PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Luis Gracia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Hiles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alex Hiles acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Gracia
vs
Hiles

225 cm
25
207 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very confident

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 The Island, Luis Gracia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Alex Hiles!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Michael Johnstone and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hiles lands a nice looking kick to the body. Gracia takes a step back to recover.

Gracia scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Gracia tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

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

Gracia fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Hiles sprawls well initially but Gracia persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Gracia's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Gracia is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Hiles!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hiles is trying to stand.
Hiles tries to lock up and control but Gracia gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Gracia looking to control and managing it successfully.
Gracia 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 one minute gone in the round.
Gracia lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Gracia working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Gracia unloading with bombs!
Gracia scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Gracia content just to control the position here.
Gracia looking to finish with strikes here!
Gracia 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.
Gracia controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracia landing strikes from the mount.
Hiles is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Gracia throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gracia connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Gracia controlling the pace for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hiles wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Gracia.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracia landing shots from mount.
Hiles avoids a series of strikes thrown by Gracia.
Gracia postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Hiles looks a forlorn figure.
Gracia lands a big shot there that rocks Hiles but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Hiles holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Gracia tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Poor strikes thrown by Gracia there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
A nice elbow there by Gracia.
Hiles is in a horrible position here. Gracia smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Gracia punching from mount but Hiles doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracia thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Gracia looking to control and managing it successfully.
Gracia lands a couple of good shots and Hiles has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gracia missing with strikes.
Gracia slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Hiles grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Gracia is landing with strikes from the back.

Gracia tightening his grip on Hiles, looking for the choke.
Gracia controlling the position well here. Hiles rolled but Gracia kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luis Gracia dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Gracia shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Luis Gracia overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gracia controlling the action here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracia seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Hiles for as long as he can get away with.
Gracia not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hiles really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gracia. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hiles manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Gracia landing with the ground and pound.
Gracia will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Gracia controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gracia working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gracia is looking to work some ground and pound but Hiles has wrist control.
Gracia pushes down on Hiles's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Gracia content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracia stops Hiles from getting back to his feet.
Gracia throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Gracia lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Gracia is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Hiles trying to control here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A head kick by Hiles misses

and Gracia counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Gracia keeps control of Hiles as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hiles can't break the clinch.

Gracia has clasped his hands together around Hiles's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Gracia creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Hiles is pushing Gracia's head away, looking to escape. Gracia manages to hold on to the position though.
Gracia staying calm.
Gracia is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hiles can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracia works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Hiles seems a little lost for a moment, as Gracia dominates the positioning.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gracia is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Hiles is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Hiles wants to control but Gracia postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luis Gracia dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Hiles has managed to clinch.
Hiles jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gracia walks away with a smile on his face. Hiles gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Alex Hiles seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Gracia drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Gracia stays in close to Hiles's body and controls the position.
Hiles tries to land a sweep but no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gracia drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Gracia jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Gracia postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We've been informed that Hiles has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracia showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Gracia is working Hiles over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Gracia sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Gracia scoring with some ground and pound.
Gracia 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.

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

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.
Hiles lands with a thumping leg kick.
A head kick misses from Hiles.
Gracia attempts a counter takedown but Hiles avoids it well and moves away.
Hiles throws a sloppy head kick
and Gracia counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Hiles throws a sloppy head kick and Gracia moves out of range easily.
Gracia half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Hiles takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Gracia scores with a takedown into Hiles's guard.
Gracia content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracia is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Gracia gets to his feet - Hiles follows without any prompting.

Hiles moves into range and clinches up with Gracia.
Hiles tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Gracia has Hiles pushed against the cage.

Gracia has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Hiles regains guard immediately.
Gracia passes Hiles's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hiles tries to kick Gracia off in order to stand up. Gracia Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Gracia looks up at the clock and then as Hiles takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Gracia smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Gracia lands a nice forearm strike.
Hiles parries the strikes from Gracia easily there. Gracia is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Hiles to escape.
Gracia working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Gracia connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Hiles some visible discomfort.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Gracia is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Hiles has escaped the position, nice work there.
The referee asks Gracia politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Gracia prefers to stall for the moment though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luis Gracia showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gracia, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight 30:25
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 30:25
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luis Gracia!