PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Luca Rinaldi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Franco Gomez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gomez comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Bad Motherfucker kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Rinaldi
vs
Gomez

180 cm
27
190 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

172 cm
29
200 lbs
16 - 24 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Good elbows
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Luca Rinaldi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 24 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Franco Gomez!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Thiago Cunha and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gomez dives in and scores a takedown into Rinaldi's guard.
Gomez stopping the sweep attempt from Rinaldi.
Rinaldi is working hard here to advance position.
Rinaldi on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Rinaldi tries to get out of the position.
Rinaldi keeping moving, preventing Gomez from controlling successfully.
Rinaldi avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gomez pushes down on Rinaldi's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Gomez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Gomez lands with a punch from half guard.
Gomez thows a huge punch but Rinaldi dodges it nicely.

Gomez seems to be working for a kimura but Rinaldi defends the submission attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rinaldi is trying to get back to full guard.
Rinaldi regains full guard. Nicely done.
Gomez wants to control from the top but Rinaldi keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gomez stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rinaldi swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gomez postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Gomez trying to control the position from guard on top but Rinaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rinaldi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Gomez wants to control from the top but Rinaldi keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gomez might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Rinaldi haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Rinaldi 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Gomez trying to control from the bottom.
Rinaldi winds up and cracks Gomez with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gomez wants to control but Rinaldi is keeping busy.
Gomez is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rinaldi scores with a couple of nice shots.
Gomez is looking for a sweep. Rinaldi is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gomez is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Rinaldi wants to free his trapped foot but Gomez is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Gomez tries to get to full guard but Rinaldi has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez trying to control from the bottom.
Gomez is staying active underneath Rinaldi, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Rinaldi passes to side control.
Rinaldi in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

Rinaldi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gomez, who protects the arm well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
An elbow from Rinaldi crashes against the mat.
Gomez wants to control but Rinaldi postures up.
Rinaldi scoring with punches and elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gomez is looking for a sweep.
Gomez is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Rinaldi's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Rinaldi is thwarting Gomez's attempts to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Gomez shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Rinaldi manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

Gomez postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Rinaldi is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Gomez, into his guard.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gomez keeping full guard, as Rinaldi tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Franco Gomez will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rinaldi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Gomez tries to avoid it but Rinaldi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Gomez to the ground. Gomez escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Rinaldi is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Gomez jumps guard.
Rinaldi 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.
Gomez looking for a sweep. Not yet Gomez, not yet.
Gomez keeping moving, preventing Rinaldi from controlling successfully.
Gomez is trying to keep Rinaldi in close.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gomez wants to sweep but no luck.
Rinaldi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gomez is keeping the position for now.
Rinaldi has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rinaldi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Gomez being controlled here, momentarily.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rinaldi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rinaldi dives in for a single leg takedown but Gomez sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Luca Rinaldi. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gomez closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rinaldi has Gomez pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Gomez manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Gomez tries for a takedown but Rinaldi manages to get underhooks.
Gomez is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

Gomez escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nice takedown defense from Gomez. No joy for Rinaldi on that attempt.
Gomez shoots in for a takedown but Rinaldi shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rinaldi.
Rinaldi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Gomez tries to avoid it but Rinaldi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Gomez to the ground. Gomez escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Gomez drives through with a takedown into Rinaldi's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Rinaldi keeping moving, preventing Gomez from controlling successfully.
Gomez looking to pass the guard.
Gomez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rinaldi wants to sweep but no luck.
Gomez wants to control from the top but Rinaldi keeps moving.
Rinaldi working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Gomez.
Gomez pushes down on Rinaldi's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gomez is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Rinaldi defends it well.
Gomez not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Rinaldi is not content to let Gomez control the position.
Gomez is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

Rinaldi looking for submissions off his back.
Rinaldi trying to control from the bottom.
Rinaldi tries to roll over but Gomez keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gomez is trying to control. Rinaldi wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Gomez throwing shots but Rinaldi is blocking nicely.
Gomez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Rinaldi keeps working.
Rinaldi tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Rinaldi shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gomez sprawls well. Gomez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rinaldi gets slowly back to his feet.
Gomez lands a nice shot to the body.

Rinaldi gets tackled into the cage by Gomez. Gomez maintains the clinch.
Gomez wants to take the fight to the mat but Rinaldi manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Rinaldi is looking to take this one to the mat.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gomez gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Gomez is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Rinaldi sees it coming and defends easily.

Gomez looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Gomez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Rinaldi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Gomez's waist but Gomez gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rinaldi off to one side.
Gomez has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Rinaldi fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Gomez wants a takedown.

Gomez breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Luca Rinaldi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Gomez keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

Gomez shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Rinaldi manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Gomez trying to control the position from guard on top but Rinaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Gomez drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Rinaldi dives on top into guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rinaldi scoring with punches to the head and body.
Gomez is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Gomez seems to be looking for submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gomez is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Gomez frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Rinaldi is looking to get to half guard.
Gomez looking to control and managing it successfully.

Gomez is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Rinaldi can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Rinaldi is looking to improve his position but Gomez isn't that keen on the idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gomez has hold of Rinaldi's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Rinaldi manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Gomez lands a nice shot to the head.
Gomez cracks Rinaldi with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Gomez in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Rinaldi keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Gomez is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Rinaldi to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Rinaldi shrugs it off.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Gomez goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Rinaldi turns into him and now he's in Gomez's guard.
Gomez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco Gomez is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Rinaldi won't allow Gomez to sweep him here.
Rinaldi throws a big elbow that misses.
Gomez wants to sweep but no luck.
Gomez is still trying to improve position.
Rinaldi showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Gomez working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Rinaldi tries to free his leg and advance position but Gomez is retaining full guard.
Gomez has control of Rinaldi's left arm, preventing Rinaldi from doing any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi postures up.
Franco Gomez has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rinaldi trying to control the position from guard on top but Gomez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Luca Rinaldi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Rinaldi gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Gomez to score an easy takedown into full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Franco Gomez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Gomez 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Franco Gomez!
During a confident post fight interview, Franco Gomez thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.