PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Riley Whitney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Floriano Gualdoni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gualdoni has chosen Can't Hold Us as his entrance music. Floriano Gualdoni has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Riley Whitney's chin.

Whitney
vs
Gualdoni

162 cm
22
215 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

178 cm
20
195 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Riley Whitney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Floriano Gualdoni!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Trevor Gratis and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Whitney circles away from the clinch attempt

and Whitney decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gualdoni's guard.
Gualdoni looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Whitney wants to control from the top but Gualdoni keeps moving.
Whitney trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Whitney stands and steps away. Gualdoni gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Gualdoni tries to keep at a distance but Whitney has taken the fight into the clinch.
Whitney could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Gualdoni successfully pulls guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Whitney gets to his feet - Gualdoni follows without any prompting.

Whitney scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Whitney has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

Whitney gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Whitney has picked Gualdoni up - he's going for a ride! Whitney dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Whitney working over Gualdoni with some ground and pound. Gualdoni looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gualdoni keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Whitney working Gualdoni over with strikes.

Whitney gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

Whitney moves into the clinch.

Whitney manages to break the clinch.

Whitney rushes Gualdoni and presses him up against the cage.

Whitney has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Gualdoni clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Whitney is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Gualdoni. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gualdoni is trying to remain composed but Whitney is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whitney landing with strikes.

Whitney is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Gualdoni defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Whitney lands punches and elbows.
Gualdoni is trying to remain composed but Whitney is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Whitney is looking to finish with some ground and pound!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitney punches Gualdoni on the ear.
The referee is taking a good look at Gualdoni as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Whitney!
Gualdoni is taking damage to the body and head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitney lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Whitney is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Whitney gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Whitney gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Whitney apologises and we restart here on the feet.

Gualdoni is rocked!

Whitney decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gualdoni is still in real trouble! Can Whitney finish him?
Gualdoni wants to control but Whitney is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Whitney is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Gualdoni doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Whitney.

Whitney stands up out of the half guard.

Whitney takes the fight into the clinch.

Whitney pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Whitney clinches up with Gualdoni and pushes him back against the cage.

Whitney has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Gualdoni is trying to keep an underhook but Whitney manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Whitney drops an elbow to the side of Gualdoni's head.

Whitney gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

Whitney darts in and clinches Gualdoni up against the cage.

Whitney ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Whitney no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Whitney lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Whitney scoring with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gualdoni looking to control.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Whitney's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Whitney stands up from Gualdoni's guard - Whitney perhaps looking for a knockout.

Whitney moves into the clinch successfully.

Whitney pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Whitney moves into the clinch successfully.

Whitney jumps guard and drags Gualdoni to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Whitney throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Whitney is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Whitney stands up and beckons Gualdoni to join him on the feet.
Gualdoni seems to have recovered his senses.

Whitney closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Whitney taking a breather.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riley Whitney dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Whitney gets a clinch.
Whitney is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gualdoni can do to turn this around?

Whitney manages to break the clinch.
A head kick misses from Gualdoni.

Gualdoni 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.
Gualdoni wanted to stand there but Whitney had control of the position.
Whitney lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitney cracks Gualdoni with a solid left hand.
Gualdoni is breathing heavily.

Gualdoni is working an open guard so Whitney takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gualdoni is defending against the submission attempts here by Whitney.

Whitney is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gualdoni defends it well.
Gualdoni tries to roll over but Whitney keeps him under control.
Whitney missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two 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.
Whitney lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Whitney stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Gualdoni to get to his feet.

Whitney moves into the clinch.

Whitney stands and steps away. Gualdoni gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Whitney's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Whitney rushes Gualdoni and presses him up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Whitney manages to break the clinch.
Floriano Gualdoni is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Whitney clinches.

Whitney turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Whitney manages to end up in side control.
Whitney cracks Gualdoni with an elbow. That is naaassty.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whitney grinds an elbow into Gualdoni's temple.

Whitney stands up and beckons Gualdoni to his feet.
Whitney shoots in looking for a takedown but Gualdoni manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Whitney's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Whitney has closed the distance and engaged Gualdoni in a clinch.

Whitney breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Gualdoni throws a right hand that Whitney ducks under and follows up with a left that Whitney also avoids with ease.
Gualdoni's coach down at Pitbull MMA was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Gualdoni's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Whitney closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Whitney working Gualdoni over with strikes.
Whitney slows the pace down in half guard.

Whitney postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Gualdoni to stand up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Gualdoni tries to keep at a distance but Whitney has taken the fight into the clinch.
Whitney has Gualdoni pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Gualdoni manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Whitney gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Whitney missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riley Whitney dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Gualdoni wants to clinch.

Whitney drives through and clinches with Gualdoni against the cage.

Whitney works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Whitney stands up and waves to Gualdoni to follow him.
Gualdoni throws a right hand that Whitney ducks under and follows up with a left that Whitney also avoids with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Whitney decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gualdoni takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Well, if Whitney is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitney is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Whitney is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Gualdoni has managed to free his arm - good work.
Whitney working Gualdoni over with strikes.
Riley Whitney overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Whitney decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Floriano Gualdoni seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Whitney drives through and clinches with Gualdoni against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitney is looking to take this one to the mat.

Whitney's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Whitney clinches.

Whitney breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Gualdoni tries to keep at a distance but Whitney has taken the fight into the clinch.

Whitney works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Gualdoni is working an open guard so Whitney takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Whitney shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gualdoni pinned against the cage. Gualdoni gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Whitney feints and as Gualdoni raises his hands in defense, Whitney changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitney throws an elbow that misses. Gualdoni uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Whitney's guard. Nice move by Gualdoni!

Gualdoni in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gualdoni must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Gualdoni pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Whitney is keeping the position for now.
Whitney trying to control the position.
Whitney looking for a sweep. Not yet Whitney, not yet.

Whitney working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Gualdoni doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Gualdoni manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gualdoni throws a big elbow that misses.
Whitney 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitney is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Gualdoni trying to control here.

Whitney decides to stand and escape the position.

Whitney closes the distance and clinches.
Floriano Gualdoni has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Whitney has Gualdoni pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Whitney pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Gualdoni tumbling to the mat - Whitney dives into Gualdoni's guard.
Riley Whitney is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Whitney seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Riley Whitney showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Whitney has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:26
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Riley Whitney!
In defeat, Floriano Gualdoni stepped up to the mic, saying 'Nobody can take me down, always bounce back!'.