PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Keiji Mutou (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Rodrigues (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rodrigues is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Joe Walsh - In the City. On his way into the cage it seems that Keiji Mutou has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Keiji Mutou seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Mutou
vs
Rodrigues

188 cm
26
213 lbs
6 - 3 - 1

187 cm
28
215 lbs
8 - 11 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class 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 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Keiji Mutou!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jake Rodrigues!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Wagner Zegers and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rodrigues throws a shot from downtown. Mutou moves away and avoids it.

Rodrigues moves into the clinch.
Mutou'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.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Rodrigues being controlled against the cage.
We've been informed that Rodrigues has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Mutou blocking some punches.
Rodrigues lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Rodrigues wants to get back to striking at distance but Mutou won't allow it.
Mutou is trying to stall.
Rodrigues with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Mutou tries to score a body lock takedown but Rodrigues shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rodrigues just misses with a elbow thrown towards Mutou's brow.
Mutou will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Rodrigues up against the cage.
Rodrigues is looking to control Mutou's arms but Mutou gets an underhook and turns him. Now Rodrigues has his back to the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigues prevents the takedown attempt.
Mutou pressing his opponent against the cage.
Mutou wants to take the fight to the mat but Rodrigues manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mutou avoiding damage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.

Rodrigues manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Mutou lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Rodrigues avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mutou postures up in Rodrigues's guard and throws a big left but Rodrigues blocks it.
Rodrigues can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Mutou controls the pace.

Rodrigues has his feet on Mutou's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Rodrigues takes the fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues looking to throw knees to the head but Mutou is blocking nicely.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.

Mutou has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Rodrigues regains guard immediately.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mutou is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Mutou looking to pass the guard.
Mutou prevents Rodrigues from getting back to his feet.
Rodrigues is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Mutou is looking to work some ground and pound but Rodrigues has wrist control.
Mutou trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodrigues is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rodrigues wants to stand up but Mutou is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mutou with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Mutou throws a big right hand that misses.
Mutou landing with the ground and pound.
Mutou keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rodrigues's head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mutou accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rodrigues working a defensive guard here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Mutou wants to control from the top but Rodrigues keeps moving.
Rodrigues is trying to keep Mutou in close.
Mutou postures up in Rodrigues's guard and throws a big left but Rodrigues blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues trying to keep a closed guard but Mutou is proving a slippery customer.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jake Rodrigues hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Rodrigues has taken the fight to the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mutou is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Rodrigues is defending well.
Rodrigues scores with a knee to the head.
Mutou trying to stall but Rodrigues improves his position.
Rodrigues misses with a knee strike.

Mutou successfully pulls guard.
Rodrigues trying to stand up but can't free himself from Mutou's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rodrigues gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Rodrigues clinches.
Mutou effectively controlling the action here.

Mutou manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
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 Keiji Mutou will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Rodrigues closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rodrigues is stalling here.

Rodrigues successfully pulls guard.
Rodrigues keeping moving, preventing Mutou from controlling successfully.
Mutou lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mutou working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rodrigues's head.
Mutou chips away with some ground and pound.
Mutou throws an elbow that misses. Rodrigues uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Mutou's guard. Nice move by Rodrigues!
Mutou looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rodrigues has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Mutou is proving hard to escape from.
Mutou throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Mutou is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigues is trying to stand up here but Mutou is controlling him well.
Mutou moves nicely into side control.
Mutou cracks Rodrigues with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Mutou lands a nice forearm strike.
Rodrigues is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Mutou misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Mutou cracks Rodrigues with a big right hand but Rodrigues just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Mutou creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mutou cracks Rodrigues with a big elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mutou in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues pushes Mutou away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Mutou gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Mutou landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Mutou scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Rodrigues to see if he's OK.
Mutou lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Rodrigues down.
Rodrigues is not content to let Mutou control the position.
Mutou lands a few punches from side control.
Mutou in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Keiji Mutou overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mutou wants to lay and pray for a moment but Rodrigues keeps working.
Rodrigues managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Mutou.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Rodrigues's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Rodrigues taking a bit of punishment here - Mutou scoring with strikes.
Mutou is chipping away with strikes.
Mutou tries to score with some ground and pound. Rodrigues controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Mutou 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.
Rodrigues is trying to get back to his feet.
Mutou trying to control the action but Rodrigues is working from the bottom.
Mutou with the ground and pound but Rodrigues regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Rodrigues is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues is trying to stand up here but Mutou is controlling him well.
Mutou thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rodrigues's head.
Rodrigues tries to kick Mutou off but Mutou keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Ground and pound from Mutou.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mutou is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Mutou prevents Rodrigues from standing back up.
Rodrigues is trying to get back to full guard.
Mutou moves nicely into side control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Mutou lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Rodrigues on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Keiji Mutou dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Rodrigues moves into range and clinches up with Mutou.

Mutou wants the takedown. Rodrigues is fighting it off but Mutou persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Rodrigues's guard against the cage.
Mutou distracts Rodrigues with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Mutou loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rodrigues controls Mutou momentarily but Mutou frees himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mutou working some strikes from top position.
Mutou is pushing down on Rodrigues's leg trying to pass to half guard. Rodrigues is fighting to maintain full guard but Mutou has managed to sneak the leg through.
Mutou working over Rodrigues with some ground and pound. Rodrigues looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rodrigues is looking to escape.
Mutou looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Rodrigues has hold of Mutou's hands but Mutou slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Mutou is nestled in close to Rodrigues, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutou thows a huge punch but Rodrigues dodges it nicely.
We've been hearing that Mutou has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Mutou 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.
Rodrigues avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Mutou.
Rodrigues blocking the ground and pound attempt from Mutou.

Rodrigues kicks off Mutou and gets to his feet.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Mutou is defended easily by Rodrigues.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Mutou.
Rodrigues thows a leg kick but Mutou checks it

so Mutou counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mutou scoring with some ground and pound.
Mutou postures up in Rodrigues's guard and throws a big left but Rodrigues blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mutou working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mutou is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rodrigues can do to turn this around?
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mutou accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mutou with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Mutou's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Mutou postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Mutou cracks Rodrigues with a solid left hand.
Mutou won't allow Rodrigues to get back to his feet.
Mutou is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Mutou throws a big right hand that misses.
Mutou trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodrigues is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mutou landing some decent shots from guard.
Mutou trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodrigues is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mutou throws a strike but Rodrigues rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mutou is on top in guard.
Mutou works over Rodrigues with some ground and pound from guard.
Mutou controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Rodrigues pushes Mutou off and scrambles back to his feet.

Rodrigues rushes Mutou and presses him up against the cage.
Rodrigues lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Mutou or not.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Rodrigues breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Jake Rodrigues seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice sprawl there from Rodrigues as Mutou shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Rodrigues gets a clinch.
Mutou has Rodrigues pressed against the cage, preventing Rodrigues from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Mutou looking to slow down the pace here.
Rodrigues throws a knee to the head but misses.
Jake Rodrigues has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The referee calls for Mutou to work.
Mutou tries to pull guard but Rodrigues won't allow it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rodrigues digs a right hand underneath Mutou's ribcage. Mutou let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Rodrigues.

Rodrigues manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Rodrigues will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Keiji Mutou showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Mutou, 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Keiji Mutou!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Keiji Mutou waved his t-shirt featuring Meet the Future's logo in front of the cameras.