PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sakuraba Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Royce Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sakuraba Gracie's entrance music is Gimme Shelter. A fine choice. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Gracie
vs
Gracie

180 cm
24
192 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

185 cm
21
191 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Team S.W.A.T.
Elite Nutrition Supplements

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sakuraba Gracie!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Royce Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Mauricio Rocha and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Royce Gracie shoots for a takedown but Sakuraba Gracie saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Royce Gracie ducks under a wild hook from Sakuraba Gracie.
Royce Gracie closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

Royce Gracie looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Sakuraba Gracie!
Sakuraba Gracie is looking to improve his position but Royce Gracie isn't that keen on the idea.
Royce Gracie controlling from the full mount.
Sakuraba Gracie is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba Gracie missing with punches from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sakuraba Gracie is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Royce Gracie is working for a submission of some sort.
Sakuraba Gracie is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sakuraba Gracie strikes from the bottom but Royce Gracie passes into mount!

Sakuraba Gracie defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Royce Gracie.

Royce Gracie has control of Sakuraba Gracie's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Sakuraba Gracie regains control of the situation pretty easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Sakuraba Gracie avoids a strike by Royce Gracie and manages to complete a very nice reversal in the process, to end up in Royce Gracie's guard! Fantastic escape!

Sakuraba Gracie thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Royce Gracie throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Sakuraba Gracie lands a couple of digs.
Royce Gracie is trying to keep Sakuraba Gracie in close.
Sakuraba Gracie stands up over Royce Gracie, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Sakuraba Gracie drops back looking for a leg! Royce Gracie is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Royce Gracie manages to kick Sakuraba Gracie off! Sakuraba Gracie jumps back into Royce Gracie's guard.
Sakuraba Gracie keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Royce Gracie's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Royce Gracie looking to control.
Sakuraba Gracie throwing strikes but missing.
Sakuraba Gracie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Royce Gracie swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sakuraba Gracie's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sakuraba Gracie is breathing heavily.

Royce Gracie looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Royce Gracie escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sakuraba Gracie gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Sakuraba Gracie trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sakuraba Gracie is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

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.
Sakuraba Gracie trying to control but Royce Gracie is working from the bottom.

Royce Gracie has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Sakuraba Gracie can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sakuraba Gracie slips nicely into half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie working Royce Gracie over with strikes.
Nice strikes from Sakuraba Gracie there.
Royce Gracie gets back to full guard.
Sakuraba Gracie works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Sakuraba Gracie winds up and cracks Royce Gracie with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sakuraba Gracie dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Royce Gracie has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Sakuraba Gracie finds it's way round the side to connect with Royce Gracie's head.
Jab from Sakuraba Gracie.
Royce Gracie moves forwards but Sakuraba Gracie connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Sakuraba Gracie scores with a decent looking hook.
Royce Gracie moves out of range as Sakuraba Gracie strikes.
Royce Gracie moves out of range of the strikes.
Sakuraba Gracie misses with a wild body shot.
Nice defenses there by Royce Gracie.
Sakuraba Gracie avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Royce Gracie 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.
Royce Gracie chips away with some ground and pound.
Royce Gracie passes Sakuraba Gracie's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Royce Gracie tries to pass to full mount but Sakuraba Gracie defends it.
Royce Gracie is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Sakuraba Gracie manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Royce Gracie throws and elbow that misses. Sakuraba Gracie uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Royce Gracie's guard. Nice move by Sakuraba Gracie!
Sakuraba Gracie lands a couple of digs.

Sakuraba Gracie avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Sakuraba Gracie cracks Royce Gracie with a solid left hand.
Sakuraba Gracie with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Royce Gracie working for a triangle but Sakuraba Gracie defends it easily.
Sakuraba Gracie scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sakuraba Gracie 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Royce Gracie keeping moving, preventing Sakuraba Gracie from controlling successfully.
Royce Gracie looking for a sweep. Not yet Royce Gracie, not yet.
Sakuraba Gracie passes Royce Gracie's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Royce Gracie taking some punishment here, with Sakuraba Gracie in his half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie moves nicely into side control.
Sakuraba Gracie working away.
Royce Gracie is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Royce Gracie can't do much from the bottom here.
Sakuraba Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Sakuraba Gracie tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sakuraba Gracie has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Royce Gracie is looking to regain half guard here but Sakuraba Gracie keeps moving and retains side control.
Sakuraba Gracie cracks Royce Gracie with a big right hand but Royce Gracie just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

Sakuraba Gracie stands up.
Royce Gracie uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sakuraba Gracie.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba Gracie looks to score with a jab to the body but Royce Gracie is just out of range.
Sakuraba Gracie throws a lazy right hand but Royce Gracie sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sakuraba Gracie throws a shot to the body.
Sakuraba Gracie misses with a straight left.
Sakuraba Gracie lands with a straight right. Royce Gracie didn't see that one coming.
Sakuraba Gracie has a takedown stuffed.
Royce Gracie bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Sakuraba Gracie.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Royce Gracie is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Sakuraba Gracie's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sakuraba Gracie dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sakuraba Gracie on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Sakuraba Gracie shoots and misses

and Royce Gracie counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Sakuraba Gracie!
Sakuraba Gracie taking shots to the head.
Royce Gracie working the ground and pound effectively.
Royce Gracie landing shots from mount.
Sakuraba Gracie regains half guard.

Sakuraba Gracie has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Royce Gracie escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Royce Gracie!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
An elbow from Royce Gracie crashes against the mat.
Royce Gracie tries to advance to mount but Sakuraba Gracie denies him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba Gracie is looking to regain half guard here but Royce Gracie keeps moving and retains side control.

Royce Gracie is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Sakuraba Gracie has escaped the position, nice work there.

Royce Gracie is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Sakuraba Gracie knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Sakuraba Gracie regains half guard.

That's two 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.
Sakuraba Gracie missing with punches from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Sakuraba Gracie throws a hook but Royce Gracie avoids it easily.
Royce Gracie misses with a takedown

and Sakuraba Gracie counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Royce Gracie actively working from the bottom here.

Royce Gracie is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Sakuraba Gracie pulls his head out easily.
Nice strikes from Sakuraba Gracie there.

Sakuraba Gracie is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Sakuraba Gracie wants to control but Royce Gracie is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Royce Gracie is looking to improve his position.
Sakuraba Gracie passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Royce Gracie!
Royce Gracie tries to reverse the position but Sakuraba Gracie maintains control.
Sakuraba Gracie lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Sakuraba Gracie working Royce Gracie over with strikes here.
Sakuraba Gracie dominating with strikes here.
Royce Gracie holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Sakuraba Gracie tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Sakuraba Gracie thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Royce Gracie avoids a series of strikes thrown by Sakuraba Gracie.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Royce Gracie is working to get back to half guard.
Royce Gracie is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sakuraba Gracie cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Royce Gracie tries to hold on but Sakuraba Gracie postures up.
Sakuraba Gracie with the ground and pound from mount.
Sakuraba Gracie landing punches.
Royce Gracie bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Sakuraba Gracie is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Sakuraba Gracie throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Sakuraba Gracie did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Royce Gracie fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Sakuraba Gracie sprawls well initially but Royce Gracie persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Royce Gracie wants to pass the guard but Sakuraba Gracie is defending well.
Sakuraba Gracie flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Sakuraba Gracie is looking to control Royce Gracie's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sakuraba Gracie avoid being mounted?

Sakuraba Gracie looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Royce Gracie is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Sakuraba Gracie!

Royce Gracie looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Sakuraba Gracie bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Royce Gracie is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Royce Gracie tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sakuraba Gracie landing with the ground and pound.
Sakuraba Gracie is in close to Royce Gracie's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sakuraba Gracie throwing strikes but missing.
Royce Gracie utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Royce Gracie keeping full guard, as Sakuraba Gracie tries to pass.

Royce Gracie is looking for a triangle but Sakuraba Gracie pushes his legs off easily.

That's two 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.

Sakuraba Gracie drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Sakuraba Gracie jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Sakuraba Gracie throwing strikes but missing.

Royce Gracie looking for a guillotine here but Sakuraba Gracie defends easily.
Royce Gracie is looking to sweep but instead, Sakuraba Gracie has passed into half guard.
Sakuraba Gracie is thwarting Royce Gracie's attempts to control the position.
Sakuraba Gracie landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Royce Gracie trying to control from the bottom.
Ground and pound from Sakuraba Gracie.
Sakuraba Gracie seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Royce Gracie wants to improve his position but Sakuraba Gracie is controlling well.
Royce Gracie on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Royce Gracie is trying to control but can't.

Royce Gracie with the active half guard here but Sakuraba Gracie passes nicely into side control.

Sakuraba Gracie has worked his way into a potential kimura here. Royce Gracie is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Sakuraba Gracie yanks on the arm and Royce Gracie is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Sakuraba Gracie.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Sakuraba Gracie!
Sakuraba Gracie is the new middleweight champion!