PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Gotti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Mendes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gotti
vs
Mendes

175 cm
26
160 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

180 cm
24
163 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Gotti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ricardo Mendes!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Daniel Bishop and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gotti blocks a jab.
Gotti on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Gotti takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Mendes tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Gotti shoots for a takedown but Mendes saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mendes paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Mendes listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Mendes misses with a kick to the body.
Gotti shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Mendes but Mendes pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Mendes loads up on a big right hand but Gotti slips the punch.

Mendes gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gotti postures up.
Gotti controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mendes is trying to control the position but Gotti postures up.
Gotti scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti trying to control but Mendes is working from the bottom.
Gotti wants to pass the guard but Mendes is keeping the position.

Gotti avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gotti wants to control from the top but Mendes keeps moving.
Gotti is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gotti looking to sit in guard and control but Mendes gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Gotti is trying to keep Mendes in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Gotti controls Mendes momentarily but Mendes frees himself.
Mendes trying to stand up but can't free himself from Gotti's guard.

Mendes is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gotti trying to control the position here.
Gotti not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gotti is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Mendes in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Mendes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gotti looking for a sweep. Not yet Gotti, not yet.
Gotti is adopting a defensive guard.
Gotti keeping moving, preventing Mendes from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Mendes misses with a left hand
and Gotti counters with a nice body kick.
Gotti misses with a hook. Mendes ducked under it nicely.
Mendes misses with a hook.
Gotti connects with a leg kick. Mendes looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Mendes wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Mendes waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gotti.
Gotti closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Gotti ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mendes moves away.
Mendes misses with a jab, cross combination.
Gotti uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Mendes.
Gotti changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mendes tries to avoid it but Gotti manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mendes to the ground. Mendes escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Gotti. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gotti moves out of range of the strikes.
Jab, jab by Mendes - just one landing.
Mendes throws a hook but Gotti avoids it easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mendes uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gotti.

Gotti dives in and scores a takedown into Mendes's guard.
Gotti stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mendes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gotti is working hard here to advance position.
Mendes wants to sweep here but Gotti controlling him for the moment.
Gotti is stalling in the full guard.
Mendes wants to sweep but no luck.
Gotti slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Mendes dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Mendes tries to bum rush Gotti with a series of wild strikes but Gotti uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Mendes missing with a left hand there. Gotti was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Gotti digs a good body shot into Mendes's ribs.
Nice uppercut there from Gotti.
Mendes wants to land a leg kick but Gotti is out of range.
Gotti just misses with a punch to the body.
Gotti throws a looping overhand right but Mendes ducks down to avoid it.
Mendes avoids the body shot from Gotti.
Ricardo Mendes seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Gotti misses with a body shot

and Mendes counters with a shoot takedown. Gotti fights it but they end up in guard.
Mendes tries to free his leg and advance position but Gotti is retaining full guard.
Gotti wants to sweep here but Mendes controlling him for the moment.
Mendes trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Mendes stopping the sweep attempt from Gotti.
Mendes working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gotti is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Gotti trying to control the position.
Ricardo Mendes has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Mendes drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Mendes jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Gotti pulls Mendes in close to his closed guard and prevents Mendes from doing any damage or advancing position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Mendes drops back looking for a leg! Gotti is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Gotti manages to kick Mendes off! Mendes jumps back into Gotti's guard.
Gotti working a defensive guard here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Mendes connects with a good right hand that stumbles Gotti. Gotti circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Mendes throws a poor cross that misses
and Gotti counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mendes misses with a kick to the body.
Gotti fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gotti avoids the body shot from Mendes.
Ricardo Mendes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gotti throws a body punch but Mendes moves out of range.
Mendes misses with a hook.
Mendes gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Mendes misses with a series of wild punches.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mendes. Gotti does a little dance to reset his feet.
Mendes is looking to score with low kicks.
Mendes scores with a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gotti waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Mendes.
Mendes throws a body shot but no joy.
Mendes misses with a straight left.
Mendes misses with an uppercut. Gotti saw that one coming.
Mendes connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Gotti momentarily.
Mendes misses with an uppercut
and Gotti counters with a right hand to the body.
Mendes walks into a straight right hand from Gotti.
A jab from Mendes does it's job there.
Gotti fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Mendes.
No luck for Gotti with that takedown attempt.
Mendes misses with a body kick.
Mendes cracks Gotti with a right hand to the side of the head.
Gotti misses with the combination.
Gotti scoring well with a low kick there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mendes displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gotti.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Gotti. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mendes slips a jab and a cross from Gotti.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gotti misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mendes.

Gotti 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.
Gotti stopping the sweep attempt from Mendes.
Gotti wants to control from the top but Mendes keeps moving.
Mendes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mendes is on top in guard.

A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Gotti holds on and takes a little breather.
Gotti not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gotti strikes from his own guard.
Mendes has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gotti is trying to keep Mendes in close.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Mendes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

A jab from Mendes misses.
Gotti misses with a body kick.
Mendes has his takedown stuffed
and Gotti counters with a series of strikes. Mendes will be more careful next time no doubt.
Gotti lands a head shot.
Mendes swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Gotti.
Nice shot lands for Gotti.
Gotti moves out of range of the strikes.
Mendes throws the left hand but Gotti avoids the punch easily.
Mendes attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Gotti uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Mendes.
Mendes's corner calls for a 1-2. Mendes obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
A punch combination from Mendes misses.
Mendes tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mendes blocks a jab.
Mendes throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mendes lands a two punch combo.

It looks like John Gotti has been cut.
Mendes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Mendes misses with a looping left.
Mendes swings widly with a right hand
and Gotti counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Mendes takes one to the chin there.
Mendes takes a swing at Gotti's ribcage but misses.
Mendes throws a series of punches but Gotti avoids them all with ease.
Gotti swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gotti dodges the punch combination from Mendes.
It looks like Gotti has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Mendes misses the jab.
Good shot there by Mendes.
Gotti moves away from the strike by Mendes.
Gotti fails with a takedown attempt.
Gotti displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mendes throws out the jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Gotti, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Mendes closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Gotti did well to prevent Mendes getting side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mendes wants to free his trapped foot but Gotti is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Gotti is defending against the submission attempts here by Mendes.

Mendes seems to be looking for submissions.
Gotti wants to control but Mendes is keeping busy.
John Gotti has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gotti is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The fighters are battling for position here. Gotti manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Mendes thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes wants to pass the guard but Gotti is keeping the position.
Mendes postures up.
Mendes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gotti has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Gotti tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mendes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gotti is keeping the position for now.
Gotti keeping moving, preventing Mendes from controlling successfully.
Mendes passes Gotti's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Ricardo Mendes is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Mendes trying to mount his opponent but Gotti defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Mendes is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gotti sees it coming and defends easily.
Gotti gets full guard.
Gotti manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Mendes manages to get himself to full guard.

Mendes keeping moving, preventing Gotti from controlling successfully.
Mendes doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Gotti slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Mendes is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Gotti lands a couple of decent looking shots.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Mendes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mendes has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 William Gold scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Mendes!