PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Paulo Carioca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joaquim Maria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maria has chosen Kronos - Bloodtower as his entrance music. This should be fireworks!

Carioca
vs
Maria

190 cm
31
215 lbs
16 - 14 - 0

193 cm
34
224 lbs
33 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 16 - 14 - 0, fighting out of London, Paulo Carioca!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joaquim Maria!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Donald Grub and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Carioca tries to clinch but Maria moves out of range.
Carioca looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Jab, jab by Carioca - just one landing.
Maria avoids the head kick by Carioca.

Carioca clinches up against the cage.
Carioca scores a nice knee to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Maria.

Maria breaks from the clinch.
Carioca throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Carioca thuds his shin into the meat of Maria's side.
Carioca closes the distance but Maria moves to the side
and Maria connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Maria has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carioca scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Carioca has been working on his boxing with his coaches at The Pit in the buildup to the fight.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Carioca, right into the meat.

Carioca darts in and clinches Maria up against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Carioca.
Carioca stalling.
Carioca lands with a right to the head.
Maria working hard to break the clinch.
Maria on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Maria escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Paulo Carioca seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Carioca scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Carioca throws a series of punches but Maria avoids them all with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Carioca closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Carioca tries to land knees in the clinch but Maria avoids the damage to the body.
Maria can't break the clinch.
Maria wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Carioca trying to land knees to the body.
Carioca lands a nice knee to the body.
Maria can't break the clinch.
Carioca tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Maria can't break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carioca with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Carioca misses with a knee to the head.
Carioca is looking to control Maria's arms but Maria gets an underhook and turns him. Now Carioca has his back to the cage.

Maria escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Carioca motions for Maria to come forward. Carioca throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Carioca tries to clinch but Maria is having none of it.
Carioca tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Carioca throws a head kick that Maria semi-blocks.
Carioca is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Carioca swinging wildly here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carioca misses with the combination.
Carioca darts in trying to clinch
and Maria cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Carioca tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Carioca throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Carioca looks to clinch
and Maria counters with a good, hard body kick but Carioca shrugs it off.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulo Carioca dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Carioca scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Carioca tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Maria paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Carioca tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.
Nice body kick from Carioca.
Carioca tries to clinch
and Maria counters with a nice body kick.
Carioca lands with a kick to the ribs.
No joy there for Carioca, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Carioca fails with an attempt to clinch.
Carioca tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maria on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Carioca. Carioca obviously looking to wear him down.

Maria gets tackled into the cage by Carioca. Carioca maintains the clinch.
Carioca manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Maria avoiding damage as Carioca throws knees to the body.
Maria tries to circle away but Carioca has him pinned against the cage.
Maria can't break the clinch.
Maria managing to block the knees to the body from Carioca.
Carioca tries to land a knee to the head but Maria blocks with his arms.
Carioca misses with a hook from the clinch.

Maria breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carioca wants to clinch.
Carioca throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Maria counters with a straight right hand.
Carioca wants to clinch up but Maria keeps it at a distance.
Carioca throws a lazy body kick
and Maria counters with a slapping leg kick.
Carioca closes the distance but Maria moves to the side
and Maria counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Carioca tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Maria counters with a head kick.

Carioca closes the distance and clinches.
Carioca tries to stall but Maria uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carioca slows down the pace here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Paulo Carioca.

Carioca gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carioca misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Maria.
Maria blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Maria is trying to force a seperation but Carioca has the dominant position.
Carioca has Maria pushed against the cage.
Maria wants to break free but Carioca has control.
Carioca misses with a punch on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Carioca lands a shoulder strike.
Carioca misses with a knee strike.
Carioca keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Maria's efforts to push away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulo Carioca dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

A low kick from Carioca misses
and Maria counters with a slapping leg kick.
Carioca closes the distance looking to clinch
and Maria counters with a good, hard body kick but Carioca shrugs it off.
Carioca throws a lazy body kick
and Maria counters with a head kick. That will keep Carioca thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Carioca throws a leg kick that is checked

and Maria counters with a head kick that drops Carioca to the mat! Carioca scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Carioca is rocked!
Carioca throws a shot to the body.
Carioca moves in looking to clinch but Maria pushes him off.
Carioca just misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Carioca has managed to clinch.
Carioca tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Maria avoids it.

Maria breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Carioca tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Maria manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Carioca tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.
Carioca tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.

Carioca rushes Maria and presses him up against the cage.
Carioca dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Carioca is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Maria is defending well for now.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carioca lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Paulo Carioca has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Maria as Carioca tries to tie him up.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Maria as Carioca tries to tie him up.
Carioca misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Maria.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Carioca takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Carioca is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Maria is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maria is trying to break free.
Carioca is looking to control Maria's arms but Maria gets an underhook and turns him. Now Carioca has his back to the cage.
Carioca slowing the pace effectively.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Paulo Carioca.
Carioca lands a head kick. Maria smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Paulo Carioca is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Carioca thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Maria if he has to take too many more of those.
Paulo Carioca is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Maria avoids a kick to the body.
Carioca tries to close the distance and clinch up but Maria swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Carioca is looking to clinch but Maria is avoiding it.
Carioca swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Maria counters with a stiff right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carioca tries a low kick but Maria avoids it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Carioca throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Carioca throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Carioca throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Maria.
Carioca fails with an attempt to clinch.
Maria swats away the attempt to clinch by Carioca.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Maria moves out of range of the body kick from Carioca.
Carioca thows a leg kick but Maria checks it
and Maria counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joaquim Maria comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Carioca 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paulo Carioca!
A relieved looking Paulo Carioca thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.