PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Josiah Workman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Josiah Workman's chin.

Workman
vs
Fernandes De Souza Junior

159 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Inexperienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Josiah Workman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Mauricio Rocha and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Souza Junior tries to clinch
and Workman counters with a nice low kick that buckles De Souza Junior's knee momentarily.

De Souza Junior shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Workman is trying to defend but De Souza Junior finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

De Souza Junior seems to be working for a kimura but Workman defends the submission attempt.
Workman moves into full guard.
De Souza Junior wants to stand but Workman has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
De Souza Junior preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Souza Junior trying to control the position from guard on top but Workman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Souza Junior is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior wasn't active enough on the ground.
De Souza Junior avoids the body shot from Workman.
Workman uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Souza Junior.
De Souza Junior throws a wild body kick that Workman sees coming a mile off.
Workman could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Workman misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Workman darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Workman thows a huge punch but De Souza Junior dodges it nicely.
De Souza Junior manages to get to full guard.
De Souza Junior is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Workman throws a big right hand that misses.
Workman wants to get up but he can't break De Souza Junior's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Workman wants to control from the top but De Souza Junior keeps moving.
Workman might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Workman stopping the sweep attempt from De Souza Junior.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Workman stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Souza Junior swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
De Souza Junior tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Workman trying to stand up but can't free himself from De Souza Junior's guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Workman controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Josiah Workman wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Workman tries a low kick but De Souza Junior avoids it.

De Souza Junior closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Souza Junior wants to control but Workman is keeping him busy.
Workman is looking to reverse the position.

De Souza Junior has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
De Souza Junior throws a sloppy head kick and Workman moves out of range easily.
De Souza Junior has his takedown stuffed
and Workman counters with a straight right hand.
De Souza Junior looks winded!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Workman throws a head kick that misses.
De Souza Junior tries to close the distance and clinch up but Workman swats him away and circles back towards the center.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

De Souza Junior dives in for a single leg takedown but Workman sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Workman tries to circle away but De Souza Junior has him pinned against the cage.

Workman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Workman throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Workman looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
De Souza Junior manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Workman is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Workman is looking to improve his position but De Souza Junior isn't that keen on the idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Souza Junior tries to control but Workman wriggling away.
Workman tries to get back to half guard but can't.
De Souza Junior is landing with some decent strikes but Workman is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Workman is squirming around, avoiding De Souza Junior's attempts to control the action.
Workman manages to regain half guard. Good work.
De Souza Junior missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Workman is not content to let De Souza Junior control the position.

De Souza Junior is looking for a kimura here.
Workman moves into full guard.
De Souza Junior wants to control from the top but Workman keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

A momentary lapse in concentration from De Souza Junior enables Workman to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. De Souza Junior manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
De Souza Junior manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Workman working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Workman tries to hold on but De Souza Junior pushes him away.
Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior has got the better of the ground game so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Workman tries to improve his position but instead De Souza Junior has taken his back!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

De Souza Junior working for a choke but Workman reverses nicely into De Souza Junior 's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Workman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
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 Josiah Workman will probably get the nod.
That's time! Workman's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

De Souza Junior bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
De Souza Junior wants to clinch.
Workman misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Workman looking to score a takedown here. De Souza Junior is defending well but Workman drives through and ends up in De Souza Junior's guard.
De Souza Junior looking to control.
De Souza Junior might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Workman haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Workman trying to control the position from guard on top but De Souza Junior is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Souza Junior is trying to control the position but Workman postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior.

Workman fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. De Souza Junior sprawls well initially but Workman persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
De Souza Junior is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Workman's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Workman's back!

De Souza Junior is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Workman defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Will De Souza Junior go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
De Souza Junior takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
De Souza Junior controlling well, preventing Workman from escaping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Workman breaks De Souza Junior's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Workman trying to control the position from guard on top but De Souza Junior is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Workman postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! De Souza Junior is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Workman, into his guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De Souza Junior cracks Workman with a solid left hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Souza Junior wants to stand but Workman has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
De Souza Junior trying to control the position from guard on top but Workman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Workman throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
De Souza Junior trying to control the position from guard on top but Workman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Souza Junior controlling from the top position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jose Fernandes De Souza Junior was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Workman avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Souza Junior avoids the head kick by Workman.

Workman 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.
Workman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
De Souza Junior wants to get back to his feet but Workman is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
De Souza Junior manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Workman regains half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Josiah Workman.
I think Workman 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:29
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!