PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kasey Lynch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Lynch
vs
Gracie

199 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

182 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kasey Lynch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Thiago Cunha and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie shoots in and gets a takedown into Lynch's guard.
Lynch looking to control.
Gracie content to stall in guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lynch is looking to stand up but Gracie isn't so interested in that idea.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lynch looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Lynch tries to clinch up.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Lynch as he jumps to the side.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lynch but Lynch pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Gracie feints a jab promting Lynch to slip. Gracie then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Lynch slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Lynch shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gracie as he jumps to the side.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gracie shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Lynch is trying to defend but Gracie finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Lynch trying to hold on to Gracie's head to control him but Gracie postures up.
Lynch is looking for a sweep. Gracie is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Lynch trying to control from the bottom.
Gracie sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie passes to side control.
Lynch tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Gracie wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Gracie content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Lynch manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Well, if Gracie 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.
Lynch trying to control from the bottom.

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.
Gracie controlling the pace.
Gracie is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Gracie looking to control and managing it successfully.
Lynch is in all sorts of trouble here.

Gracie looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gracie has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Lynch's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Gracie 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.

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Lynch.
Gracie darts in looking for a takedown but Lynch gets double underhooks and turns Gracie into the cage.
Gracie misses with a right hand
and Lynch counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Lynch leaves Gracie with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Gracie will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Lynch swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Kasey Lynch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Gracie.
Gracie tries for a takedown but Lynch circles away easily
and Lynch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Horrible takedown attempt by Gracie or perhaps it was just good defense by Lynch, which made it look bad.
Lynch is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Gracie goes for a double leg but Lynch avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Lynch continues to drive forward.
Gracie shoots in but Lynch avoids the takedown attempt easily.
A quick step to the side and Lynch tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Gracie trying to control the position but Lynch is working away.
Lynch is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Gracie working away.
Lynch manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Lynch is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Lynch is trying to maintain the position but Gracie is very close to passing his half guard.

Gracie is working for a kimura but Lynch is defending it quite comfortably.
Gracie slows the pace down in half guard.
Lynch really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lynch pushes Gracie off looking to stand but Gracie dives back in and keeps control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Gracie fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A quick step to the side and Lynch tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Lynch stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Lynch wants it to stay on the feet.
Lynch tries to clinch up but Gracie circles away and keeps his distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Gracie doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Lynch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Gracie swats away the attempt to clinch by Lynch.

Gracie looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Lynch!
Lynch is looking to reverse the position.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gracie stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Gracie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Lynch's waist but Lynch gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gracie off to one side.
Gracie throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Lynch swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Rafael Gracie will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Gracie with a poor takedown
and Lynch counters with a one-two to the body.

Gracie closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lynch did well to prevent Gracie getting side control.
Gracie looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Lynch is trying to control but can't.
Gracie is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Lynch trying to hold on to Gracie's head to control him but Gracie postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie is controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Gracie is continuing to stall.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gracie shoots in and drives through. Lynch sprawls well.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Lynch makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Kasey Lynch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Gracie.
Lynch shoots in looking for a takedown. Gracie tries to sprawl out of it but Lynch keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gracie manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gracie wants to counter the offense by Lynch and move into the clinch position.

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.

Lynch moves into the clinch.

Lynch breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kasey Lynch is winning the standup battle so far.

Gracie looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Lynch!
Lynch struggling a bit here.
Gracie working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Gracie is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Lynch will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Gracie is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Lynch is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie controlling the position from side mount.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Lynch is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Lynch is looking to reverse the position.

That's four 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.
Lynch is working hard here to advance position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
You can see the frustration on Lynch's face as Gracie controls the position.
Gracie working the ground and pound from side control.
Gracie tries to advance to mount but Lynch denies him.
Gracie in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Gracie comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Gracie winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Gracie!
Rafael Gracie seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.