PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Renan Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stuart Stardust (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stardust has chosen Hate Being Sober as his entrance music. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Santos
vs
Stardust

178 cm
21
185 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

182 cm
20
181 lbs
5 - 1 - 1

Good takedowns
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Renan Santos!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 1, fighting out of New York, Stuart Stardust!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, John Kavanagh and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stardust swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Stardust misses with a wild combination.
Stardust misses with a jab, cross combination.
Santos feinted with a counter takedown.
Stardust throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Santos counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Santos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stardust is keeping the position for now.
Stardust looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Santos wants to pass the guard but Stardust is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santos not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stardust is keeping the position for now.
Santos trying to control but Stardust is working from the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Stardust wants to get back to his feet but Santos is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Stardust throws a series of punches but Santos moves out of range.
Santos tries to counter with a takedown but Stardust is quick to defend against it.
Stardust swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Santos counters with a shoot takedown. Stardust fights it but they end up in guard.
Stardust is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Santos is controlling him.
Santos being controlled here momentarily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santos 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.
Santos looking to pass the guard.
Stardust looking for a sweep. Not yet Stardust, not yet.
Stardust keeps trying to improve his position.
Santos stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Stardust swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Stardust being controlled here, momentarily.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stardust misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Stardust falls off balance throwing a combination

so Santos counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Santos is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Santos advances to half guard.
Stardust pushes Santos off looking to stand but Santos dives back in and keeps control.

Santos wants to work for an arm triangle but Stardust is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Santos is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Stardust!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos controlling the pace for now.
Santos can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Stardust is looking to escape.
Santos controlling from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stardust regains half guard.
Santos wants to take a breather but Stardust is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renan Santos dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Stardust throws a left and a right that both miss

and Santos counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Santos stands up from Stardust's guard - Santos perhaps looking for a knockout.
Stardust misses with a wild body shot.
Santos dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Stardust fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Santos manages to avoid it.
Stardust throws a jab when Santos was well out of range.
Stardust throws a nice looking combination but Santos bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Santos slips a jab and a cross from Stardust.
Santos scores with a jab. Stardust acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Stardust lunges at Santos with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Santos's hand.
Santos connects with a crisp jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Santos looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Santos is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stardust can do to turn this around?
Santos seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Santos is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Santos controlling the action here.
Renan Santos overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Stardust tries to roll over but Santos keeps him under control.
Stardust is looking to escape.
Santos performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Stardust is not content to let Santos control the position.
Santos trying to control the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stardust tries to roll over but Santos keeps him under control.
Santos is pressing down on Stardust's thigh, looking to free his foot. Stardust is holding on for now.
Stardust looks like he's trying to stand up.
Santos is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Santos won't allow Stardust to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Santos slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Stardust tries to improve position but can't.
Santos taking a breather here.
Santos wants to control but Stardust is keeping him busy.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stardust throws a right and a left that Santos avoids nicely.
Santos drops down looking for a counter takedown but Stardust sprawls and moves away.
Stardust misses with a double jab.
Santos changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Stardust takes one on the chin but seems OK.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renan Santos 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.

Stardust throws a series of punches but Santos avoids them all with ease.
Stardust throws a series of punches but Santos moves out of range.
Stardust fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Santos manages to avoid it.
Santos changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Santos showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Stardust.
Stardust misses with a hook to the body

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control.
Santos tries to advance to mount but Stardust denies him.
Santos takes a little break here. Stardust wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Santos is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Stardust knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos wants to control but Stardust is keeping him busy.
Santos advances to full mount.
Santos takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Stardust is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Santos controlling the position easily from mount.
Santos can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Stardust is looking to escape.
Santos looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stardust working to try and regain half guard.
Santos tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Santos seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Stardust for as long as he can get away with.

Santos swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Stardust is now in Santos's guard. A big mistake from Santos there, giving up the dominant position!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stardust won't allow Santos to sweep him here.
Santos pulls Stardust in close to his closed guard and prevents Stardust from doing any damage or advancing position.
Stardust wants to stand and escape but instead Santos has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Santos stands and steps away. Stardust gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renan Santos clearly takes that 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.

Stardust throws a leg kick

and Santos counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Santos.

Santos decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Stardust rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Santos moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Stardust throws a left and a right that both miss

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control.
Santos advances to mount.

Santos gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Stardust tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Santos was well out of range. Poor timing from Stardust.
Santos changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Santos shoots for a takedown but Stardust saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Santos staying out of range there.
Stardust throws a nice looking combination but Santos bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Stardust misses with a body punch

and Santos counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Stardust keeping moving, preventing Santos from controlling successfully.
Santos wants to pass the guard but Stardust is keeping the position.
Stardust is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Santos is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Santos sitting in guard here, content to control.
Santos has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Santos.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Stardust misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Santos.
Stardust wants to land a leg kick but Santos is out of range.
Santos has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Stardust misses with a double jab

and Santos decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Stardust's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos sitting in guard here, content to control.
Santos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stardust is keeping the position for now.
Santos not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Santos wants to control from the top but Stardust keeps moving.
Stardust keeping full guard, as Santos tries to pass.

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.
Santos passes Stardust's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Santos prevents Stardust from standing back up.

Santos is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Stardust sees it coming and defends easily.

Santos in half guard on the top. He's looking for a kimura... He's got it locked and he's managed to free his trapped foot. Stardust tries to escape but it's on too tight and he has to tap! Great BJJ skills there from Santos!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:52 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Renan Santos!
Renan Santos is the new welterweight champion!
Renan Santos seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.