bernardo Blake 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.

Aldo shoots in for a takedown but Blake shows good takedown defense.

Blake clinches with his opponent.

Blake jumps into guard, dragging Aldo to the mat.
Aldo preventing the sweep.
Aldo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Blake will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Blake doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Aldo is fighting to break Blake's control of his arms but Blake is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Aldo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Aldo trying to control but Blake is working from the bottom.
Blake not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Bernardo Blake just wasn't active enough.
Aldo closes the distance looking to clinch
and Blake counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Aldo thinking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aldo darts in looking for a takedown but Blake gets double underhooks and turns Aldo into the cage.
Aldo is breathing heavily.

Blake ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Blake no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Aldo preventing the sweep.
Aldo sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Blake is pulling down on Aldo's head. It's preventing any offense from Aldo, at least for the moment.
Blake wants to get back to his feet but Aldo is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Aldo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blake has Aldo pulled in close to control his posture.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Bernardo Blake wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Aldo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Blake paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Blake fails to land the takedown.
Aldo darts in looking for a takedown but Blake gets double underhooks and turns Aldo into the cage.
Bernardo Blake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.
A frustrated look appears on Aldo's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aldo has Blake pushed against the cage.

Blake decides to pull guard.

Aldo gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Aldo wants to clinch but Blake slips to the side
and Blake counters with a one-two to the body.
Blake really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Aldo has closed the distance and engaged Blake in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Aldo.
Blake jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Aldo walks away with a smile on his face. Blake gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Blake avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Aldo feints and then cracks Blake's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Blake down.

Blake closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Aldo tries to break free but Blake pushes him back against the cage.
Blake prevents Aldo from breaking the clinch.
Blake content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Blake wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aldo has him pressed against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Aldo.
Blake tries to work over Aldo's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Blake tries to pull guard but Aldo forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Blake misses with a knee to the head.
Aldo presses Blake against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake is trying to break the clinch but Aldo is controlling him.
Blake tries to pull guard but Aldo won't allow it.

Aldo escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Blake showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Aldo.
Aldo wants to clinch up but Blake keeps it at a distance.
A lazy body kick from Aldo
and Blake counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Horrible takedown by Aldo or perhaps it was just good defense by Blake which made him look bad.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Blake shoots in for a takedown but Aldo shows good takedown defense.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aldo shoots in for a takedown but Blake shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Blake shoots in and drives through. Aldo sprawls well.
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 Bernardo Blake will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Blake tries to score a power double leg takedown but Aldo sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Blake somewhat.
Aldo looks for a takedown but Blake sprawls well.
Aldo wants to clinch up but Blake keeps it at a distance.
Aldo looks for a takedown but Blake sprawls well.
Aldo's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Aldo duly obliges.
Aldo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Aldo looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Blake is fending him off so far but Aldo persists. Nope, Blake circles away and we're back to standing.
Bernardo Blake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.
Blake looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Blake scores with a takedown into Aldo's guard.

Aldo is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Aldo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Aldo throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Blake escapes and throws Aldo's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Blake staying calm.
Aldo is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Jose Aldo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blake scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Aldo to see if he's OK.
Blake lands a nice forearm strike.
Aldo is trying to improve his position.
Aldo is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Blake working the body and head with strikes.
Aldo taking a bit of punishment here - Blake scoring with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake trying to control the position but Aldo is working away.
Blake 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.

Blake decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Blake scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Blake scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Blake looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Aldo with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Blake scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Aldo is looking for a sweep. Blake is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Aldo on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Blake scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Aldo looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blake working over Aldo with some ground and pound. Aldo looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Blake lands with a punch from half guard.
Aldo is trying to control but can't.
Nice strikes from Blake there.
Blake working Aldo over with strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blake lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Blake drops an elbow to the side of Aldo's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bernardo Blake showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Blake, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bernardo Blake!